Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My films Blog

Ok, so I know Amber just blogged about my film... but I just found out today that my film now has a blog. You can check it out at http://phasetwothemovie.blogspot.com/. What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Phase Two The Movie

                                        Image by Kristi Wolverton

So I was thinking today and I realized that I have yet to introduce you all to Andy's latest project. I guess I just expected him to do it but he's been so busy lately I can see how he might have forgotten to write about it. So for anyone wondering what's been keeping this guy so busy lately it's the shooting of Phase Two, which is Andy's production company's latest film. Without giving anything away I can truthfully say it's going to be a excellent movie! And I'm not just saying that because my husband is the Producer and Director of Photography. It's filled with totally unexpected twists and turns and keeps you guessing all the way through. The cast is amazing! They have a whole range of personalities and they are all amazing actors and actresses. The crew; the cameramen, the boom mike operator, the sound guy, the lighting operator, etc are all doing such a great job. It's so interesting watching them because they each have their individual tasks to perform and they all work so well together. I have been so amazed by everyone working on the film, not only are they super nice but they're really motivated and as far as I can tell they each seem to be really great at what they do. And of course you can't forget about Craft Services! Andy's parents, Liz & Greg, have done a terrific job feeding all the hungry cast and crew. I've been lucky enough to get up there twice, once to watch a few scenes and today to help with the food. It was so exciting to be there and watch Andy in his element and really feel like a part of it all. The little bit of footage I have seen looks incredible! I seriously can't wait to see Phase Two in it's entirety. Do I sound a little obsessive about this movie or what?

Synopsis:
Phase Two is a Sci-Fi thriller set in a post-apocalyptic future as survivors of a deadly virus try to adapt. Reynolds (John Ross Clark), a high strung professor, and Sonya (Jessica Erin Sylvia), his tough-minded assistant, fight to find a cure and take in a naive teen, Angela (Tattie Grace), who recently lost her father. Jim (Matt Thompson), a tough guy commando, and Eric (Robin Steffen), a scrawny movie quoting warrior, battle outlanders, gangs and infected while trying to salvage anything along the way. Frank (Shaun Paul Piccinino), an honest G.I., and Derek (Luke Bishop), a ruthless soldier, are sent on a mission that tests their morals.

I fixed the links in the previous post but just in case I'll post them again. The website, for the time being, doesn't have very much content on it but that will hopefully change here pretty soon.

http://www.phasetwothemovie.com

The facebook page contains bios of the cast, pictures of the location, etc so be sure to check it out! And become a fan!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Phase-Two/211081670230?v=info&viewas=1151351564

                                 Image by Kristi Wolverton

Lastly I wanted to wish my wonderful mother-in-law a Happy Birthday! She's as good as they get! She is absolutely terrific and I want her to know how much I appreciate her. Thank you for bringing my wonderful husband into this world and raising him to be the talented and loving man that he is. Happy Birthday Liz!

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Past Week in Tehachapi

This past week the kids and I have been staying with my parents up in T-town. Andy started shooting Phase Two last Tuesday so he's been busy on set everyday and living with all the cast and crew in the Mojave desert. The kids and I miss Andy's SO SO SO much but for the most part we are managing to enjoy life without him. My parents have been so great to let us stay with them and it's been really nice enjoying their company and getting a MUCH needed break.

Every day the kids begged me to take them outside to play on the play set. My dad and brothers built this really nice play set in their backyard and it's been a huge hit with the kids.

Preston is pretty partial to the swings. You gotta love that smile:)

He totally rocked it on the ropes and made it all the way to the top. I am so proud!

One day I took the kids into town for a picnic lunch at the new Railroad Park. We waited a good long while to see the train but unfortunately we had just missed it.


Evelyn insisted on carrying her baby in her sweater. It was pretty cute.

We drove around and saw some of the new murals that have been painted in downtown Tehachapi. This one in particular is called "People of the Mountains" and depicts Tehachapi's Native American Nuooah or Kawaiisu.


I took the kids to Philip Marx Central Park and let them run around the playground for a while and then we went over to Kmart to enjoy some yummy slushies. My very first job was a cashier at that Kmart so it was interesting being back.
On the way home we drove by Brite Lake and saw the faces cut out in the trees. Evelyn thought they were funny and really seemed to enjoy discovering each new face.

The next day I took the kids to the lake to feed the ducks. They were draining the lake so the poor ducks were all wading in the mud and it was a little gross but the kids had a good time.
Preston climbed up on a rock and was content just sitting and eating the ducks bread.

Saturday my dad watched the kids for me and Mom and I took a trip out to Mojave to check out the movie site. It was so awesome seeing Andy at work! I really enjoyed watching some scenes being shot and getting to meet all the cast and crew. Everyone was so friendly and everything seemed to be going well. I'm very proud of Andy and am really grateful for the person he is and the hard work that he does for his family. I saw a few short clips which were AWESOME and can't wait to see the finished product. It's going to be a great movie! I didn't get any pictures that day but if your interested make sure and check out the movies Website and Facebook Page.

I came home for the weekend but I'll be going back to Tehachapi first thing in the morning. The movie shoot goes for another week and a half at which time I plan on spending every minute with Andy because I miss him SO much.

Climbing Mt. Whitney

I am proud to say that I got to check off another of my life-long to do's this past month.  I've been talking about it all year.  I think I've even mention it in a post or two but on July 31st my mom, myself and my two best friends, the Biglers, all hiked the 11 miles to the summit of Mt. Whitney and the 11 miles back down in 1 day.  Crazy I know, especially for my very first climb but I DID IT!  In fact we all made it.  The whole experience is still totally unreal to me. 

Mom and I the afternoon before at the Lone Pine Visitor Center.  Mt. Whitney is behind us although oddly enough it's not the tallest one in the picture.

To give you a more detailed break down on the trip our planning actually started at the very beginning of the year.  My dad and brothers have gone up the past few years as a ward thing and before this year I had never even contemplated going because I was either pregnant or at home with a little one.  But this year with two toddlers I finally figured they were old enough to be away from me for a few days and I just decided to go for it.  Turns out my mom always wanted to go also so me going was a good motivation for her as well.  Our two best buddies who are particularly outgoing asked if they could join in as well and I couldn't have been more ecstatic that they came because they were a huge help.  It turns out we had the perfect little team and I don't think I could have done it without each one of them.  My brother was missed, he had to work, but I'm hoping to get him out there with us next year.  Apparently in previous years he's climbed to the summit and back in 8 hours, which is insane.  

There's a lottery process you have to go through in order to get the permits otherwise you have to just go up and hope there's an opening.  So I sent our paperwork in the beginning of February and managed to get my first pick of days which just happened to be July 31st.  Our date turned out pretty much perfect, the weather was beautiful with just the slightest hint of flurries at the summit which was actually pretty cool.  I did manage to do some training.  I ran almost every day for several months and switched to the P90X workout program the last few months.  In hind sight I probably should have trained a little different, more time on the stair stepper and some practice hikes would have helped a lot.  About a week before the trip we booked reservations for a campsite but that turned out to be kind of a bust.  We didn't know until we got up there but there are actually walk-in only campsites right at the base of the trail so we took one of those instead.  We went up the night before in order to get acclimated which is a definite must for anyone thinking about doing it themselves especially if your like me and your coming from only about 350 ft.

This beautiful waterfall was just outside our campsite.  It made me have to pee all night.

"The folks"- Dad's cleaning up after our delicious foil packet dinners he made and cooked for us.  The pizza ones are his specialty.  That lovely green tent in the background was my home away from home.

Our traveling companions and two of my most favorite people, Stephanie & Nathan.

This picture is from our campsite.  The sheer size of the cliffs around us were amazing.  And to think Whitney is at least 4x the height of the one in the picture.

That night we happened upon a bear which was pretty sweet and completely terrifying at the same time.  My mom and I had just finished brushing our teeth at this faucet just outside the campground when all of a sudden I saw something move about maybe 30 yards away.  I took a closer look and realized it was a 6 or 7 foot black bear.  I quickly pointed it out to my mom as every muscle in my body froze and all my "survival skills" completely left my head.  We watched him walk within feet of this totally oblivious guy on his laptop until the guy noticed and started yelling at the bear.  The bear at that point was in between laptop guy and us so of course when the bear got scared he started running away from him inevitably charging straight at us.  Luckily my dad stepped in and started clapping which made him immediately change direction but yeah.. It was quite an experience.

The morning of the hike we got up around 3:15 and got on the trail by 4:00.  Hiking in the dark was an experience in itself.  We got to wear head lamps and for the first time ever I got to use hiking sticks.

Lone Pine Lake- 2.8 miles from the portal just as the sun is rising.
Elevation: 10,000 ft.

We got to see lots of wildlife.  These deer practically walked right up to us.

"The Team"- Stephanie, Nathan & Tammy (my mom)

The first sign of snow.  On the way back this stream was really flowing because the ice on the mountain was melting.

Taking a rest at Trail Camp- 6 miles in
Elevation: 12,000 ft.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.  It's the first real good shot I got of Mt. Whitney.  It's the highest peak in the picture.  It's taken from about midway up the 99 switchbacks.  You can see how far we still had to go.

Mom tackling the grueling 99 Switchbacks.  This woman is seriously amazing!

This was my favorite view.  It's from the Trail Crest 8.2 miles from the Portal at 13,600 ft.  It's the East side of the mountain looking back.  The smaller lake at the bottom left is the lake we're standing in front of 3 pictures up. 

This picture is also taken from the Trail Crest.  It's the West Side.

This is the trail on the other side.  It was nothing but a cliff and a narrow rocky path.

At one point almost to the summit we got to walk through a patch of snow.  It looked about 2-3 ft. deep and totally packed.

Hallelujah!  This was when I finally knew we were almost there.  That shelter is at the very top and was just about the best thing I had seen that day.

The official sign at the summit

Mom at the Summit

Mom and I at the Mt. Whitney summit- 11 miles from the Portal
Elevation: 14,505 ft.
Mt. Whitney is the tallest point in the contiguous US so for a few minutes I could actually say I was the highest person in the lower 48 states.  One of the coolest things was getting to add my name to the big book at the top.

The view from the summit.  This picture really doesn't do it any justice.  You really have to see it in person.  It took us 10 hours to get to the top and 8 hours back totaling 18 hours.  We got back to camp at 10 PM that same night.

All in all I am SO glad I went and I am really glad I didn't give up.  I'm proud of my whole group.  Everyone did so well!  I seriously couldn't have done it without them.  I also couldn't have done it without a little help at home.  Thanks to the people who watched my children and thanks to my dad who came on the trip with us.  You're all amazing and I owe you big time!  If you've ever contemplated climbing Whitney DO IT! and don't give up.  It was a lot harder than I ever imagined but all that much more rewarding.  And you WILL be sore, I most certainly was, but it does go away after a couple of day.  Next year we're talking about climbing Half Dome so I'm already getting excited for that.