SCENES FROM THE MOVIE

Saturday and Sunday nights were really fun even though Saturday it was uncomfortably cold and we all wished we had down parkas. Still, we danced round the bonfire in a Full Moon ritual. It is something my character, Grace, does with her women friends every full moon. I had my friend, Cristina Biaggi, come and teach us a “Luna” chant. As I have said in an earlier blog, she went to Vassar and, while there, would do the same sort of ritual honoring the full moon and we were all rather in awe of what we viewed as her exoticism. The other women present for the scene were fascinated by Cristina’s explanations of Goddess worship in Neolithic times, pre-patriarchy. She has written a number of books about the Goddess. (She is also a well known sculptor) Later in the evening, we all drink tequila and play Truth or Lies in the scene. Both nights we worked till 5:30-6am!!! But it was worth it and we had a blast!

These other photos are of different moments over the previous week, taken by Annie Miller, our indomitable prop “master,” who has become a skilled chicken wrangler.

I couldn’t post these various photos sooner cause I just got them. My camera battery was dead and I didn’t find my recharger till just now.

Left to right: Cristina Biaggi, Denise Burse and moi

"Grace" is also an artist. In this scene I am painting the landscape

Our prop "master", the amazing Annie, who, among all the other things she seems to manage, also wrangles "Grace's" chickens, which wander in and out of my house. That's my "Grandson", Nat Wolffe, in the background.

Catherine Keener with chicken

"Grace" with chicken

"Grace" and Annie with chickens

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21 Comments
  1. Do you have any pics from Katharine McPhee on set??? I know she filmed something for the movie….. I’m a huge fan of hers and would appreciate if you could share some info! Thanks!

  2. Hello Jane ,

    I think that with this Grace as Artistic Director
    of the character, seems like your Back Story has motivations. One thing about Chicken’s is that they
    can ad lib, in accordance with desire.
    I could see you going on with painting , and it looks like you find pot makeing a real joy.
    Characters who are physically real in the part, your a natural Artist with good control, and I spent years in Art school , and seen the ones who droped out, stay with it. was reading this, interesting.
    “Well, actors get very frustrated with giving control to other people. They have their own ideas and wants for their characters. Warren Beatty once told me that he thought actors ended up directing out of frustration. If you have a strong sense of how to communicate a film, you should direct. The problem is that it is a huge commitment. I’d rather direct a play than a film due to the time. A movie can tie you up for a year or more.”

    Alec Baldwin

  3. Can I have your life….. just for a day??? 🙂

  4. I think that I want to be a chicken wrangler. Yep, that’s it!

    LOL
    c

  5. By the way, Jane, you look absolutely stunning! (as always)

    c

  6. I wanted to pick out one aspect of the photos of you that has really impressed me: your body language in the shots of you as Grace is so specific and fantastically expressive, even in stills. The difference from your natural carriage and from your stance in other roles is marked–Grace looks so expansive and connected with her world.

    Also, the grey hair looks just beautiful on you. Congratulations on embracing it. We need more fabulous grey-haired ladies on our movie screens.

    I’m very excited to see the movie–I’ve been a huge fan of Catherine Keener since Living in Oblivion and I can’t wait to see the two of you together.

  7. Jane-
    I love the full moon. I’m very much affected in a good way, as I’m a moon child(cancer). Also, was wondering if you caught Rachel Maddow’s show the other night. She had three military officers who are being fired this week under DADT. Rachel was asking our President(the one who promised to stop this OUTrage), why he can’t issue an executive order to halt such acts, until this policy is repealed. He could do that….but that would take conviction and courage and a sense of what is right…something lacking all over Washington. Why are the civil liberties of gay men and women less urgent than any other American? I’m tired of waiting. I’ve waited my whole life. But then again, I must be on drugs!

    Thanks,
    Bill

    • I agree with you. It was when my son, actor Troy Garity, starred in Showtime’s “Soldier’s Girl”, that I saw how destructive the DADT edict can be and, yes, it needs to be changed asap.

  8. I wish you could keep this hair! It looks SO good! I really love it! Thanks for sharing as always – so interesting to get a behind the scenes look. It shows just how segmented the movie making process is – it must take quite some imagination / concentration to get in the right “space” for each scene. Do you find yourself “being” Grace between takes? I marvel at the level of concentration required – it must be the same kind required by sports people to get (and stay) “in the zone” and I guess also similar to meditating – being able to escape from your physical surroundings…

    • I guess that part of me that is Grace-ish, comes to the fore between takes. It’s so much fun being Grace.

  9. Hello Jane
    “Grace” est si différente de votre rôle que vous avez tourné à Paris !… vous pensez encore un peu en français, vous écrivez quelques mots !!
    Comment faites-vous pour tourner 2 films à la suite ?… quelle mémoire pour retenir tous ces textes et en même temps c’est excellent pour vous, c’est le meilleur moyen de garder un bon cerveau !

    • memorizer le dialogue n’es jamais etais difficile pour moi. Au contraire…ces deux film, l’un apres l’autre, etaient tres sampa,xx

  10. Great photos and I can hardly wait for this movie to come out. I am soooooo into the things it is about.

  11. I can’t wait to see this movie. Even though I wasn’t into the “hippie” movement, it was the beginning of my self-actualization and so your pictures bring a certain comfort and warmth.

  12. Looks like you’re having lots of fun working on this movie!:)

    Those are pretty chickens! Grace seems like a neat lady! What a great part to get to do in a movie!

  13. The pics are lovely as usual! Rosanna looks great. The water glistening in the moon light and whole property is spectacular! The picture of tranquility.
    I also love your expression in the pic of you and the chicken.
    Maybe you can share about The Goddess explaination.

  14. I read about this movie on another blog…now seeing your photos here, I really can’t wait to see this. Beautiful, fun set and clothing/costume…you look amazing, too!

  15. Great pics!

    ~Jennifer Owens (aka – Catherine’s stand-in)

  16. Is it possible to recieve a picture of (Grace) if requested?? I would just love to have a picture of her in one of those marvelous scenes.

    Thank you, Dharma

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