I put my wife on film for the first time, and in all honesty (and I'm not just saying this because she makes with the sex)...

She really surprised me. In a great way.

For a person who'd never acted before, she held her own against the likes of Eliza and Ali (Larter, not Cassius). Fine delivery of dialogue (both scripted and written on the spot - featuring a very, very funny line in the latter, provided by her husband), and a dead-sexy look. I was proud as punch and can't wait until this week when we get to do more with her.

Shannon continues to bring not only a sweetness to her character, but also some humor that wasn't that evident in the script. Very proud of her too.

Eliza and Ali were both wonderful, spunky, arch, sexy and born to deliver the kind of dialogue I write (I hear some of you out there now: "BAD dialogue, you fat fuck."). They'll definitely be popping up in stuff I do after this flick.

Jay continues to dazzle.

Will continues to be the most hysterics-inducing performer I've ever worked with. Fuck, he's funny. We lose him for about three weeks, but he'll be back at the tail end of the month to wrap-up his stuff.

But the real stars of this picture (at least in my eyes) are the various crew folks who're bringing it all to life. From Dave Morton, our master of light, to Tim and his A.D. crew of Heather and KC; from the always top-notch production design of Ratface and his team, to Taylor and Missy, our hair goddesses, and Patty and Sue, our makeup queens; from Mosier and Laura, the real brains behind the operation who scheduled a perfect week of shooting, to Isis, our costume maven (who put the girls in some outfits that'll leave mouths agape, drooling; from Lisa, Scott, and John, the props wizards, to the two Mikes who control the vast animal kingdom on the show; from the catering cats and the genius craft service gents who keep us not only nourished, but sated, to John, our medic on the front lines, and Tracey, our stills maestro... These are the people who're making the movie. I'm just sitting back and taking the credit.

But in that pantheon of greats, the shining star has to be Jamie, our sage-like D.P. This movie looks amazing. A-MAZING. You folks will not believe I - the lamest visual director this side of a blind man - had a visual hand in this picture, so good, in fact, does it look. He's a master.

I hate building expectation normally; it's far easier to sell something short and let people be surprised by the flick. But I have to say that this flick is really, really something special. Every day we shoot, I'm surprised by how cool it's shaping up.

Trust me, folks - we saved the best for last.

Reprinted from News Askew - February 11, 2001