of town, where the interiors can be shot. And since all the outdoor action in the film is set in the town, everything can be done on-site. They even do the editing here, and the special effects. Often, on a big-budget film, there might be several teams around the world working on effects at the same time. But Davida wants to keep total control over this project. She refuses to farm out any of the work, even though it makes life much harder for her. This is her baby, the jewel in her movie crown, and she’s doing it exactly the way she wants — damn the inconvenience!
She even insists on keeping the cast together for the duration of the shoot. Emmet’s worked on a couple of films before, and explained how, if you have a small part in the movie, you only turn up for a few days, shoot your scenes, then head off. Even the big stars don’t hang around the set the whole time.
Well, here they do. All the actors, cameramen, artists, carpenters, caterers —
everyone
— had to agree to stay here until filming is finished. Davida kept everything secret in the buildup to shooting. Now that we’re all on set and the cameras are rolling, most of the secrets have been revealed. Copies of the full script have been circulated, and we’ve seen some of the demon costumes. To make sure none of the secrets leak to the outside world, Davida arranged for everyone to remain in Slawter until the entire film has been shot.
It costs a fortune to keep us here — food and drinks are free, games have to be organized to keep people amused in their spare time, two swimming pools have been built, tennis courts, a football field and so on — but Davida doesn’t care. Her other movies made a ton of money, and she’s managed to convince her backers that this one is going to be a mega-blockbuster, so she’s free to spend whatever she likes.
Not having any jobs to do, Bill-E and I have been enjoying the filming. We wander through Slawter, watch scenes being shot, check out the old buildings and fakes, hang out with some of the other kids, and generally just have fun. It’s great. Reminds me of when I first moved to Carcery Vale, when Bill-E and I spent pretty much all our free time together. We’re best buddies again, breezing along in a little world of our own, no Loch Gossel or other friends of mine to complicate the situation.
You can divide the children of Slawter into three groups. There are the actors, twenty or so. Most don’t have much experience, or have only been in a few films, like Emmet Eijit, who’s our best friend here.
Then there are the actors’ relatives. It’s a big deal being a child actor. There are all sorts of rules and regulations. They can only work so many hours a day. They have to be tutored on-set. At least one of their guardians — normally a parent — has to be with them all the time. And there have to be other children for them to play with. Juni’s in charge of that side of things. She makes sure the kids are being looked after, having fun, not feeling the stress of being part of such a costly, risky venture.
Finally there’s the likes of Bill-E and me, children of people working on the film. Because everyone involved had to move to Slawter for the duration of the shoot — at least three months — they were allowed to bring their families. Davida likes the relaxed family atmosphere.
We don’t have much personal contact with Davida Haym. Or with Dervish. He’s been working closely with Davida since we arrived, advising, censoring, subtly guiding her away from the workings of real demons wherever possible. He’s one of the few people to have seen inside the D workshops. That’s where the demon costumes are being created. The demons are to be a mix of actors in costumes and mechanized puppets. There will be some CGI effects, but Davida’s trying to keep the computer trickery to a minimum.
The costumes and puppets are housed in a giant warehouse, the biggest in Slawter, and access is granted only
She even insists on keeping the cast together for the duration of the shoot. Emmet’s worked on a couple of films before, and explained how, if you have a small part in the movie, you only turn up for a few days, shoot your scenes, then head off. Even the big stars don’t hang around the set the whole time.
Well, here they do. All the actors, cameramen, artists, carpenters, caterers —
everyone
— had to agree to stay here until filming is finished. Davida kept everything secret in the buildup to shooting. Now that we’re all on set and the cameras are rolling, most of the secrets have been revealed. Copies of the full script have been circulated, and we’ve seen some of the demon costumes. To make sure none of the secrets leak to the outside world, Davida arranged for everyone to remain in Slawter until the entire film has been shot.
It costs a fortune to keep us here — food and drinks are free, games have to be organized to keep people amused in their spare time, two swimming pools have been built, tennis courts, a football field and so on — but Davida doesn’t care. Her other movies made a ton of money, and she’s managed to convince her backers that this one is going to be a mega-blockbuster, so she’s free to spend whatever she likes.
Not having any jobs to do, Bill-E and I have been enjoying the filming. We wander through Slawter, watch scenes being shot, check out the old buildings and fakes, hang out with some of the other kids, and generally just have fun. It’s great. Reminds me of when I first moved to Carcery Vale, when Bill-E and I spent pretty much all our free time together. We’re best buddies again, breezing along in a little world of our own, no Loch Gossel or other friends of mine to complicate the situation.
You can divide the children of Slawter into three groups. There are the actors, twenty or so. Most don’t have much experience, or have only been in a few films, like Emmet Eijit, who’s our best friend here.
Then there are the actors’ relatives. It’s a big deal being a child actor. There are all sorts of rules and regulations. They can only work so many hours a day. They have to be tutored on-set. At least one of their guardians — normally a parent — has to be with them all the time. And there have to be other children for them to play with. Juni’s in charge of that side of things. She makes sure the kids are being looked after, having fun, not feeling the stress of being part of such a costly, risky venture.
Finally there’s the likes of Bill-E and me, children of people working on the film. Because everyone involved had to move to Slawter for the duration of the shoot — at least three months — they were allowed to bring their families. Davida likes the relaxed family atmosphere.
We don’t have much personal contact with Davida Haym. Or with Dervish. He’s been working closely with Davida since we arrived, advising, censoring, subtly guiding her away from the workings of real demons wherever possible. He’s one of the few people to have seen inside the D workshops. That’s where the demon costumes are being created. The demons are to be a mix of actors in costumes and mechanized puppets. There will be some CGI effects, but Davida’s trying to keep the computer trickery to a minimum.
The costumes and puppets are housed in a giant warehouse, the biggest in Slawter, and access is granted only
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