Day 4-Uptakes, Retakes and Final Takes

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again W.E. Hickson

We had all decided to sleep in just a bit before beginning today's shoots.  I wish someone had told my younger kids that!  By now, they were so used to having the crew around that they looked forward to the morning and the new adventures that the day would certainly bring. It was somewhere around 6:30 when the kids barged in asking if Sam was coming.  You would have thought Santa Claus himself was on his way!

Today's agenda: interviews with all the kids, uptakes and retakes of scenes previously shot and laundry!  Yes, my dear Watson even movie stars have laundry and these kids have tons!  It has been three days of filming and three days of laundry not being done!  You can only imagine the roar from the laundry monster!

The weather was gorgeous, once again.  The leaves were blowing and the sun was quickly warming the day.  The set for the interviews was to be in the yard, on the tree swing.  The crew was busily shooing dogs and trying to secure wires while Emily was busy primping and sprucing the kids.  

The interviews were to be fairly simple for the younger kids (or so you would think).  It was decided that Lara would go first.  She had done so well in all of her shoots that we all just kind of figured she would set the bar.  She did an amazing job!  LJ went next and then it was the younger kids' turn!  By this time, the kids were ready to play and keeping the swing still was becoming more and more of an obstacle.  

One of the rules with this take was that the kids had to do their best to speak in complete sentences.  So, Sam would ask them (off camera), "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  The kids were to then say "when I grow up I want to be .......".  Well, at least that was the way it was supposed to go!

We got through Bradley and Ryan and then it was Wesley's turn. "So Wesley, tell us what you want to be when you grow up."  "Ice Cream."  "Now Wes, what do you want to BE when you grow up."  "Ice Cream."  TAKE 6..."Wesley, say this: When I grow up I want to be...."  "When I grow up I want to be an ice cream cone."  "Cut..that's a wrap".  I kid you not!

I was busy making lunch for some of the others but I did see Gabe sitting on the swing like such a big boy working the lens like no other.  And then it was Helena's turn.  I had decided I didn't want to hear what she, LJ and the rest of the older kids were saying and that I would rather see it on the big screen and be amazed.  I was inside when Sam and Emily came in with tears in their eyes.  I missed it at first but then Emily approached me and told me that Helena blew them away.  I told her that I didn't want to know what had been said but that I knew my daughter and I have no doubt it was awesome.  About that time Rupert came in and had a completely blank look on his face.  He too had been blown away and all he could say was "great stuff...great stuff."  Gotta love those camera guys!  So, for all of us awaiting the release of the movie, we will see Helena together and I have no doubt she will steal the show!

I didn't have too much shooting to do and that was a good thing as I hadn't washed my hair in days (on Emily's direction) and I looked like hell!  Who would have thought that the simple action of washing your hair would bring such tremendous joy!!!! By days end I was clean, the house bared a slight resemblance to the orderly place we once lived in and I had tamed the laundry monster...at least for the moment.

The day, once again went off without so much as a hitch and tonight was to be the "British Dinner" I had promised to prepare.