Seeing as how our stuff was three-and-a-half weeks late, and we got here a week early to start working on a pre-build, we're roughly 4 1/2 weeks behind. Some math, eh? Needless to say, Chris and I had to work on our day off. Luckily, this past week has been very light, effects-wise, so we had some time to catch up and only had to clock a couple of hours.
We had gone out the night before with our new-made friends from set to a gorgeous lounge called 'Sangria', right on the Nile. Chris and the others had "Shrimp 'Grandmere'" (sort of a gratin of shrimp served in an actual huge clam shell) and I had the "Mixed Grill" as suggested by a coworker who I had sworn knew my dining 'particularities'. Much to my dismay, the dish turned out to be chicken, beef and lamb. I ate the chicken and the lamb and beef were gobbled up by my hubby and the other guys at our table. Chris tried some 'Sheesha' which is a water-pipe with flavoured tobacco. There are many misconceptions that these are for smoking dope- nope. Just a regular hunk of regular, unfiltered 'to-bac-keee' soaked in either honey or molasses and then set in a foil cone under glowing coals. The tobacco comes in flavours like honeydew, cantalope, apple and a few others. It smelt really good, but apparently it's worse than cigarettes when it comes to your lungs because of the lack of filter. Chris said it was really smooth though. Either way, I didn't try it. I did have a beer though. Two beers, actually. The Egyptians invented beer, which is good because their wine is really nothing to write home about and I've heard scary things about their hard liquor. The top brands of beer are Meister Max, Sakara, and Stella (not Stella Artois). They all come in 8% and 10% version. Niiiice. I had a Meister Max and a Stella and enjoyed both- Meister Max being the (slightly) darker of the two. (Appology to the readers: I really hope no one is looking for a deep introspective blog- this ain't it. I just want to share my adventure of living in Cairo with those close to me. If a deep thought or moment of personal enlightened finds itself into the chaos, bonus.)
After sleeping in a bit, we headed for Studio Galal (affectionately refered to on set as "Galal-atanamo") to work on a piece that was shooting this weekend; in one scene someone is impaled by metal rods as he's caught under a collapsing balcony- very messy. We managed to get everything done by 4pm, so Ibrahim's friend Wasseed (or Wasseem- I am really bad with names here) invited us and our driver Sa'eed for dinner. With my new 'when in Rome' philosophy, how could I turn it down? :)
Waseem/d, his wife Omnare and his two daughters Ganan and Ashrakat live in an apartment not far from the studio. Actually, almost everyone in Cairo lives in an apartment. Houses are rare, and are only really seen as you move away from Cairo, into Heliopolis (the Beverly Hills of the Cairo area), Giza and Maadi (both considered 'suburbia'). This apartment (by the way, why are they called "apart"ments' when they're stuck together?), though small, has so much character- tall ceilings, archways, ornated molding; the building's been around for almost 100 years! Omnare was very proud of the decor and showed me each room, asking my opinion on each. After, tea was served in the living room and we gabbed until dinner was ready. Omnare and her sister-in-law brought out all sorts of dishes as we crowded around the dining room table.
It was evident that they had been working all day- it smelled incredible! Roast lamb, kofta (elongated lamb/rice meatballs), some sort of meat pie, "makarona bil beshamel" (macaroni or other pasta- in this case rotini- baked in a bechamel sauce with cheese) with ground beef, curried beef stew, and, uh, more meat. A veritable "Meatapalooza"! Gulp. How do I explain to these wonderful people who have OBVIOUSLY slaved all day to make all this awesome food that I don't eat red meat???? I certainly didn't want to offend, because from what I understand, meat is very expensive and is served mostly on special occasions. What else could I do? I handed over my plate. And eating as a guest with an Egyptian family is like going to my Grandmaman's- "no thank you" means "yes please" and "just a bit more" translates to "I have a hollow leg". :)
Oh. My. God. I can't remember ever eating so much meat, let alone remember the last time I had meat. Mind you, it was all incredibly delicious. It's just that my system was in total meat-overload.
And I hope that I don't come across as unappreciative, even for one second. I have never been anywhere where I have felt more unconditionally & warmly welcomed. Omnare and I have clicked in some way and we have founded a quick friendship that I hope I will have the pleasure of enjoying for a long long time.
Actually, this brings me to something that made me quite upset today. I read a blog entry from someone I know today. They had recently made a trip out to Cairo on a 4-day weekend holiday they had from work (in India). The blog was nothing more than a slandering, angry tirade about how the Cairene people are angry, money-grubbing, scheming individuals who have it in for foreigners, Americans in particular. While the blog was rife with historical information, it was lacking sociologically sensitive facts that proper preparative reading would have helped elucidate the behaviours they encountered on their jaunt to Cairo.
For one, sure, Cairo is overcrowded, loud and dirty. So is New York.
Sure, people yell at each other alot here. That doesn't mean they're consumed with a burning rage that might result in murder in the streets. The Cairenes are a passionate people- this goes for the majority of the Egyptian people. They get excited, they yell, it's over. Arabic is a language that is very foreign to the ear and because of its sound, can seem very angry. So's german.
Sure, everyone is asking for money here. Someone holds the door for you, helps you with your bags, gives you directions, etc. you give them a couple of Egyptian Pounds ($1.00 = $.18- roughly)It's called 'baksheesh'- with a little reading up beforehand, this person would have known about it and not writen it off as some demeaning trait. Wages here are bad. And I mean bad. For those receiving 'tips', the extra income supplements a wage that is often shocking by Western standards (sometimes 300 Egyptian Pounds per MONTH). And it isn't reserved to tourists: Egyptians tip at every opportunity and for some of the most basic of daily needs. Sure, there's crooked people out there, trying to scheme you out of a couple of bucks, but you find those people anywhere you go. Plus, it doesn't help that the only places they visited were tourist hotbeds. I mean, geeze- what do you expect? Do you think people visiting Disneyland think it's rational to pay 6$ for a Coke? C'mon.
And there was a mention of being in fear that at any moment there might be a terrible occurence of 'road-rage', the way the drivers were yelling at each other. I'm sorry, but a little yelling is nothing. Last I remember, drivers in L.A. shoot each other.
I'm sorry, but this blog posting just really made me mad. After living here for a month, I find myself hard-pressed to find more friendly, honest, hard-working people. Don't get me wrong, there are exceptions to every rule, and Cairo and Egypt in general is a long way from Eden, but referring to the city as a 'high-maintence crackwhore girlfriend on steroids'? Whoa. No wonder the unfortunate stereotype of being American still persists.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
OUR STUFF IS HERE!!!
As what I can only imagine is Fate's appology for 'the incident' the other morning, OUR STUFF ARRIVED!! Well, most of it. Customs opened everything. Pete, the DP, tells me that that's the norm. Last year for his birthday, customs opened all his gifts and then re-wrapped them with the wrapping paper inside-out. Uh huh.
Regardless, it was like Christmas morning- boxes being torn open, excited exclamations, etc. Our room is now (almost) fully equipped. We're only missing a few essential items like adhesive remover (it's been somewhat slow-going- not to mention sticky- removing pieces with alcohol), brush cleaner and the catalyst for the silicone (kiiinda important- it's what makes the molding silicone harden), and a few other bits and bobs. Chris and I are in high gear trying to catch up on the build, with the top priorities being a fake pregnant belly we can shoot getting cut open for an emergency c-section and a torso impaled with actual metal rods that they want to saw off on-screen. Major engineering is going into that last one. We could use your help, Papa Mills!
Last Friday we were invited for the day to Ismalia by one of the guys who works with our department, Ibrahim. Ismalia is a small town on the Red Sea at the mouth of the Suez Canal, about an hour and a half away from Cairo. Ibrahim has a little villa by the ocean in a small resort apartment complex. While the sky was cloudy and it rained on and off, we had a terrific time with his family and close friends. We played football ('soccer' for y'all state-side) and a few games like 'Blindman's Bluff' and 'Musical Chairs'. Everybody played, and was really into it; adults, teens, kids, "Hawaagas" (foreigners, i.e. Us). We had a lovely (albeit cold) picnic on the beach, and feasted on (whole) grilled stuffed 'boori' (mullet) and 'bayadi' (Nile perch-whole), rice, fresh flat bread and salad. The minute they unwrapped the fish, we were descended upon by over a dozen 'otas' (cats). We tossed them bits and pieces and they had a feast too.
Despite the somewhat hindering language barrier, we all had a blast. The games seemed to serve as a sort of universal language. Plus, Chris and I got two more invites for lunches; one with our driver Sa'eed's family this Friday and another with Ibrahim's friend's (Waseed) family later. I'm really glad we took my aunt Janice's advise to jump on any invitation extended to us by a local. It's a really great way to see what life is like here, more of the language and little out of the way place you might not see as a tourist. We're looking forward to this Friday!
Also in what I think is a 'reality check' from Fate, we got locked out of our apartment. It was late Saturday night, and Chris and I were amongst the last to leave the studios around 11:00pm (working late on fiberglass). We trudged exhausted up the stairs and stumbled (there's no light on our floor) to the front door. Chris put tried to put the key in the lock but it wouldn't go in. What the???? He tried a bunch of times but it just wouldn't happen. He played with the lock for a while, then I tried, then he tried again before we went downstairs to the doorman [who doesn't speak a lick of English past "hello" and "Kriiiis"- Chris) and let him know that our key didn't work (hey! great time to try out that Egyptian Arabic phrasebook!). As you can imagine, we headed back upstairs so he could try his hand at it for a bit. No go. He called the landlady (12am) and she came over with her son who then went out to find a locksmith. We made small talk with Suzanne, our landlady (who was fairly fluent in English), talking about going to the gym, her aimless son and watched the stray cats in the stairwell for a while. Meanwhile, Chris contacted our production liason to let them know what was going on. They called back and told us that they had contacted our driver (! he had just arrived home after fighting his way though terrible traffic) to come pick us up and take us to the Semiramis for the night. It's nice to know we're well taken care of! We went downstairs to wait for Sa'eed. Just then, Suzanne's son arrived with a 'locksmith' (a buddy with a screwdriver who borrowed my hairpin to open the lock) who said it looks like someone was messing with our lock and broke it. Reassuring, you can imagine. Needless to say, Chris called to tell Sa'eed (who at this point was still on his way, simply to pay the locksmith) to head home, we'd cover the cost. We FINALLY hit the hay around 1am. Ugh. Sunday was rough...
THINGS TO DO WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE LANDLADY:
1. Spit down an 8-storey stairwell
2. Work on your mental powers as you try to 'make' the door open with your mind
3. Play 'Guess That Smell'
4. Count your teeth with your tongue
5. Play 'Name That Stain on the Floor'
Regardless, it was like Christmas morning- boxes being torn open, excited exclamations, etc. Our room is now (almost) fully equipped. We're only missing a few essential items like adhesive remover (it's been somewhat slow-going- not to mention sticky- removing pieces with alcohol), brush cleaner and the catalyst for the silicone (kiiinda important- it's what makes the molding silicone harden), and a few other bits and bobs. Chris and I are in high gear trying to catch up on the build, with the top priorities being a fake pregnant belly we can shoot getting cut open for an emergency c-section and a torso impaled with actual metal rods that they want to saw off on-screen. Major engineering is going into that last one. We could use your help, Papa Mills!
Last Friday we were invited for the day to Ismalia by one of the guys who works with our department, Ibrahim. Ismalia is a small town on the Red Sea at the mouth of the Suez Canal, about an hour and a half away from Cairo. Ibrahim has a little villa by the ocean in a small resort apartment complex. While the sky was cloudy and it rained on and off, we had a terrific time with his family and close friends. We played football ('soccer' for y'all state-side) and a few games like 'Blindman's Bluff' and 'Musical Chairs'. Everybody played, and was really into it; adults, teens, kids, "Hawaagas" (foreigners, i.e. Us). We had a lovely (albeit cold) picnic on the beach, and feasted on (whole) grilled stuffed 'boori' (mullet) and 'bayadi' (Nile perch-whole), rice, fresh flat bread and salad. The minute they unwrapped the fish, we were descended upon by over a dozen 'otas' (cats). We tossed them bits and pieces and they had a feast too.
Despite the somewhat hindering language barrier, we all had a blast. The games seemed to serve as a sort of universal language. Plus, Chris and I got two more invites for lunches; one with our driver Sa'eed's family this Friday and another with Ibrahim's friend's (Waseed) family later. I'm really glad we took my aunt Janice's advise to jump on any invitation extended to us by a local. It's a really great way to see what life is like here, more of the language and little out of the way place you might not see as a tourist. We're looking forward to this Friday!
Also in what I think is a 'reality check' from Fate, we got locked out of our apartment. It was late Saturday night, and Chris and I were amongst the last to leave the studios around 11:00pm (working late on fiberglass). We trudged exhausted up the stairs and stumbled (there's no light on our floor) to the front door. Chris put tried to put the key in the lock but it wouldn't go in. What the???? He tried a bunch of times but it just wouldn't happen. He played with the lock for a while, then I tried, then he tried again before we went downstairs to the doorman [who doesn't speak a lick of English past "hello" and "Kriiiis"- Chris) and let him know that our key didn't work (hey! great time to try out that Egyptian Arabic phrasebook!). As you can imagine, we headed back upstairs so he could try his hand at it for a bit. No go. He called the landlady (12am) and she came over with her son who then went out to find a locksmith. We made small talk with Suzanne, our landlady (who was fairly fluent in English), talking about going to the gym, her aimless son and watched the stray cats in the stairwell for a while. Meanwhile, Chris contacted our production liason to let them know what was going on. They called back and told us that they had contacted our driver (! he had just arrived home after fighting his way though terrible traffic) to come pick us up and take us to the Semiramis for the night. It's nice to know we're well taken care of! We went downstairs to wait for Sa'eed. Just then, Suzanne's son arrived with a 'locksmith' (a buddy with a screwdriver who borrowed my hairpin to open the lock) who said it looks like someone was messing with our lock and broke it. Reassuring, you can imagine. Needless to say, Chris called to tell Sa'eed (who at this point was still on his way, simply to pay the locksmith) to head home, we'd cover the cost. We FINALLY hit the hay around 1am. Ugh. Sunday was rough...
THINGS TO DO WHILE YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE LANDLADY:
1. Spit down an 8-storey stairwell
2. Work on your mental powers as you try to 'make' the door open with your mind
3. Play 'Guess That Smell'
4. Count your teeth with your tongue
5. Play 'Name That Stain on the Floor'
Thursday, April 23, 2009
World(s) [Apart] War Three
Holy Crap. It all came to a head today. I exploded. Okay, so not nuclear, but I did raise my voice.
A little back story: Apparently there were communication problems (go figure) last year between the special effects department and the AD department. So as a pre-emptive measure, a special position was created- a continuity AD, just for our department. Now, for those of you familiar with the industry, there really is no such position. Each Department Head is in charge of the continuity elements related to their work. We cannot rely on others because they may not know exactly what we're looking for. Moreover, they may not always be consistent in their coverage of continuity. There is a person in charge of continuity for the entirety of the production, and sometimes the script supervisor takes on these duties too. Buuuuut, it is not required to create a position JUST for the special effect make-up department. The inherent danger in doing so is that since this would be their one-and-only job, they will pour 120% of themselves into the job. While I understand and appreciate the importance of continuity, if something is a nano-millimeter off...and they're worried that someone will notice.... ehhhh... I'm worried about the future of the show.
Anywho, so now we've got this person who stands right next to me in our room with her laptop open with a bevy of photos she's taken and is pointing out (during application, in front of talent no less) how 'this is shorter than in the picture, and there was more red here and...' Grrr...
Now, up to today, I've smiled my 'acquired-from-years-of-service-industry' smile and said 'no problem, i've got it, sure, it's okay, i'm on it...', then asked her to tell me these things after if they're necessary. Every day for two weeks. It's been a constant, interminable struggle. I go to war everyday. They don't seem to understand that Chris and I know what we're doing and we're on it. If we can't manage a simple thing like continuity, then we have no business in this industry! Yet, she's still standing there, with her laptop at my shoulder, stepbystep.
Well, today Chris stepped in and said something. Enough was enough. She responded, things escalated and arguing ensued. IN FRONT OF THE TALENT. I don't care who's in my chair- You never EVER argue in front of an actor. After the actor left the room, I told Chris and our 'helper' that next time, you take it outside. She got defensive. I was trying to make my point (across a chasm of a language/cultural barrier) and she kept cutting me off, saying she didn't understand. Um, let me finish and hopefully you'll see what I'm getting to. She kept cutting me off, talking over me. That was that. I lost it and started raising my voice. Now, up until this point I've used my dad's technique of keeping my voice level, yet trying to express my 'displeasure' and getting my point across, and in every other case I've enjoyed measurable success. Today that went into the toilet. This was not going to be resolved without proper mediation.
I had to leave the room to regain my composure. I knew that if I didn't step away things would keep escalating and that would get us nowhere fast. When I returned I found two of our producers, Chris, the AD and her in deep discussion. Again. Now, understand that this situation is starting to feel alot like a scene from "Groundhog Day". We've had this conversation before, three or four times with different approaches, but always with the same disappointing results. There was alot of 'this is how we do it here', 'this is how we do it back home', I appologized for raising my voice (which apparently just isn't done here), lots of Arabic between one of the producers and the ADs, AAARRRRGG! We are getting nowhere!!!! Finally, we think we've come to a resolution. I think. Eeecchh. We'll have to see on Saturday. Which, by the way, is when our stuff is supposed to be here. "T.A.I.T." (Thank Allah It's Thursday)- I need a drink.
A little back story: Apparently there were communication problems (go figure) last year between the special effects department and the AD department. So as a pre-emptive measure, a special position was created- a continuity AD, just for our department. Now, for those of you familiar with the industry, there really is no such position. Each Department Head is in charge of the continuity elements related to their work. We cannot rely on others because they may not know exactly what we're looking for. Moreover, they may not always be consistent in their coverage of continuity. There is a person in charge of continuity for the entirety of the production, and sometimes the script supervisor takes on these duties too. Buuuuut, it is not required to create a position JUST for the special effect make-up department. The inherent danger in doing so is that since this would be their one-and-only job, they will pour 120% of themselves into the job. While I understand and appreciate the importance of continuity, if something is a nano-millimeter off...and they're worried that someone will notice.... ehhhh... I'm worried about the future of the show.
Anywho, so now we've got this person who stands right next to me in our room with her laptop open with a bevy of photos she's taken and is pointing out (during application, in front of talent no less) how 'this is shorter than in the picture, and there was more red here and...' Grrr...
Now, up to today, I've smiled my 'acquired-from-years-of-service-industry' smile and said 'no problem, i've got it, sure, it's okay, i'm on it...', then asked her to tell me these things after if they're necessary. Every day for two weeks. It's been a constant, interminable struggle. I go to war everyday. They don't seem to understand that Chris and I know what we're doing and we're on it. If we can't manage a simple thing like continuity, then we have no business in this industry! Yet, she's still standing there, with her laptop at my shoulder, stepbystep.
Well, today Chris stepped in and said something. Enough was enough. She responded, things escalated and arguing ensued. IN FRONT OF THE TALENT. I don't care who's in my chair- You never EVER argue in front of an actor. After the actor left the room, I told Chris and our 'helper' that next time, you take it outside. She got defensive. I was trying to make my point (across a chasm of a language/cultural barrier) and she kept cutting me off, saying she didn't understand. Um, let me finish and hopefully you'll see what I'm getting to. She kept cutting me off, talking over me. That was that. I lost it and started raising my voice. Now, up until this point I've used my dad's technique of keeping my voice level, yet trying to express my 'displeasure' and getting my point across, and in every other case I've enjoyed measurable success. Today that went into the toilet. This was not going to be resolved without proper mediation.
I had to leave the room to regain my composure. I knew that if I didn't step away things would keep escalating and that would get us nowhere fast. When I returned I found two of our producers, Chris, the AD and her in deep discussion. Again. Now, understand that this situation is starting to feel alot like a scene from "Groundhog Day". We've had this conversation before, three or four times with different approaches, but always with the same disappointing results. There was alot of 'this is how we do it here', 'this is how we do it back home', I appologized for raising my voice (which apparently just isn't done here), lots of Arabic between one of the producers and the ADs, AAARRRRGG! We are getting nowhere!!!! Finally, we think we've come to a resolution. I think. Eeecchh. We'll have to see on Saturday. Which, by the way, is when our stuff is supposed to be here. "T.A.I.T." (Thank Allah It's Thursday)- I need a drink.
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Itchy" Gitchy Ya Ya Yah
Blood seems to be a theme this week. Right now though I'm talking about my own; I seem to be the sole source of sustenance for some colony of mosquitoes, or fleas or something around here. My legs are all chewed up from the knees down. And the itching!!! Oh. My. God. It's terrible. Thankfuly we have a doctor on set- Dr. Khaled got me some antihistamine cream and some claratin, but still, the itch!! Arrrgh!! I can't stop!
Let's think about something else, shall we, or I'll start considering amputating my legs...
Speaking of the focus of unwanted attention, Chris and I feel lately like we're walking in a constant spotlight. As we walk down the street, taxis are constantly stopping (in fact, impeding traffic around them) to see if we need a ride. My feelings regarding this are very much the same as those regarding telemarketers: if I need something, I'll go out and find it- don't hound me. This goes for taxis. While I appreciate the willingness to help us, go away please! See these? These are legs- they work fantastic! We enjoy walking!!! We like exploring!! We'll flag you down if we need you.
In regards to driving in Cairo, I beleive that everyone here is a stunt driver in training. It's nuts how close the cars pass to each other! Inches. And not even a graze. Sometimes there's head-on traffic facing off in a one-way street (most of the sidestreets are like that) and it's like a game of Tetris as cars pull off into a few feet of space to let the other go by, all while pedestrians thread their way through. There seems to be an unspoken understanding between drivers too. Nobody yells, or gets really upset. There's a lot of courtesy, with driver's signaling to each other with a series of flashing blinkers and 'peeps' of their horns. I'm assuming that if no one gets upset, or tries to force their right-of-way, then there's less accidents. Just a theory.
Let's think about something else, shall we, or I'll start considering amputating my legs...
Speaking of the focus of unwanted attention, Chris and I feel lately like we're walking in a constant spotlight. As we walk down the street, taxis are constantly stopping (in fact, impeding traffic around them) to see if we need a ride. My feelings regarding this are very much the same as those regarding telemarketers: if I need something, I'll go out and find it- don't hound me. This goes for taxis. While I appreciate the willingness to help us, go away please! See these? These are legs- they work fantastic! We enjoy walking!!! We like exploring!! We'll flag you down if we need you.
In regards to driving in Cairo, I beleive that everyone here is a stunt driver in training. It's nuts how close the cars pass to each other! Inches. And not even a graze. Sometimes there's head-on traffic facing off in a one-way street (most of the sidestreets are like that) and it's like a game of Tetris as cars pull off into a few feet of space to let the other go by, all while pedestrians thread their way through. There seems to be an unspoken understanding between drivers too. Nobody yells, or gets really upset. There's a lot of courtesy, with driver's signaling to each other with a series of flashing blinkers and 'peeps' of their horns. I'm assuming that if no one gets upset, or tries to force their right-of-way, then there's less accidents. Just a theory.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Blades, Blood and a Monster Under the Bed
Tuesday was an interesting day. I had fair warning of it from Joe Z. at least, on Monday. Production was going to sacrifice a bull in order to bless the taping of the third season of 'CM'. Yup. Sacrifice a bull. We got to work and there it was, ignorantly standing there, tied to a tree. Everyone was waiting for Joe to arrive to start the, er, 'festivities'. I suddenly remembered that I had some very important work that needed attending to right away. Chris stayed to watch and took pictures. I guess that's one more life experience that Chris is richer by. I don't feel a great loss. I know myself and from what Chris said, I would have had a rough time of it (it took the bull 10 minutes to die). Well, I hope all the hoopla worked, and we get our stuff soon. Yessiree. Would be nice to do make-up with, oh, I dunno, a makeup kit.
I spent the better part of yesterday under a hospital bed; it's a scene where a man who's committed suicide is placed in a bed and his wounds continue to bleed profusely. The actor was hooked up to tubing and I was 'attached' to the tubing with syringes, pumping the blood. Because the shot was pretty wide, there really wasn't any place for me to hide save under the bed, so I hung out there for a couple of hours. It wasn't so uncomfortable except for the fact that I really really really had to use the restroom and I was laying flat on my bladder..! Actually, most of the crew forgot that I was under the bed and I scared the crap out of a few of them when I crawled out, covered in blood splatter. :)
Despite the awkward language barrier, I'm really enjoying the crew here. Egyptian people, and Cairenes in particular, have a terrific sense of humour and love picking on each other. They're pretty sarcastic- just my type of folks! I feel right at home!
I think (one of) the hardest things about living in Egypt is the taboo of publicly displayed affection. Chris and I are very affectionate and it's difficult to remember that anything more than linked arms or hand-holding is staunchly looked-down upon. Even a shared kiss between a married couple is a no-no.
I spent the better part of yesterday under a hospital bed; it's a scene where a man who's committed suicide is placed in a bed and his wounds continue to bleed profusely. The actor was hooked up to tubing and I was 'attached' to the tubing with syringes, pumping the blood. Because the shot was pretty wide, there really wasn't any place for me to hide save under the bed, so I hung out there for a couple of hours. It wasn't so uncomfortable except for the fact that I really really really had to use the restroom and I was laying flat on my bladder..! Actually, most of the crew forgot that I was under the bed and I scared the crap out of a few of them when I crawled out, covered in blood splatter. :)
Despite the awkward language barrier, I'm really enjoying the crew here. Egyptian people, and Cairenes in particular, have a terrific sense of humour and love picking on each other. They're pretty sarcastic- just my type of folks! I feel right at home!
I think (one of) the hardest things about living in Egypt is the taboo of publicly displayed affection. Chris and I are very affectionate and it's difficult to remember that anything more than linked arms or hand-holding is staunchly looked-down upon. Even a shared kiss between a married couple is a no-no.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Lights, Camera...Action??
Soooo. We're on our second day of shooting. NO MATERIALS. NONE. NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. ZILCH. Everything is still tied up in customs somewhere. They've probably decided that Chris and I are threats to national security and they're tracking our every move right now.
FORTUNATELY, Kevin, the makeup artist before us left a few things with his local assistant, Ibrahim; a partial Kryolan greasepaint palette, some spirit gum, an Illustrator palette and a bit of liquid latex. Definitely better than nothing!
Our first day on set was like every other first day on set- lots of kinks to work out and an attempt to coordinated every one's 'rhythms'. We're almost there on day two. The feeling on set is pretty laid back. It's nice not having to oversee both the beauty and the effects departments. While our work is an integral part of the show, there is an element of subtlety that the show's director and producers wanted to maintain. Also, showing a great deal of graphic images on television is a relatively new concept here in Egypt and the Middle East. For example, one of the characters is supposed to have overdosed on her medication and she has been repeatedly vomiting on herself. We dressed her nightgown with 'prop yak' (tinted latex and chunks of bread) accordingly. Waaayyy to much they told us. For some reason, the audience here will have an easier time with blood than they will vomit. Huh. Well there you go.
Speaking of what they can and cannot show on tv, it's interesting to see how they censor televised movies from the U.S.. I was watching 'Van Wylder 2' (there. was. absolutely. nothing. on.) and they cut all and any kissing scene, even the most innocent peck on the cheek. Left in all the swearing though. When this show ("Critical Moments") will air in Saudia Arabia, they censor it so that you never see a woman exposing any more flesh than her hands and face.
When we first got to Cairo, I was really self-concious about not having my head covered. One of the crew members (a Cairene- born and raised- as is 90% of the crew) assured me that it didn't matter because I was from the west and they don't expect that level of modesty from us. I didn't know whether to be reassured or somewhat offended... Actually, you see alot of women without headcoverings. Egypt is very liberal- relatively speaking. Relative that is to the rest of the Islamic-dominated countries. I actually like the way things are here. There's something to be said for modesty. Walking around Burbank and bearing in mind what I expected the 'dress code' to be in Egypt, I was, sorry to say, a bit ashamed to see what some, ahem, "young ladies" were wearing. I saw one girl who was wearing shorts smaller that some boyshort undies I have.
Anywho, who am I to judge? Opinions are a different matter- and you know what they say opinions are like...
FORTUNATELY, Kevin, the makeup artist before us left a few things with his local assistant, Ibrahim; a partial Kryolan greasepaint palette, some spirit gum, an Illustrator palette and a bit of liquid latex. Definitely better than nothing!
Our first day on set was like every other first day on set- lots of kinks to work out and an attempt to coordinated every one's 'rhythms'. We're almost there on day two. The feeling on set is pretty laid back. It's nice not having to oversee both the beauty and the effects departments. While our work is an integral part of the show, there is an element of subtlety that the show's director and producers wanted to maintain. Also, showing a great deal of graphic images on television is a relatively new concept here in Egypt and the Middle East. For example, one of the characters is supposed to have overdosed on her medication and she has been repeatedly vomiting on herself. We dressed her nightgown with 'prop yak' (tinted latex and chunks of bread) accordingly. Waaayyy to much they told us. For some reason, the audience here will have an easier time with blood than they will vomit. Huh. Well there you go.
Speaking of what they can and cannot show on tv, it's interesting to see how they censor televised movies from the U.S.. I was watching 'Van Wylder 2' (there. was. absolutely. nothing. on.) and they cut all and any kissing scene, even the most innocent peck on the cheek. Left in all the swearing though. When this show ("Critical Moments") will air in Saudia Arabia, they censor it so that you never see a woman exposing any more flesh than her hands and face.
When we first got to Cairo, I was really self-concious about not having my head covered. One of the crew members (a Cairene- born and raised- as is 90% of the crew) assured me that it didn't matter because I was from the west and they don't expect that level of modesty from us. I didn't know whether to be reassured or somewhat offended... Actually, you see alot of women without headcoverings. Egypt is very liberal- relatively speaking. Relative that is to the rest of the Islamic-dominated countries. I actually like the way things are here. There's something to be said for modesty. Walking around Burbank and bearing in mind what I expected the 'dress code' to be in Egypt, I was, sorry to say, a bit ashamed to see what some, ahem, "young ladies" were wearing. I saw one girl who was wearing shorts smaller that some boyshort undies I have.
Anywho, who am I to judge? Opinions are a different matter- and you know what they say opinions are like...
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