Will's diary
Thursday May 9, 2002
8:30 p.m.
I enter into the makeup fx trailer. Sonja Salomma ("Cynthia") is
having prosthetic makeup work done by make-up effects wiz Bill Terezakis.
She's set to transform into a "first stage" zombie in a scene later
tonight. I don't think I am welcome. Seems that turning an actress into a
zombie is actually quite difficult work and should not be interrupted by
nosy actors-turned-quasi-journalists looking for a scoop. All kidding aside,
they are actually quite pleasant but very busy.
11: 45 p.m.
The porta-potty scene. "The I-was-inside-the-porta-potty-when-zombies-came-and-flipped-it-over
scene." There is much discussion on exactly how much poo should be smothered
over my face and body. Mathias Neumann (the Director of Photography) feels
that there should be enough for the camera to read it. Shawn Williamson thinks
less poo is better, I mean let's have a little bit of taste, right? Uwe doesn't
really give a shit, he wants to shoot. They decide to split the difference;
why not just a few handfuls of it?
I hop inside the flipped over porta-potty. The porta-potty wrangler has cleaned
it out since it's last use, I think. That was nice of him. I discover, after
spending multiple takes inside one, that porta-potties don't take well to
losing their stench. This is actually a great thing as it is now much easier
as an actor to manifest my character's discomfort in the scene.
I feel like a real actor now. I have been decorated with fake poo.
2:12 a.m.
Sonya is finally ready for her zombie scene. I can't get over how terrible
she looks. She is actually quite beautiful on most nights, although with
the help of one Bill Terezakis, tonight is not one of them.
Uwe describes to Sonja how he wants her to attack another actor in the scene.
She does her best zombie impression. Uwe's not impressed. How can she not
know how to attack like a Zombie? Uwe demonstrates and scares the shit out
of everybody with his high-pitched zombie scream. He is REALLY good at it.
This frightens us. A lot.
5:00 a.m.
It is very late. The sun is coming up and we are still shooting. The birds
are chirping. Jonathan Cherry ("Rudy") notes aloud that all the
birds keep singing the same damn song. This is hilarious to all of us. It
is very late.
With only a few weapons and time running out, they take shelter in an ancient
house, inside which they will uncover the secrets of the "House of the
Dead."