Survivor's Club - The Coldest Day of Filming

There are a lot of days when we film in bad weather - days so hot your eyeballs feel like they're frying, days so cold your hands might fall off, and rain pouring so hard you could almost drown on set. Each month we'll remember one of those horrible weather days and celebrate the survivors who braved the elements in order to film.  Why would we want to remember those days?  Because going through hell on set has a way of bringing everyone closer together when they can say they survived mother nature AND filming on a Yibble set.

THE COLDEST DAYS OF FILMING

Although the Twisted Tales: Hulde shoot during a blizzard was the worst weather, it might not have been the coldest.  I’ve made actors shoot in cold weather many times, but the kind of cold we experienced on the set of Dream Chasers is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. 

Many of the Dream Chasers shooting days were cold because we were filming during a very chilly November and December.  One episode had the majority of scenes being filmed in the mostly abandoned world that the sorcerers vacated centuries ago – so I decided to shoot those scenes at the beautiful Fort De Chartres. Fort D is a recreation of a fort built in Southern Illinois in 1756. 

 Of course there was no indoor heating back then it was bound to be a bit chilly.  And most the actors were not allowed to wear coats during the filming of the scenes because I’m sadist.  I even made Morgan throw herself in the snow more than once. Yes, I am very cruel.

It had snowed a few days before the shoot, but I liked that since it gave it a sort of desolate look. As I said it was a pretty chilly fall and was shaping up to be quite a cold winter.  I did not realize just how much cold could be stored in the giant stone blocks that the fort was made of.  

Outside by the snow it was very cold, but inside the buildings it was FREEZING!  I figured we could warm up when we shot indoors, but we ended up going outside by the snow to warm up!

The only place that had any warmth was the little museum building.  Between scenes, actors would cram into the museum to try to get warm.  Morgan’s feet were so cold (and probably in danger of frostbite) that she had to keep sticking them under the hand dryer to try and warm them up. 

Eventually one of the staff took pity on the actors and lit a fire in one of the rooms.  That helped, but really what it meant was that everyone not filming started crowding in there in the hopes of avoiding hypothermia.

I recently asked some of the actors what they remembered about the shoot and here’s what they said:

Brittany Ann Whalen: “I remember the death possessing Marion scene- and us girls hiding under the table.”

Syndi Eller:  “I remember freezing my butt off the entire day, and then Eleanore and I getting just a little lost on the way back to Carbondale. We eventually made it, so it wasn't a big deal, but we had tons of fun regardless!”

James McKinley: “I remember having a bad cold and fever and still freezing my buns off. At one point, I think we went into a room where the fire was going and it felt great. Plus, bloopers with Christi and dinner at Hardees. It was so much fun!”

To those who survived the ice caverns of Fort De Chartres in 2002, I thank you and salute you:

Paul Costello

Syndi Eller

Christi Gerrish

James McKinley

Dan M.

Holly Simons

Morgan Thomas

Brittany Ann Whalen

Now here’s a hot towel and a hand dryer – go warm up. 

"Can I get up now, Yibble?  This floor is REALLY cold!