Hello from NYC!

Hey everyone :)

Well, I didn't have time to blog before flying out to New York to visit my best friend a few days after we finished filming, so I thought I'd find a minute to send a note from here - I haven't got long, as I fly on to Rio de Janeiro today (it's a hard life...) so I'll keep it short and sweet and treat you to some photos.


Since I last wrote, we've had episode 10 in London, episode 1 in Edinburgh, and back to London for episode 3, and I've really enjoyed all of them. For our first trip to London, me and Debs ran up stairs a lot, (we were building up tension, not to mention our calf muscles) and discovered an empty crack den - where was Jamie? At the door, locking us in. Great.









Emma looking through the bars of the crack den for her love, and obsession, Jamie.






We all had some fun posing in the window, sure :)



It was weird going all the way back to the beginning of the story for episode 1 in Edinburgh. I was really glad that Andrea had added in a scene at the start of Emma and Jamie in happier times, to give some context to the ensuing action.



















In stark contrast to this lovely image of the happy couple Emma and Jamie once were, Andrea had also added in another scene, of Emma taking the self-portraits of herself crying over Jamie after their break-up, which feature in the gallery scene. Although I'm sure this will only be a short cut-away in the final edit, and there were no lines, this was one of my most challenging scenes in the whole film, because I knew that it had to feel real for the scene to work, which meant acting real pain and despair and loneliness with nothing to feed off, and surrounded by a camera crew - a new thing for me. So I retreated into character a while in advance of the scene, and was really sobbing by the time we were rolling.





It was a relief after putting myself through that to see the friendly faces of Debs and Alex arrive to film the bar scene! This was a very ambitious shot involving loads of extras and plenty of red bull!


BELLA HEESOM: "I love Red Bull; during a long and tiring day on set, it gives me the wings I need to fly through the next take!"


Later that day. Me and Debs napping.
[Not for inclusion in advert.]




I don't have access to the photos from the episode 1 shoot at the moment, so I guess I'll put those up with an account of the Edinburgh premiere later in the summer - looking forward to seeing you all there!

Having wrapped the whole film, I'd like to propose a toast to all of the teams and all of their hard work, not to mention my fellow actors, and most importantly, the fun we all had doing it. Thank you so much to everyone involved (not forgetting the people who gave me the opportunity in the first place, or those that came up with the idea) for such a wonderful experience. It is one I will treasure :)

Shoot photos copyright Manny Elias - thanks Manny!

- Bella Heesom -

DEBLOG FROM LONDON: THE RETURN

Ahhhhh, back to the big smoke to complete the final episode (actually episode 2 - but who's counting?) and this time I'm staying off Portobello Road, not an area I've ever visited before. So with scenes from Notting Hill flashing before my eyes and wondering if I'll bump into Hugh Grant, I travel south with trepidation. (Partly because I'm wondering if Hugh will be carrying orange juice and partly because the world got slightly madder in London last Friday).

With Alex & Bella filming all day - including the high tec green screen scene (?), Manny and I set out to explore the market stalls of Portobello Road. No sooner had we shut and locked our hotel room than the heavens opened (must be because it's Wimbledon) and we got soaked. And I mean soaked, to the skin, drenched, drowned rat - WET - so instead of enjoying a little antiquity hunt we spent the afternoon playing brolly roulette. I swear, when I become famous and go on Room 101 - umbrellas will be my first choice, umbrellas and people who selfishly carry them in a bustling street with no regard for anyone else's eyeballs. Standing at 5'9", I am reasonably tall - so why don't (mainly) women carrying brollies lift their deadly weapons up and over the heads of unsuspecting innocents on the street during a downpour? It's ridiculously lethal; I was nearly decapitated several times. As well as walking in fear of my eyes, I also tripped over some nutters' leg mid brolly dodge and was only saved from total embarrassment by Manny's strong arm. Take my advice, oh people of Portobello Road, sod The Bluewater Shopping Centre Bureaucrats - buy a hood!

Ok, rant over and now back to my job.

A very straightforward scene this week - short and grape based. Yes, you've guessed it - another bar for Avril. This one though, less swanky and more "Rock & Roll", hence the rocky outfit I'm wearing that was a happy accident (look, I have no clothes left that haven't featured in this film). We were met at the location by The Barman Formally Known As Prince, who didn't know, didn't care and reluctantly had to make calls to allow us entry.



Having had no previous contact with this week's crew I just breezed in and did what I do. It was fun, I enjoyed it but I did miss the sense of team I've felt before in the project.
For me, this weekend, filming was over before I'd even learnt anyone's name. However, this was quickly rectified at the Cobra Curry that night, as I was sat with Naomi, Erik and Eleni and had a brilliant time. Having got to know them I
wished I'd had more to do in this episode.





Bella - having a cop's breakfast before grape shooting.






So that's it, filming over for me, many cries of "it's a wrap - let's eat" later, I'm off to Milan whilst I wait for Louis to green light my next project: Avril Travel's The World On Emma's Cash With Jamie....


....strange Louis hasn't answered my location request yet....






Deblog From.... by Deborah Bouchard
Location Photos by Manny Elias.