A Behind the Scenes glimpse of Splat Media's "STAND IN"
Nov 3, 2022 23:53:53 GMT -5
Harvey Marx likes this
Post by "Ginger Ninja" Molly Hatchet on Nov 3, 2022 23:53:53 GMT -5
It’s a dark and bitter cold morning as Molly makes a trek up a steep, grassy hill, the sun barely peeking over the Georgian mountain, Shkhara. In her gloved hand is a covered, steaming cup of coffee. She’s wearing a thick and heavy black jacket and dark green pants with hiking boots and a beanie on her head. The freckled Ginger Ninja is clearly dressed for intense cold, but smiling as she enjoys the view of a rather medieval looking old-world village called Ushguli, located in Svanti, Georgia.
With a backdrop of green rolling hills and tall mountains behind it, Ushguli looks like as if it comes from another world and time, with homes made of hand-carved stone bricks and mortar, put together hundreds of years ago and having withstood the many ravages of man and time in this remote location. It’s absolutely perfect for a period piece set in high mountains. If only it were not so terribly cold all year round.
Far off to the south west of the village are a few modular steel buildings set up and various people running back and forth with camera equipment. They are setting up in this old world village what’s clearly a movie production. Several of these portable buildings are marked “SPLAT MEDIA” in bold, colorful letters. Molly watches them for a moment. She takes a sip of her coffee, then looks at the camera.
“Aye, Molly Hatchet standin’ out by one of tha’ oldest, highest, and most remote cities in Europe, largely untouched by modern man and in such a difficult location to get to that you either climb tha’ mountain or get airlifted in.”
She invites the cameraman over with a wave of her hand while lowering herself for a seat.
“Yer gettin’ a real treat, seein’ how it all happens before it starts. They had a narrow window ta’ shoot a few specific scenes here before the weather turns to absolute shite and it’s fer a movie called ‘Tha Stunt Double’ starrin’ me… ME? Can ye’ believe it? I’m an actress now and me first role is tha’ lead in a movie!”
Molly’s clearly giddy beyond belief, the Scotswoman shaking for a second. It could be the cold that makes her quiver, but a gambler wouldn’t be too far off betting it was her excitement. She’s grinning ear to ear.
“I play a lass named Banaih who’s always wanted to be an action star… soooo not too far removed from this lass,” Molly says with a bright little chuckle.
“The goal was always just out of her reach, but she’s a fit lass who can fight, trained in different forms of fightin’ and because of my own skills, can parkour with tha’ best of them. In a few minutes they’ll be ready to shoot and you can see some of tha’ action! I’m so excited ta’ do this part on location. They’re gettin’ the hardest parts done first and early so tha’ rest of tha’ movie flows easier than a river on a warm summer day.”
Suddenly the radio in her pocket squawks. She pulls it from her pocket.
“...tchet, come in over! Director’s ready on set!” says the voice on the other end.
She hits the button on the side of the little black box, “Aye, I’m comin’!”
Molly reaches over and claps the shoulder of the cameraman, causing a brief sway in the camera.
“Let’s go! COME ON! COME ON!!!!”
Molly finishes her coffee and proceeds to sprint down the hill towards the village, the cameraman muttering a curse under his breath as she leaves him panting in the dust trying to keep up.
What follows is a montage of scenes that begin with the clack of a marker and a director out of frame shouting, “ACTION!” The first scene shows a long sequence of Molly as Banaih running through the forest wearing a bright blue hoodie, jeans, and sneakers while being pursued by large men in fur lined armor and cloaks carrying swords and shields. She’s clearly bleeding from a stab wound in her side, but largely ignoring the pain in favor of moving as fast as she can.
“FUCK FUCK FFFFUUUUCCCK!!!!” she shouts as she comes up to the edge of a cliff, only to look back and see her pursuers almost catching up with her. Without missing a beat, she literally starts to “Skyrim” her way down the mountain side, easing down rock by rock and outcrop jutting. One of the soldiers pulls a bow and arrow out, aiming it at her. As he lets loose the arrow, it cuts to another scene…
Molly’s laying in a straw bed inside of a wood hut, wrapped and bandaged while dressed in much rougher looking rough hewn clothing. She sits up and is greeted as an old man smiles at her by a window.
“So… you’re finally awake…” He says.
She smirks and then winces holding her side, “Well at least I’m not in a wagon headin’ fer Helgen…”
We cut to a scene being shot in a town square where she’s sporting rough looking leather armor and fighting a pale rake of a man dressed in black and gold finery in what looks to be the town square of Ushguli. She has a long sword in one hand and a hatchet it in the other, clearly having to work hard to keep from getting skewered by the man’s rapier. A strike gets through and she doubles over with a croak followed by a laugh.
“CUT CUT CUT!” the director shouts.
“Fuck! Zigged when I should’ve zagged,” she says with a chuckle, on one knee and doubled over.
The man in black holds his hand out and she takes it, helping her to her feet. Next we see the cast and crew sitting at some long tables while eating from a variety of dishes all made by the locals. Molly is laughing and carrying on conversations with her peers. After that, we see her going over lines with another actor, the old man from earlier dressed in slightly better robes than before.
As the day turns to afternoon, there’s a break and the cameraman now follows Molly on a hike along the Engori gorge which the town overlooks.
“Ya’ know, this is also why I do what I do,” she says while admiring the view of the gorge.
Clouds drift through the massive rock formations, creating this breathtakingly beautiful and eerie scene.
“Wish Valkyrja could’ve been here. She’d have loved to see this.”
Molly speaks to the camera, unwilling to look away from the beautiful vista before her.
“When I first began wrestlin, I ne’er thought I’d e’er get ta’ see things such as this, but tha’ sport has given me so very much and sometimes I forget that. In tha’ beginnin’ it was just a way ta’ make money and survive, yeah. I was always good at fightin’ and talkin’ and in those early days, I only saw makin’ rent and gettin’ by as success.”
She smiles, her eyes moistening ever so slightly.
“In a few years time, I found myself paid ta’ travel tha’ world and fight amazing people, experience wonders where’er I went and do things that many watchin’ at home wish they could do. Sometimes it’s good ta’ just take a breather and realize how wonderful life can be… how awesome tha’ power of nature around us truly is and just take it in.”
The Ginger Ninja settles down on the edge of the gorge, feet dangling off the edge.
“I sometimes get so caught up in tha’ things that make me mad or tha’ superficial stuff like gold and glory, but when I’m out and about in tha’ world, looking at sights such as these, it’s humblin’ ta’ see. Life is much more grand than just gettin’ gold or fightin’ fer legacies and braggin’ rights. If ya’ donnae’ stop and smell tha’ flowers from time ta’ time, ya’ might just miss it.”
She clasps her hands together and looks down at them thoughtfully for a brief moment.
“I needed ta’ get away, even if it’ll only be fer a few days till they wrap up the on location shoots fer tha’ movie. Then we’ll move to tha’ studio fer interiors and tha’ like. Should be fun. Wrestlin’ gave me tha’ vehicle ta’ be here where I am now… an action star, leadin’ a movie, doin’ all these things, goin’ to all these wonderful countries and learnin’ about cultures… This is what wrestlin’ can be and it’s easy fer us to ferget that e’ery now and then… take what we have fer granted.”
Finally Molly rises to a stand.
“Time ta’ head back…” She says, turning and walking away, heading back to the village.
A jumpcut later shows us the evening sun setting over the western slopes, casting everything in a violet and orange glow. Molly walks up to her trailer, opening the door and immediately is surprised by a pair of slender hands gripping her face and pulling her in for a deep kiss. The tall, tanned redhead Swedish model, Valkyrja Lindstrom, is right there and Molly just melts into her, getting lost in the moment only to suddenly stop when she remembers a camera is on her, finally pulling back.
“Hej min kära,” Val greets with a smile.
“What are ye’ doin’ here, Val?”
“I got a flight and came here to surprise you, silly.”
“I’m happy yer here love….”
Val puts a finger to Molly’s lips, then shoos the cameraman off before pulling her lover into the trailer. We’re treated to a timelapse of film as the last of the evening turns to night and the stars come out above. The scene cuts immediately to the inside of the trailer where we find Molly wearing T-shirt and shorts, barefoot with her hair in a bit of disarray but otherwise looking quite content as she serves up a little dinner. Val is looking lovely wearing only a very long night shirt as she sits at the little table across from the camera man. The plates are paper but the food in them is down right a feast for the eyes with barbecued chicken, rice, beans, and carrots all neatly arranged on the plate. A simple dish that looks as if prepared by a master chef.
“Thank you, Ms. Hatchet,” The cameraman says.
“Yer welcome lad,” she replies, then looks to her lover and asks, “So Val, how’d ye’ get let on tha’ set?”
She pulls up a set pass with a grin.
“You left this behind and I thought you might need it to get on the set. I thought I was too late when the plane arrived late. I came with a bag and only a few changes of clothing. I’m glad everything was ok though and I could surprise you,” Val responds with a wink.
“Oh ye’ more than surprised me… ya’ rocked me world!”
“Jag älskar att knulla dig,” came her lover’s shameless response accompanied by a smoldering look in her eyes.
Molly and anyone who knows their Swedish would have definitely had a reaction.
“Mar a nì mi, leannan,” the Ginger Ninja replies in Scottish Gaelic.
“We keep up this talk and your camera man will have to sit outside for a few more hours.”
“Aye, too true love, too true,” Molly sighs softly.
Molly turns to look at the camera man with a sudden realization.
“Howe’er, tha’ day is done, isn’t it, Mr. Cameraman? So perhaps ye’ can take yer plate and fuck off yeah? This has been a day in tha’ life of Molly Hatchet… now shoo! OFF WITH YE!”
The Cameraman gathers up his plate of food and plastic utensils as he’s escorted out of the room. Very feint giggling is heard through the steel walls of the building, only for a soft moan to follow. The man’s grumbling is heard before the feed is then cut.
With a backdrop of green rolling hills and tall mountains behind it, Ushguli looks like as if it comes from another world and time, with homes made of hand-carved stone bricks and mortar, put together hundreds of years ago and having withstood the many ravages of man and time in this remote location. It’s absolutely perfect for a period piece set in high mountains. If only it were not so terribly cold all year round.
Far off to the south west of the village are a few modular steel buildings set up and various people running back and forth with camera equipment. They are setting up in this old world village what’s clearly a movie production. Several of these portable buildings are marked “SPLAT MEDIA” in bold, colorful letters. Molly watches them for a moment. She takes a sip of her coffee, then looks at the camera.
“Aye, Molly Hatchet standin’ out by one of tha’ oldest, highest, and most remote cities in Europe, largely untouched by modern man and in such a difficult location to get to that you either climb tha’ mountain or get airlifted in.”
She invites the cameraman over with a wave of her hand while lowering herself for a seat.
“Yer gettin’ a real treat, seein’ how it all happens before it starts. They had a narrow window ta’ shoot a few specific scenes here before the weather turns to absolute shite and it’s fer a movie called ‘Tha Stunt Double’ starrin’ me… ME? Can ye’ believe it? I’m an actress now and me first role is tha’ lead in a movie!”
Molly’s clearly giddy beyond belief, the Scotswoman shaking for a second. It could be the cold that makes her quiver, but a gambler wouldn’t be too far off betting it was her excitement. She’s grinning ear to ear.
“I play a lass named Banaih who’s always wanted to be an action star… soooo not too far removed from this lass,” Molly says with a bright little chuckle.
“The goal was always just out of her reach, but she’s a fit lass who can fight, trained in different forms of fightin’ and because of my own skills, can parkour with tha’ best of them. In a few minutes they’ll be ready to shoot and you can see some of tha’ action! I’m so excited ta’ do this part on location. They’re gettin’ the hardest parts done first and early so tha’ rest of tha’ movie flows easier than a river on a warm summer day.”
Suddenly the radio in her pocket squawks. She pulls it from her pocket.
“...tchet, come in over! Director’s ready on set!” says the voice on the other end.
She hits the button on the side of the little black box, “Aye, I’m comin’!”
Molly reaches over and claps the shoulder of the cameraman, causing a brief sway in the camera.
“Let’s go! COME ON! COME ON!!!!”
Molly finishes her coffee and proceeds to sprint down the hill towards the village, the cameraman muttering a curse under his breath as she leaves him panting in the dust trying to keep up.
What follows is a montage of scenes that begin with the clack of a marker and a director out of frame shouting, “ACTION!” The first scene shows a long sequence of Molly as Banaih running through the forest wearing a bright blue hoodie, jeans, and sneakers while being pursued by large men in fur lined armor and cloaks carrying swords and shields. She’s clearly bleeding from a stab wound in her side, but largely ignoring the pain in favor of moving as fast as she can.
“FUCK FUCK FFFFUUUUCCCK!!!!” she shouts as she comes up to the edge of a cliff, only to look back and see her pursuers almost catching up with her. Without missing a beat, she literally starts to “Skyrim” her way down the mountain side, easing down rock by rock and outcrop jutting. One of the soldiers pulls a bow and arrow out, aiming it at her. As he lets loose the arrow, it cuts to another scene…
Molly’s laying in a straw bed inside of a wood hut, wrapped and bandaged while dressed in much rougher looking rough hewn clothing. She sits up and is greeted as an old man smiles at her by a window.
“So… you’re finally awake…” He says.
She smirks and then winces holding her side, “Well at least I’m not in a wagon headin’ fer Helgen…”
We cut to a scene being shot in a town square where she’s sporting rough looking leather armor and fighting a pale rake of a man dressed in black and gold finery in what looks to be the town square of Ushguli. She has a long sword in one hand and a hatchet it in the other, clearly having to work hard to keep from getting skewered by the man’s rapier. A strike gets through and she doubles over with a croak followed by a laugh.
“CUT CUT CUT!” the director shouts.
“Fuck! Zigged when I should’ve zagged,” she says with a chuckle, on one knee and doubled over.
The man in black holds his hand out and she takes it, helping her to her feet. Next we see the cast and crew sitting at some long tables while eating from a variety of dishes all made by the locals. Molly is laughing and carrying on conversations with her peers. After that, we see her going over lines with another actor, the old man from earlier dressed in slightly better robes than before.
As the day turns to afternoon, there’s a break and the cameraman now follows Molly on a hike along the Engori gorge which the town overlooks.
“Ya’ know, this is also why I do what I do,” she says while admiring the view of the gorge.
Clouds drift through the massive rock formations, creating this breathtakingly beautiful and eerie scene.
“Wish Valkyrja could’ve been here. She’d have loved to see this.”
Molly speaks to the camera, unwilling to look away from the beautiful vista before her.
“When I first began wrestlin, I ne’er thought I’d e’er get ta’ see things such as this, but tha’ sport has given me so very much and sometimes I forget that. In tha’ beginnin’ it was just a way ta’ make money and survive, yeah. I was always good at fightin’ and talkin’ and in those early days, I only saw makin’ rent and gettin’ by as success.”
She smiles, her eyes moistening ever so slightly.
“In a few years time, I found myself paid ta’ travel tha’ world and fight amazing people, experience wonders where’er I went and do things that many watchin’ at home wish they could do. Sometimes it’s good ta’ just take a breather and realize how wonderful life can be… how awesome tha’ power of nature around us truly is and just take it in.”
The Ginger Ninja settles down on the edge of the gorge, feet dangling off the edge.
“I sometimes get so caught up in tha’ things that make me mad or tha’ superficial stuff like gold and glory, but when I’m out and about in tha’ world, looking at sights such as these, it’s humblin’ ta’ see. Life is much more grand than just gettin’ gold or fightin’ fer legacies and braggin’ rights. If ya’ donnae’ stop and smell tha’ flowers from time ta’ time, ya’ might just miss it.”
She clasps her hands together and looks down at them thoughtfully for a brief moment.
“I needed ta’ get away, even if it’ll only be fer a few days till they wrap up the on location shoots fer tha’ movie. Then we’ll move to tha’ studio fer interiors and tha’ like. Should be fun. Wrestlin’ gave me tha’ vehicle ta’ be here where I am now… an action star, leadin’ a movie, doin’ all these things, goin’ to all these wonderful countries and learnin’ about cultures… This is what wrestlin’ can be and it’s easy fer us to ferget that e’ery now and then… take what we have fer granted.”
Finally Molly rises to a stand.
“Time ta’ head back…” She says, turning and walking away, heading back to the village.
A jumpcut later shows us the evening sun setting over the western slopes, casting everything in a violet and orange glow. Molly walks up to her trailer, opening the door and immediately is surprised by a pair of slender hands gripping her face and pulling her in for a deep kiss. The tall, tanned redhead Swedish model, Valkyrja Lindstrom, is right there and Molly just melts into her, getting lost in the moment only to suddenly stop when she remembers a camera is on her, finally pulling back.
“Hej min kära,” Val greets with a smile.
“What are ye’ doin’ here, Val?”
“I got a flight and came here to surprise you, silly.”
“I’m happy yer here love….”
Val puts a finger to Molly’s lips, then shoos the cameraman off before pulling her lover into the trailer. We’re treated to a timelapse of film as the last of the evening turns to night and the stars come out above. The scene cuts immediately to the inside of the trailer where we find Molly wearing T-shirt and shorts, barefoot with her hair in a bit of disarray but otherwise looking quite content as she serves up a little dinner. Val is looking lovely wearing only a very long night shirt as she sits at the little table across from the camera man. The plates are paper but the food in them is down right a feast for the eyes with barbecued chicken, rice, beans, and carrots all neatly arranged on the plate. A simple dish that looks as if prepared by a master chef.
“Thank you, Ms. Hatchet,” The cameraman says.
“Yer welcome lad,” she replies, then looks to her lover and asks, “So Val, how’d ye’ get let on tha’ set?”
She pulls up a set pass with a grin.
“You left this behind and I thought you might need it to get on the set. I thought I was too late when the plane arrived late. I came with a bag and only a few changes of clothing. I’m glad everything was ok though and I could surprise you,” Val responds with a wink.
“Oh ye’ more than surprised me… ya’ rocked me world!”
“Jag älskar att knulla dig,” came her lover’s shameless response accompanied by a smoldering look in her eyes.
Molly and anyone who knows their Swedish would have definitely had a reaction.
“Mar a nì mi, leannan,” the Ginger Ninja replies in Scottish Gaelic.
“We keep up this talk and your camera man will have to sit outside for a few more hours.”
“Aye, too true love, too true,” Molly sighs softly.
Molly turns to look at the camera man with a sudden realization.
“Howe’er, tha’ day is done, isn’t it, Mr. Cameraman? So perhaps ye’ can take yer plate and fuck off yeah? This has been a day in tha’ life of Molly Hatchet… now shoo! OFF WITH YE!”
The Cameraman gathers up his plate of food and plastic utensils as he’s escorted out of the room. Very feint giggling is heard through the steel walls of the building, only for a soft moan to follow. The man’s grumbling is heard before the feed is then cut.