November 3

Filming at a Resort in the Middle of Nowhere

Today we began our first full week of filming. For a few days, we will be on location at a resort about a 45 minute drive from our apartment. We left home at 6:00 this morning and it was freezing cold. Here in New Mexico it is very cold at night, but the sun makes it warm during the day. I was really amazed at the temperature range – you need a heavy coat at night, but at noon you can wear only a light t-shirt.

While we were driving to the location, I looked out my window and I was amazed at how big America is; all around us the land stretched out as far as you could see. When we arrived I realized that this resort really was out in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing for miles and miles around. I wondered why people would come so far to stay at this hotel; there are no shops, theaters, or beaches around. What did they do all day? I found out that they come here mostly to relax around the swimming pool, play tennis, take walks, and ride horses. When I thought about taking walks through the desert around the resort, I remembered seeing all the signs warning everyone about the danger of rattlesnakes, coyotes, and other creatures that live in the bosque (forest) nearby. I think I would just play tennis.

Since we were filming a lot of dialogue scenes today, there was time between shots to play with the children. I taught Will (Shadley) a few tricks and some kung fu moves. He learns very quickly and when I was finished showing him, I noticed he was over on the side practicing.

Of course I also spent lots of time with Alina since we had several scenes together. I think that when we’re on the set together, I am carrying her 90% of the time. Ha ha! But I don’t mind; she is a very sweet child. Although she is young and doesn’t have much experience, I think she has a good personality for working in film. She doesn’t lose her temper or cry and she’s easygoing. Sometimes when she gets tired, she just lays down on the floor, but with a little help she is easy to get going again. I really enjoy working with these children.

This is me with Will, Alina, and Mac, the son of one of our crew.

I showed the kids some of the Build a School for a Dollar projects and photos, then asked them to make a project for me. When they do, I will show it to you.

After a long day of filming, we drove back to our apartment and got ready for dinner. We went to a local Chinese restaurant that is becoming one of my favorite places to eat. We had a relaxing dinner together and then went back home to get some sleep before we continue again tomorrow.

November 4

Continuing Filming at the Resort

Before I knew it we were back in the car and headed out toward the location for our second day of filming at the resort. I spent most of the ride watching the sun come up. It was really beautiful. When we got to the location, the transportation guy told us that he’d heard coyotes howling in the nearby mountains. We didn’t see any coyotes and I wish I’d heard them, but maybe next time.

I want to tell you something about being on a movie set for an American production. When I make an American film, I have to be really careful to control how much I eat. I usually bring my own breakfast and lunch to the set, so that’s not a problem. The problem is what happens in between meals. The catering service prepares snacks every few hours and walks around serving them from trays. It’s very difficult to resist this kind of thing and that’s why I have to be very careful. There is also a craft cart full of snacks available all day long and that’s another dangerous place to be.

Peanut butter and jelly in one hand, pizza in the other. I've been caught!

Jack Tu and I pretend to fight for the best snacks.

This is the guy responsible for it all - caterer Don Draper.

After spending the day filming at the resort, we finally wrapped. The children did very well again today and we got through the scenes quickly. So far the film is on schedule and I think that this has to do with a combination of a good director and an experienced team.

In the afternoon we filmed outside and wow…the dust was blowing everywhere. But the landscape was really beautiful and I took some photos to show you. On the way home I took a lot of pictures of the sunset and I also took a panorama.

I also took a few more photos for you:

This is our director Brian. He brings a volleyball to the set and every chance he gets, he has a quick game with anyone standing nearby. I think this is charming. I have worked with some directors who are on the phone all the time and don't pay attention to what's going on. Brian is not like this and I'd much rather see a director holding a volleyball than a cell phone!

Some of the crew members gathered together some special "art" and put it up for sale in the parking lot where the trailers were. Actually, if you look closely, you will see that all of the "art" is either rocks or bits of wire that they found in the road. I thought this was a very clever joke.

This was our last day filming at the resort; tomorrow we will move to a new location. Just as we were about to leave, three police officers came over to me and told me that they'd read on my website that I'd been pulled over last week. One of the officers immediately took out  a pair of handcuffs and told me I was under arrest. Ha ha!  Of course it was a joke - she just wanted to have a photo with me. She is going to send me a souvenir from the Santa Ana Pueblo Police Department  and I will put it in my museum along with this very funny photo:

After work my staff and I went to dinner and afterwards took our nightly walk. Everyone was really tired, so we all called it a day went to bed early.

Here are a few more photos from the first week of filming:

Helping out the hair dresser.

Maddy dancing with Alina.

November 5

A New American President 

Yesterday was election day here in America and after seeing all the campaign signs everywhere – Obama McCain Obama McCain Obama – finally it’s over. Obama wins. I don’t really know politics; I don’t know who was the better candidate because I’m from overseas. In Asia, I probably know more, but here I don’t know their backgrounds, I don’t know much about them. But when I watched John McCain’s speech after he lost, I knew that he was a gentleman. Even though my English isn’t that good, I could tell that he was a very polite man; even when the crowd booed Obama, McCain told them not to; that it was important to support the new president. In some other countries, the loser may not have this kind of heart. It’s fine that you fight hard to win, but if you lose you should be a gentleman and do what’s necessary to help the country. Some people don’t care about helping the country, they only want to help themselves. So with the election over, I am so happy to see everyone accept the results peacefully because that’s what’s most important. I hope things get better in America. It seems that the whole world follows America. When things in America are good, things are good for many other places in the world.

Today I filmed more scenes with the kids. I have to say that they’re pretty good actors; very professional. Well, except for Alina. (laughs) She’s so funny... when she wants to lay down, she just lays down. But no matter what she does, working with her is 10 times easier than it was working with the baby on Rob-B-Hood. Maddy and Will are very very good; they really can act and they’re very professional.

Text and photos Copyright 2008 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

Nov 3 (星期一)

不知身处何地的一个渡假区进行拍摄：

          今天我们开始整整一个星期的拍摄工作了。这几天，我们将会在一个渡假区工作，这个地方大约距离我们的酒店45分钟的车程。我们在早上六点离开酒店，天气冷得很呢。现在新墨西哥的晚上非常冷，可是白天的时候，有太阳的出现令人感到温暖。这里的温差真的令我感到惊讶，晚上你需要穿上厚的大衣，但是中午的时候，你穿上汗衫就可以了。

          我们开车到拍摄现场的途中，我从窗户看出去，惊讶美国真的很大呢，我们所看到的四周都是无边无际的。我到达现场后，我发觉这个渡假区真的是处于茫茫荒野中。这里方圆都没有东西的，我感到疑惑为何有人走那么远来到这个酒店里住呢，这里没有商店、戏院、或是海滩。那他们整天会做什么呢？我发现他们来到这里，大部份都是在游泳池旁轻松的躺着、打网球、散步和骑马。当我想在渡假村周围的沙漠走走的时候，我就想到看过的所有警告牌都写着小心响尾蛇、土狼，还有住在附近小树林内的其它生物。我想我还是打网球就好了。

          由于今天会拍很多讲对白的镜头，镜头与镜头之间有些时间，我可以跟小孩子们玩玩。我教伟．沙利（Will Shadley）一些窍门和功夫的动作。他学得很快，当我示范给他看，我留意到他就在一旁练习。

          当然，我也花了很多时间和阿莲娜相处，因为我们有几场戏同场演出的。我想当我们一起在现场，有九成的时间我要带着她的，哈哈！可是我不介意，她是一个非常可爱的小孩子。虽然她年纪小，也没有太多的经验，我想她有很好的个性，很适合拍戏工作的。她不会发脾气或是哭，而且她是很随和的。有些时候她很累，她就躺在地上，然而，只要给予她一点儿帮忙，很容易她又可以继续工作的。我真的很享受与这些孩子工作。

          我向小朋友们展示‘一元钱建校’的计划和图片，然后叫他们为我做一个计划。当他们完成了以后，我会给你们看看。

          拍了一整天的戏，我们开车回酒店并准备出去吃晚餐。我们去本地的中国餐厅，这里已经变成我喜爱的餐厅之一了。吃过晚饭以后，我们就回酒店睡觉，准备明天继续工作。

Nov 4 (星期二)

继续在渡假区进行拍摄：

          我们坐车前往渡假区拍摄场地，途中，大部份时间我都在看日出，真的很美。到达现场后，司机告诉我们，他听到有土狼在附近的山头咆哮。我们看不到任何土狼，我希望我能听到，可能下一次吧。

          我想告诉你们一些美国制作的电影在拍摄现场的事情。当我拍摄美国电影，我一定要小心控制自己的饮食。平常我都会自备早餐和午餐并带到现场，所以这不是一个问题。问题就是发生在每一餐的间段时间，餐饮部的同事每隔数小时就准备了小吃，并手捧着小食盘在现场走来走去的服务大家，要抗拒这些小吃真的非常困难，所以我才需要非常小心呢。这里还有手工艺的小车子满载着小吃，整天你都可以在这里找到小吃的，这是另一个危险的地方。

          工作了一整天，终于收工了。孩子们今天的表现非常好，我们很快的拍了需要的镜头。直到现在，我们的拍摄进度都在预算之内，我想这都要归功于有一个好导演和一队有经验的工作团队才能配合而做得到。

Nov 5 (星期三)

新一任的美国总统：

          昨天是美国总统大选的日子，我看到四处都是竞选标语：奥巴马、麦可恩、奥巴马、麦可恩、奥巴马，最后，终于完结了。奥巴马胜出了。我不是很懂政治，我也不知道谁是较好的候选人，因为我是从外地来的。在亚洲，我可能会认识多一点，可是在这里，我不知道他们的背景，对他们一无所知。但是，当我看到约翰．麦可恩输了后的发言，我知道他是一个君子。虽然我的英文不是很好，我可以看得出他是一个很有礼貌的人，就算人群向奥巴马喝倒采，麦可恩叫他们不要这样子，最重要的是要支持新的总统。在其它一些国家，失败的一方未必有这种气量。你可以尽全力的去争取胜利，但是如果你输了，你也应该有风度，做一些应该帮到国家的事情。有些人不理会是否帮到国家，他们只想到帮到自己。所以，大选过去，我很开心看到每一个人都和平地接受这个结果，因为这是非常重要的。我想美国的事情会渐入佳境，似乎整个世界都在跟随美国，当美国好，其它的国家也都会好的。

          今天我跟小孩子拍了很多镜头，我必须说他们是挺好的演员，非常专业。呀．．阿莲娜除外（哈哈哈）。她很有趣，当她想到要躺下，她就会躺下。无论她做什么，跟她工作比跟《宝贝计划》的小婴儿工作轻松十倍。马迪（Maddy）和伟是非常非常的好，他们真的很会演戏，并且二人都很专业。

          下午，我们在外面拍摄．．哗！外面的沙尘很大。然而，风景真的很美，我拍了好些照片给你们看。回程的时候，我拍了很多日落的照片，还有全景照。

          我们的导演白赖仁带了一个排球到现场，每一次有机会的时候，他就会跟站在旁边的人来一个快速的比赛。我想这是令人高兴的。我曾经跟一些导演合作，有些经常讲电话，没有专注正在发生什么事情。白赖仁不是这一类型，我宁意看到一个拿着排球的导演，而不是一个拿着手机的导演。

          有些工作人员齐集了一些特别的“艺术品”，把这些东西放置在休息车的泊车区并出售。事实上，如果你靠近看看，你会看到所有的“艺术品”不是石头就是一些铁丝，是他们在路上拾到的。我想这是一个非常聪明的玩笑。

          这是我们最后一天在这个渡假区进行拍摄工作，明天我们将会移师到一个新的拍摄场地。我们刚要离开的时候，有三位警官来到我面前跟我说，他们看过我的官方网页，知道上星期我的车停泊到一旁。其中一位警官马上取出一对手铐，说我已经被捕了，哈哈哈！当然这是一个玩笑，她只是想跟我拍照而已。她将会送我一份圣塔安那普韦布洛警局的礼物，而我会把它放到我的博物馆里。

          下班后，我跟员工一起吃晚餐，然后就去散步。每一个人都很累了，所以我们全都早一点回去睡觉了。

文本和照片版权属于成龙公司（JC Group）所有。

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