SFAA: Ohio Shoot Days 1-2


This is a film still from the film SHOPLIFTING FROM AMERICAN APPAREL. We are currently shooting in Ohio. We will be in New York City soon.


This is a picture of THE SHOPLIFTING BAND playing a song. It's a shot of their guitars. Now I will write a letter to my wife. Then I will show more pictures.

*****

Dear Sohee,

I hope life is good in Seoul. I am shooting the movie in Ohio. Things are pretty good. Jordan's family is really nice. His dad made steaks yesterday. I also ate corn. The corn was my favorite.

After dinner, Panauh challenged me to a ping pong match. I said I would beat him and everything. I didn't think anything of it. I was just joking. Afterwards, Sonny told me everyone has been commenting that I'm being a dick to Panauh.

Most of the times people don't realize everything that's going on. Then I thought, "They don't have to." I thought about how they said I should treat him not like my brother, but like everyone else. Then I was like, "Okay, I can do that."

That was yesterday.

The movie is going pretty good. Some moments are better than others. I like everything I watch. Even if it's not particularly good in one way, it's like like so bad it's good. Does that make sense?

I got a chance to think about you yesterday. I was like, "Man, life will be lonely for two months by myself." Then I stopped thinking about that. I watched Animal Planet for a while. It was 4:00 a.m.

This is a bit of a strange letter. I woke up this morning with a charlie horse in my calf muscle. Panauh helped massage it out for me. Then an hour later, he woke up and needed help with his back. I showed him how to do yoga poses for a while. I massaged his lower back, and then he fell asleep in the exercise room.

I guess that's the funny thing. People say to treat someone a certain way. I can only be myself. I guess I am a dick sometimes, but what can you do? I guess not be a dick, right?

Anyway, here are some pics from what we shot the last couple days.

Love,

Pirooz

*****


Here is THE SHOPLIFTING BAND. Sonny and Jordan wrote a song. We choreographed this little music video for the end of the movie. It's pretty funny. The song's lyrics are made of gmail chats between Jordan and Tao.


They are a really good band. I enjoyed watching them perform. All they needed was a little choreography. Then they were like KISS.



On the first day, we shot with the MAGIC CAM/CASSAVETES CAM. Everyone wore the bike helmet with the camera on it to pay homage to John Cassavetes. Then we played camera operating freeze tag. Jordan and Noah were the funniest. That's probably what we'll use in the movie. Noah chased Jordan for like a good minute. The camera is bouncing and everything. It's pretty funny.


The first day was the documentary beach scene. I just asked them about writing and success. Sonny was playing his guitar in the background.


Noah got really funny in take eight. He started talking about being miserable, and how that was the answer for anyone who wanted to be a writer. Then he changed his mind, and said he wanted to be like Norman Mailer, and have two ghost writers and wine coolers.


Last night we filmed the final singalong in the movie. I lead them in something that was supposed to be like the Beatles "All You Need Is Love." It turned out really peculiar because it was improv. I guess you could call it Gospel 20's Swing. I don't know. I just know that when we finished Jordan said: "That was the weirdest experience of my life."

Today we shoot the poetry reading scene at Mac's Books in Cleveland Heights.

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