So tonight was our big celebration of completing principle photography on A MARINE STORY, and thanks to SWEET, we got to give away A FREE CRUISE!

The winner of the cruise was Tara Donnelly! We also gave away a bottle of Blue Angel Vodka to Patrick and the dvd box set of Season 5 of THE L WORD to Bridget.

Here’s the photos from the party!

Dreya’s Acting Reel

Don’t tell me not to live to sit and putter…

Andrew Blau

On a set full of gay men and women, there HAD to be a Babs reference. As we huddled together to hide from the impending rain in Sylmar, CA- and I happened to express my sadness that it might rain on the Pride Parade this weekend in Los Angeles, it happened. The completely expectable but nonetheless warm sound of a man singing musical theater. Andrew Blau, A Marine Story’s Production Manager busted out with his best rendition of the Barbara Streisand classic.

While that charming moment has passed, the clouds and wind have not. It’s freezing up here! The good news is, the past two days’ shoots have been interiors, so we aren’t impeded. I am curious why, however, that the majority of our shooting schedule has been sans true sunshine. Pre-production included multiple fans, bug repellent, and tank tops for weeks! Once we turned the camera on, the sun went into hiding.

The Return of Deacon

As you may have noticed from our twittering or facebook page status updates, we are currently shooting the “meth house.” We’ve had some incredibly willing and able actors come onto set to play with us. In particular, the lesbians are excited because this means the return of DEACON.

My favorite moment from yesterday’s shoot was the make-shift explosion that our incredibly talented art department made happen. Using no pyrotechnics whatsoever, the meth house exploded. Matt Mizrahi, who has a way with props, was giddy with pride when the whole thing worked. Not only did it work, it looked GREAT.

Craft Specialist Liz Grove

We wrap for a short break after today’s shoot. The wary crowd gets a week and a half off while the production team prepares for our last week (to be shot on a ranch) towards the end of June. While I am excited for the R&R that is inevitable for all of us, I don’t know how I feel about not getting to see my little crew family for 10 days.

When you spend 15 hours a day together, there are two directions a work environment can go. Everyone either gets so sick of one another that they dread looking at one anothers’ face… or you get what’s happened on A MARINE STORY’s set. We’ve grown to love one another. We know what makes us happy.

Mike McAleer

For instance, I know that P.A. Mike McAleer will always want the last bite of my banana. If Carsen LaBella isn’t doing anything in hair and make-up that day, she’ll happily give me two french braids. JD needs a triple grande non-fat latte in the morning. Elizabeth Grove doesn’t even need us to place orders for omelettes, she remembers already. And Tracy Weatherby, my supervisor, will happily state that she is not in need of positive affirmation, but will secretly feel left out if you don’t throw her some love (i.e. me originally not giving her a shout-out in this blog entry).

Speaking of Tracy, we love each other. Our fake “bromance” on this set has been a pleasure at all times. You can see us bicker in the video at the bottom of this entry.

This crew is amazing. The actors are the opposite of divas. Coming to work every day on a project that is so important- like the soldiers whose stories we try to tell with this film, it’s an honor rather than a job.

Our Hot Stars exchange glances

Nonetheless, the second week of filming for “A Marine Story” started at Moonshadow Lounge in NoHo bright and early on Tuesday. Amazing volunteers from within the WeHo community (and our Facebook fanpage!) gathered in their normal Friday night regalia, while sipping coffee and donated doughnuts courtesy of Rockstar Jen Klein.

You’d think the early call would mean a stretch for these women, but let me tell you, these women looked FLY that morn. A casting director couldn’t have asked for a more diverse, HOT group of women to be the background for a lesbian bar scene. And how lucky were we that they all volunteered their hotness for the greater good of storytelling?

The Extras Dance!

The producers are incredible appreciative of the volunteers that came out to play with us Tuesday. Your dedication to helping us tell this important story will really make the difference. Real Lesbians in a film about the LGBT community. As it should be.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes vlog from that day’s shoot!

After having lived in New York City, Boston, Spain and the Netherlands, Pickard graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in film direction and moved to Hollywood. Here she has been working in production on films like Angels and Demons and the Oscar-nominated Frost/Nixon. Her short film, The Storm has been in more than five film festivals and she has won multiple awards including the Kevin S. Bright Scholarship and the Marcia Robbins-Wilf Women in Film Production Award.

BY JD DISALVATORE: We are inviting all you lovely ladies down to our set tomorrow to be an extra in the “club scene.” Come on out and be a part of the action for the upcoming lesbian feature film A MARINE STORY starring Dreya Weber and Paris Pickard. The film is from the writer/director of THE GYMNAST and producer of SHELTER and deals with the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Dress to impress. Email Jannelle Eagle for arrangements and details at janelle.eagle@gmail.com
(Read the invite!)

WE NEED A RANCH LOCATION! If you have a ranch on a mountain in the middle of nowhere that we could use for filming, we’d love to know about it. Please let me know if you know of such a place.

Day 5 – A Marine Story
Shannon Connolly

There’s nothing like starting the workday surrounded by camouflage-covered lesbians on a paintball field.

I arrived on the set of “A Marine Story” around 7:30am this morning and already the place was buzzing with activity. Our fabulous, chain-smoking producer JD was pacing around, staring up at the cloudy skies and petitioning both God and the Devil (whoever answered first would do) to not let it rain during our long morning of exterior shots. Despite her appeals to the powers that be, the rain fell, and yes, we all got wet.

If you’ve never been on a movie set, it’s very glamorous work, let me tell you. I ran errands for several hours in the morning, trekking between Santa Clarita and Van Nuys to pick up supplies and drop off rentals. Pulling up in front of the building that was to be the second of my three stops, I found myself envisioning scenes from a Lifetime movie. You know that moment in those kidnapping movies when the young girl shows up alone at a deserted building and everyone watching from home is thinking “Don’t go in there!”? Yeah, that was me around 10am. Despite the creepy, industrial park setting, the lack of address on the exterior of the building, and the single sign on the door that read “Coffin Case” (and no, I’m not making this up), I braved the movie-of-the-week moment and went inside anyway. Although surrounded by coffin-shaped guitar cases (again, not kidding) once inside, I found who I was looking for and was given several cases of Monster beverages for our cast and crew (I know – “Monster” – how appropriate).

Paris enjoys Monster

Cut to me back in Santa Clarita at the paintball field about an hour later, surrounded by rattlesnakes and possibly rabid squirrels (remember what I said about the work being glamorous?). Rain started falling again, but fortunately it cleared up just in time for lunch. Quick break for some good eats and then the whole set moved to Van Nuys.

Us lesbians stuck around the paintball field for an extra hour or so after everyone else left so we could shoot at each other and play in the dunes in our sports bras and shorts. We ended up covered in mud and paintball bruises, so we all had to hose each other down before we could go to the next location. Ok, that didn’t really happen, but it certainly would have been fun, right?

In reality, we stuck around to take out the trash, stack bins and traffic cones in a 30-foot RV, and fold tables and chairs into the back of an SUV. Besides, what are a couple of dykes for if not the heavy lifting?

The second set of the day brought a whole new set of exciting moments, including, wait for it….a BOY. Yes, that’s right, all us gay girls got excited over the lead actor in the film who looks strikingly like he could be the love-child of Jake Gyllenhall and Ryan Gosling. I blushed over a guy for the first time in, well, ever.

Deacon's Harem

When the excitement over Deacon (the boy) wore off (ok, it didn’t really wear off, but we had to get some work done), we got busy eating Cup of Noodles and Easy Mac while helping out with the multiple interior and exterior afternoon shots. Dreya and Paris transitioned between paintball gear and casual clothes (read: TANK TOPS – yum) and the rest of us sat back and enjoyed the show.

It’s been hectic, unpredictable, and there are more lesbians here than you can find on your average night out in West Hollywood – it’s been an adventure, to say the least.

Many a lesbian on set said they’d go straight for him. We even dipped back in maturity a few years when we stared at him across the set and giggled like school girls. JD, our Producer, took the final step by embarrassing us all and encouraging a group picture.

Alas… meet Deacon.