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Production
The filming of Muffin Man took place over the
course of 25 days in February, 2003. The majority of the dramatic
portion of the film was shot over 10 days on a Seattle-area
soundstage. The reminder took a skeleton cast and crew to the
outlying suburban parks and the Cascade mountains.
The unique ... girth of the cast,
however, created an unusual situation for the director.
"As a director, I felt
confident," Eisner explained (even though it was her first feature
length film), "but as a physician, I was nervous."
The health of the cast was of
constant concern to Eisner.
"It’s no myth that obesity is
associated with heart problems and stroke," she explained, "and I
just hoped I wasn’t pushing our luck. It’s ironic to think that the
defibrillator on set was non-functional - 'for safety' ".
The film schedule had been pushed
out 3 weeks to accommodate Mike Short’s (T-Bone) surgery. He’d had a
large, necrotic, non-healing wound on his leg which required a skin
graft only weeks before shooting. Fortunately he limped into the
studio as planned, and, with some TLC, completed the shoot.
The
Crew takes a break during filming
Ben looks for gum under a park bench
As might be imagined food,
created several issue with the shoot. It was, however, made clear on
the first day that all food on set was off limits. Food props alone
amounted to several thousands of dollars of the productions budget.
There were concerns about expired food and problems with continuity.
"It wasn’t easy," she said. "But we got lucky with the casts’
attitude, the health of the cast and the weather," said Eisner,
"There were several back-up plans for shooting the love montage if
it rained, but the beautiful light we captured during those 3 sunny
days in February was amazing. It gave such an ethereal feel to the
touching moments in the love story."
The weather for the tug of war
scene was not as nice. The short, frigid days, of a Pacific
Northwest winter created a compact shooting schedule and cold, stiff
actors. Temperatures for the 3 day scene ranged from 28 to 50 F and
the costumes did not included heavy coats.
The days began with a hot
breakfast in the hosts’ garage at 5:45 a.m. and set-up for the
scene. Shooting began at the first suggestion of daylight.
Shooting
the "Tug of War" scene on a cold February Morning
"It was cold ...
freezing, really," said Eisner, "but it didn’t rain and, again, the
light was perfect. We got that filtered, gray, misty light so unique
to the region and, more importantly, it didn’t change during the
shoot. I think it lent a certain tension and foreboding to the scene
that couldn’t have been achieved in bright sunlight."
The actors
rehearsed in a heated trailer and darted to the set for each set-up.
Once there, they waited in parkas ... near heat lamps. Anyone not
actively working was assigned to hold a heat lamp on an actor. The
average temperature was barely above freezing.
"It was so
miserable," recalled Porras, "and yet I feel like a total wimp since
we actors got to go inside periodically and everyone else was in the
frigid cold the whole day. It was bone-chilling. When I was out
there I would stand behind the cart of pastries and sneak bites of
the muffins and bear claws. I wonder if anyone ever noticed."
"The
actors were stoic and wonderful," said Eisner. "Even under those
intense conditions, they geared up for the scene and gave it their
all. It helped inspire me to make a great film for everyone."
The
light changed and it began raining during the wrap party.
The sex
fantasy pudding scene was, predictably, one of the stranger scenes
to produce. The scene was shot in the Master Bathroom of Eisner's
home. After the grip blacked out the skylight, Eisner banished
everyone but Michelle Porras (Hope) and Randy Peck (the DP) from the
room. Then Eisner proceeded to cover the actress in vanilla pudding.
"It felt so wrong," said Porras, "and even though the pudding was
room temperature, it felt cold."
"Michelle was a bit anxious about
the scene so I wanted to put her e at eas," Eisner explained.
"However, I was also pouring pudding on her at the same time, so she
could only relax in spurts. When the cold pudding hit her skin she
would let out an ear-piercing shriek and then giggle."
Michelle Porras (Hope) wears the latest in pudding fashion
The
effect this had on Ben and the crew outside the room was to send
them immediately pacing ... part worried, part titillated - about
the adjoining room.
"The inherent nature of the entire shoot could
have made for some awkward situations," said DP, Peck. "Of course
the actors knew the subject matter going in, but that didn't
guarantee that once the camera started rolling they wouldn't be
apprehensive about what they were doing. They proved to be true
professionals and did a great job. And I think they had a good
time."
The documentary portion of the film was less dependent on
acting and weather and more dependent on creativity and scheduling.
The studio work was crammed into 3 days of shooting. Eisner had
created an intricate schedule of alternating still and action shots
that kept the small crew busy.
"I think I worked harder in there
than anywhere." said DP, Randy Peck.
"It came down to time and money
... both of which were running out." Eisner explained. "We had to be
very efficient."
In addition to the studio work, there was selection
of stock footage and creation of the custom animations. Over a 9
month period, Eisner drew story broads for all of the animations and
coordinated the work of four animators in four different states. In
addition, she acquired or created almost every prop. The notable
exception was the life-size 'stone Muffin Man' statue created by
Seattle’s Art Horse studio. The statue still sits in a loft in
Eisner’s home.
"My favorite prop is the baby bottle made out of a
grenade." said Eisner. "It’s such a shocking reminder of where our
society is headed and why I made this film."
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