Production Blog

WE ARE WRAPPED!

December 8, 2007 10:25 PM

Dear Mummy Family—

After 91 days of shooting and 2,021 shots, “THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR” has wrapped. I finished shooting the “Imhotep’s Nightclub” sequence with Isabella Leong slow dancing with Luke Ford and, across the dance floor, Brendan Fraser guiding Maria Bello through the steps in a very romantic ending quickly turning to comedy as upstairs in the lounge, John Hannah gets caught skipping out of town on his partner Liam Cunningham.

It was with some considerable emotion I announced “shogung!” in Chinese and the set went up with applause and tears. People hugged, flash cameras flashed like strobes and the cast and crew shared the same sweet sense of achievement in many languages. Chinese grips and French Canadian grips, big, strong tough men, slapped each other’s backs and whisked away a few budding drops from their eyes with calloused fingers. The most common words in the air were “I learned so much from you.” “I will miss you.”

There was an announcement from production that the wrap party was set immediately outside and that a “show” would start soon. We filed out of the soundstage at the back of the beautiful Shanghai Studio where tables had all been prepared with champagne and beer. Bruce Steinheimer, my special effects head, handed me a button attached to a long wire and said, “push it” which I did…

That set off a non-stop eight-minute long barrage of FIREWORKS the likes of which no one had ever seen, wave after wave, patterns and colors of light beyond imagining. A friend of mine videotaped some of it, and I will post it for you all to enjoy as soon as a copy gets in my possession.

We used a ton of fireworks in the chase I mounted through the streets of Shanghai on Chinese New Year so our Chinese fireworks team had just gone to the limit to mark the completion of the film. I never saw anything like it.

It was 3:30 on a cold December morning and there was enough light and sound over Shanghai to,,,dare I say?…wake the dead. I had my arm around my wife Barbara and watched the heavens with joy and gratitude in my heart for the way the breaks fell for us, the good weather (we shot in Shanghai for five weeks during the “rainy season” and didn’t lose one day to rain); we shot in the Tianmo desert for three weeks and only lost a few hours due to a sandstorm driven by gale force winds. We shot in Montreal on two exterior sets for three weeks with snow made from a hundred tons of Epsom salt which rain would have ruined and never got wet. The weather gods were with me and they made all the difference.

I was grateful that, having staged over 500 stunts, not one actor or stuntman was hurt, only one close call for our great stunt woman Ming Qiu doubling Michelle Yeoh in a wire ratchet but, after X-rays, she was all good.

I was grateful for the talent of my actors and the characters we co-created together. Brendan is a true talent on many levels and I truly believe you are going to embrace this new Rick O’Connell with an even greater passion than you now feel. Just a hunch.

Maria Bello joined the family and blasted out a new Evy with charm and fire. Her beauty and intelligence, wit and courage were something I appreciated each and every day.

Newcomers Luke Ford and Isabella Leong made me love my job working with fresh talent, guiding their instincts and energies through the immense process of a long shoot and seeing them exceed all my demands.

Jet Li epitomizes graciousness, spiritual depth, and physical grace. He never lost his sense of humor, even when I had him covered from head-to-foot in terracotta mud; he was so committed to the role, nothing was too much. I learned a lot from him in more ways than just film.

Michelle Yeoh should be made Queen of the World. If so, I would be a monarchist. What an elegant woman! She is a light being. She glows from within , even in sunlight.

John Hannah is such an inventive actor and I believe you will see a re-invigorated “Jonathan” in my film, a character with more to do and say but bringing the same comic energy on which we all depend. A great guy to hang out with as well!

Liam Cunningham who I first saw in Ken Loach’s fine film ‘THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY” turned out to be a comic revelation as “MAD DOG MAGUIRE” the mercenary pilot who flies the O’Connells into the Himalayas on their quest to thwart the Emperor Mummy. He and John made duets of laughter. You’ll see.

David Calder brought a much needed weight to the story, a fine Shakespearean actor, not well known in America…yet…but bringing a Sydney Greenstreet/Claude Rains type characterization to the mad goings on of “Mummy 3”.

Also, I am grateful I started this blog. What began as an experiment goaded forward by Vic Armstrong, has become one of most stimulating new aspects of my professional life. I feel better in touch with the very people for whom I have been making movies all these years (this one is my 30th) but now I hear your voices directly, feel your personalities and can enjoy a new sense of dialog.

Rest assured, I will continue to update you on the post-production process, give you sneak peaks, and take you right through to the world premiere in Beijing, China on July 24, 2008.

Most people think that once you’ve finished shooting, you are mostly done. Nothing could be more untrue. What lies ahead, editing, sound effects, design, score, 800 visual effects shots, the mix, timing the digital intermediate with Simon Duggan my D.P., the release plans, art, advertising, marketing---they all lie ahead and within each are countless challenges.

Stay tuned, and I will take you along on PART TWO of MUMMY 3.

Bye, bye for now….

Rob

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