Welcome, wolves!

In case you hadn’t heard yet, I’d like to welcome Peter Stormare and Kurt Angle to the cast of Dead of Night.  You can read all about it here:

http://tiny.cc/1QmIV

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Peter yet, but Kurt flew in yesterday and spent the day getting to know the cast and crew.  Super nice guy and a real regular joe (in a great way).

One thing I can say with absolute honesty is that Kevin and Gil have built one of the nicest and most talented crews I’ve ever met.  Usually on set, there’s one or two people that everyone hates, a few departments that don’t get along, and generally more drama than an episode of Days of Our Lives.  But this set has been free of all of that and I really have to credit Kevin and Gil.  Sure there’s stress, there always is, but it’s almost like we’re tackling it like a family.

And, from one day’s experience, I think Kurt is going to fit into that family just fine.  Hmm…but what IS the role of Wolfgang?  Is he ally or enemy?  Sure, he’s a werewolf, but as all good Dylan fans knows, the monster is not always the monster.

Off to set for me.  Ciao!

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/JFTT (Just Fine Today, Thanks)

One more discussion topic

So, I’ll throw another question out to all y’all Dylan Dog fans (see how I’m acclimatizing to New Orleans speech?  ).  As I’ve mentioned earlier, the story in Dead of Night is not taken from any one volume of the comic (although it is very much in the spirit of and as close to the world of Dylan that we could possibly create).  So tell me this, which episode would you most like to see adapted for the screen?  Personally, I’d like to see Dylan cutting his way out of a giant heart with a sword, but I’m not sure that will ever happen.  Which one would YOU like to see?  And, remember, I’m actually the VP of Development at Platinum, so your answers could have a real impact on future films, too.

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/SBS (Slowly Becoming a Southerner)

A quick thanks

F0r those of you with ADD, one of the regular posters here did an awesome job of summing up a lot of the stuff said in the comment sections of my posts here: http://dansemacabreradio.blogspot.com/.  Thanks, Ivica.  I hope to live up to all this attention!

More posts to come, guys.  Sorry, there have just been a lot of late nights filming.  I’m Twittering as much as I can for those of you following me on there.

Back off to set…

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/JPT (Just Plain Tired)

A Brief Explanation…

A lot of you have been asking why we simply can’t give you a photo of Brandon in costume and that’s a pretty darn good question.  Would seem like a simple thing, right?  Just snap a photo and put it up, right?  Thousands of people do it every day, right?  Well, in the film world it’s not that simple.  The only person allowed to take pictures on set is the still photographer.  Cameras are strictly forbidden and can get you fired.  Once the still photographer uploads them to the unit publicist (the person who coordinates all press for the film) who has to pick, choose and approve which ones will be used.  This person now has to get approval from the actors’ publicists, the director and the producers.  Do you know how hard it is to get that many people to agree on anything?  It’s not an easy job.

And why does it have to be such a process?  Well, nobody wants the wrong thing to go out.  And not because we’re trying to hide anything or be secret or anything, we just want people to get excited by seeing the right things.  If you have been reading the comments on here, you probably noticed someone talking about a review of a script and how upset they were that we had changed so much.  Understandably upset, but they were reading a review of a script that was three years old.  Can you imagine if we released a picture of Brandon rehearsing wearing a blue shirt and that got out?  People would be setting fire to the theatres before we could explain anything.  Or if you had one of the vampires halfway through makeup, not looking good yet?  People would think our makeup people were hacks when they’re actually quite brilliant.  A seemingly innocent photo can cause big problems, especially in the lighting fast speed of the Internet.

But none of that has anything to do with why you haven’t seen Brandon as Dylan yet, it’s just merely back-story (for those of you who already knew about that process, I apologize for going through it).  We actually have an awesome picture of Brandon as Dylan that has been approved by all of that…and promised to an Italian publication.  We thought it only right that the Italians were the ones that published the first picture of Dylan in costume.  We gave that to them weeks ago and they have yet to run it.  The best I could do in the meantime is an iPhone photo at 3am.  I’m working on it, though.  We all are.  This publication is actually being quite great about it and are putting together a huge article about the movie, it’s just taking time.

In the meantime, you’ve got me and my fun lessons of the day.  Like:

1)  200 extras in one room all day in New Orleans equals a strong…aroma.

2)  I have more morals than I ever gave myself credit for.  For example, when an pretty young extra walks up to me and says, “Hi, I want to be famous, can you help?” my response is to tell her I cannot help her be famous and then spend the next 20 minutes lecturing her about how much trouble a question like that can get her into.

3)  Taye Diggs is one cool guy.  Nice, personable and very, very easy to work with.  There’s so few of us around like that. 

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/STTA (Slightly Taller Than Average)

One sidebar…

Since there are more of us here lately, I just want to make it clear that there is a zero tolerance for flamers and their comments will be immediately deleted.  I’m happy to answer questions or even engage in debate, but there are far too many people working their butts off and, in some cases, risking their lives to put out the best movie possible for me to give a platform for comments like “Actor X sucks, why did you cast them?” or “This movie looks lame and I hope it fails.”  Seriously, folks, there are people pouring their heart and soul into this film in order to make something you’ll enjoy.  To attack that before even seeing the product is incomprehensible to me.  There are plenty of other blogs out there that tolerate that kind of stuff.  Go find one of them if you need to voice your opinion in that manner.

(Sorry if this sounds snippy, but I just had to delete 12 comments, 10 of them from one guy, listing the reasons this movie will suck.)

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/GNSPGINC  (Generally Not So Pissy, Guess I Need Coffee)

Look! I got you a photo!

Not quite Dylan. Not quite Brandon, either.

You want a picture of Brandon in costume?  Ask and ye shall receive!!!  Well, I realize it’s not quite Brandon and it’s not quite costume, but that is coming soon, I promise.  It’s not quite a professional photo, either.  This was actually taken on an iPhone at about 3am, at Canal and Rampart (a pretty rough area of New Orleans, especially at 3am).  The furniture pad on the hood is to protect the car, as there was a stuntman riding on it a few minutes earlier.  The guy in the photo is Mike Massa, a very talented and accomplished stuntman who doubled Brandon back on Superman Returns.  He’s not in his full costume here (he happened to have the jacket off here), but he’s doing his best “Dylan Stance” anyway.  And, yes, that’s Dylan’s bug right next to him.  See?  I told you it was there.  I hope you enjoy the photo.

Two quick anecdotes about the night this photo was taken:

1) Drunk drivers don’t pay attention to cones.  During one of the takes, a drunk driver barrelled through the cones we had set up, causing myself and another stunt guy to scramble out of the way.  It wasn’t exactly a close call, but still kind of scary to look up while you’re watching a dangerous car stunt and realize that you’re actually IN a dangerous car stunt.

2)  Apparently, tattoo parlours do a lot of business at 3am.  At least that is what the owner tried to tell us when he stumbled back drunk at 3am to find us blocking the front of his store.  He insisted on yelling through the next few shots about how much money he was losing by us being there.  He then vomited in the street and yelled some more.  Remind me, if I ever get a tattoo, to make sure it’s done by a drunk man at 3am in one of the worst areas of New Orleans because if there’s anyone I trust sticking a needle in my body about at thousand times, it was that guy.  The irony?  Customers, regulars apparently, showed up at 4am bearing coffee for him.

It’s a strange, strange world.

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/BO  (Behavioural Observer)

Hang tight…

Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone.  Been some long hours shooting nights here.  Lots of pictures and updates coming soon, though, I promise.

Some quick things I’ve learned in the last week, though:

1)  Never mess with Icelandic women, no matter how dainty they look.  They can bruise.

2)  Never walk to basecamp when you’re shooting north of Rampart.  They can shoot faster than you can run.

3)  Never believe the AD when they offer to let you take off prosthetics “in the comfort of your own home”.  They can remove the top three layers of skin quite easily.

4)  When chasing the hero, never jump on the hood while he’s driving towards a pointy sign.  They poke and not in a good way.

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/GDD (Generally Damaged Dude.)

ooo…Video!

Not exactly of Brandon in costume (that’ll be here soon!) but here’s a great interview with the director and producer.

http://tinyurl.com/chrg32

Enjoy.

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/LFF (Lover of Flying Fish)

And just for the heck of it…

Who do YOU see Dylan being compared to?  I see him as a mix between Rick from Casablanca (who gets left in Paris time and again but doesn’t have Rick’s bitterness), Jake from Chinatown (a hard-luck hero who tries to make his best out of situations that always seem to get the better of him), and a touch of Sherlock Holmes’ melancholy (a melancholy that often comes with genius).  For those of you who know the comic, how would you describe him to someone who doesn’t?

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/GNG (Generally Nice Guy)

Taking a punch from a guy who drives a bug

For the American fans that may not know Dylan Dog very well, I’ll put it out there that this is not an action movie.  Dylan is not an action hero.  He’s not Batman or John McClane, heck he’s not even John Constantine.  I’ll let some of the Italian folks who read this add their own comments, but I see him as the cousin of Chinatown’s Jake Gittes, the younger brother of Casablanca’s Rick Blaine and a distant descendant of Sherlock Holmes.  He’s the hero who doesn’t get the girl.  He is constantly trying to finish his model ship, he plays the clarinet badly and carries his heart on his sleeve.  He’s claustrophobic, afraid of bats and gets motion sickness.  And he drives a bug.  Yes, that’s right, and not even a super new, snazzy VW beetle.  I’m talking a convertible Volkswagen beetle that breaks down quite often and has the license plate “DYD 666″.

I bring this up because some of you have mentioned concern about this being an action movie or a remake of Constantine and that’s probably my fault for talking about being a stuntman in it.  While there are stunts, it’s really not about that.  It’s about Dylan and who he is.  The bug is a perfect example of that.  We were actually pressured quite heavily to change it into something “cooler”.  People were worried about a hero driving such a car.  They were also worried about how it might look silly for the quite tall Brandon Routh to be sitting in a VW.   But, to Dylan (and his fans), the bug is an external manifestation of who he is.  He’s a relic of a different time that refuses to change, because he just doesn’t see the need.  The bug is a classic, like Dylan himself.  That model of that car has stood the test of time, despite having it’s flaws.  Just like Dylan.  It’s appealing because it isn’t flashy or shiny and bright.  It stands out because it’s not.

So while there are stunts, you won’t see Dylan in an amazingly complex kung fu fight against Larry Fishburne.  I do get to take a few lumps from him, though.  I just hope my ego can withstand getting smacked down by a guy who drives a bug.  At least he’s not a vegetarian.  Oh, wait…

-Dan Forcey

Development Exec/Stuntguy/CL (Cheese Lover)