I'm becoming increasingly aware of the looming shoot. Major changes afoot. The art department has grown with an additional team of designers draughtsman and construction managers. A team of over 200 builders, sculptors and painters have descended upon one location. On another a forest is getting covered in snow. A giant tree is proving a difficult concept for sculptors but improves with each additional pass. The directors entourage was in the dozens today. My day is full just making my way from set to set. Fortunately the design process consists of offers from designers that I can direct. On paper the work is great. The challenge is in the realisation. A stunt unit starts shooting in 2 days and main unit on the 15th. In China the impossible may just be possible.
The cultural experience has been a mix of amazing hospitality combined with a 'lost in translation' otherworldness. The first few weeks consisted of nightly banquets. All delicious. We constantly toast Chinese wine, red wine and whiskey. The theory - we get to know each other quicker if we get a little drunk. Beijing is famous for its Peking duck, bbq trout and whole bbq lamb. I now know why. Mongolian lamb hotpot and bbq is a favourite. We dined at Beijing's most elite restaurant. King crab the like I will never see again, squid ink soup, lobster just a few of the dozen dishes I've experienced. One lunch we sat next to a wedding in progress. The bride and groom rocked out to uptown girl! All the guests smoking and drinking. There was an oddly familiar mix of old and new that made me think of the opening wedding of 'The Godfather'.
The press conference announcing the show was a series of interviews with web and print media and meetings with stars and author of the book. Surreal at times. People were so excited about the event apparently tickets were being scalped for NZ$3k a ticket. The stars all beautiful and charismatic.
I spend long days on the road between locations watching the country speed by. Beijing has been hot and dry and there is too much smog. But often there is little, especially now for the commemorative celebrations. Beijings mountains are beautiful when it rains. I'm looking forward to a cool winter. The drive to Mongolia saw a shifting world between mountainous to industrial landscapes of cooling towers and apartment blocks. Construction is happening everywhere. The scale of it stuns me a little. From NZ everything looks comprehensible. From here I wonder at how little I comprehend. With each day though a logic to this place seems to form. Mongolia itself is a familiar landscape. A New Zealander would feel at home here if not for the fact that the Savannah goes on forever. As we neared a lake I realised the ground was covered in grass coloured camouflaged frogs. Perhaps 1 every metre in every direction. The landscape one minute vast and empty became minute and abundant.
I haven't spent much time in Beijing centre at all. My reality is working at the studio and living in a surreal 5star hotel close by. The staff speak little English but we seem to make do with little connection. The Chinese food is great and the attempts at western food make you all the more homesick for burger fuel. Fortunately they do a mean banana split. Often the breakfast lounge is full of a massive buffet but I eat alone or I have the gym to myself in the evening. It is at times a ghost town. The surrealness is amplified by the fact that Mike Tyson, stone cold Steve Austin and Steven Segal are shooting at the same studios. So I'm either in the gym alone or with Mike Tyson on the treadmill next to me and Steve Austin doing weights. Everyone seems out of place. Sometimes Even the staff seem to have no idea how they got here.
What next? I'm endlessly busy and building stronger ties everyday with the crew. I think my role and contribution is clear. My mandarin improves with new words every day. I am always made to feel welcome and there is an eagerness to learn matched by a pride that the Chinese way will amaze me. It does.
Jade and finn will be joining me soon. We'll move to Beijing and I'll be commuting to the studios. So from here the adventure will continue with lots more new things to take in sharing it with the people I love most.
