Dogs Of Chinatown

Just checking to see what our blog would be rated and we found out that it suits the film.

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We are almost done with principle shooting on Dogs Of Chinatown. Just a couple more scenes to shoot and several insert shots. Oct 3rd, we said our goodbyes to Eric Jacobus (hopped a plane back to California). Micah and myself had been big fans of the Stunt People for a long time now and it was great to finally get a chance to work with them. Hopefully on the next film we’ll get to bring more of their crew out to the east coast.

When we were casting this film, I felt like Eric was the guy for the role. We knew he could handle the action scenes but I felt like he had the same qualities as Jackie Chan. He’s great at playing the underdog and you just want to cheer for the guy. He really stepped up his acting on this film. It helps that he was surrounded by an amazingly talented cast. He’s just a great guy to hang out with as well. I was really impressed that he went out of his way to give Paul and Josh some quality action sequences in the film. He knew those guys were driving a long way to be in the film and he made an extra effort to make those scenes as good as they could be. We were very fortunate to have a lead actor that was that giving of himself and I would jump at the chance to work with him again. I think our crew and his crew back home approach filmmaking in kind of the same way. I can’t wait to get The Stunt People involved in something else as soon as possible.

Also wanted to really thank Ray Carbonel for coming out as well. I felt really bad about having him do two major fight scenes in just a few days but our schedule and budget wouldn’t really allow more time. He was pretty beaten up by the time we were done but I never heard him complain once. He’s a trooper. Not only did he act, do fight scenes and stunts but he also helped crew when he wasn’t in front of the camera. One of the best people I’ve ever meet and a huge asset to our production. I wish we could find a way to keep him out here.

More thanks go out to Paul (Connecticut) and Josh (Ohio) who drove all the way to North Carolina on their own dime because they really liked what we were doing and felt that strong about being involved in this project. You guys were awesome and we really got a lot more out of those scenes by having you here. It was a real pleasure and honor having you two on board.

Our cast was amazing. I knew we had cast well but I was just in awe some days. I can’t believe we were able to get such a talented group of people involved in this project. Micah and myself believed in the project but it really meant a lot to us that everyone embraced this film the way they did. I felt like everyone gave it their all. Big thanks to Huyen, Bill, Patrick, Rudy, Minh, Randall, Jay, Brian, Ray, Matt, Kathryn and the rest of the cast. You really brought these characters to life and made this such an amazing experience for Micah and myself. I look forward to seeing everyone again during the ADR process and at the wrap party.

Definitely want to thank all the local press who came out and covered the film. Thanks to WFMY and Carolina 14 for coming out to the set and studio to cover our film. We are a small production so every bit of press we can get helps. Big thanks to Mark Burger and Kenny Lindsay at Yes Weekly for coming out a doing a story on us. You guys rock! See you at the wrap party.

More thanks to everyone who hooked us up with the locations for the film. Vernon Brown for letting us shoot at the warehouse in High Point. Christian for letting us do a fight scene at Solaris (sorry for getting the place so dirty but we did get everything cleaned up). Burley for letting us shoot over at Somewhere Else Tavern. Jim Peoples for letting us shoot at Revolution Mill. The Triangle Kung Fu Arnis Academy in Raleigh for letting us film there. Jason at College Hill Sundries for hooking us up. Brian at Jabs Ultra Bar for all your help. The Stevens for letting us film at their beautiful house. Papa Moore for being so generous and letting us film at his home. The Press for letting us film in such a great location. And a huge thanks to Kenny, Joe and Marc for hooking us up at Greene Street Club. Joe wasn’t feeling well but still made sure that we were able to get things done there. And I also wanted to thank Junji and the Brutal Noodle gang for the amazing food that they prepared for us. I’ve never eaten so well on a film before. You guys are the best, hands down.

A huge thanks goes out to our crew. This film has so much more in it than the budget should allow and that’s thanks to the amazing crew we had, all five of us – Micah Moore, Andy Coon, Jesse Knight, Andrew Comstock and myself. I’ve worked on other films where they had a much bigger crew and they didn’t get nearly as much accomplished as we did on this project. Everyone pitched in and got everything on screen that we wanted. Micah and myself know how much we can do and how hard we’ll work but Andy, Andrew and Jesse were there the whole time busting ass and getting the job done. You guys are greatly appreciated and because we have reliable people like you on board, me and Micah can plan even bigger projects.

And last, to my partner in crime, Micah Moore. It’s always very rewarding to bring your projects to life. I think the restraints of the budget caused a little more stress on this one especially with all we were trying to do but the lack of sleep and us bitching at each other from time to time is all worth it. I know we still have a long way to go on this one but I can already tell this is the beginning of bigger things to come. I look forward to the challenges of the next one.

Thanks again to everyone involved in this project,

Blake Faucette

(finally catching up on some sleep)

More thanks go out to our friends at twitchfilm.net for posting a story about Dogs Of Chinatown. Twitch has been a personal favorite of Micah and myself. They are one of the coolest movie sites online and are really big into foreign films especially Asian and European projects which are huge influences on the both of us. These guys have been very kind to us even going back to our short film, Ninjas Vs Pirates which starred a couple of the Dogs cast, Ray Wood, Brian Lee and some guy named Micah Moore. You can check out the article here.

A huge thanks goes out to our friends Mark Burger and Kenny Lindsay at YES! Weekly for coming out to do a story on us (and giving us the cover to boot, sweet!). They even got the bloody stuff on the cover as well. YES! Weekly rocks! We look forward to seeing you guys at the wrap party. The article can be found online here.

I’m writing this blog when I’m back at home in Berkeley because I’ve had no time otherwise.

The final day of Dogs was almost entirely love scenes with Huyen. At some point I started feeling like an actual actor. The stuff looked good, the lighting was making me sweat. That night Blake, Huyen and I had pho.

Pre-ADR teaser is up, check it:

Dogs Of Chinatown Teaser

Submitted by: Eric Jacobus

The club scene. Went out to the Greene Street club and did dialogue with Brian, some dialogue with the girls, Samantha and Heather, and did some dancing on camera. Hope I don’t look like a fool.

Afterward we went out to the studio and did a scene outside. We were blocking the driveway, and a guy drove up and stopped while we moved all our crap. As soon as we moved he sped past and didn’t look at us. He was wearing a gaudy outfit, and walked up to the bar. After the scene was over I went inside and edited my fight with Ray, which turned out awesome. Then the guy came to the studio and asked, “What company is this?” “What production is this?” All these questions reminded me of questions a distributor would ask if we pitched them a film, but who was this guy? At the end he said, “You guys are doing great. And I wouldn’t just say that if I didn’t mean it. Trust me, you’re great.”

Why… would I care? Apparently he works as some special fx guy.

Had a chance to talk to see Andrew and Ray’s band Xenofunk. They’re beyond awesome. Apparently they do live shows that have light spectacles and dancers. And the music was amazing. Andrew actually made his own synth guitar, which looks like an oversized machine gun with a shoulder strap and mini lightning circle (you know, those things you see at novelty shops). Ray can jam on the drums too. Look these guys up, and see them if you’re in NC.

Talked to Matt Sumner about martial arts a bunch, which is always cool, and that was that.

Submitted by: Eric Jacobus

I had no idea we would get so involved in the final scene. I figured I would walk into a room with 8 guys, mow them down, maybe fight one or two, but Micah had something way more elaborate in mind, which is awesome. I did a total of maybe 7 action bits at various locations at the Green Street club. Fought two guys near an elevator… then a huge dude (Won Dong) at the top of the stairs…

rolled down some stairs to take out another guy, went up to fight two more, had a brawl with another one (MMA guy from Ohio named Josh),

threw Paul down the stairs, and beat the hell out of Min in the elevator.

Afterward we went to Micah’s basement and did the nasty scene near the end of the movie.

I’m not with it mentally today. Hope I’ll be useful.

Submitted by: Eric Jacobus

First thing today was a scene in the gambling den with Marshall and Trey. Marshall’s this big dude who teaches escrima and kung fu. Really nice guy.
Paul slept through all of this at Micah’s. His neck is fine.

Went out to a factory and did Annie’s scene. The place smelled awful. I guess the water from the factory drains out into a reservoir 75 feet away. But the place looked amazing, and I’d love to shoot there sometime myself.

Lastly, went out to the studio and did some solo montage stuff. Andy took me and Paul to his place and we watched Stay, which was good but depressing.

I’ve started reading a book called “Skinny Bitch”. It’s basically a brash, comprehensive study of everything we eat. I’m a third of the way through it and I already want to make more drastic changes in what I’m eating. This means I go organic and spend more money, which I’m willing to do. But I won’t give up meat. Not yet anyway. And apparently aspartame failed FDA testing six times because it screws with your ph balance, among other things.

Part of my goal in doing this is to convince my parents to stop drinking that crap, as well as start eating well and all that.

Submitted by: Eric Jacobus

First thing today was a small action bit. Woke up at ten, and drove out to the outside of the studio where I dressed up as a bum and fooled this guy Nick into giving me ten bucks. Not really ten bucks, but I did manage to shoot him dead. We went into the studio and all began gagging. Apparently a bottle of pepper spray had started leaking some time ago and we had just started noticing.

Did a small fight against Paul, which was awesome. I’ve never worked with Paul before. All I’ve done is met up with him when I’ve gone to the east coast and talk about stunts and whatever else is happening. But today we had our fight, and it looked good. At the end he did a nasty fall over the balcony and accidentally landed on his butt, receiving an awful whiplash. Looked cool as hell. He’s taking ibuprofen as I write this.

Went out to Andy and Angela’s place and did an implied killing scene in their bedroom. Angela lent me a book called Skinny Bitch. It’s all about food. Andy cooked burgers for us, and Angela helped me with the ketchup. I had organic milk too. Apparently your regular store brand milk has usually been exposed to gross infections in cow udders due to the mechanical process that delivers the milk from the cow to us. I came home and drank some milk tonight and couldn’t really shake the thought. Somehow I didn’t enjoy what I was drinking anymore.

Last scene was at Blake’s, where I kill Andy and an Italian dude. Andy was acting like he was playing a videogame, and being childish all along. Hilarious.

… No deep thoughts tonight. I’m gonna watch Chronos (thanks Blake!) with Paul and go to bed.

Submitted by: Eric Jacobus

Here is some footage put together by Micah after the second week of shooting. Enjoy.