LeSueur is in Minnesota and home of the Jolly Green Giant

This is didn't know. I've lived in MN all my life but am naive when it comes to rural MN. Since I grew up in the city, I never knew that LeSueur is the GIANT of veggies. Jolly and Green to be exact. Mr. Green stands in the park as you go through town.

I shot a film there on Saturday. The weather wasn't the most desirable. Cold, overcast, about a high of 42 degrees.

On the bright side, it was good weather for the camera. Directors like it when it is not so bright, you get a better shot that way. So instead of taking the SYM scooter and freezing my butt off, I took the Yaris, listened to my iPod and enjoyed the scenery. Not much to look at on the way down. Rural MN from the highway is not all that scenic especially this time of year.

We were informed before we got there that the septic system was not in working order and that they would be constructing an outhouse for us. I was silently amazed that they would go through all that trouble basically for the 2 women on the set. The woman who played my daughter was a bit shocked by that piece of information, she had mentioned that she had NEVER been camping. Personally, it didn't phase me. I was bit curious to see what they would come up with.

I got to the farm where we were shooting about 1:00. Cool looking place, large barn with decorative silver steeples on top tucked behind a stucco farm house with long glass windows on a wrap-around porch. After the long ride, I did have to use the facilities. They pointed out the tarp at the top of the hill behind the barn. It was an A-class outhouse built in a few hours time. I couldn't believe all the trouble these young men went to.
For this movie I played a mom with one leg. I had to limp but did not have to wear a prosthetic leg - they would add it by computer later. The character, Mrs. Rook was fun to play because she was a bit odd and evil. She married a guy with no nose, she had one leg and her daughter used to have a twin that drowned. Mrs. Rook has two mean, wild dogs that she promises to set loose on the boyfriend if he ever gets her daughter pregnant. I didn't have many lines but I did get to take off "my leg" and beat my daughter and her boyfriend with it in a dream sequence.

I thoroughly enjoyed this crew. All the 5 guys were friends and 3 of them had gone to high school together. They all were artists, musicians and could talk about interesting things. I like colorful people, people with a story, people whose lives have been rockier than most. Those are the people that tend to come off as having more depth. I like getting to know these people, slowly peeling away the layers, each more intricate than the one before.

I did all kinds of things for this movie. I pushed the camera cart on the tracks up and down the hill for a shot. I called out lines when someone would forget one. I contributed ideas about certain shots. And when this old biker guy with a 3-wheeling outer space cycle dropped in to say hi in the middle of a shot (that I wasn't in but was giving lines for), I quickly turned on the charm, walked him over to his cycle, threw the script down towards the director and asked for a ride. The guys all laughed at that later on.

I am shooting another film on Sat. called "Garage Sale". I hope it is as much fun as this one was.