DAY 24: Friday, July 30, 2010

Finishing up one of the final shots at the Casanova Apartments, Sean Porter racks focus to a polar bear head.  We move to the Atrium Offices in Fremont, where our base camp is across from Theo Chocolate.

Our production designer, Sean’s wife, discovers the crew has significantly less time to clear out of Casanova than she thought, so she sends dressers back to do the job.  I deliver lunch to the remaining dressers at the Atrium who are working through the break; the caffeine from Theo’s delicious salted caramels, along with spicy chili chocolate bars chopped up to grab-on-the-go size, fuels their speedy setup.

Local actress Clair Vardiel joins us to play city councilwoman Augusta D’Amico.  She describes her character as “a real politician,” with a personality and perspective about as far from her own as possible.

She joins a discussion between our director and Jason about the trajectory of Jason’s acting career.  He gets on his cell and plays himself at five years old negotiating with his agent, making Clair and Stephen crack up.  Jason became Hollywood-savvy so young that even he finds it absurd.

The part of the Atrium used in the shoot houses an eclectic group of businesses: accounting offices, a law office, and a massage parlor. Jason pretends to be excited about all the Rifleman Magazine editions lying on the table. I jokingly suggest Yachting Magazine might be more interesting.  He agrees in all seriousness.  I think he should check out Seattle’s Seafair if he gets any time off set.

The day closes with a pleasantly sunny scene just outside the Atrium, which includes one of the last groups of extras who will join us on this shoot.  Joel’s family members are among them.  I’m excited to recognize these enthusiastic and dedicated background actors adding dimension to the final cut.