SEASON'S GREETINGS!

The snow is falling softly and we are eagerly trying to spot some red-nosed reindeers in the horizon...Time for the last LEDY update of this decade!

The film's editing is well under way in Helsinki and a rough cut is expected for early next year. And, as promised some months ago, here are some stills from the shoot to give you a flavour of what's to come...Emma (Zoë Grisedale), Max (James Jeanette) and Teddy (Lewis Grolle) in action, as photographed by Matt Hass. Do join our merry Facebook group for more stills and updates...

Happy holidays from the LEDY HQ! See you in 2010.

LIFE AFTER THE SHOOT

About time we gave you the latest on LEDY. In a nutshell, we spent a mad ten days filming in September, and have spent about two months recovering from those ten days. It all went to plan (sort of) and we believe we have some good stuff on the thirteen HDV tapes that were produced during those days. We say believe because we don’t know…it has felt like a good idea to have a bit of a break before embarking on the lengthy process of editing, during which it would be helpful to have at least one brain and a pair of eyes that work.

Shoot trivia: the three-legged dog that was meant to take over Seanconnery's role after he retired to the country, sadly passed away before filming. The role was eventually offered to and accepted by Sausage Dog (pictured above), who did a wonderful job.

Whilst the moving image footage of the film is still in virgin condition, we’ve had the pleasure to sample the hundreds of still photos that were kindly taken during the shoot by the very talented Mr Matt Hass. They look pretty cool indeed! Thanks Matt, and also big thanks to Tania Dolvers, our other still photographer, and Rowan Hand, who took on the roles of 2nd AD, yoga coach, photographer and generally useful person on set (Rowan also plays the cello, teaches maths, writes screenplays and has some pretty interesting stories to tell). Some of these stills should find their way to this blog in the near future…

To stay true to the slightly restless nature of this project, our director Laura has once again re-located, this time to the dark and remote rock & roll capital of Finland, also known as Hell City, to focus on the editing of the film without unnecessary distractions. Here are Laura’s greetings from Helsinki:

“It was sleeting horizontally and was pretty dark when I arrived. The situation has somewhat improved since: it’s now plus five degrees Celsius and grey. I have been trying to organise editing equipment for LEDY in between engaging in various Finnish rituals such as sampling Jallu (a Finnish cognac), eating Pulla (a Finnish sweet bun) and hanging out in Sauna as much and often as possible. Also spotted someone doing Sauvakävely (pole walking) in central Helsinki on a Friday night. In case you haven’t heard of this marvellous sport, you can check out an ace demonstration of the activity by a fellow Finn Mikko Karhu HERE.

Meanwhile Adam & Tree, and our associate producer Preethi are flying the LEDY flag in East London.

FUNDRAISING

We would like to give a big THANK YOU to River of Light [ www.riveroflight.tv ] for their support of the film by covering our communications equipment costs! We are now counting the days to the shoot ...starting on AUG 31... and any donations are entirely appreciated!

CAST REHEARSALS

...are going so well that last Sunday our director Laura decided to rehearse with Ed & Jasmine at the garden of the wonderful local pub, The Stag's Head, whilst enjoying the very generous sunshine & delights of the BBQ on offer - both suitably provided gratis and very much appreciated by our pale & starving team. Interestingly, some way into the rehearsal we realised that our producing team Adam & Tree were two tables away, also enjoying the free entertainment provided by the kind management of the pub. Who ever said there is no such a thing as a free lunch?

Pub rehearsals aside, Laura has been sending the cast on various method challenges, such as on dates and East End partying "in character". If the results of these exercises could be measured in painfulness of hangovers, we'd definitely be scoring many points. More seriously, though, it seems that things are coming together in terms of relationships in the story, and also in achieving the generally chaotic state of mind that is also sometimes called 'creativity'.

LOCATIONS UPDATE

We've secured The Stag's Head pub on 55 Orsman Road with the kind help of Matt who runs the newly refurbished venue. The Stag's Head is the best pub in Dalston at the moment. With a fantastic enclosed private beer garden, pool tables, fine ales, free Sunday BBQ's and a stage/sound system for bands to perform. We haven't been this excited about a pub since the George and Dragon opened in Shoreditch!

CREW UPDATE

Sophie Jacobs is our newly appointed Production Designer. She is a St Martin's Set Design graduate and has already been enthusing about some interesting ash trays...to be continued...

We would also like to welcome our terrific Makeup & Hair Designer My Alehammar back from Tunisia, where she has been up to no good for the past month or so. She says it was a horror film shoot...Essential trivia: My's name is inspired by the My of Moomins. My will be designing with Pippa Woods who is currently also working on the Clash of the Titans remake! We are thrilled to have these two makeup heavyweights onboard our East End adventure!

For our sound engineers we have on board Myles Hayden who we would like to thank for providing his sound kit! Also on board as sound engineer is Takatsuna Mukai, an exceptionally multi talented individual who is also is a musician, an actor and a music producer. Thanks to Taka for providing his flat as our greenroom!

We've found our lighting person in the shaped of a man called Gavin Brabant who also making a cameo appearance in a K-HOLE scene!

We are also looking for a bunch of those vital people called Runners. If you would like to get involved, or know someone who would - send us an email! lvestdiyng AT gmail.com !!!

CASTING UPDATE

Just in time - we have found our missing link - Teddy! The identity of this fine actor is a closely guarded secret, and you'll have to watch the film to find out. Shhhhh. We can only say that the casting of this character entailed, among other things, an evening trip to the legendary Vauxhall spot RVT and watching the larger-than-life spectacle that is the Texas Chainsaw Masscara, as performed by the fabulous Jonny Woo , Feral, Scottee...and of course, Jeanette. You can view the video clip that accompanied that Texas Chainsaw Massacara here.
The evening included generous portions of fake blood, a broken stiletto heel, a cold bath, several gin and tonics and other alcoholic beverages, a distinctly "method" approach to acting, and a cab back to the safety of Hackney.

Tree, with her Casting Director's hat on, has also found us a charming Homeless Person, a small army of Strippers, two sexy Bouncers, many Skinny Guys, a Three-legged Dog and it's two-legged Owner, a convincingly Trashed Girl and a Club Owner...who has promised to grow a distinctively shaped mustache just for the occasion. We think our collection of characters is slowly starting to look like a representative snap-shot of Shoreditch. Thank you, Tree, and all the wonderful people lending their appearances to us! You know who you are...

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Last Saturday we had a fantastically productive day in terms of taking a tour of potential locations. We were able to check out and secure pubs, clubs, toilets, houses, warehouses, and strip bars. The owners and managers were more than helpful, and we were very happy with how receptive everyone concerned was to working with us. Pictures say more than words, so here are some pictures which will appearing in various scenes throughout LIVE EAST, DIE YOUNG ...

LONG TIME NO BLOG

Its been awhile since we threw some fresh meat up on this blog, mostly because we've been so busy getting things done, that we have not had the time to write about them. Hold tight ...

CAST

Again, we are happy to report that our continued quest for acting talent has allowed us to meet some great people, and we feel flattered at the response we have received regarding auditions for various parts. Thank you everyone. Thank you also to our Casting Department, who has been working very hard managing all these auditions ... it is a LOT of work. We are please to announce that we have found not just suitable, but excellent performers for the following respective parts. Because we haven't done a proper round-up of our cast to date, we shall do so now

LEO

Ed Cooper Clarke

Ed played an East End artist in Laura Hypponen’s recent short film Shoreditch Sonata and has also recently filmed One More Drink, a winning entry for the Filmaka competition judged by great filmmakers from Colin Firth to John Madden and Neil La Bute. Other screen work includes commercials and corporates for Eurostar and Dominos and a music video for Jamelia.

Ed is about to graduate from Drama Centre where roles have included Platonov in Chekhov’s Platonov and Eugene Onegin in Eugene Onegin – both performed in Moscow. Last summer, he played the lead in an award-winning production of The Rivals in the Henley fringe festival.

ALICJA

Jasmine Polak

Jasmine is a freshman at Krakow's National Acting Academy, previously working with a theatre group ran by the well known polish theatre actor Juliusz Chrzastowski. Jasmine has also performed in many plays, the most successful of which was 'Musees hautes' musees bas' by Jeam Michel Ribes, for which she has received two acting awards. She's also appeared in a few short independent films and took part in many recital competitions. Not just busy with acting, Jasmine has also cut her teeth in the music industry, as a pianist and singer, and is about to perform her first live gigs back in Poland, where she's originally from.

EMMA

Zoë Grisedale

Zoë is a young Actress from London with a background in modeling, also a writer, and even drummer in the live act 'You Me Bum Bum Train.' We shall leave it to a quote to best speak for Zoë from here on in: "Zoë is an explosive young talent, and a pleasure to watch onscreen. The camera simply adores her. She has genuine range already, and would be equally comfortable playing the girl next-door, hipster sophisticate or total goofball with equal aplomb. Zoë is unafraid to tackle a character head-on, she immersed herself in the emotional as well as physical make-up of Kate. Her preparation cannot be faulted, he arrived for the read-through knowing the script inside out and with a potent combination of theories, ideas and questions about her character. With enough energy resources to topple the national grid, Zoë is a bigscreen star in waiting, with true cinematic presence." D W. Hall 2008. Director , The Initiation. Check out her MySpace here.

MAX

James Jeanette Main

James is a gender illusionist, better known as 'Jeanette', the door girl for the infamous Boombox club night, and those who have been turned away by him for not trying hard enough will remember him well! James served as a muse to the designers Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh, worked as a stylist for Dazed & Confused and i-D magazines and occasionally moonlighted as a hairdresser to Grace Jones. He has also been currently cast in a film about the life of legendary 60's femme fatale and Warhol Superstar, Nico. Check out his MySpace here.

CREW

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Bronwen Parker-Rhodes

Bronwen graduated with a BA (1st Class Hons) from Slade School of Fine Art, University College London in 2006. Since then she has made two series of three minute wonders for Channel 4, had screenings at the Curzon Soho, ICA, BFI, a solo show at the URA! GalleryIstanbul, and in 2006 her short film ‘Lark’ won the FourDocs award for best short documentary at Sheffield DocFest. Check out her website here.

1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Richard Brade

Richard is a versatile filmmaker whose television credits include Lyon Television’s MUMS ON STRIKE (2005), and Endemol UK’s THE MATCH (2005). He also has worked in the costume department on Joe Wright’s ATONEMENT (Working Title, 2006), where his duties included maintaining continuity and preparing actors such as Keira Knightley for each shoot. Richard is the founder & managing director of River of Light, a media production company. As well as executive producing River of Light’s projects, he has been responsible for the visual mixing of live events in London’s Heaven nightclub, where his work was seen weekly by an estimated 1,600 off-their-heads clubbers. He currently works at London superclub Fabric. Richard graduated with a BA in Film and Television Production (2006) from one of the UK’s leading film schools, The University of Teesside. Following his graduation he received a full scholarship to attend the MSc in Management with Film Business degree at London’s Film Business Academy.

LOCATIONS

The Production Team has also been busy: securing, confirming and scouting locations, and we are excited to be able to include several Shoreditch and Dalston familiar to many: The George and Dragon, The Russian Bar, The toilets and Bar Music Hall, and the downstairs light-up disco dancefloor at Shoreditch Electricity Showrooms. We have been very fortunate to have the interest and co-operation of the management of these fine camera-friendly venues in our film project.

Our Director Laura has taken up temporary residence at a canalside warehouse, which will serve as Max's flat. The warehouse in the vicinity of Gainsborough Studios, where the late Mr Hitchcock used to film his masterpieces. The Studios, of course, are today serving as lodgings for (the now possibly unemployed) City bankers and other well-to-do folk...and there's also a lovely Thai restaurant and a gym. The man with the van who helped Laura move went so far as as to say that the warehouse flat resembles a drug den. We don't know what he could possibly have meant by that. As a rebut to such concepts, it has come to our attention that there is an early care facility downstairs at the warehouse ... 'early care' means 'children'. We will be adding a disclaimer to the beginning of the film to note that no children were harmed during the production. Some great side streets, alleyways and murky corners around here, though ... while scouting for these the temptation has been to escape the soaring temperatures by a refreshing jump into the canal with the floating logs of junkie poo. Maybe not quite yet, though.

* * *

We are now a month away from production, and things are looking good. Its has been astounding to all of us how many enthusiastic people have come on board, and committed to working with us. The wonders never cease, except in the case of the poo in the canal, which is standard.

NEW CREW AND SOME TEETH FRESH OUT OF THE CANAL

A round-up of recent events during the past very busy week! Casting-wise our Director Laura has been going to lots of theatre productions, in an effort to spot actors, as well as our Casting Director Tree's new strategy of getting in touch with the real thing: people from east London who are the part, not just playing the part. Indie boys, trannies and anyone who is interested in being part of documenting the unique time and place that is east London, as part of the unique social landscape, get in touch! The casting continued at the TODAY IS BORING studios this past weekend! At the top of our most wanted list is a Max!

Our meetings with various good people for the positions of Head of Wardrobe and Director of Photography continued through the past week. While the latter is as yet unconfirmed, we are happy to announce that Malin Persson is our new Costume Designer. We have had the pleasure of meeting with some great people for both these positions, a big thank you all concerned. We hope to soon have the first installment up online from our 'Making Of' team: Munir Malik and Tim Parkinson! Our first party, held last Monday, was filmed in part by Munir and Tim, and they are doing the final edit as we speak.

Charlotte Gruen, our Production Co-Ordinator is back from the incapacitating grip of acute hayfever paralysis, thanks to some nuclear powered fuck-off medication from Germany. Its time to tell everyone a little more about Charlotte:

Born in the Piscean month March of the year 1986, Charlotte’s full name is Charlotte Melinde Agnes Maria Grün. Her boyfriend Andy (‘Twig’) Twigden of Indie-rockband Strangeways calls her CMAMG (pronounced “Seemamgee”). Charlotte and Andy own a Hamster called Harry. He is a little overweight. That is, the Hamster, not her boyfriend Andy. Her parents, a mellow doctor and a fiery actress raised her in Berlin. She has an older brother, called Vincent. When Charlotte turned nine, they all decided to move to London, allowing her to grow up bilingually english and german. Heeding the words of Oprah Winfrey ' ... to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself', Charlotte decided to move to Québec to learn french…or something like it, when she was 16. Living across Europe and Québec has enabled her to interact easily with people from diverse cultures. A people person, complete with the required outgoing personality, she tries to be as open-minded as possible, but sometimes, people get on her tits ... figuratively speaking. Having studied Film and Television Studies at Brunel University in 2005-2008, Charlotte has now finally been able to get her small toe in the door of the film and television industry. In recent times Charlotte has worked on various television productions, including Nikelodeon Kids-TV show Staraoke and SkyOne’s most famous Cirque de Célébrité, presented by Ruby Wax. She has worked as an on-set translator and interpreter for various German and British Film and Television Productions. Most importantly however, she was Production Assistant on Electric Blue’s Short film Shoreditch Sonata and is now excited to call herself Production Co-Ordinator on Live East, Die Young, enjoying doing the work no one else can be fucked to do.

Location-wise we, or rather Laura, has been able to secure one of our required locations through a most ingenious manoeuvre: that of becoming a flat mate in a fantastic warehouse flat, and subletting her existing flatshare in the meantime. Laura will be making the move next weekend, and the rest of the crew will be making a visit, to check out this location on the lapping shores on the turd-brown putrid Regent's Canal, which holds all of East London's secrets at the bottom of its eel-ridden waters. Lovely.

Finance-wise, we are still looking for angels of a fiscal nature to visit us. Tooth fairies are one of the latest suggestions from the crew, as the combined cash raised by extracting all of the crews' teeth with vice-grips would be just enough to buy a DV cassette tape for the camera we don't have. Perhaps a quick dive in the aforementioned canal would result a larger pile of unattached teeth from unidentified human remains for said fairy.

AN INTRODUCTION TO 'LIVE EAST, DIE YOUNG'

Hello, and welcome to the first blog entry for LIVE EAST, DIE YOUNG! A little run through about our project to begin with ...

SYNOPSIS: East London, the present. Emma faints on the catwalk at a rehearsal for the London Fashion Week. Leo, her frustrated musician boyfriend, is busy flirting with Alicja, a Polish pub waitress-come-photographer. The only one who seems to care is Teddy, a jaded gossip journalist in a midlife crisis – who wants a career lift by publishing a sensationalist biography of Emma. Emma calls Max, her confidante; a hairdresser-by-day and trannie-queen by night, to escape her worries and disappear into the nightlife…but Max has got his own angle to things: he’d like to turn a casual affair with Teddy into something more meaningful. They all just want to feel good … but high on cocktails and cocaine, it’s always going to be difficult to tell who’s really your friend.

EMMA: A lively and self-destructive party girl, Emma’s career as a model is fading. She is harassed by the paparazzi and an ageing journalist who is writing a sensationalist biography of her, and on top of this is dumped by her boyfriend.

LEO: a frustrated musician working in music PR, Leo wants to end his dead-end relationship with erratic Emma. He is tired of his life in London and contemplates an escape.

ALICJA: a bar maid with a passion for photography, Alicja’s recently migrated to London from Poland (willing to consider other nationalities). She hates her bar job and would do just about anything to get a job as a photographer.

MAX: camp hairdresser by day, drag queen and party hostess by night, Max is Emma’s confidante. He starts a casual affair with Teddy, but ends up wanting more than sex from the relationship.

TEDDY: a gossip journalist going through a mid-life crisis. He’s divorced some time ago and lives on a houseboat. He sees his teenage son George twice a week and buries his personal problems in work – currently a biography of Emma, a popular “it girl”. A casual affair with Max turns into more than he can handle.

Currently, we are busy holding castings, organising the essential crew, and fundraising. After our first round of castings, we are happy to announce that we have our Emma, with Zoe Grisedale.

Our current pre-production schedule is due to bring us into mid-August, with production beginning then, and finishing at the end of August.