Part 7: Filming in Blue
The-Carrier.net
Reports from set
We're in, of all places, a bar. Which used to be a Post Office. As far as the eye can see, it's British military uniforms, only slightly out of date ones, and everyone's tonsured and had their hair curled and style to look like they stepped out of a post-war film. Kemal in costuming was talking about raiding Camden market and the big military markets because they didn't just need army gear, they needed fifties army gear. Mostly officer gear because this scene is a meet and greet with the visitors from another dimension. Flashback time for Jenny Sparks. Talking of the visitors, they're all tall, blue, and clad in Roman gear, all togas and chitons, to fit in with the fact that it's ceremonial gear as a nostalgia trip as the other dimension's power base is in Italy.
It's all polite hubbub conversation, while Jenny Sparks (Angel Harker) (in uniform - something other than white! shocker!) is introduced by a General to a dwarf in a sharp three piece suit, holding a truly giant cigar. It's a strange scene, all restrained party and military protocol, wreathed in smoke. Then turn half a degree left and you see the tall blue people in togas. Gives you a real sense of how off-kilter the world this story operates in is.
ONTD_Authority
People! It's location filming time! Click below for pics of when they were filming in Highgate cemetery. Spoilers for those who haven't read the comics - the rest of you, you'll know exactly what they're filming.
Flyaway:
OMG IS THAT REGIS?
>VickyD
Big bastard with horns? We have our Rape Camp founder, people.
>PrincessFarrah
I do so miss not being a eunuch, Yngvi.
>>Sarrie
Soooooo going to enjoy seeing him killed by jack. Anyone else?
>>>Casablancababe
DUH.
Gweek
Drew is looking very pretty wet, I must say. Drew needs to be wet more often.
>Wildfirey
All those who support a shower scene, raise your hands.
>>sweaters
*holds up hosepipe*
>>Fingfang
*Brings buckets*
JOURNALISTIC PURPOSES.
Make-up trailer. Motty opens the door and comes in holding a video camera. "And here we have the poor sods who seem to spend most of their lives in here. Drew only has to spend half an hour in here each day getting his feet put on, Angel's wig takes all of fifteen minutes, and the others get a bit of make-up put on to make them look human or bruised or whatever, but some poor sods are eternally doomed. Say hi to the camera, doomed people."
Isabella, Gareth, Piotr and Lloyd wave. "Hi."
Isabella sighs. "Sign up for what you think is an interesting job, sign the contract and find your skin going nuts due to being dipped in silver goo that requires touching up every ten minutes. Also, headgear of awesome." She pauses, waving at the others. "These people understand my pain."
Lloyd tilts his neck back as blue gets applied to his chin. "You're not having prosthetics applied too."
"True, I escaped that. But it's not like we're wasting our time in here. we're forming a book club." Isabella replies.
Gareth pauses in sipping on his tea through a straw. "There's also epic storytelling and bitching and really detailed plotting of the end of the world. we have the time. we're stuck in here." Delroy coughs where he's in the middle of doing Gareth's hairline. "Delroy reminds us we're going to need a decent solar charger for our mp3 players when the apocalypse comes, considering there's no way desert island discs' limit's going to cut it."
Motty frowns. "Why can't Delroy speak for himself?"
Isabella grins. "Delroy managed to lose his voice this morning after the gym. Wave to the camera, Delroy." Delroy sticks his tongue out. "Isn't he sweet?"
"So, how's filming?" Motty asks, eyes focussed on the view screen.
Angel shrugs. "Well, we're in different scenes - I never get a scene with Piotr or Lloyd, they're in with the boys, and Gareth here only films with the girls."
"It is a tragic, tragic fate I'm resigned to." Gareth grins.
"You don't get fabulous costumes like me and Piotr." Lloyd points out.
"No, but I'm not filming at arse o' clock in a graveyard either..." Gareth says.
@RossHunter01
I'm lying in a puddle in the dark on a stone floor while someone applies bruises. My life.
@ShipDrew
@RossHunter01 You're not getting covered in alien guts. Also, you have a coat. It is cold, dark, wet and I'm *freezing*.
@RossHunter01
@shipdrew Mug Lloyd for his big fur thing, then.
@ShipDrew
@rosshunter01 Lloyd is twice the size of *both* of us. You mug him.
@RossHunter01
might I point out to @shipdrew that he's the one with martial arts training in real life.
@ShipDrew
@rosshunter01 still a question of weight ratios. If I had a sword it would be a different matter.
Simon looks at the horses milling around the studio. "I don't believe we're about to have a bunch of... what do you call them?"
"Hussars." Laura says, petting one of the horses. "Cavalry, if you want to be really generic. But light ones. They don't get armour, but they get a serious amount of frogging."
Simon lifts an eyebrow. "That sounds like something that takes place in a really dodgy internet chatroom."
"Get some sense of history." Laura sighs. "The costume people would kill for that statement."
"So what is it? Simon asks, genuinely perplexed.
"It's the decorative braid all over their costumes." She replies. "Very snazzy."
"Learn something every day." Simon says, then looks down. "We're going to need a clean-up every two minutes with all these horses."
"That's what the cgi department are for, they've got to earn their keep somehow." Laura says.
Simon nods, then catches sight of something. "Um. Is Drew supposed to be having a sword fight over there?"
Laura puts her finger to her mouth in a shushing gesture. "Shh, he gets a swordmaster and fight choreography credit on this episode. Let him have his fun."
@ShipDrew
Not every day you're nearly stampeded by horses and teaching their riders how they need to wield their swords just prior.
@RossHunter01
yfrog.com/E89ldfldzf @ShipDrew 'I get sliced up so fine you could make sandwiches out of me and does anyone run to my rescue? You're all bastards.'
@StreetcarJr
@RossHunter01 @ShipDrew It's really disturbing when you two quote directly rather than learning the script in certain scenes.
@RossHunter01
@ShipDrew My allegiance is to the pretty.
In the pub. Simon scratches at his shoulder, where he got dinged slightly by one of the sword hilts. "have to say, getting charged by a bunch of horses with sword wielding madmen on them taught by Drew is not an experience I want to repeat any time soon."
Angel looks slightly sympathetic. A little. "Welcome to my Robin hood experience." She steals one of Gavin's chips. "Mind you, ours were often fully chainmailed up too. And the swords were bigger."
"...Bigger?" Ross asks. "Ouch."
"Heavier, too." Angel adds. "The Hussars you lads were up against were carrying sabres, which only cut on one side. Medieval ones are classic style swords, and if in doubt, you can use them to batter people with."
"Question is whether the 'taught by Drew' makes a difference in how much fear was involved." Isabella says, sipping at her pint.
"Not sure, to be honest." Angel says. "Depends on the situation." She leans back, taking another chip on her way and chewing on it thoughtfully. "If he's teaching you, it's not so bad. Watching him go at someone else is medium."
"Having them come at you on horseback..." Simon says
"Always fucking scary." She confirms. "Face that down and you get very quickly why cavalry were so prized until guns became reliable."
The-Carrier.net
Overheard on set:
'I'm sure shovelling horseshit was not in my contract.'
'We're in a graveyard. Surrounded by angel statues. Don't. Blink.'
'Someone tell Drew to put the sword down, he's not actually supposed to be wielding one during this scene.'
'Ah, someone's pulled the sardines trick.'
'You have a leather coat. I have fur. And magnificent horns. I win the pimp contest hands down.'
Simon opens his eyes slightly. Too much light. Also, elephants appear to be conducting a tap class in his head. Reminder to self, Brit actors have livers that have to be experienced to be believed. Especially the ones who you'd think would be really classy because they spent a while with the Royal Shakespeare Company. They're second only to tiny Welsh girls who shouldn't be able to drink their own body weight. He shuts his eyes and resolves to go back to sleep straight away. Unfortunately that's when he hears a distinctive 'mew' and the sound of the cat making that sound like it's about to pounce. Cue the corresponding "ARGH!" from the next room. He smirks without opening his eyes. As far as the cat is concerned, Ross's bare feet are perfectly acceptable hunting targets in the morning. Ah, fuck it. The sound blast was worth it.
Which means Ross is going to stumble in whining any... moment... now. The door creaks open and Ross dumps himself on the bed in a huff. "I hate that cat."
"The cat whose belly you were scritching half of sunday." Simon mumbles, still refusing to open hs eyes.
"It has powers of evil. I didn't say I could resist them." Ross mutters.
"Yeah, yeah, your powers are weak, old man." Simon says. "Fuck off, I have a hangover."
"I can bring coffee." Ross offers. Simon turns over and buries his head in the pillow. That's when he feels a finger tracing his shoulders. "Ouch, what happened?"
"Being tackled by a Hussar." Simon grunts. "Finally fading."
"Didn't see it when you were shirtless." Ross says, still tracing the skin around the bruise.
"Hadn't developed then." Simon says, turning his head to glare at him. "Coffee. I was promised coffee."
Bleeding Cool
First Official Pic From The Authority Set
Today HBO released the first official character pic from the set of The Authority. We've had plenty of pictures taken by the actors on their phones and posted to twitter, but they're normally half out of costume or against green screen, and usually pulling a face. Or in the case of Simon Kowalski as Apollo, as much shirtlessness as the others can get of him on the web as possible. Which we *know* you're finding a hardship.
But here we go, the first proper pic of Angie, The Engineer. We think Isabella Garcia's looking pretty good. how about you?
image: Waist-up shot of the Engineer, hand shading her eyes against the sun.
Blahblahblah writes:
SHINY.
Blueheaven writes:
Okay, that's a definite cool follow-up to that shot of the Carrier's monitoring room we got. Liking the fibre-optic dreads and chrome effect they've got going on her body. They've tried to get it as close to the comics as possible, which bodes well in my opinion.
Moonswee writes:
What, no nipples?
>Bangbangshootmedown writes:
Skintight lycra's not enough for you?
>>Moonswee writes:
Bodypaint?
Kaylee writes:
Now can we have official photos of Apollo with his shirt off? For... scientific purposes. Totally scientific purposes.
Nadia writes:
Okay, this = good. Fingers crossed for Midnighter's costume. Shen, Jenny and Jack are easy, they're just normal clothes, but the costumes are the challenge.
fuckyeahrossandsimon.tumblr.com
Ross posted this on twitter. We think Ross is trying to kill us.
image: A very damp Simon with just a towel round his waist, water droplets tracking down his chest and just clinging to his chin and eyelashes.
188 notes
arthurdebois liked this post
pulpfiction said: oh dear god. *swallows*
sparky said: ...yeah, mission achieved. *IS DED*
shackleton reblogged this post
Sitting around the workshop is a way to pass the time on a Friday afternoon. Well, Ross, Simon, Gavin and Angel are passing the time. Drew, Isabella and Mei are getting things seen to.
Drew's trying out a new and improved set of feet treads, getting his feet moulded and sweat pH tested for perfect fit and glue specifications, Mei's getting her stunt wings repaired and a new set of 'normal' ones fitted.
She frowns, poking at but not touching the feathers in front of her that're due to be stuck on. "These are the wrong colour for the underside."
"I know." Michaela says, holding up colour swatches to the light. "That's a test batch for a lighter feather over all. It'll reduce weight and back strain for when you're standing around, and hopefully might cut down a little on wind drag when you walk. they're darker so we know they're test batch."
"As long as you dont completely reduce wind drag, they need to flare out a bit." Mei frowns. "Want them to look good and they can't be tucked back against my body like a bird."
Michaela pats her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we know how possessive you are about them."
"My wings." Mei points out. "Has Pippa got any further with the joint problems?"
"Yeah, looks like it needs some lube as the main issue." Michaela says, taking a pen from behind her ear and making a mark against one colour swatch.
Gavin rests his chin on his fist. "Are we sure that girl didn't just get into the acting business full stop just so she might have a shot at wings, possibly, some day in the future?"
Angel shakes her head. "Never underestimate Mei and wings, it seems."
"You can't talk, you're the one with a longbow." Gav remarks.
"Learning archery is a normal reaction to liking Robin Hood as a kid." Angel replies. "Seriously, I bet if you took a survey of 99% of archers at clubs you'd be able to get something about robin hood out of them if you stuck bamboo under their fingernails." Then she smiles smugly. "But I'm still the one who got the Marian gig, so I win."
Isabella's currently getting hand guns fitted by Helen. Great big cannons that go on like gloves. Most of Angie's creations are CGI, but the guns are solid and non-morphing enough that they're making some out of foam. That's the great thing about Angie's creations, they don't necessarily have to look like they were made with anything but a bit of imagination, so the props and CGI people have way too much fun doodling.
Isabella raises one hand, closes an eye and aims across the workshop. "Bang. You're dead."
"Missed!" Gavin replies. "Can't aim for shit, missus."
"Oh yeah?" She brings them both up. "Hello, little boy. Auntie Angie brought presents."
Ross clutches at his chest and keels over onto Simon. "Cannot... take... it... Someone else quoting the comics from a bit we haven't had the scripts for..."
Simon chuckles and tweaks Ross's nose. "What do you expect, it had to happen some time. You bastards keep quoting it, we were going to pick some of it up. Angel knows most of it off by heart anyway."
Angel raises an eyebrow and says dryly "Angel picked it up by reluctant osmosis ages ago."
"Okay, okay, I'll worry when you start quoting Fell and Orbital." Ross says.
"Hah. Sod Orbital, I want to do Crecy." Angel says. "Seriously, we could get it funded by BBC4 or the History channel since it's basically a history lecture in graphic form."
Ross shakes his head. "No girls in it."
Angel looks down and pokes her chest. "Please, I'm not Jordan. they're not too difficult to disguise with a couple of layers of heavy clothing."
"And I quote..." Simon says, cupping his ear.
"I won't wear one of those spandex body-condom things, I haven't got the tits for it." Angel smirks in a very satisfied tone. Then sighs. "Rabia won't say whether the Angel flashback eps have anything like that it. Which I find unfair, it's such an awesome line."
Gavin picks a bit of lint off his jeans. "We appear to be a spandex-free superhero universe. Closest you get is Swift's gym gear."
"Which i still say was the result of 'argh, need to rescue people, I was lazing about at home or coming back from the gym'." Angel says. "But anyway, Crecy: Do you know how many re-enactors you'd get queueing up and begging to slog around in the rain and mud in full chainmail and point out historical details and the reason for them?" she pauses. "And gripe about the upper classes and the French?"
"Ah, the things you learn." Isabella says, holding still while Helen makes a few adjsutments to the gun moulds so they don't gape around her wrists. "Never let it be said comics and the internet couldn't teach you anything."
Angel smirks, raising her voice slightly. "The internet is really really great."
"FOR PORN." Comes Drew's boom from across the workshop.
"It's scary how big you two's bat ears are for songs." Isabella says.
"I've got a fast connnection so I don't have to wait." Angel continues.
"FOR PORN."
It continues. Especially since Michaela, Helen and Pippa join in on the choruses. "The internet is for porn, the internet is for porn, me up all night honking me horn for porn, porn, PORN!"
Gavin snorts. "Never, ever fails. Grab your dick and doubleclick.."
"For Porrrrrrrn! Poorrrrrrrrrn! PORRRRRNNNNNN!"
The-Carrier.net
Overheard on set:
'If Angel would stop pretending to be a Disney Princess while singing a really bloody disturbing song about them, my psyche would be much healthier.'
'No bats! This is not Hunter S. Thompson!'
'Drew, if you're going to end up tangled in a corner like that again, we'll make you use the stuntman.'
'Timing how long Ross and Simon snog for before the director bothers to yell cut for starts... now.'
Tori arrives on set and gets tackled by Angel and Mei. "Tori! Tori! You didn't tell us you were coming!" Mei says once she's released her.
"Um, only for a bit at the moment..." Tori says, patting her head gingerly.
"Doesn't matter, we need to get you blindingly drunk and bitch about weird american directors." Mei grins.
"I heard that!" Laura yells.
"We'll get you drunk as well, will that do?" Mei asks.
"It's passable." Laura concedes.
"So, anyway, what're you doing?" Angel asks.
"Some kind of statuesque warrior woman." tori shrugs.
Angel frowns. "Duh. Makes sense, considering there's not many 6 foot ripped black goddesses in the comics." Pause. "Although you're not going to asked to krump in this."
"...Bugger." Tori says with feeling, then grins, adjusting her bag back into position.
Mei waves a dismissive hand. "Dancing will happen anyway. There's times it's like being in a bloody musical around here, Angel and Drew keep breaking into dance sequences."
Tori shrugs. "If you will employ dancers."
ONTD_Authority
Speculation time re: casting
Angel Harker posted a pic (see below) of someone arriving on set. Anyone know who this is, or what she might be doing? I am honestly confused.
@AngelHarker
This is Tori. No, we're not telling you who she's playing. Tori is in the house and everything is therefore awesome.
image: Black woman lounging in a chair with a cup of tea.
Jakadee
...I'm getting nothing.
>Relentlessness
Unless they're doing a female version of Jackson?
>>Geegina
Nah, they wouldn't do that. Being very confused here.
Fellfee
My little brother just walked past the computer. She's a hip-hop dancer who's known for krumping. I have been subjected to so many youtube vids because of this, you don't even want to know. Been in a few adverts and so on, but no film or tv acting credits.
>Drummerbee
..So she's know for that type of dancing where you look like you're having a fit?
>SeeCee
STILL SO CONFUSED ON WHO SHE'LL PLAY.
>>Nevermoar
I vote for random cameo and they're jsut excited because she's a mate. :sigh: