"Lose it… It means go crazy, nuts, insane, bonzo, no longer in possession of ones faculties, three fries short of a Happy Meal, wacko! "
- Jack O'Neill, Stargate SG-1 -
Stardoor behind the scenes
by Sue Griffiths
Has anyone associated with the League of the Non Aligned not heard of Stardoor SD1, the latest of our ventures into film making?
In true League style, the filming was not without its moments of pure insanity. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing - It's a nice departure from the normality of everyday life.
Getting the props ready to start with was fun. After all, how many times are there when a person can truthfully say "I'm just going out to get some dresses for the guys …?" and then there was the small matter of deciding which colour silk flowers we needed.Then our creative streaks were put to the test as the patches we would use for our costumes needed to be designed.
If that wasn't enough, silk flowers in varying colours had to be tracked down - and I began to regret volunteering for THAT little task! Where are silk flowers when you need them? The answer is - there are plenty of silk flowers in France.
Me and Corinne went there a couple of weeks after the filming and it was like the invasion of the silk, multicoloured triffids - they were everywhere a person looked! However, I was able to find some silk flowers that would be colourful enough and strange looking enough to pass for foliage from beyond the stars.
Then we have the hardware. The telephone, the door... and the damn blast lance! Dave and Janine sorted out the telephone and door, with their decorative skills putting changing rooms to shame. And what had I said I'd do? Construct a blast lance! It seemed like a near impossible task. Then I scoured the small, sleepy town of Frinton on Sea for a bat and ball set, some elephant tape, a washing line pole and some cardboard. Believe it or not, when you put those items together in the right way, you can MacGyver yourself a pretty convincing looking blast lance!
It was great putting my acting skills to use. I was interested in seeing photos of the filming for one main reason. - I am reliably informed that I bore a passing resemblance to Sigourney Weaver when I decked myself out in a certain blonde wig … I have to admit that I've always wondered what I'd look like blonde and the result wasn't bad at all.
While there was drama being captured on camera, there were dramas going on behind it,too. like the door refused to stand up, the guys had to get changed - somewhere - and our Stardoor patches refused to stay on our sleeves!! Surely the Stargate team never had this much hassle?!
Not only were Darren, Russell,Tony(In order) and James great as SD2 - they were so pretty with it! And as for Tony - he put 110% into playing Kirk - with one of the most memorable running styles ever!
Stan proved to be very versatile considering the amount of transformations he went through - Billy Graham, a sweet transvestite, Austin Powers and the stony faced Meil'c. Gail as Jackson Daniels was priceless - and maybe, just maybe, her performance should have been sponsored by Kleenex!
Dave, as Jock O'Neill, proved that you don't need shots from a blast lance when you've got your lucky socks - and that they can save you from the wrong kind of attention! Let's just say that SD2 went through a bit of a transformation and only Jock's socks could save him from being overwhelmed by their affections!
I can't forget the camera crew! Janine and Corinne put up with us actors well, although the amount of planes flying overhead during the filming was reminiscent of the troubles we had while producing the X-Spoof! For those not in the know, the story of our challenges with aviation related transport is revealed in one of my true stories.
Our Stardoor production probably proved something that we already knew - we are NUTS! And I have to admit, I can't wait to see the finished result. However, the most important thing is that we all had a good time during the production. As an added bonus we were able to go out for pizza, alcohol, and got to see the X-Men movie as well! Now, that's what I call a fun filled weekend.
