7/30/10-7/31/10 That's a Wrap... on Principle Photography!!!!!

Well, that is that. Principle photography is wrapped on "Blaming George Romero." Last night was it. Last night had its ups and downs, but the thing that counts is that we got our shots. So, rather than dwell on the negative (which I could easily do ad nauseum), I am going to accentuate the positive.

Thanks once again to our hosts, the Grahams. Devin, the travel minister of "Blaming George Romero," and his wife Joyce were amazing as always especially considering all that we have asked of them. His other wife, Max, was equally gracious. They are as vital member of the crew as anyone else as far as I am concerned.

Bill Marks, an old friend from my Rutgers days came all the way from Maryland... Maryland!!! To film a scene for the movie, and he did a great job. He sacrificed his hair, his clothes, and didn't mind getting a little dirty. Good times.

Isaac, Raul, & Joey were great as usual... Tim Gaffney was a life saver (quite possibly literally).

And that brings me to my fellow lead actors... Bobby, Loarina, & Dan... What a fucking journey it has been... We still have a little more to go before we are completely wrapped, but we have finished principle photography together. I love you all, and know that I made the right choice in writing these parts for you. Each and every one of you brought 180% to the table, and it will show in the final product.

That's it... After years of wanting to make a movie, we somehow went & did it. Look at us go. Like I said, we still have some pick ups and a reshoot to take care of, so production isn't over completely.

And neither is this blog... When I started this thing, I promised updates throughout production, and that includes post production (although I imagine there'll be slightly fewer updates) and beyond to wherever this movie goes. This blog follows the entire journey of "Blaming George Romero..." And that journey has just begun.

Stay tuned!

Sam

Actor, Writer, Producer

"Blaming George Romero"

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7/29/10: Zombies!

Well, here we are... One day away from wrapping principal photography on "Blaming George Romero." We have a few things left, but all in all, we are really close to that finish line. The outpouring of support from you all has been tremendous, and I can't really believe it myself. So many have given so much to help make my movie leap from the page to the screen, and I will never forget your generosity.

As a little token of my gratitude, I share with you this afternoon the first ever look at the "Blaming George Romero" zombies, created by the amazing Mandyjo Reinier. A gift to those who have given, and perhaps a little encouragement to those who have been on the fence about donating.

If you are thinking about donating, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible. There are only 19 days left to donate to www.indiegogo.com/Blame_Romero. Production may soon be over, but post production is an entirely different process filled with expenses. The better shape we are in financially, the better our product will be in the end.

Remember, there are some great perks available for those who give generously. Anything from a thank you in the credit, to the ability to become one of the awesome zombies seen below, to an invite to the film's wrap party (which should be a pretty great time BTW).

So, yeah... We are almost there... Help be a part of this.

Stay tuned!

Sam
Actor, Writer, Producer
"Blaming George Romero"

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7/27/10: I'll sleep when I'm UNdead.

Ahhh... Most ambitious shoot yet? Check.

Last night (into this morning), alongside the cast and crew of Blaming George Romero, we shot the big zombie scene in a cemetery that we were supposed to shoot two weeks ago, but couldn't because of rain. Well last night there was no percipitation at all. It was, all in all, a beautiful night weatherwise.

Now originally, the cemetery shoot was scheduled for two nights, but because of weather we shortened it to one... and then when we rescheduled we just carried that one night plan along with us. We all knew it would be a long night, and a long night it was.

We entered the woods/cemetery at approximately 7pm. I arrived home at 7am, and got an hour sleep before work. It's a funny thing... I love sleep... But I have no problem staying up until 7:30am if its for this kind of thing... Waking up for work an hour later? Ehhh.

I just watched the footage from last night after a nice little nap... and I am happy. There were some things that we had to adjust last minute... But watching what we got, well... It makes me happy. It wasn't an easy night by any means... One of the three generators we had was on the fritz, but we still managed to get some great looking footage.

So! Special thanks (in no particular order) to:

Bobby & Raul... great shots, and good adjustments made on the fly.

Doug... Our lighting commander did it again. Even with the generator issues we had, he still made it work. And work very well... The lights are great on this shoot.

Speaking of lights, we had many new lights brought in by Bill Dautrick and operated by him and Matt Hudjnacki. Really good effects.

Julie Colon... Coming in for a great cameo, when she is so busy... Just amazing.

Joey... Sticking it out in the middle of the woods to run our sound as usual... without a chair for most of the shoot... Awesome.

Mandyjo... Creating an army of the undead that look great.

And speaking of... Our zombies (who were also our crew members both returning and new): Billy Dautrick, Aaron Visco, Casey Okamoto, Jared Visco, Matt Hudjnacki, Tim Gaffney, Mike Crops, Blake Zawadzki, Kevin Lennon, Sean Feuer.

Resnick's True Value Hardware for the use of a lot of stuff from generators to tables and chairs and more. We would literally be in the dark if it weren't for them.

And of course, my main cast members.

These guys (and gals) stayed into the early morning with me... When the going got tough, these people did not get going. I couldn't ask for more from these people, and I am so happy to have such good, generous people working with me.

Few pictures below... A lot of pictures that we took, I can't show you yet (zombies), but I hope these wet your appetite.

Stay tuned!

Sam

Actor, Writer, Producer

"Blaming George Romero"

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7/24/10 & 7/25/10: 18 has always been my lucky number.

Days 17 & 18 are a wrap.

Day 17 consisted of finishing up the BBQ scene, so once again thanks to the Grahams for their hospitality. We brought in Cafe Notte again, cooked by our very own Matthew Hojanacki, and it was delicious. Seriously, I don't want to sound too much like a commercial, but if you're in the Bayonne area and want to order in... especially late at night... I'd go for Cafe Notte. http://cafenotteonline.com/

I got a call in the middle of the day from one of our crew members and then a text from our director basically telling me that we were racing the weather again. 30% chance of storm on Saturday night through Sunday. But as far as I am concerned, that's a 70% chance of no storm, and we got our stuff, and started to pack up just before it started to pour.

All that and Joey, our sound guy, created a little something that was pretty awesome... Maybe we'll give you a taste of that at some point. Really fun stuff.

I told everyone that I would see what it was like in the morning, whether or not we would cancel because of weather. Woke up at 8am and we had blue skies so Day 18 went without a hitch... in fact, it was the quickest shoot yet... and it was on Kennedy Blvd! Plus, we wrapped Ramy for the shoot. All in all a very good two days.

Now, the finish line of filming is in site... Tomorrow is a huge shoot. We are going to make our second attempt at that big zombie scene that had to be rescheduled. Incredibly ambitious...

Stay tuned!

Sam

Actor, Writer, Producer

"Blaming George Romero"

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