All ready for our last day on the set

Tomorrow is our last day on the set, and it's a big filming day for Rachel. She finally gets to do her scripted parts ! We have to be in Lowell @ 10am and we are prepared for a long, but fun day. We have rehearsed her lines and she knows them cold - even the lines in Italian. She kept laughing at me as I was trying to rehearse her lines with her - I would try to say Dom or Luka's parts but I can't speak Italian so I was totally messing them up. She'll do great - as long as she's just Rachel ! And we get to end the day with the big spaghetti fight scene - she can hardly wait to squirt ketchup in her father's face !

Check out what she picked up with her first movie paycheck:.... it looks just like Francesco's, only its pink ( of course) and thankfully doesn't go as fast !!

More fun on the set - rides on the Vespa !

Rachel and Francesco getting ready to go for a ride - Rachel is so excited !!! Helmets on and ready to go ...After the ride - Rachel was so psyched !
Another happy "family" picture !

The recital

Elisa (aka Avery), Luka (aka Salvi) and Carlotta (aka Rachel):

Some of the dancers, posing nicely for the camera:
And making funny faces !

The first week continues - Mom gets to be in the movie

Family portrait - Luka (aka Salvatore), Dom (aka Francesco) and Carlotta (aka Rachel)

July 11th - Our next day on the set was in Boston. They were filming the kids being dropped off and picked up at school. All the trailers at base camp were full, so Rachel and Salvi had classrooms in the school they were filming in they could use to hang out in. Unfortunately it was really hot and the rooms were upstairs and not air conditioned. There were alot of extras on the set that day, including one of Salvi's cousins so we ended up hanging out mostly in the holding area - closer to food and much cooler thanx to the air conditioning that was being pumped in !

Hanging out in director chairs:

And one of their fans !

Then the most exciting part for me, was when they asked us if we would be willing to help out and be extras in the background ! So Michelle, her husband Salvi and brother George and I all got to stroll down the street as extra extras. Just about everytime I got one foot in the scene they would yell Cut - I think it was George's red shirt. After numerous takes, we finally made it across the set in a couple of the takes (yes !) so we'll see if we end up on the cutting room floor or not ! It was fun and I finally got to be in a movie, sort of !

First day on the set

July 10th - our first day on the set was very exciting ! We didn't have to be there until @ 1:00. Rachel got her own trailer, complete with a toilet, sink, mirror, TV, VCR, CD player, a couch and of course a star on the door !

We went to another trailer for hair and makeup. Her makeup consists of sunscreen - only. They said she has the right coloring so she doesn't need any makeup - just a natural beauty : ) Her hair needs a little more work - it always needs to be straightened and then she has some pulled back in a little black clip. And she always has to remember to return the clip at the end of the day to Hair so they have it for the next shoot. After hair and makeup, she insisted on getting into her wardrobe for the first scene they were shooting that day.

We then met the actor, Salvatore, who is playing her brother, Luka, in the film. He and his mom, Michelle are both super nice and friendly and I am so glad we met them and will get to spend our days on the set with them. I remember them from the first audition. Salvi is very cute and looks like he could really be Rachel's brother - it's uncanny !

After lots of waiting around, it was time to go the set for their first rehearsal ! This first scene was the 2 kids coming of their apartment with their dad and they see a girl in the hallway in her bra and underwear arguing with her boyfriend, the philandering dentist. We got to the set and met their film dad, Francesco Quinn. He was very nice ( and handsome!) and great with the kids. The hallway was too small for us to watch the rehearsal and filming so they set up a monitor on the street for us Moms. It was fun to watch, but lots of standing around - I'm going to make sure I always wear very comfortable shoes to the set ! After much rehearsal, we broke for lunch - it must have been around 4:00 !

Rachel was in wardrobe, so we had to make sure we kept her clothes covered and clean. She and Salvi both love pasta and strawberries with sugar. We've also discovered they both have an affinity for ranch dressing as a condiment on lots of different food.

Finally it was time to shoot the scene. The kids come out of their apartment with their Dad, girl in her underwear comes out , Dad pushes the kids down the hallway, girl argues with the philandering dentist , kids and Dad poke their heads back around the corner to see what is going on, dentist drags girl back into their apartment, end of scene.

Then the kids and their Dad had to change for their next scene in the hallway. This scene takes place after the family has had a food fight and the Dad is dropping the kids off at a neighbor. The actual food fight isn't being filmed until the end of July, so they had to get covered in pasta and ketchup. So to everyone's delight ( especially Francesco's, Salvi's and Rachel's), they went out in an alley with a big pan of pasta and some bottles of ketchup and had a blast !

Family pix before the food fight:

During the food fight :

And after filming - the pasta and ketchup had dried - yuk !

Showers were all necessary before anyone got into any cars !!

We finally headed home @ 9pm.

Rachel LOVED her first day on the set and even though it was a long day, she was really looking forward to the next day on the set !

Rachel's First Movie Part

We are all very excited about Rachel's first movie part and I know many people will want to know how it's going so I thought I would give "blogging" a try.
A little background : Rachel has been pursuing an acting career for about 1 1/2 years, thanx to her cousin Peter, who persisted in telling us she was a star waiting to be discovered ! Rachel auditoned for a part in a movie that is filming in Boston, Four Single Fathers, and got the part of one of the daughters, Carlotta !
Yesterday we went for Rachel's first wardrobe fitting. They were filming in Wellesley so we drove over to the set and met the assistant director, Matt, his assistant Allie, and the wardrobe folks. Rachel got to try on some very cute clothes and they even had a pair of shoes for her that she has at home ! We finally got the script and about half of her lines are in Italian ! We're suppose to be back on the set on Thursday and Friday. They are filming in Lowell so maybe we'll get to see Grammy after we're done on the set.