the old navy episodes - neon nights part 3

it was day seven of the shoot.

it was night, we shot from dusk til two a.m.

richard placed every piece of neon. we wet the streets. we ran film (and marilia) over and over.




paul, counting down the last few hours:



the grafitti we had to negotiate for,
placed on the back wall of the monastery.
their only comment?
"too much blue"
wha?



kira, taking on the red camera for a few passes:


my girls,
my enablers,
and i don't wanna go to rehab:



hidden in the neon,
messages. "sarah". the year we were founded:



the wind down, at the end, we projected the film from all seven days on the wall,
watched, and remembered the intensity:


although obvious,
this is something i will never forget.

the old navy episodes - neon nights part 1

the last spot of the series,
from morning, to night.

deep in the bowels of "bahrain",
THE nightclub in buenos aires,
we filmed the club scenes all day, edging into evening . . .

marilia barocco, our lead, was amazing.
her first spot, in fact,
her first modeling job even,
she was a young jennifer garner, natural, emotive, amazing:



rita made sure i was clear,
in spanish, portuguese, and english:


sam, paul, karim, and sebastian:



and yamila, marilia, nina and sarah:


then the lights went on,
and the cast took off:


ok, we all took off.

the old navy episodes : the urban explorer commercial pt. 2

ok. so i know you're all about to get dressed for the next scene, but here's how it's gonna break down. yamila is trying on outfits, nina and sara are helping her pick the one that looks best, there's a camera, a pillowfight, then some prison sequences . . . no, wait, that's a different movie.


o. . . k. looks like eddie is ready to get going.



there's yamila, flawless in black:



nina keita :


paul norman and the "delicate flower", rita moraes:


no, no, paul. everything is fine. i'm just trying to shove my fist in my mouth. again.


the girls were getting in their characters by now. moving





though it was only the third scene, we could all feel it starting to click.

(and remember, you can see it all, including lookbook and cast and music,
at: www.oldnavy.com/next)

darius khanji, rita moraes, paul norman . . . characters, one and all of 'em -

so i think you get it by now. i LOVE the people i work with.
they make me laugh. they keep me sane. and they are freakin' brill at what they do.
see, me happy:


whether we are hunkered down with storyboards at the start, trying to put the jigsaw together:


taking a quick step out around nine at night for a group meal:


huggin on each other:



eating more "meat", a generic term around here for anything from beef to chicken to pork to sometimes just brown stuff. see, michael manacop all smiley. he likes the "meat". sara? not so much:


kids, meet paul norman:


while we are not EXACTLY stunt doubles, his masterful command of a set as first a.d. kept us on schedule, kept the shots glorious, kept me sane, and taught me more than i can ever thank him for. he is "top drawer", to quote glory from auntie mame. don't mind if i do.

then there's rita. our multi-lingual acting coach/mentor/spirit guide who helped make the nuance, reality. she is a secret weapon that i don't mind sharing:


darius. darius khanji. man shot "seven" and "evita" and "stealing beauty" . . . and now brought light and camera poetry to us. we are not worthy. well, maybe we are, but still, we are LUCKY AS HELL.
(and he's insanely kind/cool. that's just too good.)

and little B.
betania, so petite, so LOUD. she gives meaning to the brazilian hand gesture, and is the maestro who found us our stellar cast. she grabs them by the back of the neck and shakes them hard. if they don't rattle, they're ready. she actually found one of our leads standing in line at a cafe. she had never done anything on film, and she was exquisite. no kidding. for real.


hell, i'm the lucky one. in the end, they make ME look good.