Sunday, January 31, 2010

Queenstown -woot woot!


It is already starting to get difficult to keep track of days, hours, minutes, locations etc!

This morning I jumped out of bed to look at the sky... sadly, nothing had changed from yesterday, but no water was going to stop my casting meeting so off I went to meet Stu and Suzanne (my casting directors) at a little place called "Jaffa".

I had been told that Stu knew what I looked like, so I took a seat, ordered a chamomile tea and proceeded to wait.

About 15 minutes passed and there was still no sign of Stu and Suzanne.... until I looked at the table next to me and these two people had pics of my movie on their screen. Naturally it all fell into place then and we had a great discussion about what I could and could not get in NZ.

The character of James has already been cast with this amazing actor named Luke Hawker.

The funny story behind Luke is that he is actually a very old friend of mine! We went to school together when I was 13 but I have not seen him for about 15 years (eek!). It would be great to have him as my main character as I know that he is a brilliant actor and will also be extremely supportive of me!

Granny looks like she may be cast (fingers crossed), but Nanna and Sean are proving to be as difficult as their damn characters! Nanna calls for an elderly lady who is extremely thin and tall. I can get elderly lady, but the thin and tall part is not easy to come by. Therefore if we are still coming up empty handed in the next few days, I am going to have to simply take what there is to offer and go with a medium build Nanna. Sean we are getting warmer on and I am not so worried about...

Anyhow, after the meeting I was supposed to go on a walk and learn some Tamaki Hikoi stories etc. Sadly due to the rain (aka my nemesis), it was cancelled. Good news? This allowed me a full two hours extra time to sit and research some of the actors that were suggested to me in the morning meeting.

After that, it was a short plane ride to Queenstown. I saw the most BREATH TAKING vistas from the plane - truly unbelievable.

At the airport I was met by my production manager Garry who answered a lot of my questions and put me at ease! We hit it off from the start so I am really glad that he is on my team.

I then checked into the REES hotel which is situated right on the edge of a lake - talk about being spoiled... this place is AMAZING. I have a gorgeous view from my room and private patio (yes I just wrote PRIVATE PATIO??!!) and the production office is just a few floors up from me!

Speaking of which, Garry took me around to meet some of the people in the production office, however it was short and sweet as I was whisked away whilst being told that in order to keep the playing field level, I was not allowed to get questions answered, meet, discuss my film etc until tomorrow when my alloted time officially starts. IT IS SO HARD BEING SO CLOSE AND NOT BEING ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS - AGHHHHHH!

Therefore, I am now in my room working. I want to tighten the script up and get that damn shot list in order before tomorrow so that I can go in and give everyone fresh copies of everything to work off.

Did I mention that I am SOOOOOOOO thrilled?! I still can't believe that this is all happening!

7 comments:

  1. What a dream come true - we're so so happy happy for you oxox

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  2. swank diggs! looks like a good place to unwind after a long day of production. thinking of youuu xx

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  3. yaayyy to you Aya. I do believe the rain is definatley working in your favour. When you are rich and famous you can return and do all the things you missed. Shame about the thin granny..how about binding a not so thin one up in a very tight corset? Granny abuse no doubt. Great to see Luke looking so good...a perfect cast there. All my love as always,
    mem oxoxoxoxox

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  4. Aya, I know its probably difficult but it is so awesome that you are finding time to blog about this. i love being able to keep up with you and see what's happening, we are so thrilled for you! much love, kaWren & cj

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  5. How bizarro is it that you already know the lead?? That should definitely be on the official blog.. good tidbit. I'm glad that you're having a great time! I know how difficult it is for you to keep those questions in (behave).

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  6. Great begining! The Rees must be what the doctor prescribed - awesome!
    Re: Thin granny. Can you get young thin woman and transform her into "granny" through the magic of makeup? -- Just an idea.
    oxoxoxox
    Epita

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  7. Nice digs- although that does not look like a Langham quality bed!

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