26 - 10- 09 : The Blood Bond Saga (part 21)

Thunder Road

Monday morning, we're back to work bright and early as we begin to shoot our car chase sequence.

We know we don't have anywhere near the budget to match a Hollywood production in terms of stunts and spectacle. Hopefully the unique locale for the chase, the interplay between our characters and a surprise gag ending will still hold viewers' attention.

As we assemble on a stretch of an abandoned highway (the literal 'road to nowhere'!) Michael confers with Louis Fan, Ken Yip and the stunt team on how we can realise the ideas he came up with months earlier.

Ou associate producer Oliver Williams, has come up with an illustrated shot list that proves invaluable in terms of (literally) getting everyone on the same page.

Today was our first full day with our co-producer Seth Scher on the set, and he provided a fresh new perspective on the various issues of the day.

We start slow with a dialogue exchange between Tremayne (Michael Biehn) and Deva (Phoenix Chou) as they drive down the highway. In fact it's Phoenix doing the driving, and, as I mentioned previously, she learnt to drive stick shift solely for this film.

Those of you who think movie acting is all bright lights and glamour should have been there to see our girl grapple with her dialog and the gear stick at the same time.

As ever with Phoenix, she pulled both off admirably. Our heros are pursued by a jeep full of rebel soldiers, two of whom are played by our stunt men. We had to teach one to yell 'Pull over!', which, until he had rehearsed it several times, came out as 'Bull oven!'

Our tireless DP, Ross Clarkson, proved he knew his way a Meccano set as he jury-rigged various contraptions to hold the camera on to the vehicles as they thundered down the remote stretch of road.

We had bought two cars that we could bash and trash without concern, but this meant they were not always in the greatest working order, and two mechanics were on hand to keep them running. Michael had to contain his frustration when his getaway vehicle refused to go anywhere.

We got through the first leg of the chase without incident, and took the scene up to the point where the two cars leave the road and race into the sandy arena of the former quarry.

At that point, we headed to the other side of the highway to catch 'Magic Hour' and a shot of Tremayne and Deva making their way down through the wilderness and past a small lake. It was a beautiful shot, and a calm end to a frantic day.

Next : Back on Thunder Road, plus Emma Pei meets Kong!