Serena

Yesterday was cold and overcast, and I had not taken a sweater, so I was chilly all day. Today, I dressed warmly–as did most of the crew–and, of course, it was broiling and sunny all day and many of us spent the day slightly miserable. The yellow jackets happily joined us and added their buzzing, nosy, presence to our party. I was chatting with the chief of police and not paying attention as I started to take a sip of coffee. Someone standing nearby stopped me and pointed out that I was about to inhale the yellow jacket that was exploring the inside of my cup. My favorite scene today was when Chloe (Joe’s uppity agent from L.A.) verbally lashes out at Aunt Anna (who has the mental capacity of a child) and hurts Anna’s feelings. Marianna Alacchi (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) who is the actress portraying Anna, does a wonderful job portraying a mentally-challenged adult. Joe defends Anna and tells Chloe to never talk to her like that again. One of the reasons I love this scenes is because the script-writer includes a great pay-back on the part of Anna later on in the movie. Other members of […]

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We filmed out at the farmhouse today. The main scene they worked on was the one I opened with in the book–where Rachel (Sarah Lancaster) is trying to talk her three elderly aunts into closing the Sugarhaus Inn. They are reluctant to do so, and try to deflect her request. Finally Bertha (Kelly McGillis) agrees to close down the Inn–under one condition–that if God brings a stranger to their door that needs their help, they will not turn that stranger away. In the background is a wooden plaque with the scripture about entertaining angels unaware hanging on the wall. Rachel (Sarah) is not happy with this and starts to protest, but Bertha (Kelly) stands up and in that perfect Amish accent says “This is scripture, Rachel, and we will not compromise on doing God’s will.” With that, yet once again, I was clawing in my purse for a tissue,so amazed to hear words I had written come to life.  One of the crew members, a man of faith, came over, gave me a hung and whispered in my ear “We will not compromise on doing God’s will.”  Of course that made me tear up even more. Honestly–in my normal life […]

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So today, I got to see the farm where the Sugar Haus Inn scenes are being filmed. Lots of gorgeous back roads to get there. Cloudless sky. A perfect day to film outdoor scenes. Breakfast was set out beneath a canopy and the yellow jackets were real happy about that. I got to see Kelly McGillis in action for the first time. It has felt from the beginning like the casting director had direct access to how I pictured my characters in my mind, but Kelly as Bertha is an inspired choice. She is in person a beautiful, regal, woman–but with the addition of a cane, a limp, a bonnet, and expert makeup she became my forceful, opinionated, blunt, courageous, Bertha…..one of my very favorite characters of all time. This scene also involved “Rachel” having to wear an over-sized fuzzy bathrobe and slippers all morning–not a particularly sexy outfit even on someone as pretty as Sarah. She laughed at herself to me and the others saying, “Glamour, glamour.” I think that is the thing that has surprised me most about being on the set–it is watching the discipline and sheer doggedness that it takes from the actors to get each […]

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