Mail: How did the cast entertain themselves on the set?

Another question from the mailbox!

What did the cast like to do "between shots" on the set of Ten Inch Hero?

Well, Director David Mackay is quick to point out that there's isn't much time between shots on an independent film. The pace is pretty grueling! Still, not everyone is in every shot, so there is SOME downtime.

So how did everyone unwind? We asked PA Cynthia Boris, whose primary responsibility was keeping track of the actors at all times. We figured if anyone knew, she would. And she did!

Cynthia Boris says:

Shopping was a popular way to pass the time between takes. Danneel Harris, Elisabeth Harnois, Clea DuVall, and Judith Drake all enjoyed shopping in the vintage clothing stores that lined the street where we were shooting.

One of our more crafty neighbors was selling hand-painted surfboards and he convinced Jensen Ackles to buy one. While shooting at Port o'Call, the actors stopped to check out rows and rows of colorful and sugary Mexican candies.

Next to shopping, coffee runs were tops on the list! Even though it was over 100 degrees out, all of the actors took time to dash up 6th Street to the coffee house for a pick-me-up and a few minutes of quiet time with the newspaper.

Short breaks were mostly filled with chatter. The actors swapped stories, passed around magazines, worked crossword puzzles, and listened to music. John Doe is a famous singer (both with X the Band and on his own) so he entertained the group on the van rides with a CD of his latest tunes.

The actors also got a lot of mileage out of toys they found in the local 99 Cent Store. The light up spacemen ray guns were particularly popular.

Sean Wing battled to be the champion chess player. Our youngest star Adair Tishler played games with her set teacher to pass the time; she doubly enjoyed hanging with the movie's canine star.

Once production was moved to the beach, Clea and Sean Patrick Flanery took advantage of some meditation time by the ocean. When the sun went down, Jensen and the girls would play a fast round of pick-up basketball.

David Mackay adds:

Just wanted to add that that Jensen, Clea, Danneel, and Elizabeth bought me one of the full size surfboards from that shop. A beautiful present! It is actually designed to hang on the wall, and it's a huge amazing oldstyle wooden board. It's really a piece of art that holds many large photographs, which I am filling with stills from the shoot!

It was an awesome present and I LOVE it!

Feel free to send in your questions...either to the gmail account or on myspace!

Digging Deep in the Mailbox

This week, we thought we'd dig deep and answer some of those questions that have been sitting in the mail box for a while. So here ya go:

WC Fields advised film-makers to never work with animals or children, but Ten Inch Hero has both! How was that?

Director David Mackay answers:

The reason WC Fields said that is because it's time-consuming and can be frustrating, trying to give direction to things that typically don't take direction!

Fortunately, we had no problems, with either the children OR the pets.

Adair Tishler (Julia), who was 9 years old at the time (but was playing 8), was GREAT! She goes to a performing arts school and is trained as an actress. She is VERY good at learning her lines and understanding the blocking. She also takes direction very well.

I am so proud of Adair's performance...she did all this and had to study for school between scenes!

We were very lucky in the animal department. Lucille (Judith Drake) carries a chihuahua in her bag, called Bam-Bam, in the movie. The pup was very well behaved, and would even yelp on cue.

The dog came with his own wardrobe! We changed his outfit every day too, but for some reason no one noticed it quite the same way they noticed Priestly's ever-changing assortment of t-shirts. Our big regret is that we forgot to put Bam-Bam in his little tux for the final scene of the movie.


John Doe...man, I've been listening to him forever. Did he talk about his music on the set?

Sure! John had a CD coming out shortly after filming, so he played cuts from it to entertain the cast and crew.

As for getting him to play on the set, well, David has a funny story about that:

TIH has one scene that takes place at Trucker's (John's Character) pad. So I asked the art department to put a guitar in the living room...thinking that maybe Trucker--a 60's child--would play the guitar.

I was also just hoping that John might pick it up and jam between takes.

So, when I saw John find the guitar and sit down with it, I got excited and anticipated that he might just break out into an X song! So I walked over to him, and he said "You sure I would have this in my house?" I asked why, and he replied "Well, it's the kind of guitar you'd give your kid."

I wish the art department had been able to find a real Fender!

Grab Bag o' Stuff

We put a slide show up on the myspace with shots from Newport Beach and Santa Cruz. I'll move the pics to the album soon, but for now, it's a public slideshow so even you guys who hate myspace should be able to get through it without too much pain.

The web site has been updated with the latest pics.

Be sure to catch TIH's adorable Adair Tishler (Julia) on Heroes next week.

We had a wonderful time in Santa Cruz. Thank you to Jane and all the terrific film fest volunteers who work so hard. Special thanks to all the fans and friends who came to see us. We are especially proud to win the Festival's award for best soundtrack.

Checking In Between Film Fests!

Report from Newport Beach

By now, I'm sure many of you have seen reports from the NB screening...it was truly a wonderful night. Thank you SO MUCH to all the cast and crew members who came down to lend their support. We just wish David had been able to be there, but he's very busy directing another film in Vancouver.

A special thanks to everyone who just stopped by to tell us how much you loved the movie. I especially love putting faces to internet names (Ahem, Ash? You guys WERE the ones I was looking for!)

When we get back from Santa Cruz, I'll put together a slide show. So if you have a picture you want to include, please send it to the gmail account.

And On to Santa Cruz

Next Stop? The Rio theater in Santa Cruz! This Saturday (April 28), at 7:30. Since Ten Inch Hero is set in SCruz, we're very excited to be "coming home!"

And after that...?

We don't know. Really. We're working hard to get the movie out there so all of you can see it. Trust me--we want every one of you to see the movie on the big screen.

When we know about future screenings or film fests, we will put it on the blog or the myspace. So keep checking!

What can we do to help?

We LOVE that you guys ask us that.

The best thing an indie movie can have is BUZZ, so just keep spreading the word. And if you've seen the movie and you love it, a quick review and/or rating on IMDB goes a long way. We really appreciate the reviews we've received out there so far.

I remembered something I wanted to ask!

Hey, we're still taking questions! Feel free to send them in. We'll answer some more after Santa Cruz.

Ten Inch Hero in Phoenix by Andy and Tara

TIFs Tara and Andy made this terrific video of the sights and sounds of Ten Inch Hero's screening at Phoenix Film Festival.

The music is by Feeder, and is featured in the Ten Inch Hero soundtrack.

HUGE thanks to Tara and Andy for making this, as well as to all our new friends who agreed to participate.

Film Festival Update

Report From Phoenix

We are stunned, humbled, and just so excited by the "arms-wide-open" reception we received this weekend. Amazing feedback and reviews we're reading.

We can't wait to get some pictures and/or video...please send them to the gmail account, and we'll post them! Remember, the coveted TIH t-shirt is at stake!


And on to Newport Beach!

With Phoenix behind us, we turn to our screening at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Orange County, CA on April 25.

Please note that two of the Phoenix screenings sold out and had to turn people away. Please order your NB tickets ASAP. As far as we know, there WILL be a Q&A session following the screening.


And the Santa Cruz Film Festival...

Close on the heels of Newport Beach is the Santa Cruz Film Festival. The show is Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Rio Theater. That theater is HUGE, but, as the closing show of the film festival, we are hoping to PACK IT!

You mean you've been waiting...

...for one of these? Oh! Why didn't you say so?!

Our Poster is Here!!!

You'll have to head over to myspace if you want to see it bigger, but this should give you a good idea!!

Mark on the Radio!

Just a note: If you're coming to Phoenix on Friday...

Be sure to get to the theater no later than 15 minutes before the show time. In fact, I'd shoot for 30 minutes early! They're expecting the show to be packed.

See you there!

Mark's On the Radio!

Click here to download the audio of Mark on the radio! Warning--it's a biggie, so don't do it if you have a dial up! Thanks to Cynthia and Amber for their help.

(If you have problems with this, shoot me a message...I *think* it's working properly).

Producer Mark Witsken to be on the Radio!

Tomorrow (Monday) morning, producer Mark Witsken will be a guest on public radio in Santa Cruz around 10:30 am pacific. He will be part of a panel talking about the upcoming Santa Cruz Film Festival, where TIH is the closing show.

If you're not in the area, you SHOULD be able to listen in on the feed at KUSP.ORG, but with live radio...no promises, okay?

We'll try to get a recording of it for the myspace page one way or the other.