Day 27 Sunday October 28th ...

9.37am

 
We are not in the office yet. I am standing on the street with Cristina. Her makeup as well as the camera and all the lights are locked inside. Last night, Alex the owner asked if he should give the key to Williams last night. I said "Give to someone who is certain to be on set first thing." I was right except she forgot the DAMN KEY!

0.24am

 
Kate had her eighth injury. She has done her back in! The cause she says is hard work! I wish she'd be more specific. Instead she is being a trifle recalcitrant. We are shooting scene 16 now. A men's room style private conversation that Callum happens by on. I'm underplaying it knowing that we have many scenes to shoot today that will allow Marc to fly.
 
12.16pm
 
Shooting the football table scene. Like a red flag to a bull I gave Marc a line interpretation on when he scores the 9th goal. In a wide shot he shouts and hollers, throws his jacket on the table, even kicks the machine. It's huge and magnificent. Just like guys full of testosterone get into when excited by competition against their fellow man.
 
12.40pm
 
John stole the last line. A great one "Eat my shit!" Should be a nice end to the scene. I had Callum toss the ball up and down throughout the scene, which should give me some nice cutting points. Two scenes done. Loads to go.

1.30pm

 
Shooting the scene where Callum gives Marrlen his coffee. The right coffee cups were not on set. After sacking Ian Dodds, Seanne didn't go through all the props as she should have done. Someone had to be sent off to get them. Again my instructions weren't followed to the letter.
 
2.02pm
 
Just shot the scene with the cleaner. Marrlen working in the foreground. Marc misspelled the name "Napoleon" or did he?
 
4.30pm

Now doing the scenes where we see the whole office. I have drafted in many of the crew as extras including Rhys as the office runner. Marc and I are buzzing. really motoring, coming up with wonderful creative stuff. Our energy is enthusing the whole crew. I just hope I have the stamina to complete today. I have just found out we must be out by 12.30am.

6.51pm

 
Just shot the scenes where Marrlen announced the "King is Dead" and where Fahra is motherly. The end of the final take was hilarious. Marc throwing things to the floor in ever inreasing increments. We had to delay doing this scene as an integral part of her costume was missing. Least we got it.
 
Before we did the scene where Marrlen tries to grab the phone from Callum while he is speaking to Malika. On the first take of the first shot I called Jonnie and did Malika's lines. On the second one I got Julie to call him from Paris right on cue. The difference was more than palpable. Roger told me afterwards that he instantly knew what I had done.
 
Jonnie's face afterwards was a picture. Like in the soldier scene, I had come up with a way to surprise him, to make the scene more real, more truthful.
 
In the next part of the scene I shot it all on a handheld shot. Marrlen actually grabbed the phone. This was unscripted but I knew it would happen. To further confound me and also to give the scene more comedy he walked into the office holding a banana! It all worked wonderfully.
 
We are on fire today.

Busy day in the office...

9.50pm

Racing forward as the clock ticks on. We just shot two scenes playing with perspective between Callum's office and the courtyard outside. Rhys gave me a great idea to use army signs and Marrlen sneaks into the office while Callum is refilling his coffee. This interplay between differing focal planes ad off screen action, incorporating a little track at the end of the second take was wonderful. I am more happy with that shot than nearly any we have shot so far from a purely cinematic perspective. Beautiful stuff. The second scene with the dual perspectives including Marrlen on a mini bike and Jode palying football. To surprise me Marc rode in on one take with his shirt off. On a later one got Jode to kick the ball straight at him. The crew were in hysterics. Unfortunately, they celebrated all little early as the track still hadn't been timed right. Thanks to Matt, we eventually got it.
 
11.18pm
 
On last two scenes now. Roger reminded me I had overlooked something so now 4 more shots to do. We are already wrapping some gear. Earlier I discovered that Sue, one of our makeup assistants is from Stevenage, my home town. She is from the Bedwell area where Phil lives in Boston Kickout and of which Shona (Emer McCourt) improvised "Bedwell, do ya bed well boy?".
 
11.50pm
 
One more shot to do. Alex, the office owner, just kissed me on the forehead. I have gone through so much coffee today. It is like when I shot the nightclub scene in Dusseldorf for The Poet but thankfully without the heart palpitations yet. We just did the scene where Marrlen checks that Callum's office is empty and savours the moment. Beautiful but subtle textures in Marc's looks.

12.15am

 
Just wrapped. Wonderfully stuff from John ad Marc in the last shot of the day. I did it! WE DID IT! It was like the Grand National today. I am totally shattered. No idea how many scenes I have shot today. A load is the answer. One after another. We did some amazing stuff. I have been in creases so many times. Incredible. We have the humour now to contrast with the incredibly moving and serious stuff in the wood. It has been wonderful working with Marc. We drive each other nuts but in a good way. Many times before Marc has told me our relationship is like Herzog and Kinski. It IS a little but is wonderful also. At moments we soared, at others I felt like I was a lion tamer in the circus, at others like half of a telepathic mind meld. Everything worked today. We didn't lose focus at all despite the hectic nature of the day like we did a little at the end of yesterday. I wish I could shoot more often with Marc. He's the perfect actor for me, a kind of alter ego. He's put in subtle (and unsubtle) things today that people will only truly understand, I imagine, in years to come or even after I am dead! John was the perfect straight man. He played off him brilliantly. Their improvs were at times show stoppers eliciting many spontaneous rounds of applause from the crew.

12.42am

 
Now enjoying champagne for the 500th slate. Seanne has provided it. It's been a hard day for her. We've had a few bumps over the course of it. I refused to compromise on the primal tenets of the creative vision that we banged out in the first meeting I had with her. She didn't seem to have the moral courage of her convictions this morning. Now she has regained them. How could I after having shot 26 days with those creative tenets in my mind only to fall at the final hurdle?!