weekend twelve: return of the siesta!!!

We're all smiles... or passing gas, you decide. As I had mentioned on the Friday edition of the "blog," I barely made it through the work-time hours of Thursday and Friday. Between the two days I might have caught about 3 and 1/2 hours of sleep all together... and I was dragging a large crate of ass through the remainder of the blurry time frame of Friday night. After work on Friday, I managed to go home for a short amount of time before our "call time" and gather some pieces of my shattered head, so that I might form a rational or composed thought while we were filming at the wonderful Siesta Motel.

For those of you who have never visited the Siesta Motel, I would like to invite you to make the short drive and take in all of the character from a time long gone. The Siesta is an old road side motel located on a stretch of Hwy. 70 (Summer Ave). that has been taken over by suburban sprawl much like the Kudzu vine snakes through crack and crevice to invade every inch of sun drenched space. Yeah, I'm not much for the "Burbs" (even though the film with Tom Hanks is mildly humorous -- back before the time that he was considered the "Great American Actor" -- but that's another story). The Siesta was built in a simpler time, when there wasn't a desire for all of the amenities of luxury and home. It was designed (rather oddly) for the weary traveler who simply needed a bed and a shower. Since it's heyday not much has changed. The windows have been painted shut (also a way to make sure that the daylight doesn't seep through the lack of curtains), the carpet shows the pock marks of cigarette burns and old greasy spills, the bathroom is small but at least the water is clean. There is a large bed, a table, a few chairs, an antique dresser (if you wish to put away your clothes), and a heater for those cold winter nights when you don't have an extra body under the covers. As the years have passed there have been a few added modern items for the weary traveler that expects just a little more out of a room these days. There is a small refrigerator, a microwave, and air-conditioning until, and even cable television. However, these modern additions do little to sway the original Noir nostalgia that overwhelms you as you walk through the door. The place is straight out of L.A. Confidential.

We've used this location more than just this weekend. The Siesta Motel served as a backdrop for Mac the Crackhead's debut in A Cowboy's Silver Lining. Why would we use such a place for a roadside motel where a drug dealer has held up to run shop? Because it fits the bill. We used this location again for Divine Manipulation of the Threads and I'll give you a little hint... there's some more gangster shit going down at the Siesta Motel in this film. You take one look at the oddly built rooms and know that you've found one of the best kept secrets in Indie Film (which I'm now sharing with all of you -- I doubt that it will hurt Les' feelings to get more business).

Now, I will warn you... some of the clientele that stays for weeks at a time at the Siesta are reasonably nice people. They don't mind saying "hello." They're usually quite interested in what this film crew is doing around the motel... coming in and out of the rooms... They're usually good people. However, you will get some of these loner types from time to time that seem to be "up to something" and don't really like all of these people around... or a camera... or noises at 1AM. One of our neighbors was kind of a prick for a Friday night. If you're staying in a roadside motel... expect that there are going to be some disturbances on a Friday night. Don't bitch and complain to the owner, don't slam the door, and quit acting like a fucking baby. If you want privacy, solitude, and silence go to another place. The Siesta is still alive and thriving... at least for the meantime.

So, this weekend's shoot went very well. My hands are still somewhat stained with fake blood. We took Saturday and Sunday off (other things to do in this crazy life). This coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is going to be quite busy. We've got an actor coming back into town from NY, Ralph Hatley is coming back home to work with us some more, and we've got to play catch up for all of the times that we weren't able to get a shoot happening for the weekend. It's going to be busy busy busy. No rest for the weary.

On another note, this Wednesday Nov. 16th there is a premiere for another film that I acted in. The film is called Delusions and it is Robert Saba's first feature film. I've got a couple of other screen credits for the film as well but I'm pretty excited to see the film in it's entirety. Here's the skinny.

WHAT: "Delusions"
WHERE: The Complex, 704 Madison, entrance in rear
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7:45 p.m.
ADMISSION: Free if you're on the list. If you're not then you have to pay $7
Note: Doors Close at 8pm no one will be allowed in after that time.