inessential musings

We were delayed getting home Monday night by a movie production crew that was filming on our street and at our neighbors home a couple doors down. Seems they’ve been shooting around the county all month.

Setting up for a movie scene is a pretty involved and elaborate procedure, and the one being filmed at the time required a gigantic “cherry picker” with a huge light that lit up the house and yard, a firetruck and firemen to hose down the street, a team of paramedics in case someone got hurt, several “movie” police and other cars, and the usual trucks filled with assorted cameras and movie making equipment that spilled onto the adjoining street. Various hoses and cables crisscrossed the road, and movie and security personnel with walkie talkies were everywhere. While waiting for the scene to wrap, we chatted with movie people about the film.

The title, we learned, is “Chain Letter,” a film “similar” (that’s movie double-speak for, “I can’t tell you”) to 2003’s “Thirteen” that starred Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed and Holly Hunter who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. The film, which won numerous awards, is about a teen who befriends the “popular” girl at school and becomes involved in drugs, petty theft and piercings. Sounds like a shallow plot, but it was apparently a good movie about teens coming of age, at least those on the more extreme end of the scale. And apparently at least one of the female stars of “Thirteen” is in “Chain Letter” (which may be, as is sometimes the case, a “working” title.)

I’ll be interested to see how much of our street and neighbor’s home show up in the film when it’s released, I’d guess sometime in late 2008 or early 2009.

Update on Dec 4, 2007 at 02:10PM by

Doug

“Chain Letter,” a horror-suspense thriller starring Nikki Reed (“Thirteen”), Betsy Russell (“Saw III and “Saw IV”), Brad Dourif (“Deadwood”) and Keith David (“Platoon”) has been filming in El Dorado County, including at my neighbor’s home and at businesses like Millennium SportsClub in Shingle Springs. It’s directed and co-written by Deon Taylor who lives locally (and in Los Angeles.) He filmed “The Hussle” in this area earlier this year and “7eventy 5ive” in Sacramento two years ago.

Sacramento writer Diana Erwin was one of the co-writers. She posted a local casting call on her MySpace page (one was also posted on Craig’s List) in late October. They were primarily interested in young adults 18-26 to play high school students. Why 18-26 for high schoolers you ask? Well, it’s because high school age kids like to perceive themselves as older and more mature when they watch movies and, let’s face it, many movies today are aimed at just that demographic. And, I suppose, they’re not “encumbered” by school schedules.

Anyway, I’m sorry I missed the casting call. I could have played a hip high school coach, although at my age I’d prefer seeing myself portrayed much younger and more debonair. I guess Clifton Powell will have to do.