I do diverge from it of course, sometimes combining shots, sometimes adding new ones. Rarely also, I will completely change things if something has cropped up on the day either in rehearsals or brainstorming with my DoP.

Yesterday was the final day off in France. After a longer poker session than normal the night before, in which, although only playing three hands in 2 hours, I still won €23.80, people got up late. We travelled to Dinan. I'm glad we did. The city was wonderful and I enjoyed the best day off of the shoot. I even came up with an idea how to use the Hoody character here in France!
 
When I got back from Dinan, Maureen, the campsite owner, grabbed me. Apparently caravan 3 is an absolute pig sty. "They must live like animals" she told me.

"If they don't tidy it up tonight then all of you will be kicked off the campsite tomorrow morning!" I was told further.
It is the caravan of Daniel, Jose, Jonnie, Pete and Steve. For a long time now I have heard tales of Pete and Steve's antics. I learned from Maureen that there is piss up the walls, ash on the ledges, unwashed dishes piled high, coffee stains everywhere, mud over the floor, red wine on the duvets and cigarette butts on the floors. I had to see it for myself. Afterwards I read the riot act.
 
Jean-Baptiste texted me yesterday saying "Hello paul, I'm in paris after a short drive (less than 4hours). I was really happy to meet you, there is not so many enthusiastic directors in this world, and be part of this adventure." That was nice of him. His drive out to Brittany had been ridiculously long.
 
When JB had done his first scene on the film, he asked me "Where are the marks?" I replied "There are no marks." On his final day he told me "I've worked with directors where they tell you to look left on a certain line. It's nice to not have to do that with you."

I love those comments! As usual, I shot listed his scenes before rehearsal, it's just I predicted pretty much how it would unfold and adapted things purely to present them in an ideal fashion. When the guiding hand of the director is more subtle, I find you get better results! Not that I didn't give JB ANY line interpretations or specific direction. I did. At the end of the main scene, before the coffee conversation I did an extra take just to get more noticeably the thought process before he asked "You have coffee for me?" for instance.
 
Coincidentally, Julie texted me the day before from the train to Paris saying "Thank you for today.... As always it's a lot of happiness for me to be on your set... After almost 20 days of shooting it was high time for me to tell you that you are an amazing actors' director, thank you for all the emotions you provocted, protected and stole from me for the movie, as an actress I feel very proud and lucky to work with you..."
 
I am glad she feels protected as well as happy and proud. It's my job to protect her. I was very upset in the restaurant when she complained to me in front of the entire crew that she was not being looked after or felt loved. What she meant really was physically protected by the production not by me, the director. I fight all day to protect my cast emotionally, give them space and freedom to soar. Not to mention maintaining continuity of performance by rushing like mad between different set ups of the same action. Anyway, we have solved those production problems now. The most discernible being having a doctor on set when we do the naked swimming in the lake. That scene is Monday I think.
 
9.28am
 
On set now. I just played the theme from "The Italian Job" over the walkie talkies on the way to set driving in convoy. What song can instill more of a spirit of national pride than that one. from one of the most English of film's ever made? Julie didn't hear it, though, as she has had an allergic reaction to the cream she will wear for the diving into the lake scene. Why she tested it this morning just before we were due to drive to set I don't quite know but will try to get to the bottom of it.
 
Today we shoot the few remaining traveling scenes through the forest. It is also the first day we shoot with a steadicam. The operator is called Max and he is from Paris. My regular Operator, Martin Parry, that I have done 3 films with unfortunately is ill.
 
After todays shoot, the next scenes with Callum and Malika are finally at the lake.
 
10.01am
 
Just walking past the camp site that we shot at for four days. There's not an angle left in it that I haven't used! The crazy thing is not until the end of the final day did I notice that carved into the tree is the letter P with a heart underneath. It is old and weathered. What a strange sign. Of course, there are no coincidences nor accidents.
 
2.23pm
 
Done the first two scenes using the steadicam. The second one Malika has to eat a magic mushroom. We are using a purple mushroom we found in the forest. In Dinan yesterday a woman in a bookshop said they are edible and delicious. Of course I can't one hundred percent be sure it is the right type but I have already eaten one before the take to show Julie it is not poisonous. Of course I hammed up a death scene straight afterwards.
 
The first scene was leaf city. The most leaves we have done yet. The most in the whole film. Daniel, the leafmiester as I call him, was in the forest yesterday, on his day off. collecting leaves for the scene. Ten full bags in total. It looked wonderful. Unfortunately he denuded completely the location of the second scene and had to do a complete forest/leaf transfusion afterwards!
 
Daniel, who has been solid as a rock for me so far here in the forest, has also sorted out an impromptu scythe that I will feature tomorrow in the Hoody's reappearance as the Breton figure of death, the Ankou. I had Marina do some research on this before we shot and although many times things like this are a blind alley, this time it came to me in a flash how those two elements can be fused together perfectly! I'm on fire creatively!
 
3.26pm
 
Shooting the performance scene now where Malika recites Merlin and Vivienne. Strangely, I am starting to feel really bad. I have shortness of breath, am light headed and feel dizzy. I think the mushroom I took was poisonous. I hope I can complete the day before I have to go to hospital. I have told only Roger and said that I will say the code word "Bananas" if I feel worse and "Apples" if better so that he can monitor me. I am sitting by the monitor for once on this film rather than rushing around as usual. How stupid I feel! What an idiot! At least Julie didn't actually eat it. I don't mind dying on set but to do it before I finish the film would be criminal of me. I've even told Roger if I die he is to finish it. Of course, that is being a bit of a "drama queen" as Cristina would say but better safe than sorry!
 
4.54pm
 
I'm feeling better now thank God. Maybe it was psychosomatic but who knows. The dizziness has passed. Julie was wonderful in the scene. It was perfect. Just as I imagined. Callum's close up was beautifully cinematic on the 120mm lens also. He performed just as well as Julie also without doing anything but listening. It made me think about when Jonnie was waiting to shoot a close up the other day in the same scene with the Soldiers gun trained on him by me he said "Go on! Shoot me. I know you want to." Nothing could be further from the truth. Not for one minute for 21 days shooting have I felt that.
 
5.34pm
 
Two guys dressed as medieval Knights appeared in the forest just as I was completing the third scene. Marina had found them. I immediately put them in a little insert for the Mushrooms scene. They were pumped up and ready to battle each other. It should provide some nice little flash cuts.
 
7.01pm
 
When we got to the final scene of the day I had an hour to shoot it. Terribly, it included a 2 and a half minute steadicam shot. I expected Max, our new steadicam Op, to have to do 6 or 7 takes on it. Not a chance. He did it in two. Absolutely amazing. Wonderful. Great that it saves some film stock also. I could actually ill afford to do that number of takes.
 
I completed the day on time and on schedule again. Perfect. Things don't get much better than that. Tonight is the Rugby final that most of the crew are looking forward to. Me, my mind is more on Brazil and the qualifying. I will have to watch the repeat late tonight. I think it will be 12.50am which is unfortunate as I am now the most exhausted I've been since starting shooting. Shattered!
 
I have also just instructed Daniel to get incontrovertible information that the mushrooms are not poisonous before any of my cast eat them.