13-12-09 : The Blood Bond Saga, Part 50 (yes, 50!)

And, in the end, the love you make...

We actually wrapped Blood Bond a couple of weeks back, and its taken me until now to write this final 'location' blog. I was in denial! I didn't want the adventure to be over.

I was looking back over the 49 installments of my production reports; given our schedule, I can't believe I managed to put one out every. single. day.  It was very gratifying to see the comments from friends and fans alike; I cited the director Albert Pyun in one blog and he actually left a message!

Generally, all the responses have been very supportive and kind, so, in the interests of balance, I must report:

The only negative post I could find came from a sometime actor, writing under the assumed name 'BamObam', who accused me of being a 'fake' producer and suggested I would soon be unable to support my 'dysfunctional family'. This is bad news, indeed, as, apart from writing and producing, I don't have any other (fake) skills, so the kids may be in for a tough time... (They're still kind of cute, though. Maybe I can sell them...)

Actually, the only great thing about wrapping the movie on a Saturday was that I could get back to take my disfunctional brood for Sunday brunch at Peak Cafe in Soho.

(We're there every week, so come on down, y'all...)

The last day of shooting, the intial rush to finish the film gave way to a more reflective mood. Michael finally finished shooting the gunfight in that damn hospital corridor. I swear that length of passage took more of our energy than any other set built for the movie (and we had a few...!)

After we broke for lunch, some of the key team members gathered on the 'Old West' porch outside the main stage for the last time (on 'Blood Bond', anyway...)

I dragged our leading lady, Phoenix Chou, off to be interviewed for the 'making of' documentary. She sat in the back of one of our bullet-ridden trucks, looking for all the world like she was posing for the cover of an upcoming country-and-western album.

Me and Phoe. James Cameron can claim credit for Michael Biehn, but I guess I can say that I discovered Ms. Chou. At least, I was the first one to give her a starring role in a movie, lets say that! Its been amazing to have a ringside seat to watch Phoenix come in to her own as an actress and an action queen on this film, and I hope she remembers us all when Hollywood summons her home... (sob).

Our actual last shot took us out onto a country road a few miles behind the studio, for a scene where our heroes, Tremayne and Deva, are hitchhiking as they make their way to the Purmese capital. (MB suggests that, if a car actually stops, he and Phoe may jump in and keep going...)

With the shot in the can, our weary band lines up for a group photo on the side of the road (with workers from a near by factory peering over the wall behind us!).

Followed by that traditional moment when the producer hands the clapperboard from the last shot to the director. It takes me a moment to realise that, this time, the producer is me (I'm just a 'fake' one, remember?).

At the end of this amazing journey, there are too many people to remember, so many moments to recall... Fortunately, they're all recorded in the previous 49 blogs, so...

Let me close by saying that, however 'Blood Bond' turns out, it wouldn't have been possible without the sheer awesomeness that is Michael Biehn. In front of and behind the camera, he gave more than humanly possible (leading me to suspect that he, and not Arnold, is the cyborg...)

Michael: thank you.

Now, do I have a suitably charming photo with which to close this final 'Blood Bond' blog? Ah, yes...