Sticks and Stones

When I came up with the idea of blogging in September 2010, I originally decided on the "adventures" part of the name because I felt that all of Spencer's medical issues provided us with plenty of adventures.  Little did I know that a year later, our adventures would turn from medical issues to real adventures in California with Spencer being healthy and Cole having the opportunity to be a part of some amazing projects.

This past Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Cole and I were on set for a new short film he is in  entitled "Sticks and Stones" (originally titled "Diaphanous").  Cole played the part of "Sam", a young man who is bullied at school and who cuts himself and contemplates suicide.  You can watch the three-minute intro to the film here. 

Day 1 of filming found us driving to Pasadena, CA to shoot at a residence.  What a beautiful town.

I find it so interesting as to how they chose a house for a location shoot.  In this case, the owner is a friend of the Director of the film.

The mountains across the street were gorgeous and even had snow capped peeks although you can't tell by my picture.  Too bad my IPhone doesn't take high quality pictures.

Taking a break from filming.

Day 2 of filming took place at Palms Elementary School in Culver City, CA.  It was cold and pouring rain all day.  Kate, the Director, needed a car for one of the shots so guess whose car they used...

If only I had known they would use mine, I would have washed it!

We had a lot of fun on set and I got to be great friends with the girls on the crew.  What a hoot they all are but my main partner-in-crime was Abigail Hopkins.  She and I were given the task of finding "extras" for the school scene to make the classroom look full.  We had to find at least four children between the ages of 10 and 14, who had a solid color shirt (no logos) and a parent that could sign a release form and we only had ONE HOUR to find them!  Really?


We happened upon Meg at the recreational center where she was waiting for her dad to finish piano lessons.  As soon as we approached her about being part of the film she was sold!  Her mom, however, needed more coaxing.  Once she was convinced that we were legit, she brought Meg to the school in the perfect clothing attire.  

Since Meg was the only child at the rec center, Abigail and I decided to try the mall.  However, since it was pouring outside, everyone was at the mall and there were absolutely no parking places.  After driving around the parking garage for 20 minutes we decided to head back to the neighborhood we were filming in.  As we were pulling up in front of the school, we noticed a family walking down the sidewalk.  It was a mom, a grandmother and THREE children between the ages of 10 and 14!  You can imagine mine and Abigail's giddiness as I whipped the car to the curb, jumped out and approached (accosted) this family.  Can you imagine their surprise when they were approached by two girls, a very southern girl as well as a very British girl, who were asking them to come to the school to be in a movie?!  The kids were super excited about the opportunity and the mom and grandma finally agreed.  I left Abigail with my car and walked with the family in the rain to the school.

Funny thing about those Brits...some are not used to driving high-tech cars that have a keyless ignition and are completely electronic.  I noticed it took Abigail a while to make it back to school with my car and she was only 1 block away.  Come to find out, she had no idea how to start my car, how to scoot the seat up or how to put it in gear!  When Cole and I left that evening, the cover to my gas tank was open, my wipers were on high and my seat was scooted so far forward that it looked like one of the seven dwarfs had been driving.  Love that Abigail was adventurous enough to figure it all out and be part of the fun!

Day 3 of filming was the hardest, most emotional day ever.  We arrived back at the residence in Pasadena at 8:30 a.m. and finally made it back home to Burbank at 9:00 p.m. Monday night.  Cole did an amazing job and we are so incredibly proud of him.  We cannot wait to see the finished product.

Cole and Freya did great work on this film!

Madalein & Nichola were AWESOME!

Amanda was the make-up artist who painted on Cole's scars.

Samantha and Abigail, my partner-in-crime.

Julie, and her daughter, Dana who was the stylist on set.  Yes, they are mother and daughter!  Amazing.

And, finally, Cole and Kate Rees Davies, the Director, writer, producer and incredible guru of this project.  We love her!

I slept 12 hours last night and Cole slept 13 1/2 hours.  It was great to have a day of rest and to be able to clean up the apartment, wash clothes, buy groceries and chill.

Spencer did an amazing job of taking care of everything while we were gone and with the help of our neighbors, Michelle and Jason, he even had Jason repairing his feeding pump with WD40 and aluminum foil!  Oh yes, the adventures were happening at the apartment as well!

This week, we are back to our normal routine and gearing up for an all-day shoot on Sunday for a student film.  Can't wait to see how that goes.

I hope you all had a great weekend.


"The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever."
~Psalm 121:8