Lee and Kokoy

Lee is the Director of Photography and Kokoy the First AD.

I spit a couple of times the first day in some takes, and then didn't do it for a couple of days.

Lee pulled me aside and said, "I miss your spit." No woman has ever said that to me before. So I spit in just about every scene now.

It's going to be really cool or really stupid. I trust her.

More Werewolf Moon

The image is a little grainy because the light was so low and I had to mess with the ISO on my camera. Anyway, DJ looks badass in it.

Dane Thinks....

...and Tagbilaran whizzes by in the background.

Rolly!!!!

Rolly taught me a song.

Tayo ng Magsaya
A Dede Pababa
Sakaka Chuchupa

I can't ever seem to get a straight answer as to what it means, but its either "Get this guy a blowjob" or "And then we'll give blowjobs" I have a terrible fear its the latter. I

The View of Tagbilaran from Where I'm Staying

I've been here a month now. I have one week of shooting left and will be gone on Saturday. The thought of leaving is a mixture of excitement, sadness, nostalgia...

I can't help but think about how moments are fleeting.

I have formed so many friendships during this experience, but its sad to think that life will happen and we will most likely grow distant.

This will happen only one time. In this place. With these people. I will miss it.

View From DJs Room

I'm at the end of the hall. I've found that lighting and a camera can really skew your perspective.

The place I'm staying is nice. But this makes it look like the Peninsula.

The Moon Makes Him Crazy!

Tanduay 8 year

Not to be confused with Tanduay #1, this is the upgrade.

Olman's Nights

The sky here is very American Werewolf in London

Lords of the Ceremony.

Yul and Garret wielding their power on their observation deck.

Dick Clark aint got nothin on these fools.

The Procession

Mapulgas (which means fleas in Tagalog) leading the procession of San Isidro during the festival.

Armi and the girls....

Armi is one of the kindest sweetest people I've met here. All of the Filipinos are so nice, but Armi has a sick twisted sense of humor that goes hand in hand with mine.

With her a bunch of adorable villager girls.

Dwight!!!!

Dwight is the man. If I need some prop on set (Tobacco Leaves) Dwight is the man.

We were trashed last Saturday and I found out that Dwight was a drummer. We picked up some barbeque skewers and jammed for about 40 minutes on some bottles. It was fucking awesome. A true bonding moment.

San Isidro in full force!!!

Here's a wide of San Isidro in all his glory. Production had two of these made by some craftsmen in the 'Pines.

San Isidro

The Saint whom the festival in the movie is named after. He's very photogenic.

He's Got Legs.....!!!!

And knows how to use them.....

I thought I was pale. And he's cuban!!!!

Beautiful Jewelry

The props mistress picked up these turn of the century style jewels in Manila. Hand crafted, beautiful stuff.

Tobbaco Leaves

If you've never seen a Tobacco leaf, you're in luck. I've never seen one up close and well, here they are. In full force.

There's a section of the film where a "festival" takes place in the village and all of the villagers present their wears to sell. It was so cool to see all the turn of the century goods that people could and would purchase.

You roll these tobacco leaves and smoke them like a cigar. I begged John to let me roll one and he did. It made the scene and you can watch as a I choke my way trying to smoke it.

Choochie 1

I have to say, I'm a bit addicted to taking pictures of the creepy Padre "Choochie" Hidalgo.

His pale skin. His dark thoughts. His total access to little children. Okay, now I sound really creepy.

But there is going to be a series of Choochie pics coming up. Sorry.

DJs Room

DJ requested the Rainbow Brite-themed room. Complete with Polyester sheets and all!

The Soldiers Quarters

The other day I had to do a shoot where I come out of this hut and check the rain. These huts are very well built, but rain streamed down from the roof. To think that actual troops slept in huts similar to this must have sucked!!! Granted we were invading someone else's country, but still...

Last Baryo on the Left

Here Garret reprises his sick twisted rapist from Last House on the Left. It's always the quiet ones.

Pretty in Pink!

I never thought we'd be cold in the Philippines, but when its raining at 3 am and then it abruptly stops and you have to wait around for ten minutes, you'll freeze your ass off. I don't care if you're in the jungle or not.

Brian requested pink, he says its "his color".

Creepy!!

Wednesday night was our first night rain shoot. I've never shot in the rain before and while its a pain in the ass, rain on film is so dramatic and cool.

Here Choochie Hidalgo stalks his prey.

Ladaga Inn Sunset

This is the view from the top of the production office headquarters. There are two hotels that the cast and crew are staying in. Olmans View and Ladaga Inn.

Chings Baby!!

Ching gave birth to a costume baby. He's a very proud father.

Church in the Center of Town`

Huge Catholic community. This is the mother ship church in the middle of town.

Piracy at its best!!!

If actors want to know what is happening to their residuals, come on over to Tagbilaran.

One place had a disk with 16 Bruce Willis movies on it. 16!!!

Owen!

This is outside of a barber shop that I pass everyday on the way to the set.

Words escape me.

The Loneliest Wifi Spot in the World

I think this is what hell is. Only you never get reception.

The Terminator Lives!

His icy stare will steal your dreams and burn your rice paddy.

The Water Fountain in town

Tagbilaran at Night

Last night Yul, Garret and I rolled around Tagbilaran and took tons of photos.

It's as if someone art directed the city. The low light levels and the light filtered through the thick moist air made for some amazing shots. I actually have fooled myself into thinking I'm a good photographer.

Tanduay #1!!

You may not have known this, but Tanduay is the self-proclaimed number 1 rum.

Will loves Tanduay. They're thinking about using his photo as their new spokesperson.

Wills face also changes when he drinks. It's an amazing thing, but one side actually becomes lower than the other. An incredible feat for an incredible man.

TANDUAY!!!!

The Vision

Before there was any village, John had drawn a sketch of what he thought it would look like. It's amazing watching an idea come to fruition, bringing hundreds of people together, each with their own talents and skills.

A Local Villager

I want this as my entertainment center.

I stare at this thing every day while I wait to be called to set. It's in a "green house" which has become the surrogate actor holding area. I like to pick up books from the shelf, like "How to hook up in Tagalog" and learn phrases like "Halikan Mo Ako" which means Kiss Me.

Full Steam Ahead!

I've been obsessed with this boat.

Mary Cybulwski is the still photographer for the photo shoot. She's also one of the top Script Supervisors in the business. This is her first official still photography gig and she is knocking it out of the park.

MR. BRIAN LEE FRANKLIN!!!!!!!!

If you're a vegan, the Philippines would be a challenge.

This thing will fuck you up.

Kenny and Bobby, close family friends of John's who are playing two of the soldiers in the film. They're mother is Nancy Savoca, an extremely talented independent film director.

The Ladaga Inn Girls!

I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but these girls, who literally work all day, its as if they never leave, make 150 pesos a day. That's 3 dollars American. And you have this moment where you feel so angry that there's so much injustice and you also feel helpless because you want to do something for them, but you don't know where to begin.

That's when bartender Billy kicked in. I taught the girls the amazing value of a tip cup and put the first dollars in. At 4 am I sat them down and counted it out. 3800 pesos!!!! They each took home an additional 760 pesos for the night, which is more than they make in a week.

I asked them what they were going to do with the money and all of their responses, to a person was "give it to my family." Filipinos generosity of spirit is like nothing I've ever seen.

Will and his six new Filipino wives.

I always thought DJ was talented but I had no idea he could shoot sperm from his eye.

Last night, I made everyone take pictures with a candle under their chin: I'm very artsy.

Mario is John's assistant editor and has been working with him since 1995 on Lonestar. In addition to editing on this film, he's also a producer.

He likes to smoke firecrackers. He lives on the edge.

Jemi plays Zuniga, a great role in the film. He's from Spain and has a thick Spanish accent. The picture here is his send off. And we all look like jack-asses with our fingers to our mouths because of the following exchange that happened a week ago.

Jemi: I wuz whatchin' the soap op-er-ahh and der was diz lady and she had da snakes in her head and she pointed and dee lazer came out of her fingers and she killz the pampers.

Me: What?

Jemi: The Pampers. You know, (he puts his fingers up to his mouth, creating fangs) You know, Pampers?

Me: Vampires??

Jemi: Jes. Pampers.

Anyway Pampers became the go-to line for everything. I'll miss him a lot. He left this morning.

Yul lives in the shadows.