Well, dear readers, we had our first day of filming on project one. We began filming just before 5:00 and wrapped by 6:30 having done half the dialogue sections – we did one more than was scheduled, so we may actually be able to wrap all the dialogue stuff by tonight. All of Hartley’s songs are filmed and Eric has begun filming his. So, this should all be able to go to our editor, Marshall Harvey by Friday at the latest. We had a lot of fun and I felt it all went very well and the performances are aces. That was the best part of the day, actually. And now, I’m sitting here like so much fish, having just finished listening to the Erich Leinsdorf Turandot, with Birgit Nilsson, Renata Tebaldi, Giorgio Tozzi, Jussi Bjoerling, and other good folks, a 1959 Living Stereo recording, this copy an SACD release. After having been slightly disappointed in the sound of the von Karajan release, which is a much more recent recording, this one sounds pretty incredible, but isn’t perfect. But I much prefer this cast, I must say. I still would like to hear the Zubin Mehta recording with Joan Sutherland, but I have yet to hear a Mehta performance I liked. And now I’m finally finishing up the Edward Thomas opera of Desire Under the Elms – it’s really excellent musically, very American-sounding, beautifully orchestrated and once you get past Jerry Hadley’s straining and vibrato, it’s all very enjoyable. I continue to get screeners of movies I’ve never heard of that I have not a single desire to see – the latest batch includes Herself, I’m Your Woman, and Radioactive, all directed by women, which is great IF they’re actually good directors. I find many of today’s female directors quite bad, in fact, just as I find many of today’s male directors quite bad. Funny how that works. I will also say that I am in desperate need of a haircut – I am giving unkempt a whole new meaning. I gotta tell you. After Desire Under the Elms, I have a new CPO CD of orchestral music by Franz Schreker – this is volume one of what’s being advertised as the complete orchestral music, so that’s very exciting as CPO does really fine work. I’m quite looking forward to hearing it. And now, I am writing these here notes, oh, yes, I am writing these here notes.
Yesterday was not such a bad day, in fact it was mostly a good day. I got seven-and-a-half hours of sleep, arising at eleven. I can’t get up later than that while we’re shooting project one, as I’m juggling too much to get all the pages done that I want to get done. Once up, I answered e-mails and then futzed and finessed the previous days 16 pages, which actually went rather quickly this time. Once done, I wrote two new pages, then made some tuna sandwiches on the rye bread, ate them (very good), and had a chocolate donut for a treat. Then I wrote another eight pages, so that was good. Then we convened for our first day of filming, and you know all about that. Oh yeah, I also went to the mail place and picked up a few packages. One of them contained the Beverly Sills Manon – I tried putting it in iTunes but discovered that disc one, despite being labeled correctly, was actually disc two. I made sure by playing it and then the actual disc two and they were identical. So, I’ve put in for a return and I’ll try to find another cheap copy.
After we wrapped the shoot, I took a little break for music, then wrote another five pages during the evening, so fifteen pages thus far and after I post these here notes and shower, I’ll probably do another two, as I’m just starting a new chapter. I’d say after I finish however many pages I write today, then I’ll be in the home stretch, in which I’ll be navigating tricky waters.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll futz and finesse, write new pages, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, write new pages, and then we’ll resume filming on project one and we have a real shot at finishing up all the dialogue sequences. Our third cast member will join us – Eric Petersen’s daughter, Sophie. After that, I’ll have a music break, then write new pages, and then I can relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same, and if we need any pick-ups, we’ll do them, but mostly it will be Eric finishing up his songs. But the important business of the day is, of course, printing out the next batch of pages, which will be over 100, getting them Xeroxed and over to Muse Margaret. Friday will be open should we need to do anything, but the plan is that Marshall will have everything that day so he can begin editing. The weekend will be all ME days save for doing my new pages. Then next week discussions will begin about project two and trying to establish a timeline for that, and then we’ll start figuring out the next Kritzerland show, probably for March.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, do whatever needs doing, futz and finesse, write new pages, eat, hopefully pick up packages, write new pages, resume filming project one and maybe even wrapping all the dialogue sections, write new pages, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a lovely first day of filming.