I rarely shoot pratfall-intensive scenes because... well.... Most models aren't very good at it! So imagine my surprise when Mya absolutely committed to every one of the silly, physical, and MESSY stunts in this VERY long scene. (23 minutes even after editing!) More than that, her reactions are a thing of beauty.... from selling "evil stepmother" anger after being bombarded with pies, to doing a perfect "trip and fall and smash a cake into your own face" gag, to somehow wiping her face in a way that gets her even MORE covered. (That bit wasn't planned, but she did so well with smearing frosting on her face that we rolled with it.)
If you're a fan of the (rare) mainstream scenes where a female villain gets her messy comeuppance.... Well, we did our absolute best to replicate that vibe on a shoestring budget. Hence the whole "audition" conceit. All that money saved on staging and extras? It goes straight into the pie and cake budget!
Many MANY pics and GIFS below for those who haven't bought the scene yet. (If you ordered the RAW Complete, you already have the final HD edit. Thanks again!) Trust me, even this free stuff only scratches the surface of how good Mya is throughout this scene. And yes, we've already planned the sequel......
Firstly " spending the autum with Chris Pratt" is amazing.
That said, and without an ounce of haterade, what's up with the model acting like an actress acting like an evil step mom? Seems like we are adding a step.
It's all fine if it leads to these Chris Pratt zingers, but some of us would not mind just the evil step mom bit. Nit picking, sure, but hey, feedback from your fans.
Also, llooovveee the cheesy jokes, please bring back the fake mustache., Yada yada yada.
She's not actually auditioning for being an evil stepmother, she's auditioning for being a sweet innocent stepmother being pranked by all these obnoxious kids. And I now actually want to SEE that film.
Mya is actually really natural as an actress, as well as a great reactor, she knows how to use those eyes, with an almost cartoon widening when about to get an unexpected pie. And does have that fantastic innocent victim air (see also Amy Moomin). She'd be great as a Brianne Prather.
(Maybe she needs a callback audition for it? After all, a bakery would also have milk, flour and eggs, that obnoxious kids would put on unfeasibly high shelves, along with the various pie fillings...)
Kudos again for your amazing scripts, which as usual had me laughing out loud. Genuinely clever and witty and funny. Also my heart skipped a beat with the way Mya delivered the line "I can take anything you can throw at me" which is obviously a scripted line with two meanings ..I get that of course...but then the wink she gives to the viewer. Wow!
Yes, it's a hilarious, well-thought out script and Mya seems *absolutely brilliant* at a) acting and b) delivering comic slapstick. Those kind of stars are so so rare.
Thanks for all the kind words! This one is actually doing REALLY well so far. I'm also pleased that so many are buying the "Mya bundle" as the workout scene is also really good, but a completely different side of her skill set. (A lot more improv and just loosely scripted.)
To answer some questions: 1) Meathook, I always loved your WAMAmerica work, so I take your advice to heart. As others have mentioned, the conceit is that this sweet actress doesn't quite realize she's being set up for a part where she gets a pile of messy humiliations, over and over. Also, for practical purposes, framing it as an "audition" lets me get around the fact that there's no real staging, or other actors. I am planning for the sequel to be a lot closer to a "real" scene. (Albeit with crappy production values, as always.)
2) Caramba, count me as another Brianne Prather fan! I might have to try the flour/eggs/milk combo in another scene. My only worry is that flour turns into a paste, and milk is super cold.... and while I'm sure Mya could take it, I actually do my best to make the shoot experience as comfortable as possible. (Within the realm of getting smashed with pies and cakes, obv.)
3) Rev, she threw in the wink! And I confess, I didn't catch it until I watched the footage later! She deserves all the credit for that one.
A few teases about the sequel, which we just shot in another marathon (90 min!) shoot.... Bigger and better, hopefully, with Mya turning more towards TRUE villain. We shot green screen, so ideally the various bits will LOOK like actual mainstream scenes. I think the major improvements, to me, were more aesthetic: Mya's wearing a little bit of makeup AND a nice black slinky dress with VERY high slits. It's probably the first time she's done a glam look in one of my scenes (she joked it was her first time wearing makeup in 6 months!) and she absolutely crushes it! Also, I used a different formula for the mess she falls into at the end which came out super nice... and I stole a bit from a 100-year-old silent film involving chocolate. By the end she's head-to-toe covered! Look for this one.... maybe in a few months?
SStuff said: Thanks for all the kind words! This one is actually doing REALLY well so far. I'm also pleased that so many are buying the "Mya bundle" as the workout scene is also really good, but a completely different side of her skill set. (A lot more improv and just loosely scripted.)
It shows off how good she is at deadpan. She treats being pied during a workout lesson as being one of the things that normally happens, she just goes with it and carries on regardless.
Just grabbed this scene and a few others. Gotta say, man, as someone who remembers when your video store was just one Liz and one Tracy in a hotel room, it's a real head-trip to see "SS248" in my download bar