The Beginning?

A siren pierces my state of blackness. I leap out of bed positive that I just closed my eyes, and snatch the phone clean off the table. “Bonjour, c’est six –, “ I cut off the quiet voice, “Merci,” and hang up. And so Day 1 began...

From there it got surreal. I thought I’d given myself enough time to shit, shower, and shave. I mean an hour, right? Okay I almost fall asleep under the warm, pulsing water (great pressure, thank god), so add an extra ten… I’m still ready to leave the room at 6:30AM – it’s a two-minute walk to breakfast… anything I want, ready, and free. Production has the hotel put out a full meal every morning. I load the safe right up with everything I’m not carrying in my backpack and close the door. The lock is jammed open and doesn’t work… so I call the front desk. “Someone will be right there, monsieur.” My shoulders drop. 10 minutes later there is a knock on the door. You see the hotel is one level and there are over 500 rooms… one must navigate a maze to get around. There are literally blocks of rooms – so no elevator. And did I mention the 20 foot wall that runs completely around the place? We are actually living in a compound. http://www.ouarzazate.com/leberberepalace/ Sort of says it all doesn’t? We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy… oh man I have definitely arrived in the modern day wild west. This could get fabulously interesting. Real fast. I digress... I digress, yet again? Sounds like this blog already has a catch phrase. Sorry, it’s sensory overload here – there I go again. A maid shows up and checks the safe. She can’t get it to work either. A call goes out over her walkie-talkie. "Fuck!" is all I’m thinking, smiles are all I’m drinking. Another ten minutes and the maintenance guy shows up… without batteries. So off he goes. By the time we’re finished re-booting the system, and my help is out the door, I’m trotting for the front entrance. At five minutes past eight I step outside. Late for my first day of work... nice:)) There’s a sea of jeeps and pickup trucks. And probably about 50 crew members milling about - and I don’t know anyone, except... wait a second, hold on... there some guy out front that looks vaguely familiar. So I amble up and ask him if he's ever worked in Toronto. He says, "Pardon?" And gives me a look like who are you? I drop my name and he breaks into a smile. His name is Robert Stecko, the B-Camera Operator (I am missing his picture - will post it in when I get it) and he has been in Toronto. He briefly stopped by to visit Francois on the set of SILENT HILL, a film we shot back in 2003. I tell ya - I never forget a face:)) So anyway he introduces me to Randy Tambling (again no photo yet - hell I don't have any of them yet), Ousama Rawi (Ossi - the D.O.P.), and finally, the second A.D., Bethan Mowat. Randy comments on how fresh I look and then asks how that's possible with a sly smile. Everyone knows when I arrived and just how fucked up I am:)) I thank my parents good genes, and with that Randy and Robert and I get in a pickup being driven by one of the locals and we're off.

Now I need everyone to understand that at this point I am so out of it I don't have a chance to absorb any of my surrounding, which in itself is a complete mind-trip because I'm in FUCKING MOROCCO:)) That said we drive about 5 minutes out of town and then all of a sudden I find myself in the most bizarre landscape. There are literally a dozen "sets" from different movies littered across the most beautiful desert landscape. Of course I don't have any shots of the area yet, but I did managae to snap two photos of the desert, and that was only because I swore that I recognized an actual backdrop from STAR WARS and I was certain that I had slipped into the film and Luke was going to come zipping over the horizon , desperately searching for R2-D2:)) NOTE - one can actually see the walls of Jerusalem in the background of the second photo (just click on it and zoom in)

Anyhow once we arrive, the First A.D. immediately introduces himself - his name is Buck. His engaging, easy-going attitude suggests to me that's he's out of L.A. - in fact as we tour the area of what is to be the walls of Jerusalem, and the road that Jesus will meet Ben Hur on, and the hill where his cross will be planted, Buck talks to me about my time on THE INCREDIBLE HULK (oviously he's IMDB'd me - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0136776/ - wait a second that credit isn't up there, how the hell does this guy know? Oh well, long story longer, I assume he's American. But still a nice guy. Carmen, the Production Manager introduces herself as well. More on that later. Oh I almost forgot Steve Shill, the Director (who I didn't know it then, but do now - has directed episodes of my favourite TV show... DEADWOOD). Seems like a solid guy, knows his shit, practical... in otherwords a pro - thank God:) Director's that don't understand the process (and believe me there are way too many out there to count) are an absolute nightmare when it comes to a show of this magnitude...

Anyway - the questions start coming... track here going to be a problem? To level it properly, one end would be nearly 6 feet off the ground. Not a problem. Can we get the crane in here? Sure, absolutely. Two dollies here? All the track you have over here? Yes and yes. My head starts to spin... I mean, Christ Almighty... is all this a dream or did I really just see C3-P0 out of the corner of my eye? And wait a second? Isn't that a section of Rome from THE GLADIATOR - one of the best film lines ever... "What we do in life echoes into eternity" Here those words could not be more obvious. I mean it's massive set piece after massive set piece - all left behind as some big Hollywood production blows out of town on the way home. Okay we get through the first location and then head of to OSCAR STUDIO, which when we arrive I notice has an actual hotel built into the place (it's a hotspot for Moroccan Travellers because of the tours they offer - kind of like Universal:)) Weird but true. I can't seem to find a link to the place and have no photos yet, but don't worry I will shoot everything. I almost fall over when we make our way past the training courtyard from THE GLADIATOR. And then we walk into a fair-sized studio to discuss a rather important set-piece. This is where we are going to shoot the galley sequence. For those that haven't seen the 1959 version of Ben Hur, get on it - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052618/. Anyhow, their is a good-sized water tank but my mind can't wrap my head around it... until we start talking about the C.G. effects (character generated). Of course... this is definitely not 1959. I can't wait to see how our animators increase the scope and scale of this story. It is going to be huge! Did I mention I'm in Morocco shooting BEN HUR?! Okay so we run around and look at a few more sets and for some reason nothing sticks, except the remaining two photos I took on said day. The play of light and shadow captivated my attention... probably had something to do with my descent into a state of mad-exhaustion... the light here is stunning. And I am already in love with the dry heat. Can anyone wrap their head around the concept of your sweat nearly evaporating off your body? No 100 percent humidity? God I hate Toronto summers. I mean I really really hate them:)

I digress... so we break for lunch at 1:PM... and the food that we order hits the table around 2:PM... lol, by this point I wondered if I would ever eat again. I have an excellent lamb stew... heaven:)) and I ask for a diet coke and get a regular because that's all they have. So I drink it because I'm parched and ready to sleep. The caffeine kicks in rather nicely. The sugar makes me smile. Damn, I have such an addictive personality. It's okay though, this is my first meal in close to 18 hours, one coke won't kill me... My lunch mates are Robert, Ossi, and Randy. The standard meet and greet. Everyone seems solid. Ossi is the quiet, calm type, which is another blessing. Randy is down-to-earth, and Robert... well Robert is all camera - professional, focused, and passionate about the process. We're going to get along just fine... the whole lot of us:)) After lunch production asks me to hang around until 4:PM to sit in on a meeting that cracks my state of reality wide open - everyone is set to discuss the iconic final chariot race! have to pinch myself under the table... am I really here?

So there I am... just under 2 hours on my hands, a hotel pool to lounge beside (part of the Oscar experience), and a warm, desert breeze to keep me company. The only thing that would make it better is if my girl was here... so I open the computer, turn on the Skype and there she is - half way around the world. Just stop and think about that for a second. I am a child of the 70's... if you're old enough, think about where you were? Rotary phones, rabbit ears, 8-track, yada yada yada... and today, with the press of a button, I am able to video link, WIRELESSLY, to anyone, anywhere on th planet... mindboggling. Alissa and I spend, I don't know how much time, catching up and then Bethan strides purposefully up to me to let me know the meeting is cancelled and I can head back to hotel. I think the air around my body collapsed into the vacuum created by my teleportation into the back seat of a waiting transport vehicle. Before I can escape the backlot, Randy sees me and before I can say boo, I find myself going over a list of the things he needs me to do over the rest of the week. So I go from Dolly Grip to Best Boy without even realizing it was happening. That's okay though - we are out of town, have to stick together, and most definitely work as a team. Happy to do it, I mean what the hell else am here for? The life of a nomadic grip... quelle jolie vie:))

Around 6:PM I find myself back in the same transport vehicle and finally on the way to the hotel. During the short ride, I become aware of a beautiful oasis that will have to be photographed at a later date. I see Robert in the lobby and make plans to meet him for dinner across the street at one of Ouarzate's, scratch that, Ouarzazate's only French restaurant. Then somehow I'm back in my room, where I shower, again Skype with Alissa, and then completely miss dinner because my legs aren't moving (which means I only got 1 meal today - not good for someone trying to get healthy and lose weight), and pass out at 11:PM... how the hell did I manage to stay up so late? Anyhow the lights go out and the blackness tackles me again. I pass out before my head slams into the pillow. Est ca c'est tous pour ce soir... not sure how my French is coming but it will get better...

Tom out.

PS - I think I shortened this one, no? And I promise to start taking pictures. All words and no images can get boring pretty quick - especially with a blowhard behind the wheel:))

PPS - Should anyone read this before I get to my edit & polish tomorrow, I apologise for the spelling & grammatcial errors. Generally when I finish these things I am just too tired to review and simly want to prematurely unleash the latest chapter:)) Like all writer's I suppose...