Day 2

Yestreday marked another very sucessful shooting day. About 20 shots this time instead of 30, and the quality of shots and acting is high. There is a particular shot I'm crazy about. It's very Spielbergian. It's a segment that my instincts told me I shoot all in one long take, but I was sure I was going to get pressure to shoot more coverage. We got halfway through shooting the second set-up and my trusted cinematographer, Tauna Price, said "We should go back and do this all in one shot." Sometimes I should just trust my instincts.

Members of the crew have started doing an impersonation of me, which basically consists of constantly checking their wristwatches. I'm very concerned about staying on schedule. Channing Lowe, instructor and Executive Producer, really impressed the importance of this one me, and he was right. When I last directed a group project, "Sure Thing", the scheduling got away from me a bit, partly because I was afraid to tell the lighting crew to hurry up, and partyl because Justin Bruse and Chelsey Richardson (excellent as they were ), didn't really know their lines. Also, Jim "Smooth" Stephen was there, which makes everything harder. This time, I'm boung and determined to never lose control. Again, I'm using Spielberg as my model here. I wonder if I may be a bit overbearing with the crew, but I think the results are baring me out.

Porter Bagley is quite a gifted young actor. He had some difficulty getting the right emotion out what I call the "Braveheart" speech, where he rallies the Knights to action. Brandie tried some improv with him. Brandie is terrific with directing kids, but it wasn't working this time. So Patrick jumped in with another Spielberg technique, one the master used with Christian Bale on "Empire of the Sun": Patrick simply acted the scene and had Porter imitate it. We'd never try to do this with an experienced, adult actor, but with a kid, it can work wonders. Patrick is THE "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "300", guy. He has an incredible affinity and feel for that type of movie, and his stage performances as Edgar in "King Lear" and MacDuff in "Macbeth" have had that sort of oratory one of his strengths as an actor. He was actually a bit concerned about his ability to drop it for Gawain (which has not been a problem), but it was great to see it put to good use here.

One extreme challenge in directing is keeping focused when you have on the set a member of the opposite sex with who you are in any way infatuted. Yesterday, Brittany Dean, a gorgeous and talented actress I worked with in the play, "Lend Me a Tenor", was in the scene. i haven't got a chance in hell with Brittany, but the fact is my heart beats a little faster whenever she's in the room. I was glad to use her in the production, and she seemed to have a great time.

One sad not yesterday was that my television colleague Ruth Bryce, a terrific girl who has been very magnanimous in cooperating with us in the use of a studio to which she has more claim than I, was dealing with the death of a family member. It cast shadow on the whole day, and I will be thinking a lot about Ruth. She's a terrific person.

Perhaps the most memorbale line from yesterday's shoot was not in the film. When it was suggested that the virginal Galahad (played by Robbie Bagley in what I see as star making performance) not wear his glasses in a scene that takes place after his first experience with a girl, on the assumption that"he's a man now", co-D.P. Jonnhy O stated "Yeah, sex cures all vision problems." Personally, I don't think Galahad had sex, just made out a little. But it was quite funny.

So, the film remains on schedule, with high qulaity work done so far. We have left the big comic book store set, with the comforts and controlled environment of a studio, and now embark on the challenge of location shooting. Hold me.