You have to remember that outside of being a tortured soul Devin Reeves is an accomplished assassin, plain and simple. And in the early stages of writing the VOC script I knew that, while I didn't want action to be the focus of the film, I needed to show Devin's physical prowess otherwise the character would be less believable.
This posed an interesting dilemma because while Buddy Wayne Goettsch is a fantastic actor he had no prior hand-to-hand combat experience. Thankfully I had access to a secret genetic weapon: My older brother, Chad Celestin.
Like Devin, Chad is a walking dichotomy. He is a father, a degree holding (and Master's Degree pursuing) Engineer, a teacher at Purdue Cal, a writer, a brother and an amazing friend. He has also devoted most of his life to the study and creation of martial arts. To call Chad spectacular would be an understatement. The best I can tell you is this: You know all of those crazy martial arts moves you see in the movies? Yeah, Chad can do them for real. And he has, time and time again. He's sparred against real life villains, thugs, groups of attackers and 3rd degree black belts and he has never, ever lost.
So on a cold and early morning, Chad, Buddy, my younger brother Daniel and I met in a basement and set to work. We hit it hard for 12 hours the first day and another 4 hours the next (for the second session we were joined by my oldest brother, Robby). After the 4 hour session we went to the location to film the scene.
Let me say this again:
No Experience + 16 Hours + Chad Celestin = Completed Fight Scene
And make no mistake, it is an intense exchange. Devin takes on 3 villains (played expertly by Chad Celestin, Robby Celestin and Daniel DeRousseau). The exchanges are mind-blowingly accurate and complex and it is easily one of my favorite scenes in the film.
The day after the scene wrapped, I remember Buddy proudly displaying the various deep bruises he had amassed from the sessions and the shoot. He wore them like badges of honor. And I remember being so impressed with the work and dedication he displayed, devoting himself for a few days to an art form he had no experience with, and executing that art perfectly on camera.
A few months later, while reviewing the final edit of the scene with a friend, I was reminded that (a) Buddy had never done anything like this before, (b) Indie Films don't often feature martial arts exchanges, (c) we had very little time to pull this together and (d) we had no mats, pads or stunt-men at our disposal. I was then asked if I had a Plan B in case the scene hadn't worked out.
My answer:
If you have Chad Celestin and Buddy Wayne Goettsch, you don't need a Plan B.
-paul
#vocfilm
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