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.
