May 28th, 2006: Day 7

 
May 28
Car fire day. This is gonna be rushed. We can’t afford to run over.

Yeah, did not know how bad this was gonna go. Johnny Firebar as I called him showed up late. Was supposed to set up at 7:30pm so we were ready at 9:00 to shoot. He arrived around 8:00 and said his car broke down and he had to leave his propane stuff behind, and only brought his gas rig. Ohhhhh-kay.

Then he sets up. Takes forever. We’re supposed to be done our first scene by 10ish and he just finished setting up by then.

Then we get the safety lecture from him. We already had fire department guys there—very nice guys. So Johnny Firebar lectures us on the safety. The car is filled with gasoline and fire bars. The windows are halfway down.

And Johnny Firebar marches out with a wooden shovel handle, wrapped in a now-flaming towel. He walks out to the car, inserts the flaming towel end, and the fucking side of the car explodes. I shit you not.

Glass explodes, sending pieces everywhere. The door panel actually hits Johnny Firebar.

The car burns waaaay too fast. Too hot. Doesn’t fit the scene. We shoot masters, two of them, and I ask if they can put it out and relight it in a couple of minutes. I’m told sure.

The fire guys put it out. Then Johnny fire bar tries to relight it. No go. Can’t make it light very much. He gets frustrated and tosses a plastic can of gasoline in the car. Very professional.

The rest of the night is spent trying to cover it—Mun cheating a fire bar held on a C-stand in front of camera. We get way behind and don’t get the section where Shivers and Ogre fight. We have a 2nd camera—it’s interesting.

Either way, we had three cameras rolling on the explosion. Niiiice. And wait 'til you hear about what happened later that night to Johnny...

But we continue to fall farther and farther behind.