Part 1: The Ancients
The real fun begins when the Ancients are brought together. Bruce Spence, the tall Aussie legend from Mad Max/Road Warrior fame, is Khayman. Matt Newton (who plays Jothee on Farscape) is playing Armand. Due to the lens type being used on the film, (anamorphic), Matt and I will end up linked in all the coverage in two-shots; the lenses are so wide that rarely will anyone other than the heroes have a 'single'. So on and off set we become the naughty twins.
Lena Olin, as Maharet, and Vincent Perez join us for these scenes. They are charming and funny. The work begins to feel more like play.
Part 2: The Rock Concert
There is a sequence set at a rock concert. The Ancients pop in to check it out. Since they are geographically removed from the action directly on the stage, our shot is done on a different night to the filming of the concert. Scores of Gothic extras are brought in.
After seven hours straight of waiting in the trailer, a very sleepy Pandora scuttles on to set to fall into line with the other Ancients. The only thing keeping me awake is the fact that there is basically a naked extra dancing in front of us. The rest of the cast have too much grace to acknowledge it. I am trying not to giggle. I really should grow up one of these days. Over tired I guess.
Some music is played to get the extras in the mood. Given their attire, the demographic they represent and the type of music that will be put in afterwards, 'We are Family' by Sister Sledge is not terribly appropriate and half the crew stands back anticipating a riot.
We, in one long take, give reactions to things that will be shot in a month's time. The director says things like "OK, and now so and so flies in......"
When's dinner? We had it ten hours ago. Bummer.
Six a.m. -time to go back to the hotel, put on an eye mask, put in some ear plugs and attempt to sleep before my afternoon pick-up.
Part 3: The Hollywood Sign
Actually it looked more like N-U-L. We shot a scene out in the hills of Melbourne, somewhere that had to pass for the Hollywood Hills.
The Ancients gather in front of the Hollywood sign. Due to the size of the letters of the sign in reality and probably some budget constraints, only half of the first three letters were built. Hence, N-U-L.
A long night shooting one scene. In between shots I keep calling my friends back in Sydney who are at our high school reunion. They are in the bathroom, (where girls always congregate). The reception is bad and the call finally cuts out.
So, I am left in front of something that says N-U-L wearing fangs
and an exotic costume pretending to be undead. I start wondering about how many of my classmates became doctors and lawyers and decide that I have chosen a very strange way to make a living.
Part 4: The Death Scene
You know your character is expendable when... she is killed off.
Originally, when I was first sent the script my character had a brush with death but survived. By the time I arrived at the read through a new draft was in and Pandora was a gonner.
When I plucked up the courage to ask the director why the ending had changed he replied, 'equal opportunity' . I laughed, as everyone around me was laughing. To this day I have no idea what he meant.
It is a cutthroat world being undead and now someone was surviving in my place. As long as my demise was gory, I didn't care.
Gory it was. The scene called for nasty contact lenses called Scelerals which are hard discs which cover the whole front of the eye ball. They sit on a nerve which can trigger nausea and since I had been throwing up all morning from a tummy bug, the paramedic was reluctant to put them in.
We were shooting this on B unit as the A unit, including director was on the south coast on location. I suggested that with the director unavailable to make the final decision and me starting "Farscape" in a few days with no hope of return for re-shoots, I better pop the lenses in and give it a go.
Some anesthetic drops were placed in my eyes to numb them for the installation. The optician deftly placed them in despite my moans and now blinded, I was walked over to my start mark by him and the movement coach, Rinski.
A prosthetic had been applied over several hours in the morning to my neck to give me popping out veins. Blood was placed under my tongue and unable to see I flung myself trustingly onto a set of stairs and I writhed for all my worth.
Later, a computer technician would make me burst into flames. Cool.