Trapped-- A Love Story

This past week was production for our third projects. These are projects that we had complete control over, in that we wrote them and directed them and organized our own crews. I was assistant director on two of the shoots, and then I directed my project last Thursday. My project was entitled; Trapped-A Love Story. I had never expected to actually turn this into a film because it began as a writing exercise for my screenwriting class. But my screenwriting teacher liked it so much that he wanted me to do it for my third film. It opens up with a girl looking in the 'Personals' section of the newspaper, looking for a date (she's kind of a dork). After trying to dial a few numbers, getting frustrated and embarrassed, she hangs up and drops her head to the kitchen table. Suddenly, she hears the sound of a mouse in the next room over. She is totally freaked out and sits up abruptly. Slowly, she walks out of the kitchen and into the corridor (and grabs a broom on her way). Walking backwards, she runs into the wall, turns, and is startled by her own reflection in the mirror. Embarrassed, she smiles and sighs, that is until she sees the mouse scurry across the floor, and she screams and runs out. Determined to catch this mouse, she creates a homemade trap with a laundry basket, rope, and cheese. As she is waiting for the mouse, she falls asleep. The phone rings and she wakes up startled, and pulls the trap. She answers the phone to someone asking about her ad in the personals section of the newspaper. She is completely distracted and mistakes him for a telemarketer, telling him to take her off his calling list, and hangs up. She looks under the basket only to find no cheese and no mouse. Maddened by her situation, she searches the apartment for mousetraps and sets them in different places in the apartment. As she is setting the trap closest to the door, she hears a knock on the door. It is a little boy with his older brother. The little boy says, "Hi lady, have you seen my pet mouse? I lost him this morning." She looks around and realizes that it is indeed his mouse she has been trying to kill. She begins to answer him as she is pushing the nearest trap away from view with her foot, and it snaps on her toe and she drops to the floor in pain. In the same instant, the mouse runs out of the apartment and the little boy chases after it, yelling, "thank you!" The girl is still on the ground writhing in pain as the little boy's older brother thanks her again. She says, "not a problem," as she looks up to his face. They lock eyes and smile. Cut to black. THE END.
I really had not intended this to be a love story at all. It was just going to be about this girl trying to catch a mouse and having it turn out to be a little boy's pet mouse in the end. But my screenwriting teacher loves happy endings, which is why I added the "A Love Story" to the title. Overall, the shooting went well. I had an amazing cinematographer working on my film, so I think it will look really good. However, I will never work with children again. This kid I hired had ONE LINE and was in just ONE SCENE. It took me an hour to beg him to act for me. I bribed him with 6 ice creams, 50 Kc, the toy mouse to have at the end of the shoot, among other ridiculous things such as a trip to the zoo. It took 2 HOURS to shoot a 2 minute scene. Also, the kid (who is 5) has a little brother who had to be on set (who is 3). Probably the most hyperactive insane 3-year-old I have ever met. He is obsessed with bananas and has sleepy eyes that make him look like is he always totally stoned. No joke. Especially when he is sitting in a room by himself, cracking up at nothing, and stuffing his face with bananas. It's the funniest thing I have ever seen. But he made it that much harder to get through the scene because he was so distracting. Never again.
Fortunately I didn't have a problem with my mouse, as I got a fake. It's a toy mouse for cats that feels and looks like a real mouse from far away. So we shot it from afar and tied it to fishing line so that it moved, and it totally looked real! I'm happy about the shoot, but we will see how I really feel once I start editing....
Here are some pictures from my shoot and Shannon's shoot.
Today it is about 40 degrees outside. I can barely see my breath when I exhale, I didn't even need to wear a hat or gloves, and took off my scarf halfway through my walk to the grocery store. I can feel spring coming. Today I found the organic section of a huge grocery store, and it was all in English! I am so happy. I am going to start cooking delicious meals. Check out the vegetarian blog that I posted on the right. Coconut rice pudding? Yum.