Ellen @ the Beach

First day of shooting went really well. Here are a few of the varying emotions throughout the morning.

Hotel Montelirio

This is really a post for myself in case I ever get back to this part of Spain. Ronda was so beautiful and our hotel, Hotel Montelirio was amazing. Perched on the edge of oblivion, the hotel has amazing rooms and a pool 300' above the canyon floor. Next time i hope to stay longer than one night.

Puerto Banus

I took a stroll along the beach yesterday to Puerto Banus. While our end of Marbella is rather sleepy, Banus has alot of shops, restaurants and wide beaches. There was even a cricket match being played on the beach by some enthusiasts with paddle balls. I went to the huge superstore El Cortes Ingles to buy some provisions. It's like a whole mall in one cavernous store.
Ellen returned from a triumphant weekend in San Francisco, and she, Guillermo and I had a great meal at a local italian restaurant.

Proyecto Alas

I love travelling around the world because you see how different parts of the globe are as crazy as ours. Case in point, Trini Lopez and Proyecto Alas.
Literally translating to Project Wings, this troupe of sky divers are part parachutists and part flying squirrels. Having plummetted over Gilbrater and the North Pole, the team will next try to jump over the south pole. Only one other sky diving team has ever tried it and three of its members died. Daunting to be sure but this is the stuff that drama is made of and Spain is watching.

Proyecto Alas

Sunrise in Marbella

Looking good this morning. Chilly but beautiful.

Scouting

We were scouting an amazing villa in Marbella today. And at the end there was a conference with some of the major players. I liked the back light and the animated discussion.

Ronda, Spain

We went from Marbella up to Ronda last night to see the racetrack and the new Jaguar XF. Marbella Spain is a beach town..... lots of hotels, golf courses and foreigners....Brits, germans and Poles seem to be pre-eminent. So when the team asked us if we'd like to travel inland and see the race course the still camera guys were working on, we bit. Everyone told us how spectacular the drive would be. Vast cliffs, gorges, etc. Well, we started our drive up and it was a bust...... nothing more special than Topanga Canyon in LA. Nice but known.
Then we came into a quaint town at the top of the mountain. Things got much better. The ravine that split the town in two is of "Lord of the Rings" proportions. Vast. 500'? 700' down. Spectacular. We checked into our rooms in an amazing old townhouse from the 17th century. Our rooms were on the gorge side with floor to ceiling french doors.
It's hard not to be a little weary of getting too close to the edge. The rail guard was maybe 24" high. Perfect for falling over into the abyss. I was glad that, when I entered Ellen's room, she too kept one foot well behind her in case one's center of gravity might suddenly change and catapult one out into oblivion.
We walked around the narrow cobblestone streets and eventually met up with the still photograph team (the same brit blokes from last year in Rome).
After some chit chat and a bottle of excellent local wine, we went to a local restaurant for a great meal.
This morning came much too early and at 6:45AM we were out the door to go to the race track.
It seems this is the only private race course in the world. The millionaire inventor houses his collection of vintage cars here and is letting Jaguar rent the place out for a few days. Security is tight since this model will not be introduced for 8 months. The lovely Jaguar people want to show me the car but security would not let them lift the cover. I'll see it next week. There is a 2 mile stretch at the back of the track which seems safe from prying eyes and 600mm lenses.
We said our hellos and Ellen shot a bit of footage to be used later next week. The location manager offered to show us the ancient town of Zahara, close to where tomorrow's shooting will occur. Teenie Tiny roman town with a huge rook still standing. Lots of moor-ish influences with ceramic finials in blue and white.
This was Spain. Not the endless deck chairs several thousand feet below us in Marbella.
We rode back down the mountain. The air is saltier and the sun brighter and warmer here by the sea.
Tomorrow we go scouting with the local crew to figure out what our end of the shoot will entail.

Gap Ad

Gap has posted some pics from the ad we filmed 2 weeks ago. It stars Claire Danes and Patrick Wilson. The title of the spot is "The Boyfriend Trouser".
Read more here

Religious Right to Kill Fetus.....If Gay

First they tell us it's a choice that can be denied.... but now a prominent Christian Right wingnut is saying it might be alright to abort a gay child in the future. He poses the question, "Conservatives opposed to both abortion and homosexuality will have to ask themselves whether the public shame of having a gay child outweighs the private sin of terminating a pregnancy".
How many of the religious right's bastions of virture have been shamed by gay offspring. It's amazing that being gay trumps anything else considered "sin".
"If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin."
To read if you think it's okay to abort your gay fteus, read Al Mohler's Column.

Peter is Passed By

Although the one race I was interested in last night failed to break my way, Peter O'Toole remains optimistic for the future in this article.

22 And Counting

You hear about it all the time..... well here is the "coalition of the willing". How many are the former Soviet satellites that we dangle some foreign aid for a few score troops?



Status of Coalition Forces in Iraq

Wednesday February 21, 2007 9:46 PM


By The Associated Press

A look at the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq:

ALBANIA: 120 non-combat troops, mainly patrolling airport in Mosul; no plans to withdraw.

ARMENIA: 46 soldiers, serving as medics, engineers and transport drivers, serving under Polish command; mission extended to end of 2007.

AUSTRALIA: 550 troops helping to train security forces in two southern Iraqi provinces.

AZERBAIJAN: 150 troops, mostly serving as sentries, on patrols and protecting dam near city of Hadid; no plans to withdraw.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Bosnia has 36 soldiers - including three teams of 10 officers and a command team of six - in Iraq.

BRITAIN: 7,100 troops in southern Iraq; Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans to reduce force by 1,600 in the coming months.

BULGARIA: 155 in total, including 120 non-combat troops guarding refugee camp north of Baghdad and 35 support personnel.

CZECH REPUBLIC: 99 troops.

DENMARK: 460 troops patrolling Basra; to be withdrawn by August.

EL SALVADOR: 380 soldiers doing peacekeeping and humanitarian work in southern city of Kut; no immediate plans to withdraw.

ESTONIA: 35 troops serving under U.S. command in the Baghdad area.

GEORGIA: About 900 combat forces, medics and support personnel serving under U.S. command in Baqouba; no plans to withdraw or reduce contingent.

KAZAKHSTAN: 27 military engineers; no plans to withdraw.

LATVIA: 125 troops are serving under Polish command in Diwaniyah.

LITHUANIA: 53 troops are part of a Danish battalion near Basra. A government spokeswoman said it is ``seriously considering'' not replacing the contingent when its mission ends in August.

MACEDONIA: 40 troops in Taji, north of Baghdad.

MOLDOVA: 11 bomb-defusing experts returned home at end of January; parliament has not yet decided on sending a new mission.

MONGOLIA: 160 troops; no plans to withdraw.

NETHERLANDS: 15 soldiers as part of NATO mission training police, army officers; no plans to withdraw.

POLAND: 900 non-combat troops; commands multinational force south of Baghdad; mission extended to end of 2007.

ROMANIA: About 600 troops, most serving in the south under British command, with the rest - a few dozen military intelligence officers - serving north of Baghdad; Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu wants them withdrawn.

SLOVENIA: Four instructors training Iraqi security forces.

SOUTH KOREA: 2,300 troops in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil; plans to bring home 1,100 by April and parliament insists on a plan for a complete withdrawal by end of 2007.

Friday Indignation

This why the religious right should have nothing to do in American politics.

"Anti-evolution memo stirs controversy
By Jeremy Redmon | Thursday, February 15, 2007, 01:37 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Anti-Defamation League is calling on state Rep. Ben Bridges to apologize for a memo distributed under his name that says the teaching of evolution should be banned in public schools because it is a religious deception stemming from an ancient Jewish sect."

'The memo calls on lawmakers to introduce legislation that would end the teaching of evolution in public schools because it is “a deception that is causing incalculable harm to every student and every truth-loving citizen.”

It also directs readers to a Web site www.fixedearth.com, which includes model legislation that calls the Kabbala “a mystic, anti-Christ ‘holy book’ of the Pharisee Sect of Judaism.” The Web site also declares “the earth is not rotating … nor is it going around the sun.”'

So they are one breath away from a "universe rotates around the earth" statement. Or maybe the Earth is Flat. Unbelievable that this is happening in Atlanta in 2007.
Read the whole article here

Weekend

The afternoons were sunny and warm in Los Angeles this past weekend. Seven took advantage and sunned himself out on the driveway while I took a few self portraits in the bathroom.

Space Junk

An amazing article in today's New York Times about space junk and the problems it create.

NYT Science Times

Swedish Cats

Advertising for a new production of "Cats" in Sweden. I like the campaign.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Opening tonight in Los Angeles, the Ahmanson Theater is presenting Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin reprise the roles that gave them rave reviews in New York City and London. I saw it twice on Broadway two years ago so it'll be interesting to see if the show has changed at all. Turner/Irwin are great but my first time seeing this play with Diana Rigg and David Suchet in the West End will always be my fave production. Suchet was a vicious player while Irwin is more of a resigned wimp getting revenge.

The Last Morning

As the sun began to rise in Argentina, we hustled over to the hanger where the Campo's owner had two planes. One of them was rolled out and as the sky became bluer, a ritter fan was wheeled into place and the actors were placed on top of the cabin. The huge fan was turned on and the props people began to throw hay at our amourous duo. I thought the cold of the night would give the actors hypothermia and in between takes, they huddled together to stay warm. But the sun finally came blazing up and the shoot was over. Except for the pies.........