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NQOS – May 2010 Update from Natalie, Queen of Scots on Vimeo.

Then we actually watched it.

I have never been more emotionally affected by something that I’ve been involved in making. I have never been more proud in anything I have made before. Even in its rough cut, the movie is solid – with a center of gravity that I honestly think can rival any film made for a thousand times its budget and resources.

Let me explain something, because I feel as though we have pulled a minor bait-and-switch in regards to what people think this movie is about. Sure, we’ve posted pictures of the alligator, the lemonade stand, and the classroom, we even released a teaser trailer that was jam-packed with the “anything goes” war scene. But those are all just moments in the film, mere scenes. The emotional backbone of this film is really what the overall story is about.

The movie is excellent – I say that at the risk of coming off as arrogant since I was the writer and director. But through the blood, sweat, and tears of this production (of which there was a lot – and still ongoing), I know now, more than ever, that it was worth it. We have a film. We have a film that we knew we had to make, no matter the cost. It was too important of a story to leave on the back burner.

Apologies if you think all I do is pass out congratulations, but this film is the work of about 400 separate people. It’s easy to assume that a film belongs solely to its director, but this has never been the case on any set I’ve ever been on – and perhaps more-so with Natalie. Every crew member, every cast member, every investor, every extra, and every person on the sidelines cheering it on is the only reason why this film not only got finished, but is just damn good. I can recall at least 12 different instances where we were on the verge of packing up and if we lost even one of those 400 people, that would have been true. The fact that new people are still coming up to offer support is only more proof that what we have here is phenomenal.

Our first few film festival submission deadlines are right around the corner, with the first one being October 30th. And trust me, once it gets a public showing, the entire world will know.

Came before we knew it, but suddenly a bunch of us were in Harborage Yacht Club and Marina celebrating the wrap on Natalie, Queen of Scots, our very own freaking feature film.

It was a pretty unbelievable day.

The video above was our “congrats on five weeks of hardcore filming” present to the crew — I edited together some of our footage and photos, and it’s a cute little video, I think.

Some pictures of the party below, courtesy Chelsea Parker.

Day: 29

Location: The Jensen Beach parking lot, in Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “That’s a wrap!”

More to come, but here are some photos from Day 29, the last day of filming.  Temperatures at 4 p.m. were in the 90’s. Even so, morale was high and the air full of electricity! A big thank you to the Martin County School District for supplying the buses for the afternoon (talk about production value!) and to all the extras for coming out and participating.

Check out some of the photos below (taken by Misti Guertin and Chelsea Parker):

Location: The Jensen Beach Causeway in Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “Get this girl some electrolytes!”

Thanks to all the kids who came out to be extras for the shoot today! One of our last outdoor shoots, and it was a blast for all involved (well, maybe not for sound – it was awfully windy the entire day).

This was also our first shoot day with Phil Morales, the stellar actor playing Natalie’s father. This week is all about bringing in the parents and filling out the film, and on Monday we introduce Natalie’s mother, Jennifer Jones, to the movie. We’re really excited about all of our actors, and hope you will be too!

For now, check out some great pictures from the shoot today.

(They can’t be eaten yet! We still have a film to finish!)

Yeah, she’s real.

Day: 23

Location: The hills of Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “Whoa!  Is he, like, a trained alligator?”

Today we abandoned working with children and chose a different, equally challenging path – working with animals.  Tim Williams, Gatorland handler extraordinaire, came down with the lovely lady you see above and two trainers to get us (in my opinion) one of the best shots of the film.

See, about eight months ago, Brian and I were sitting in a restaurant, talking about how Natalie and Nicholas would meet.  And, for whatever reason, Brian thought it would be hilarious if they bonded over escaping from an alligator.  A twelve foot alligator.

Well, eight months later, after about 80 pages of paperwork with SAG and Gatorland and American Humane, Brian got his alligator – he even got to pose with it at the end of the shoot.

His producer concedes that yes, it was pretty fantastic.

Photographs by Misti Guertin.

Jacob Hill (Director of Photography) takes a second job in these hard economic times.

Day: 22

Location: Stuart Photo, in Stuart, FL; St Lucie Catholic Church, in Port St Lucie, FL

Phrase of the day: “This is the photo they’re gonna use on the news if I ever get arrested for anything.”

Poor Jacob.  It’s not enough that he slaves away day in, day out on this set — today he had to get another job.  Yes, the cinematographer swallowed his pride and became… a one hour photo tech?

The story was this: long ago, we thought it might be funny to have a weird cameo for the one hour photo shop.  However, when Bruce Campbell and Will Arnett fell through, we realized that we had the perfect guy for our cameo shot right here on set – who better to portray a grumpy photo worker than our camera-man himself?

Remember – in these tough economic times, your one hour photo technician could very well be an award-winning cinematographer between jobs.

Later in the day we returned to St Lucie Catholic Church for a few more exteriors and some funny line-work by our two leads.  Anyone know who’s on Nick’s shirt in these scenes?

Kelli couldn't get over how funny Jake looked.

In position.

First AC Dan DeLude is overjoyed to actually look through the camera. But Jake still gets the light meter.

Kelli and Jacob stare down.

Kelli (Natalie) prepares for the scene.

Brian explains to Nick the intricacies of "Oh. Sorry."

Nick has the answer! (and it might relate to what's on his shirt)

Photos by Chelsea Parker.