That voodoo that you do so well

November 7, 2009

The rainy season is upon us, which makes it imperative for our film crew to get as many of the outdoor scenes out of the way as possible. Luckily, today was our day. No rain, a clear California day.

Maybe we should give our character Jacinthe the credit for the absence of inclement skies. He is, after all, a voodoo priest. If he can raise Uncle Louie from the dead, he sure as heck ought to be able to call in a few favors to get us good weather.

Our set was located in the back yard of some friends on the Los Gatos/ San Jose border. Now this was no suburban back yard, but one of the most unique residential yards we’ve ever seen. For, you see, our friends have chickens (within the city limit no less!) and these birds provided a wonderful soundtrack for the filming of today’s voodoo ceremony. With all their clucking and squawking, you might think that it was one of them that was to be the sacrificial victim. Or maybe it was. But no, isn’t our dog Fidel the one that’s supposed to die so Uncle Louie can live again? Have to wait and see...

In addition to the soundtrack provided by our friends’ chickens, we had the brilliant drum work of Craig Ward, who plays Jacinthe, and who is a musician and teacher in real life.

A diverse group of extras witnessed today's black magic. Grown children, the favorite Mangelli granddaughter, wives, neighbors and friends of the writers and director, mostly. All ages, all walks, and fairly representative of the ethnic groups here in the county of Santa Clara. One of them fainted when she got a load of Jacinthe’s voodoo. A beautiful girl, check the cast and crew page to find out who she is.