Blog entries

Previous |

Next |

All

WRAPPED in Beijing. The Banana Heads Home.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:58AM / Standard Entry / Members only
12 comments

I'm flying back to Vancouver on Thursday.

There’s something imminently sad when a film finishes shooting. Shooting a film is kinda like going to war. It’s hard and grueling work- and not at all glamourous- you wake at 4am and sleep after 15hours of battling- but everyone is there with you all battling in the same army; the camera crew, the lighting crew, the production crew, the actors, the wardrobe crew etc…. for two solid months, day after day, you eat with these people, you stand around and joke with them, you suffer as they do when it’s cold and other weather related ailments- and when you wrap at the end of every day you pat each other on the back for a job well done.

Of course there are the melodramas – people bicker, there are complaints, gossip flies around, the lead actor grows a gargantuan sized head and starts sleeping with one of the supporting actresses and it further inflates his already unbearable ego, the director throws a tantrum and everyone tiptoes for the day….etc etc…

But for the most part it’s good. Very good. These people become your family for those two months. You learn what aggravates them and what makes them laugh- you form bonds with them. They become your sister soldiers and brother soldiers.

And when it’s all over – everyone moves on to other projects- and you may see them again but it’ll never be quite the same because circumstances have changed, and for all the dramas that transpired- all you remember is the good times you had and then you feel sadness that you’ll never be able to revisit those times again except in your memories.

Bittersweet huh?

But for the most part I am amped to get back home.
This picture is exactly how I feel. So many times over.

S*

798- the artists community- Beijing.

Entry comments (12)

Please login or sign up for FREE in order to add a comment.
Beatrix
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 11:14PM [Report]

but that's a wonderful thing to know different people and have a different 'live' in every project. you can say it's sad but it's also great~~ (well, you also don't need to stick around with people who are really annoying or troublesome finally after the filming~~) life goes on the same way for other careers as well but just that maybe the cycle goes a little bit longer...n slower............so it's also more boring.............
shorty
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:45PM [Report]

My brother's a bruised banana - he thinks he's brown.
bobbyty
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 5:06PM [Report]

About the comment on going to war akin to filming, at least you don't work with crazy Germans like Herzog. He screams, humiliates, threatens, and assaults his actors in order to get the most realism out of them or something. Still, the guy's a genius, but as they say - madness and genius.....
bobbyty
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 5:01PM [Report]

I miss Vancouver, the clean air, hanging out on 4th Ave, Jericho Beach, running in the endowment lands, the variety of international foods, sipping drinks on Robson on a summer day (or Denman). Man, I'm jealous.
maiji
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:34PM [Report]

awesome~~Vancouver. Where in Van do u live ? I live in Richmond ^_^
huckleberry
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 11:00AM [Report]

It's an interesting experience. I can relate to the feeling of 'bittersweet saddnes'. It's like when summer camp ended and everyone's got to head back to where we rightfully belong. Or switching from work to school. It's a transitional vicious cycle. Which also, makes life what it is, interesting. Perpetual memories, when one door closes, another door opens. Life...Tsk , tsk....
Etchy
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 9:34AM [Report]

ha! don't worry i am not leading man material anyway! :-P
elavndrc
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 4:44AM [Report]

lol to etchy's comment ~ the fliming sounds like a movie in itself haha...sounds like fun though ~ thanks for sharing the experience. the picture really does make you wanna smile. =]
rottendoubt
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:13AM [Report]

wow, great entry! ya, i think i sort of know what you mean. it's the same way with companies too. or those summer trips that people take in school together (usually like a week to a month). when everyone's leaving and people are crying.....

have a safe flight back!! get some rest. =)
Terence Yin
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:13AM [Report]

I know how you feel when you wrap a movie on location. I really enjoy working as part of a team on shoots, and film peeps are bad at keeping in touch once the project is over. But you do share the battles, good times, and bad. Film peeps tend to be very transient, but we do have many more chapters to our story than most others! Love the photo you attached to your entry. I find that smile more often than I would like!
Steph Song
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:12AM

ugh * groan groan moan* please please PLEASE Etchy- don't.
Etchy
posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:09AM [Report]

note to self - become leading actor...

My blog More entries >

Aaaaah. Hiatus. Finally.

Friday, Aug 10, 2007 10:25AM (14 comments)
canada line project

Saturday, Jul 7, 2007 5:01PM (8 comments)
grasses are lives

Thursday, Jun 28, 2007 8:12AM (11 comments)
it's business time

Friday, Jun 15, 2007 8:29AM (8 comments)
the mysterious tree

Monday, Jun 11, 2007 2:17PM (6 comments)
More entries >

Steph Song

Stats

Voted “Sexiest Woman in the World 2006” by Asian FHM magazine readers, Steph Song is, ironically, a staunch disciple of hard work, not hard bodies....
More

Voted “Sexiest Woman in the World 2006” by Asian FHM magazine readers, Steph Song is, ironically, a staunch disciple of hard work, not hard bodies.

After attaining a double degree in Journalism and Nursing, she embarked on a meteoric ascent in a career in front of the camera.

Moving to Singapore in August 2002, she became the leading actress of English TV drama projects such as “First Touch”, “Concerto for a Bus Driver”, “Heartlanders”, “Love Poetry”, “Six Weeks”, and “Singapore Short Stories” - winner of Best Drama at the 2004 ATV Awards.

In 2003, Steph set a new standard with her role in the sitcom “Achar!”. The series was the breakout comedy of the year and went on to win second prize at the New York International Television Festival 2005 behind NBC’s “Frasier”. The series has since been broadcast in 10 countries, including Australia and the US.

In 2005, Steph returned to Canada in her breakthrough lead role opposite Paulo Costanzo (NBC’s “Joey”) in “Everything’s Gone Green”. “EGG” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2006 and is the winner of Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver and Edmonton Film Festivals. It was also in Official Selection at the Pusan and South by Southwest International Film Festivals. It premieres in the USA in April 2007.

She appears alongside Jet Li and Jason Statham in the action film, “War”, set for worldwide release in September 2007.

She has the female lead role opposite legendary HK actor Eric Tsang in CBC’s gritty “Dragon Boys”. Steph learnt Cambodian from scratch for the role and now adds it to her list of English, Hokkien and Spanish.

Steph is a new breed of Asian actress. Eastern looks and soul, combined with the feistiness and dedication to the craft born in the West. Once quoted as saying she’d “eat a homeless dwarf’s toenails to work with David Lynch”, she is not without humility or humour.

More
Occupation: Actor
Gender: Female
Total visits: 48,854