Basketball on Shooting Basketball

The End

2010-10-19T11:58:00.001-07:00

today we wrapped on principle shooting of John Basketball. it ended on a short day in owosso in a van. thanks to everyone who helped out with anything. all the cast and the crew and the locations. there were lots of great times had, i cant thank everyone enough.

WERE BACK!

2010-09-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

today we had everyone back together for the first time in a while. even the sound guy showed up! just kidding dustin. wink nod wink. but it was great. we met at jerrys house. some people were late. one person didnt even know we were shooting today! but we left jerrys house for my old house (greers house in the film). it was weird being there and someone else living there. it was cold and the suit is starting to be the best costume on set for warmth. it was raining for a short while but no one really complained. dustin left at one point for class and then ran back before the next shot even started saying it was canceled.

we busted out the jib in a big way today. and had no problems with it. i dont think thats happened before. and it was complicated and on a dolly. and we got it in less than ten takes. so go team.

we left my house and got taco cart for lunch. it has become a staple. jordan always requests it and everyone else follows. from there it was only a few blocks to the quality inn where we shot motel interiors to sub in for a different motel that wanted to charge us lots of money to use it for a few hours. what a bunch of jerks. well this place had a pool! and we were able to get off my cannonball scene. i learned that i am a pretty weak swimmer and cant really tread water for more than 5 minutes without being completely exhausted.

it was really a nice day of shooting. we shoot again on thursday, i think its our last big day of shooting. kind of sad.

road trip in a juggalo van

2010-09-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

ITS A ROAD TRIP!

today was a great day of shooting. really a lot of fun. we had some problems getting a van so i guess greer just went out and bought one that didnt work, then he put in a new radiator and made it awesome. it didnt break down and it had most of its seat belts.

the crew was as small as it can be today, no sound guy, no script supervisor just the cast, a grip and the director. we started in lansing and did a breakfast scene at theos and then went to the capital really quick. from there we went to a giant chicken statue thing. from the giant chicken statue we went to turkeyville, which was actually pretty awesome. they had ice cream and a play ground farm animals and the meanest goat ive ever seen. also make sure to check out the dead bird, hes a staple. next we went to a magic museum that was tons of fun, the guy did a card trick with me, he totally got me. then we went and played some putt putt and called it a day. we got a lot shot in only half a day. we shoot again next thursday and wrap all the van stuff. after that its just a hop skip and a jump till we are officially done. cant wait!

hey do you know about this?

2010-09-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

heres how a general day of shooting goes. i get up, generaly early and go to jerrys house. im usually one of the first ones their but i have had my late days. if we're going to a different location we car pool as best we can after all the equipment is packed. then we unload the camera, tripod and steadycam and people start looking at there lines. if we have to set up things and dress the set we do that while someone sets up lights or the dolly or jib if its a crazy day. then we shoot for a while. jerry says cut and that was great a lot. caset claps the board and dustin does sound. at some point we stop and eat, sometimes its things like granola bars and sometimes its chicken salad. pizza once or twice. and then we get back to shooting, lights are set up and taken down, couches are moved and make up is applied. at some point we finish and have to put everything back the way it was and take down all the lights and put the equipment away. then usually people go to a bar or get food or back to jerrys house. and thats a typical shooting day minus complications.

im a few days behind so this is going to be a bit scattered. we had about a two and a half week break trying to get things scheduled for the last few shots. we still dont have everything on the books, and now people are back in school and have different schedules so its been hard to get everyone together. but we started up again in full swing, we shot with a dog! that was fun. and he even had a dog double that was way more hyper and wanted to run into the road. that was scary, we quickly went back to the other older regular dog.

we shot the jackson hurts his ear scene, which is also the janitor scene i guess. the janitor was great, even though he was a few hours late. it was the third time wed tried to shoot this scene, and our third janitor. but it went really well. mark had the joke of the day with his phone and a picture of matt leblanc. the fake blood looked really great, and father don was back again in full force. its great having him on set, hes a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from all the young actors we have. back at it later this week trying to shoot the van scenes. we've spent about a month just trying to find a van we can use. so hopefully we can get it out of the way.

Cool Day In A Hot Factory

2010-08-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

today we shot at a giant board of water and light coal plant. it was really awesome. the people working there were super nice and helped us with everything. we all got to wear hard hats and safety goggles. Dustin is out of town so Tom took his place as sound guy for the day. it was probably for the best that there was no talking in the scene.

it was just a short shoot. we faked a tour and one of us got lost and then found again. it was a really fun day on set. the crew is hilarious and everyone gets a long super well. its such a great fun group of people.

tomorrow. body paint. ive been waiting months for this. its going to be ridiculous.

back in the saddle again

2010-08-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

we resumed shooting today after a 6 day hiatus. my face has sense gotten unswollen and my eye unbrused. today was a big day. the scrimmage with the michigan militia. it was 8 pages long and it started at 830 in the am. we started right away in the car on the way there and then set up to be in oak park all day. i didnt have my camera charged so jackie sent me these nice cell phone pictures for the blog. way to go idaho.

pretty much the whole day was spent on the basketball court. the whole gang was there and gary butthole was introduced. you may know his brother barry. it was a long hot day in the sun, and i think only greer got sunburned. but that is normal. there were some problems with the jib. but that is also normal now. tom got to sit in an air conditioned building all day and donaldson took a nap. also it was a big joke on set today to have people kiss donaldson on the cheek. he was kissed seven times.

the other team was great. the militia are a really funny group of guys and they had some really funny improv. also they can ball. the scrimmage went well. shooting at the factory on friday. should be pretty awesome. did you know at this factory they will take a whole train car and flip it upside down to dump coal? did you also know that its all anyone who works there talks about?

Busy behind the eightball

2010-08-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

So im about three days of shooting behind right now, so im just going to make it all up in one big blog entry.

day whatever. we shot in the church parking lot, i had a black eye and had to wear sunglasses to cover it. it was a pretty big scene between me and father don. mark boyd is a great actor and really cracked me up on set. jerry took a break and schooled mark roebuck and jjcomedy@gmail.com in behind the back handball. it rained and we had to stop for a few hours, but it dryed out eventually and we shot everything we set out to (almost)

day whatever plus 2. we had one of our few night shoots at bobs house. his cat is hilarious. it will hiss at you all day, but doesnt mind when you pet it. what a hoot. we shot greer eating a sandwich on the ground and it was one of the funniest things ive ever seen. mark roebuck spent the night all weekend. and we ended up shooting till about one that night. we coined the phrase dirt sandwiches and had a great dinner scene.

day whatever plus three. started at noon and went till midnight. a long day. starting in bobs upstairs and finishing in his downstairs. there were tiny delays here and there, and we kept mark a little later than we wanted to. but it was a blast. having a scene where we all had to be fake laughing we would mess with each other before each take. jackson and marcus had some really great scenes together. it feels good when the long days are done. that we really shot a lot.

as of right now we are at a stand still. i woke up today with a swollen face and have to get a root canal. so i cant shoot until the swelling goes down. hopefully sunday we start back up. jerry quoted to me today that we only have 6 more shooting days left. exciting stuff.

The Big Show

2010-08-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

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The macker has come and gone. it was an experience to say the least. The day started out with a nice long drive with the team to belding. when we got there the macker was already in full swing. our first game was right away and it was over extremely quickly. we didnt score one basket and we were still figuring out how to shoot the game with 5 cameras.

the second game was amazing. it went on for a good twenty minutes. and we actualy scored some baskets. marcus was the mvp of that game. there were no mvps in the first bout. greer was posting up the most ridiculous shots all day and screaming hoss sauce. the crowd was really behind us, we had a lot of people watching. it was weird to stay in character, but it wasnt that hard. just hiding laughing every now and then. we lost again. but we scored 4 points.

at one point this guy came on to try and practice while we were filming inbetween games. jerry shut him down pretty quick. it was fun to see.

We went back the next day. we were playing on the dream court. thats where they make this awesome looking court in the street, and little kids play on it. but jerry pulled some strings and we were in. jerrys family came to watch all the games, his brother even brought in the baby trucker. jerrys mom was feeding us the whole time and the people who worked at the gus macker were nothing but extremely nice the whole time.

before our last game we played a group of 14 year old girls for fun because their team didnt show up. we played hard, i got a black eye and rolled my ankle in the process. we also lost. and our next game was right after that, everyone was super tired and we soon realized playing those girls was not a good idea.

the last game was great, the court looked fantastic and the team played well. greer finally hit one of his ridiculous shots and jackson made a really nice jump shot. the macker went great, and we got everything that we needed to get there. it was choas, but in the best way.

dont call it a come back

2010-08-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

jerrys storyboards are hilarious. they make no sense to me, but the end result is always spectacular.

the crew was small for the first half of the day. no sound needed. most of my clothes were not needed. i spent the first 4 hours in boxers getting ready. its for the very opening of the film. so now we have the beginning and the end. so were basically done. thats pretty much an inside joke. seeing as how when we started our end date was the first week of august. and as of right now were scheduled till the 18th. some days have been cancelled and unexpected things have happened, as they do with filming and life in general.

i had to do some push ups and sit ups on screen today. that was pretty embarrassing. also i had a pretty bad case of the giggles today. pretending to sleep seems to make me laugh uncontrollably for some reason.

i had to eat 2 different bowls of cereal on set today. i was really looking forward to it. but by the end i had had enough. casey made some really awesome fake mail that had addresses referencing our cats and dogs. really a fantastic prop.

me and greer had some great dialogue together. really funny stuff. and for lunch we had chicken salad with grapes. good stuff. today ended with a shower scene i had to do. it was pretty funny. fake crying is a good time. next we shoot the gus macker. pretty huge scene. its a weekend long shoot while staying in character and playing basketball while we guerilla shoot with multiple cameras against a real team.

also i made the logo for the jerseys this weekend. it turned out pretty awesome. its a stencil!

Aerosmith, two weeks.

2010-08-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

a nice long day. 845 call time at jerrys. i picked tom up, its been a few weeks since me and tom have had our hip hop throwdowns on the way to set and it was nice to have it back. me and casey set up most of the set yesterday so there wasnt a lot to do right away. jerry took mark and jordan upstairs and shot them for a while. then we waited for mark boyd to show up.

while we waited we played a pretty awesome game of football in the front yard. jackie made an amazing catch into garbage cans and had a nice scrape on her arm. we moved onto the big breakup scene. jerry says my best scenes are the sad ones. i can pull off sad no problem. if only i could pull off highlights.

the day ended with some blood in the bathroom and it was pretty awesome. remember guys. aerosmith. two weeks.
tomorrow a lot of me and greer. weve begun shooting in the house so were not changing locations a ton right now. its making shooting pretty stable.

the end of all things.

2010-08-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

yesterday our day was ruined by a funeral. another canceled day. but i didnt really get any pictures from today, so were going with these. please note that i am now posting pictures here that are not posted on facebook. this is called incentive.

today we shot me and greers ending. it was a sad somber scene. our end is now sealed. regardless of what happens this weekend. and i think we can pull it out. i really do. we did three different takes of our end. maybe the others will be on the dvd? each one is just different enough. thats all we shot today. lets just call tomorrow george clooney, because right now it is up in the air.

DAY OFF

2010-07-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

today got canceled. Enjoy your weekend guys!

Wine and cheese liberal crowd

2010-07-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today we shot in eaton rapids at one of caseys friends houses. and boy was it nice. right away we were greeted by the fattest fuzzyiest cat in the world. his name was vinnie and he was a hoot, until benny showed up and was way cuter. tonight we shot the fancy lawyer party and had some great extras show up.
Lucas zampetti playing a fantastic dean. Denny Green as lawyer stan and Alan ross as lawyer hanes. the people who let us use their house were super nice and they dressed up and played extras. it was nice to have karen back on set, her and greer are pretty funny to watch.
We gave everyone real wine for the shoot, this was a pretty strange idea. and weinstien was drinking real whiskey all night. it was another shoot that went well. home before midnight and i took a million pictures because i wasnt acting today. tomorrow is maybe the day, i just found out that it may be pushed back. i hope not, but i guess well see tomorrow.

Getting the gang back together.

2010-07-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jerry made a great cameo today as Dr Donny Donaldson and gave a great speech about red tailed hawks. we had one of our first night shoots and it was a blast. i had to get a food set up for a fancy looking after party before the shoot. we shot in the same building we shot the end of the movie in, and we had a ton of extras today.

Mark Roebuck had some great improvs that every one trouble keeping a straight face over. and John Krohn proved to be funnier that expected. Everyone enjoyed the food trays, bread and shrimp. Today we learned that is all starts in parks. and that the gang may be starting up a barber shop quartet called "hot water burns babies." were going places.

A BABY WAS ON SET TODAY! and boy could she act. the shoot really was a lot of fun and i feel that most of the shooting this week hasnt had a lot of problems. today is one of our two days off that we get a week. i hope everyoe is enjoying it. i know i slept in today for as long as i could.

we are back at it tomorrow night for weinsteins party. and then saturday i finally get to be put in full body paint. ive been waiting for this forever.

Trouble on the court

2010-07-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

We shot the end of the film in this gym. Its a sad somber scene, the colors at the gym were great. and it was the first day on set that we played around with a basketball. it was a really fun tiring day. we filmed some scouting scenes were im trying to find some people for the team. a lot of crew members have gotten 2 or more cameos in the film now, try to spot em when it comes out.

we filmed on a basketball court on msu that had a pretty wicked wasps nest behind one of the hoops. a game of shirts and skins broke out and jerry stuffed me so bad he broke my glasses. then they decided with would be funny in the next scene if i got knocked down over and over.

the day ended on a bad note when we arrived to shoot the obstacle course scene and they people on the court wouldnt give it up. well everyone left but one guy who refused to play on it and just stood there giving jerry the power play of the shoot. but we went back the next day and everything went well.

calling bullshit on the lord

2010-07-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today the church felt our wrath. actually shooting was fantastic today. no one was late, no one bothered us on set. there was this dog at the beginning when we came in that was pretty cute. he liked to rub his face on the floor.

it was nice to be in front of the camera again, and i watched one of the takes after and it was great. i try to not watch the playback on set. im looking forward to being surprised and astonished by jerrys handiwork. working with Mark Boyd was a great time. he was really funny and fun to be around.

the scene went great, i had all my lines ready to go and i do enjoy wearing a suit. tomorrow is a greer heavy day. and we get to meet karen, who everyone says i know but i have no idea who she is.
week three almost done. were probably passing the half way point tomorrow?
dont quote me on that.

day thirteen. unluckyest of shooting days

2010-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

today we entered our alma mater LCC and headed to the radio station. things started great today, things got set up pretty easily and bob was on time and out the door in about 15 minutes. click bang had coffee at gibsons like the good ole days, it was a nice start to the day.

then there was about a 4 hour lull. some rough shooting in some cramped quarters.

we got behind. some things took longer than expected and it ended up being an 8 hour shoot. ken orlich came by and made his great cameo as a radio sports host. and paul gordan was on set and i think we shot all his scenes. at one point i had to leave to get my hair cut for my big scene tomorrow. also i ran out to get lunch with jackie. coney dogs. mustard on the side. also picot came back and acted for a quick minute. should be a pretty solid piece of fine acting skills.

tomorrow we shoot at the church. my big scene with father don in the confessional. i haven't really been doing anything on camera the last week. it should be a good day.

Live guns real ammo girls girls girls!

2010-07-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

GUNS GUNS GUNS!
we started in a gun range that was about 45 minutes away. greer spent yesterday building a track for the dolly that really looks great. when i got there i had to leave and find some basketballs for the guys to shoot later on. tom came with and got all the basketballs donated from a community center that didnt need them anymore.

so we met everyone at the next shoot. me and tom got in a couple games of horse before every one arrived. the gun handler was there making sure everything went super safe, and stockton got to unload a couple clips into a scarecrow i made the night before. the michigan militia members looked awesome. they were hootin and hollerin and watermelon heads were exploding. it was really another fun memorable shoot.

also most of it was spent in the woods and i always like shooting outside a little better than in. tomorrow is the radio station scene. mr ken orlich and Bobby football are making there cameos. should be great.

now im caught up, watch out world.

2010-07-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

today we shot at the horse track in mount pleasant. it was about an hour drive from home. as usual on the long drives me and tom got down to some bumpin hip hop (young bunny style). The people at the horse track were super nice and jerry got a nice lamnent that got him right next to the track. The homeless man was sooooo great looking. we got to cut his clothes and watch him roll in the dirt.

there was gambling. horses were involved. the only person who left up against the house was dustin with a positive 60 cent increase in his pocket. there was an old man that had a seizure about 5 feet away from me and the ambulance had to come. that was weird.

the horse track was a tough location. we didnt have control over anything there but we made it out alright.

tomorrow, the gun range. live ammunition. shits getting real.

Im a day behind

2010-07-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

yesterday we shot at the abandoned motel in Owosso. we had to bring in a generator to power our own equipment. but the shoot went really well. i spent most of the day checking footage on the computer and data managing. but i did have time to read a little and we got pizza for lunch. everybody loves pizza. according to jerry eating meat takes 8 years off your life. according to joe anthony starving yourself makes you live longer.

Greer came back from his mystery trip and was well received. we were right next to the airport and helicopters kept landing all day. joe anthony is great as stockton. and it was really fun to shoot in an old motel. it was a good day. we finished early.

A Pot to Piss In (revised)

2010-07-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today we shot all of Toms scenes and we were introduced to Father Don the great Mark Boyd. You might remember him from such great films as Wasted... and Whip IT! We shot in the apartment next to Jerrys house, the crew was small today, down three people from the normal set up but we managed all right. i was taking pictures, transferring data, filiming with the doc camera and then acting near the end for about a half hour. Tom brought out a Tony impression at the last minute he didnt tell anyone about. so he has a UPer accent. also he was dressed ridiculously if at all when he was acting. you can see him testifying in court soon.

we have tomorrow off, which should be pretty nice. Then saturday we are shooting with Stockton for the first time. that should be exciting, his audtions were great. and we are shooting with a generator in a closed motel. lots of firsts for Click BANG! on this shoot. Its really all very exciting.

In Memorium of Picot

2010-07-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

My house has been cleaned to sparkle by the crew, and boy do i appreciate it. although there is still some disgusting porn left on my wall. Shooting once again went fantastic. its great having Mark and Jordan on set, those guys are hilarious. i wasnt on the actual set most of the day. i spent most of my time in the grass reading a book and making some buttons.

The only complication of the day was my downstairs neighbor playing some ridiculous techno music really loud. But he said he was scoring a film and now at somepoint hes going to talk to me about making music for movies. which is never going to happen.

Jordan climbed a tree by my house to chase a squirrel. he is a mad man.

Picot left us to go work on a different project, he will be missed. He's done a lot in the last week that he has been with us and we all have to pick up some extra slack now.

shooting tomorrow with Father Don for the first time. And tom is finally getting some screen time. should be great.

Keep it up crew, Hang it up Coffee Spilling

2010-07-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

no pictures from today. this is from last week and i forgot to upload it off my phone. it is probably the last of shitty phone pictures now that i have my camera on set. and one of the rare pictures of john basketball himself, since im generally the one taking pictures. tom should really pick up some slack there.

today was shot at my actual house, which is greers house in the movie. It needed to be extremely messy with lots of garbage on the floor. it looks great. but we didnt finish shooting here and now im in a house full of apple cores, banana peels and ripped up magazines. but shooting went great they are finishing here tomorrow. ima try to sneak chomps into a shot tomorrow. she doesnt seem to mind the garbage.

call time for tomorrow has been moved up an hour. ill be on set all day but i dont think im acting till the end of shooting. tomorrow is defiantly a bring a book day.

Tripping Up North

2010-07-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

we spent an awesome 2 days up in the UP. The drive up was great, it was my first time over the bridge and i loved it. We got to our hotel no problem, only to find out they were doubling what they were charging us and a trucker named Tony lived 2 rooms down. The town was great to us except for the people that wanted to beat up Tom for wearing a cat t shirt. We proceeded to party in our hotel rooms. Tony came by and made everyone uncomfortable. Ask Jerry to do an impression of him next time you see him.

The next day we got up early and ate ham salad and plums then scoped out the ring. We set things up for a while than took a brake and swam in the near by lake. It was fantastic even though everyone just swam in boxers or pants. Greer got there just in time and has some great make up applied by Jackie. Shooting went great, the state champ was in rare form boxing our man Greer, who took a number of falls that looked like they hurt quite a bit. The town was great as extras around the ring and we got free food and drink from the people. I recommend the pasties with loads of ketchup.

We took another brake and climbed a bridge for a while. we freaked out some kids than watched all the boxing which was a great time. The state champ went last and won his fight in less than 5 seconds with just two punches. it was pretty incredible. we went home and got ready for the drive home tomorrow.

also check out clydes burgers. they are fantastic if youre going over the bridge. monday we shoot at my house. which is greers house in the movie. and i dont have to clean. infact they clean it in the movie. pretty sweet deal.

First Big Day of Production

2010-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

yesterday we started early and went late. our first big day that ended up in 16 hours of filming around town in 5 different locations. Mark Roebuck is a trooper for letting us give him the most ridiculous hair cut in the world and then being out in it all day. We met Jackson for the first time and he is going to be spectacular. His donut dunking skills are unstoppable.

We started with the mental patients and everyone looks crazy wandering around the basketball court. then Marcus got to knock down an old man with a bag full of groceries.

Although we did pick the hottest day of the year to shoot in my car with the windows up and 4 people in it, all in atleast 2 layers of clothes. we did our first car mount shot, it was pretty interesting.

We also saw Johns house for the first time, it looks great. The bunk beds got set up and the wall has a picture of kevin nash holding a basketball that is something to look for in the finished product.

I got to give my first big speech to the team and it went really well. The crew is fantastic and still in high hopes after 16 hours of shooting in extreme heat. A bunch of top notch fellows. and maybe a lady or two.

The next three days we are up north in the U.P. shooting greer getting knocked out by the state champ, than staying to watch him fight to a packed house. cant wait.

LLama pajama and murdery fun

2010-07-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

days 3 and four of shooting were at the llama farm. and man that place is awesome. we shot in the bed and breakfast next to the llama farm. the llamas are cute as hell and really funny looking. we had our first day of shooting with one mr mark roebuck who did great. and we killed jerrys wife katie and strung her from the ceiling. i also got to play an extra, i loved that. so far shooting really hasnt had too many hassles and the craft service table has been moderately legit each day. we have one more flash back to shoot next weekend. other than that we should be moving into the present shortly.

youre gonna reap it

2010-06-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

day 2 of shooting was sideways from the get go. what was supposed to be a 4 hour shoot turned into a ten hour one. but with the re addition of donaldson from the wasted crew, and free coffee from beaners, things perked up. we got to shoot in a pretty awesome boxing gym and i beat tom in a jump rope contest. we also locked in the state champ of boxing to fight greer, should be awesome to see greer get his ass kicked by this guy to a packed house.

also we got the jib today and they didnt send us a part and all seemed fucked. but once we got it going, man that thing is amazing. this movie is looking legit as hell. next shoot day is wednesday at the llama farm. should be pretty cute.

Day one in the can

2010-06-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

day one went fantastic. very little mistakes, lots of laughs. marianne chan was in a puppet show and one of out actors had metal teeth he got in the navy. shooting greer boxing tomorrow.

The Storm Before The Storm

2010-06-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Shooting starts tomorrow. Everyone better be doing their stretches now.