I got to escape the city this month. A Pharmacy renovation show called "TransPharmation" dragged me out to Long Beach to film, you guessed it, the transformation of a family owned Pharmacy in the town of Oceanside. The weather was a little chilly but I still took full advantage of being near the beach and squeezed in some sand between my toes on a totally desolate beach. On one of our company moves we made a detour to visit the Amityville Horror House. It is such a beautiful little street filled with picturesque houses and manicured lawns...except for one demonic red coloured house on a street just around the corner! It's hard to believe anything evil could take place in such a serene setting. But I guess that's why it's all the more horrific!
So the movie geek in me needs to enlighten you to a few facts. Like firstly, the real address of the Amityville house was located on Long Island at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. However, the address has since been changed to 108 Ocean Avenue in an effort to deter tourists from visiting the location...didn't work on me.
However, the movie was not shot using this location. Although the exteriors in the 1979 Amityville Horror movie look similar to the real Long Island home, the house used for the movie is actually located at 18 Brooks Road, Toms River, New Jersey. They actually built a superstructure around the outside of the home to make it look more like the actual house.
However, the movie was not shot using this location. Although the exteriors in the 1979 Amityville Horror movie look similar to the real Long Island home, the house used for the movie is actually located at 18 Brooks Road, Toms River, New Jersey. They actually built a superstructure around the outside of the home to make it look more like the actual house.
Next adventure sent me off to Fairbanks, Alaska for a series of REI promo events with one of my roommates, Patrick! And of course I managed to squeeze in some fun in between work events. First stop being North Pole, to visit the Santa Claus House. Lucky for me Santa was home and I had a heart to heart chat with him about the Naughty & Nice list. He was actually honoured to see me as I have been son good that my name is actually etched into a sold gold page of the list and my name is studded with diamonds. Yep, I've been that good! I don't like to brag so I inquired about a few other friends and family members and I can't say that I was all that surprised to discover that my father, Neil, is at the other end of the spectrum. He has been so naughty that his name is permanently banished to the naughty list. I had a lovely cup of tea and enjoyed some of Mrs Claus' cookies before hitting the road again.
Because I'm crazy, I really wanted to film something and take advantage of the Alaskan landscape. I brought along a script that is a twisted tale about a hitch hiker and I thought the forest rimmed roads of Alaska would be a perfect setting for this dark comedy. Dark being the operative word. The script is set at night time...and here we hit the first obstacle, sunset. The does not set until 11:30pm at night and it really doesn't set, there is still a haze of light before it rise again around 3am. So at 11:30pm Patrick an I headed out to a secluded road only to hit our next obstacle. Mosquitoes. Think Jumanji, taping on the glass, massive mossies! We attempted to film the scenes that were in the car and at one stage had to run outside to swap seat and we were mugged by the bastards! And with great regret I conceded defeated. Later we found out that the locals refer to the mosquito as their State Bird.
Because I'm crazy, I really wanted to film something and take advantage of the Alaskan landscape. I brought along a script that is a twisted tale about a hitch hiker and I thought the forest rimmed roads of Alaska would be a perfect setting for this dark comedy. Dark being the operative word. The script is set at night time...and here we hit the first obstacle, sunset. The does not set until 11:30pm at night and it really doesn't set, there is still a haze of light before it rise again around 3am. So at 11:30pm Patrick an I headed out to a secluded road only to hit our next obstacle. Mosquitoes. Think Jumanji, taping on the glass, massive mossies! We attempted to film the scenes that were in the car and at one stage had to run outside to swap seat and we were mugged by the bastards! And with great regret I conceded defeated. Later we found out that the locals refer to the mosquito as their State Bird.
Determined to film something, Pat and I headed down to Denali National Park for a hike and an impromptu short film making the most of the isolating and gorgeous Spring landscape. I have no idea how I am going to edit this film but it was a fun experiment. The melting snow, rushing rivers and budding plants offered a spectacular vista that will always be etched in my memories. That night we pigged out at a traditional Salmon Bake, indulging in BBQ salmon and steak as well as a myriad of delectable side dishes!
With one final day of adventure, Pat and I ventured out to Chena Hot Springs where we ran into a moose on the road, well we didn't run into it we stopped so he could cross the road. At Chena Springs we played with Alaskan Husky Puppies (so adorable, I tried to sneak one home but Patrick sad no pet's in the apartment). I then went on a ATV (Quad Bike is an Aussie term apparently), with a fellow photographer so we had a blast tearing up the terrain and then stopping to take some snaps of the stunning location. And finally we bathed in the slightly sulphuric scented hot springs, very soothing for the cold muscles.
With one final day of adventure, Pat and I ventured out to Chena Hot Springs where we ran into a moose on the road, well we didn't run into it we stopped so he could cross the road. At Chena Springs we played with Alaskan Husky Puppies (so adorable, I tried to sneak one home but Patrick sad no pet's in the apartment). I then went on a ATV (Quad Bike is an Aussie term apparently), with a fellow photographer so we had a blast tearing up the terrain and then stopping to take some snaps of the stunning location. And finally we bathed in the slightly sulphuric scented hot springs, very soothing for the cold muscles.
On our way home Patrick spotted an abandoned car on the side of the road and was inspired to put on his director's cap and film a quick short called "Nut Ella". Inspired by an argument we had over breakfast when he judged me about the amount of Nutella I placed on my waffle. I am interested to see how it edits together.
As a final farewell we went to dinner with Glenner who is the local morning host of The X-Rock Morning Show live from Crapper Creek, Alaska. He's also a stand up comedian and coach of the local Ultimate Frisbee league. He and his wife are extremely energetic characters and have lived an amazing life. Poor Maria told me an amazing and yet heart breaking story about how she thought 'LOL' stood for 'Lots Of Love' which lead to a few miscommunications in the social media world that lead her to retreat from Facebook. They were telling us about all the amazing activities you can do in the summer and winter months in Alaska. I can't wait to get back some day soon in particular to go dog sledding and witness the Auroras!
As a final farewell we went to dinner with Glenner who is the local morning host of The X-Rock Morning Show live from Crapper Creek, Alaska. He's also a stand up comedian and coach of the local Ultimate Frisbee league. He and his wife are extremely energetic characters and have lived an amazing life. Poor Maria told me an amazing and yet heart breaking story about how she thought 'LOL' stood for 'Lots Of Love' which lead to a few miscommunications in the social media world that lead her to retreat from Facebook. They were telling us about all the amazing activities you can do in the summer and winter months in Alaska. I can't wait to get back some day soon in particular to go dog sledding and witness the Auroras!
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