Friday, July 31, 2009
The Vampire Diaries Start Filming in Covington
Covington has yet another persona. Our little town has been known as Hazzard County (The Dukes of Hazzard); Sparta, Mississippi (In the Heat of the Night); Haddonfield, Illinois (Halloween 2); and most recently Mystic Falls, Virginia.
Covington has actually been in many films and TV series. Here is a list, according to IMDB, of films and TV shows that list Covington, Georgia as a film location. It's a lot more than most people expect.
'The Vampire Diaries' is set in Mystic Falls, VA. After looking for a suitable film location (and all the Georgia incentives didn't hurt) the 'Vampire Diaries' finally settled on Covington. I know there are already previews being aired on the CW. Those are scenes from the pilot episode that was filmed in Vancouver, Canada.
Last Thursday and Friday was the official beginning to the craziness. The actual filming began. I rode by the set on Thursday and stopped for a few minutes on Friday. With my schedule, that was about all I could manage.
Both days, the filming didn't start until 5-6pm and ran through the night finishing up around 6am. The only issue I witnessed was massive traffic congestion around the Square on Thursday and Friday. On Friday, they temporarily 'blocked' a lot of parking spots around the filming location and that caused some issues with people trying to get where they needed to go.
Basically, the filming centered around one corner of the Square. It is actually a lawyer's office but the film crew has turned it into the Mystic Grille. They have painted the brick work dark green, placed a large 'Mystic Grille' sign above the door and placed tables and chairs on the side walk.
I understand that they are shooting ONLY exteriors on the Square and that the interior shots are being done on a local sound stage.
Here is a picture of the film area before it became the Mystic Grille.
The building in question is near the center of the photo. It is the small white building next to the town clock.
Here are some of the quick photos I took on Friday. They had reset the town clock for the filming.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Palpatine Project
It has been interesting at my house for a couple of months now. Darrell stays locked away in his room with a large hunk of clay and only comes out to visit on breaks.
He and Jesse have been working on this pet project for a couple of months now. All I can say at this point, is that it involves a scuplt of Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars (done by Darrell) and creating master molds (Darrell & Jesse).
Here is an 'approved' picture of the sculpt (yes, I have to have the pictures I post 'approved').
For the last week or so, they have been working on the molds. This is being done at Jess's place. I don't have the greatest understanding of the molding process but I have tried to explain what is going on in each photo.
I will post more updates as the project moves forward.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
'Vampire Diaries' crew to film on square Thursday, Friday
The "Vampire Diaries" crew will be filming on the square from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday and from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday. There will be cameras, equipment and vehicles on the sidewalks, curbside and streets around the square, and the crew will be holding traffic intermittently for filming. There will also be temporary road closures on both days of filming. If you have questions or concerns about settings for shoots, call the locations office at 770-987-0666 (Please note this number is not for casting inquiries).
Click here for the full article from the Covington News.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Fox Trot Plagiarism
Yesterday, I got a great email from Hockey Cop. He sent me a copy of the Sunday Fox Trot comic strip. As I read the comic, I was surprised that it concerned D*C. Then I went on to read that he had altered the original strip and substituted D*C for Comic Con. Before I continue, some background...
Fox Trot is a fantastic comic strip. It frequently mentions things we geeks take great interest in like Star Wars, and Sci Fi (NOT SyFy) Conventions. Last Sunday, the topic involved Comic Con. While I have never attended Comic Con (but some day I hope too), I have attended more than my share of Dragon Con's, along with some Fantasy Faire's, Dixie Trek's, MOC's and few other choice conventions.
Well, after I saw Hockey Cop's version, I just HAD to do my own based on my D*C experiences.
Here are all the Fox Trot comic strips in order, starting with the original...
Hockey Cop's version...
My version...
If anyone else wants to give it a go, send me the resulting comic strip and I'll post it on the blog.
Have fun!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Harry Potter & SHAG!
***Spoiler Alert***
This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch the new Harry Patter movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". Now I have heard many criticisms of the movie and many are very legit. There are many things not explained, like Dumbledore's hand and exactly why is Snape the Half-Blood Prince, and many things are left out, like that amazing battle at Hogwartz before Dumbledore bites the big one.
Despite its shortcomings and the fact I had an annoying child slapping their feet together while one of the parents snored through the movie, I enjoyed it. I liked the fact the Dumbledore (even though I hate that costume) had more screen time. I liked Tom Felton. Normally, I am not a Draco fan but I thought he was superb in this movie.
Just for kicks and grins, here are some of the movie trailers...
The artist known as SHAG.
If you haven't heard of the Artist SHAG (pictured above), you are really missing something. For a quick tutorial head here.
An event that I only wish I could attend will be happening next month at Disneyland. A lucky few will attend SHAG's Spirited Cocktail Reception on August 8, 2009 taht will show case his "Haunted Mansion" inspired artwork created in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland park. Represented in the artwork are some of the attraction's most beloved scenes, including the Stretching Portraits, the Ballroom, the Seance Room, the Attic, Graveyard, among others. Then on August 9th, SHAG will be on hand for a special meet & greet and signing opportunity at the Main Street Cinema.
Here are some of his prints that I would just die to get a hold of...
I am not a jewelry person but I would jump at the opportunity to nab these bracelets...
And these are a cool set of Mickey Ear's...
For a look at most of the merchandise being offered at this special event, head here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Darrell / Alex Birthday 2009
Darrell turned 40 this year! The day of his actual birthday was July 11th. Since we had an event at the Kennesaw Southern Museum, we decided to celebrate on Sunday, July 12th. Well, that is actually Alex's birthday so we combined parties! I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted - that was one crazy weekend - and I feel TERRIBLE because I don't have any pictures of my birthday boy! Oh well, I still love 'em.
Here were some questionable people hanging out in Jesse's kitchen. I'm still not sure exactly what they were doin' but it looks like they were having fun doing it!
The Kuipers clan was there but Julian had his Play Station, so he was preoccupied for the afternoon.
My Powder Monkey made it!
The other birthday boy Alex doing those things that Alex does...
Alex and Lindsey did dress for the event. He looked fantastic in his suit and she was beautiful in her red dress!
Liz having a momentary 501st butch moment...
That's better. Liz and her man.
It was a wonderful afternoon full of friends (many not pictured), food and fun!
Night at the Southern Museum: Kennesaw Southern Museum
On Saturday, July 11th, the Kennesaw Southern Museum hosted an event "Night at the Southern Museum". It was based on the movie "Night at the Museum." In preparing for the event, the museum contacted the Ga 501st in hopes of getting Vader and some Stormtroopers. Little did they know just how many volunteers they would have for that event. Not only did they have Vader, Stormtroopers, a Clone, a Biker Scout and some Tie Fighter Pilots, they had pirates, WWII soldiers, WWII Officers, Rosie the Riveter, R2D2 and the Batmobile - and those are just the ones I can think of! While there was a large contingency of characters associated with the Ga 501st, there were many other character volunteers as well; Queen Elizabeth, Jack the Ripper, Ben Franklin, Sherman, Joan of Arc, Attila the Hun and more!
The premise was basically the same as the movie; the displays at the museum have come to life. It was fun to interact and pick on the museum guests. It was even more fun to interact with each other's characters!
The doors opened to museum guests at 5pm and they closed at 8pm. During that 3 hours, they had 1100 guests file through museum. I was impressed with the number of attendees. I have spoken to Cindy, Harper and a couple of other museum personnel this week and they have told me repeatedly about the high praises from the museum guests that night. I'm just glad the event went well and raised some much needed funds for the museum.
Since I was pirating and we had to stay in character for the entire evening, I was not able to take any pictures. Thank goodness for Trooper Danny! Almost every picture below are ones that he took Saturday night.
Enjoy!
Here is a taste of the different characters roaming that night...
Here are some of the 501st adventures...
Darrell, Jesse, Noel and I played pirate that night and we met some new piratical friends; Braze, Stynky and Cascabel.
Of course, there is a behind-the-scenes at all events. Here are a few random shots...
