Day 5 – Saturday May 6, 2000

Hi Everyone:
Our fifth day of shooting wrapped up late on Saturday night. It was another totally successful day and capped off a great opening week. We did not have any overtime to speak of and for a smaller film studio like Cloud Ten this is a great blessing. The costs can run out of control on a project of this size in a big hurry.

Kirk and Chelsea were not here today as they flew home for a family wedding. But, this was one of the most emotional days on the set of a movie that I have ever experienced. Today we shot the scene where Rayford comes home after the rapture. Wow. Brad Johnson was sensational. How these actors do it, I have no idea. When you are watching an actor cry in a movie you probably don’t realize that he shot that scene ten or twelve times and had to build up the same emotion in every take. And, you have to do it in front of a hundred crew members!

Brad is a true pro and I am telling you right now when you see this moment in the movie (whether you see it on video in the theaters first! – couldn’t resist) you will be deeply moved. I know everyone on the set was. We also shot the scenes of Rayford and Chloe having their conversation when she got back to the house and that was powerful as well. Janaya has done a great job and yes, you’ll see her picture on the movie and Cloud Ten site this week.

Another thing that you may not realize is that films are not shot in order. We shoot everything that is at each location at the same time. Well, remember I told you last week that Vic (our director) wanted the world to darken slightly after the rapture and they have used changes in camera and lighting and film stock to achieve these goals. It seems the Lord agrees with the idea. When we shot outdoor scenes at the Steele household before the rapture it was bright and sunny.

Then the next day we shot the outdoor scenes at their house after the rapture. Guess what. Cloudy and much darker. Cool. We begin week two on Tuesday and we start with Chloe’s experience at the time of the rapture. I don’t want to tell you too much but it is a big and very expensive scene. Pray for us. Finally, yes I have been seeing the debate on the message boards about the video vs. theatrical first release. And, I want to thank everyone who spoke so nicely of Cloud Ten. I hope to be able to explain it all in detail to you this week.

But, please know this. We have two goals for the theatrical release of the film. We want to be #1 at the box office the weekend we open. And, we want to open on the most screens of any movie in history. Those are lofty goals but I also need to tell you all that Cloud Ten is, in my opinion, the finest marketing organization within the entire Christian world. We have people here who, by the grace of God, know exactly what they are doing. The Hollywood model will not work for this film. In fact, the mainstream studios had two years to snap up this film before we came on board. They all know this business very well and they passed. They knew their way could not work for this film.

But, we are not your average film studio. We are the first Christian film studio and by the grace of God we are going make this work even though we don’t have a tenth the resources of the big boys. You have my commitment and that of this entire studio to dedicate ourselves to doing something that has never been done before – to put a Christian film at the top of the box office charts.

But, let me also challenge you as the strongest supporters of this book series. We can’t do it unless all of us are lined up in complete unity. You are our secret weapon. And, when you hear our entire strategy I think most of you will buy into it in a big way.

Peter

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