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Wang Chung To Live & Die in LA
Another week has come and passed, and the finish line is now coming into plain sight. Once again, the past seven days have offered fresh locations, new faces and, of course, a plethora of new and inventive ways to skin a cat. In addition, it has offered the opportunity for Matt to film scenes which push the boundaries way beyond what is customary for any regular slasher flick. There is good reason why the nightclub scene is so rarely utilized other than in larger productions and that is because it is notoriously hard to pull off with any great level of success. Well, the TOK Murder Crew are nothing if not primed for a challenge and, considering you can’t underestimate the power of the boogie, we had no intention of being wall flowers as we hit the tiles in devastating fashion.
The location was Panama Joe’s, a bustling LA nightspot which we had commandeered for the night and not only for its bricks and mortar. Instead it was fully populated with sweaty revelers pulling all manner of shapes and reaching for the lasers. The club was very much open for business and laid on a costume party in our honor. What transpired was a night unlike any other as we shared the authentic LA club experience, bottled that shit and committed it to celluloid. It affords the addressee the chance to watch Audrey letting her hair down with close friends and knocking back shots. No more than she deserves after what she has been through.
The buddies in question are real life friends of Matt and Diane. MMA lionesses Shayna Bazler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir herald from the famous Glendale Fighting Club, which has produced some of the hottest names in MMA, boxing and pro wrestling, and continues to build on its sterling reputation. Girls just wanna have fun and this night the gloves were well and truly off as they took a break from their punishing training schedule to take Audrey’s mind off the hard times which have plagued her since she fled New Jersey.
If tackled half-heartedly the whole night could have spiraled into outright chaos. Two hundred uncooperative extras, all tanked up with judgement-impairing alcohol, and all desperate to grab their fifteen seconds of fame. It can easily be the recipe for disaster in lesser hands but Farnsworth bossed the crowd. I liken his stance to Drake from Aliens complete with smart gun as he maneuvered the Red Epic through the crowds, tilting, swaying and using his lens to dance on his behalf. Behind him was a procession and, at the tail end was Keeper, running behind the scenes from every vantage point accessible. As for Matt, there wasn’t a part of the club which wasn’t breached. From atop and behind the bar, on the stage, and submerged within the club-goers, there truly was murder on the dancefloor.
In true TOK style we were off to the beach the very next evening and, in particular, Belmont Pier on Long Beach. Ironically, the scenes shot overlooked the Queen Mary, the location which saw the start of our journey. It was here where Matt and I worked on the original screenplay for Bound X Blood before he constructed his final draft and it seems fitting that it should feature in one of the film’s many iconic scenes. It also represented one of our stiffest challenges as permit time restraints meant that we only had a limited time to capture our media and this was no simple filler.
Instead it was to culminate in extensive fight scenes and carnage as gallons of blood soaked into the sand. No challenge is too lofty for the TOK Murder Crew and our captain led us through choppy waters, assisted by Diane who was on production detail and working with him to ensure that we upset the odds and grabbed all the footage we had come for. Failure is never an option here and the resulting scene will provide further proof that this rag tag team of individuals can do no wrong when guided by a filmmaker with such steely determination to succeed.
This will be my penultimate log of our exploits in LA as we are now mere days away from wrapping. The journey will not end there as Matt will burrow away in his editing suite weaving all of this awesome media together into the cohesive whole which will take the free world by storm in 2015. My personal pilgrimage will come to an end as I return to the UK on Wednesday. However, this is merely the beginning of our journey and I can assure y’all of one thing whole-heartedly. The TOK Murder Crew is now bound by blood and our special little movie will show, without doubt, that the independent horror scene is very much alive and kicking.
To sins being committed…raise a chalice,
Click here to read TOK Murder Crew: Walk of Life
Sponsored by @TheOrphanKiller
Performances by @MattFarnsworth @DieannFoster
Cruel Art by @MattFarnsworth
Prose and scribing by @RiversofGrue
Copyright Full Fathom 5 Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
