Compiles from production notes and Interviews.
What were some unexpected obstacles you encountered in the making of "Rubbernecking a.k.a. Accidents Don’t Happen?
ROSS: Unexpected obstacles. (Laughs)
SEAN: Imagine trying to shoot intimate dialogue with diesel crusin' by… not ideal or easy! Parking cars was a major part of the production as the cast and crew parking was also the set. It might have been the crew's way of Christening the production on the first day of shooting when one of the production assistants backed his pick up truck into another crew members' car. ('Christening' because the name of Sean and Ross' company is Fender Bender Films.) The crewmember was parking the vehicle into position. Sean and Ross, Fender Bender Films, were responsible for that damage so they paid the Make-Up Artist Michelle Fawcett $900.
ROSS: I compare it to one of the hockey players in "Slap Shot" smashing the headlights of the tour bus. Someone asks the player what he's doing. He says, "I'm making it look mean."
SEAN: We had two fender benders in 1998, and one the year after. I told Ross we should name it 'Fast Lane Films' not 'Fender Bender Films'; a ticket is cheaper than a dent. A good lesson for all film companies is to watch out for your company name. It is very self-prophesizing. I think next time we will name it 'Win the Lotto Films'. The other fender bender in that '98 production involved Ross as he was turning the recreation vehicle around and clocked a harmless tree. He put some dents into the recreation vehicle. "I'm making it look mean." The shoot dates were spread out over a few weeks due to stars' availability. The last day of the '98 shoot was a big day. Corbin Bernsen was the star shooting that day. We never even met him before the shoot. (He lived in London at the time.)
ROSS: My nerves were steadily growing that early morning. I took a drive to the set, which was less than a mile from our office. I couldn't believe what I saw...trucks lining up in the middle of the road blocking up the entire road...and our location. I spoke to one of the construction workers who said there would be many trucks entering and exiting the property that day. My heart never beat faster than that morning as I raced back to the house and office in Calabasas. I had a mini nervous breakdown, but calmed down after people urged me to have some water and a seat. I couldn't sit too long because I had to put my 'prop master' hat on and get all the props together. (Interjection from Sean "Welcome to our wonderful Independent world") And then I heard Corbin enter the house. I took a deep breath before going to meet him.
SEAN: I just thought how cool it's Corbin! Then I went back to work. When you are wearing five hats you're too busy to get caught up in any glory. The enormous amount of trucks had disappeared by the time Ross and Sean got to the set again, but the construction site workers' patience was warring thin. The crew had to stop trucks when the production was in the middle of shooting or about to shoot. The production was being reasonable. The crew let trucks drive by before shooting when ever possible. The head construction worker finally got aggravated enough to confront the production. He called the police. The sheriff showed up as well as someone from the permit office. They asked for the permit. The filmmakers had a permit. They just didn't have it on them. Of course they didn't need it...until then. The construction worker kept yelling and the crew just waited for the police to clear it up. We all got fed-up with the guys yelling. Corbin said 'I'd like to say a thing or two to him', I thought about the great opportunity for motivation and said 'Ok, go for it. The crew freaked but couldn't say anything to us. Wow what a nice road rage piece we got on film from that. Corbin plays 'Mr. Jones' an uptight, frustrated, yelling businessman on the way to an important meeting. Corbin was very much in character as he confronted the construction worker, and questioned his work ethics. It was wonderful to see an actor such as Corbin Bernsen defend the little independent film company.
ROSS: At first I was worried that Corbin approached the guy because of any possible physical fight that could have broken out. (Legal issues. I think Corbin would have flattened the guy though.) While Sean was working out the situation with the police and the permit office, Corbin and Ross went back to work.
How was the 1999 shoot?
ROSS: On our 1999 production, I think our most unexpected obstacle happened with our first day of shooting. Originally, I was going to play the character of 'Ross' opposite the character of Sean. The characters are screenwriters who have different opinions on how to present their screenplay about war as a film to a producer they're meeting with. Not being an actor and having that natural ability along with all the pressures of producing and directing is what made my decision in not to play, well, myself. It's enough being Ross in the real world. Imagine 'Being Ross Martin.' The first day of shooting arrived for 1999, and Sean and Ross made the first day very simple. The production had a tiny crew of just Sean, 'the other actor playing Ross', Ross (filmmaker), our 1st camera assistant and HD Consultant, Chris Wissinger and the script supervisor, Ron Bissiland. This was real guerilla filmmaking. The crew was shooting on an overpass over the 101 freeway and some great driving shots of the Sean and Ross characters. We were seeing signs for some Toyota commercial shooting in the area on our way to lunch. The actor playing Ross checked his messages and learned that he got a national commercial with Toyota. Major bucks. Lunch was a celebration for the first day of shooting...again and for this actor getting his commercial. Later, the filmmakers discovered that Toyota was scheduled during the rest of the "Accidents Don't Happen" shoot. This caused a major dilemma. The actor didn't want to lose the money and bailed out to film the commercial, after filming one of his three days. Sean and Ross needed an actor to learn about 15 pages of material in one day. Timing was the key for a production without time. Corey Klemow did have a really good audition and he already knew the material. Corey stepped into an extremely difficult situation for any actor and handled it very well. Here's a quick list of other unexpected obstacles: our cameraman's Hi-Definition camera broke on another shoot before ours and we had to get another Hi-Definition camera in two days. (There were only about seven cameras in the US at the time.) Ross' pager stopped working in the middle of the shoot and there were about 50 extras all with that one contact number. Extreme gusts of wind, one gust of wind blew over our 12 x 12 grif, which scratched and damaged an actor's car (SEAN: Does that count as a fender bender?). One of our crewmembers locked her keys in her car...twice...on the same day. We spent half a day shooting a very small scene then realized we had to re-shoot the whole scene over. The camera was capable of recording the whole crew in the actor's glasses. ( Damn that amazing High Definition). Another confrontation at the new location... apparently these two guys illegally gave us permission to shoot there. The real owners were cool and let us stay after an investigation. The recreation vehicle's battery died killing the ability to use our monitor, a much-needed necessity for HD. We had three fathers of cast and crewmembers pass away. There are hundreds of other small stories, as there are always in the independent world.
Hindsight being 20/20, if there was anything you could change about the film or how you approached it, what would that be?
SEAN: I might have shot the
ROSS: I would have sought a psychologist, drank more alcohol or both. Perhaps acquire an alcoholic psychologist so we could have meetings in a more social setting.
SEAN: I'll drink to that!
How long did it take to film?
SEAN: 17 days give or take a few. It gets a little fuzzy, when we finished principal photography we still had the camera and stock so we kept getting some footage, but that was not crucial, just fun.
ROSS: Well, we shot part of our film in six days. We shot another part of the film in eight days. Our first day of filming was June 1st, 1998. Our last day of filming was August 13th, 1999. You count the time in between. Actually, one year to the day of that last day of shooting in '99, August 13th (Sean's birthday) we actually went out and shot some footage for a new opening sequence. That was August 13, 2000. We're wondering what we're going to shoot on August 13th, 2001…. a sequel???
What surprised you about Renee (O'Connor)?
SEAN: Her manager gave her some big shoes to fill, built her up to be great in
ROSS: Renee did something I couldn't believe. Renee came by the office with her mom to say goodbye to us before she left Los Angeles. Knowing we were really tight on funds, she handed us the money we paid for her hotel bill. We told her she didn't have to do that, but she insisted; what a wonderful person. All of our stars, Corbin, Renee, Arye Gross and Debra Wilson, were a pleasure to work with. Corbin and Arye are true veterans of filmmaking. Their experience was very helpful. Renee was extra sweet. Debra Wilson's comedic 'MADness' in between takes was a much needed release for the entire crew.
SEAN: And don't forget that Sean Kinney guy, he's such a fun actor to work with!
What wisdom would you like to pass on to other filmmakers?
ROSS: Knowledge and communication. I always joke about not knowing 'anything.' I have no clue. That way I don't step in something gooey when it's beyond me. Actually, people will tell you I know a hell of a lot about independent films, filmmaking and who works for what company, etc. The more you know, the easier things are. Although when you think you know about something there's always the unexpected. The unexpected is what keeps you on your toes. Shoot twice as much by lunch-time, have a two hour lunch (time to pick up more film.) Make sure every important detail is clarified. Call back and confirm three times if you need to. Some roads appear shorter, but have a hidden curve you may not be aware of. Cheaper is not always better. Getting services for free or extremely cheap also means that your work is not as important as work that pays the bills. Some things will take much longer than you think.
SEAN: Accept responsibility for everything that is happening. Once you do that, you can be in charge again, and when you're in charge your in action. I think in order to be creative or produce you need to be in action of your dreams. (Sean gestures for the phone). Responsibility is key.
ROSS: What are you doing?
SEAN: I'm calling in sick for work tomorrow…
More upon request.
