Serious Syriana

One of the fun parts about working on a film is that you sometimes get to see the final product ahead of much of the public. True, Syriana opened in New York and LA a week or so ago, but last night the Maryland Film Office managed to pull together a crew showing at MICA, in Baltimore. It was quite exciting to see all of one's hard work finally stitched together so seamlessly.

The script is really quite complex, moreso even than Traffic. I must confess that more than once I was looking at a set, remembering how we put it together, which reminded me of events from that day, and totally zone on the dialogue for a moment or two. With most films, no big deal; with this one... you're lost. And I even read the script! (well, an earlier version, and it was over a year ago. Still).



Much of the film was shot in Baltimore, even though that city never actually plays a role. The DC suburb of Rockville is mentioned, even though that location was nowhere near Rockville IRL. The above still was from a brand-new housing development just outside of Baltimore; the houses weren't yet occupied, which made logistics a LOT easier.

Didn't get a credit, but as 3rd, that was to be expected. No worries. I'm proud of the work we did on this film, even if much of it wound up being cut. It was great experience, and I made a number of terrific contacts working on it. Plus a big chunk of memories -- for instance, our set-dressing warehouse, just off of I-95, was next door to a place that makes little air fresheners. Every few days, the armoa of the parking lot would change as they switched production lines.

Now, I need to watch the film again -- and this time, I need to pay attention to the LINES and not the SETS...