We awoke at an early hour, for me it was around 5.30am. We all met up at 8.45am and jumped in a people carrier and drove the 40minutes to Pasadena.
The journey took us past the Universal Studios where 6 months ago we played our last show of The Man Who, the Disney Studios, where Micky resides and lots of cool sun drenched mountains.
The scenery is very Spanish in Los Angeles at odds with the fast and furious film business that we know it for.The site was chosen out of 40 mansions. Arriving, we were aware of how the other half live, or lived, because it was empty save for the film crew.
It backs onto a girls school which owns the grounds and hires it out for weddings and movies. The money that they make subsidises the school. Apparently Guns And Roses filmed one of their over the top videos there once upon a time. I believe it was the one where one of them is getting married.
What a sunny day. So the filming had already started when we arrived. They were filming the opening shot. It is of an ornate grandfather clock. It had been specially doctored to click from 7.59 to 8 o'clock.
There is also a monkey and a bored suburban princess, tired of living a sterile life and living vicariously through her favourite bands. We spent the day shooting a performance of SING.
The directors are Dayton and Faris. They are the best in America. They are also husband and wife.Cool huh?
They are also responsible of late for turning the Red Hot Chilli Peppers into computer game characters in Californication and for sending the Smashing Pumkins to the Moon in Tonight, Tonight.
They go back alot further too having directed the very first alternative music show on MTV in 1985 and also were the producers of R.E.M's Tourfilm which me and Jonny and Aaron watched religiously from 1990-92.
They act as one. It is so great to see two people work together so well. Their relationship to one another rubs off on everything around them.
The atmosphere is laid back and easy and if there is anything wrong it is dealt with in a calm and friendly way.
Later in the day we don some slightly more formal atire and go outside to shoot our arrival at the snobs party.
The sun is setting through the pine trees and the smell of eucalyptus and freshly cut grass drifts through the air.
What a lovely day.The shots look great so far and so by the end of the day everyone is ready to mosey on back to their beds... well we went to the bar first for a wee night cap.
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