Production Diaries:
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
Recent Entries:
HUNDREDS GATHER TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MAKO IWAMATSU IN CAGES!
Wed, 14 Nov 2007
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE SCREENING OF MAKO!
Tue, 16 Oct 2007
Perles Acquires Cages Distribution!
Wed, 01 Aug 2007
"CAGES" RUNS 4TH WEEK IN THEATRES!
Fri, 13 Apr 2007
IT'S MY TURN TO FLY!
Mon, 09 Apr 2007
"CAGES" SURPRISES MANY AS IT ENTERS THIRD WEEKEND IN THEATRES!
Fri, 06 Apr 2007
"CAGES" ENTERS THIRD WEEK IN THEATRES!
Tue, 03 Apr 2007
LOYAL FOLLOWING TO THANK, AS "CAGES" ENTERS THIRD WEEK IN THEATRES!
Mon, 02 Apr 2007
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A Race Against Time!
08/01/04
Fourteen days till shoot. Wow. Where has the time gone? I’ve locked myself in my little green room for the past two days, finishing what I hope will be the final shooting script. A lot has changed since first conceiving the story four years ago, and now the final touches and adaptations to the shooting script has to coincide with the actual physical locations we’ve locked down. During the rewrite, I feel like I’m connecting all over again to the core of the story. I’m ready to go. I know the story that needs to be told.
Locations have been an on-going drama. Poor uncle Shawn has had no idea what he was getting into when he joined CAGES as our Location Manager. But he’s doing a most excellent job. I’m so proud of him. And… so thankful he’s always calm and patient. His girlfriend’s been very patient too. Location scouting has been difficult because things keep changing. I cannot count the number of locations that I have uncovered over the past 4 years that do not exist today. Singapore is in a constant state of renovation and reconstruction. Out with the old, and in with the new. Perhaps the quest to find her cultural core; the constant conflict between old and new, both in her people and her land, has been a powerful and contributing factor while writing CAGES.
We’re so close to experiencing a location expiration storm. It’s an official race against time. We have to start shooting now or we will lose all of our key locations. It’s a frightening thought. And even if we shoot on schedule, which we will, it’s still a really sad thought. Let me explain.
Hoot Kiam, our cozy timeless location that we are using for both LIZ and TAN’s interiors, ironically, will be demolished and renovated after we are done with the shoot. Hoot Kiam is actually a place where a traditional Peranakan family once lived. Many of the furnishings are now found at the Katong Antique House’s museum. Along with Singapore’s historical architecture goes more and more traces of Peranakan past.
Tiong Bahru is the location that starts this whole story. It was once a thriving beauty. Song bird owners gathered every morning over traditional coffee to let their birds vocalize. I found the location in a picture book by the Singapore Tourism Board. Ironically, this beauty spot that once found it’s image on postcards and destination brochures is facing a countdown transformation into a budget hotel. As long as the Gods are on our side, we will have that one last opportunity to capture the magic of it’s historical significance on film.
And lastly, the charming and most surreal building I’ve ever seen in Singapore. Her address is questionable. We call it the Club Street building. I originally stumbled across her 3 years ago. Her look of neglect and weathered endurance inspires me to model the bird shop in CAGES after her. She too is waiting for us to vacate at the end of our shoot so that she can also be taken down.
Singapore is a small island. Land is scarce. It is no surprise, perhaps. But for us filmmakers who are trying to find the beauty in history, searching for locations has become under estimated.
My thanks goes out to Shawn. He has beat the clock. I consider ourselves very lucky. Time is on our side. But time does not stand still. When the film is all finished, we will only have the images we captured. But perhaps this is where time does stands still. Yes, like Hass (Production Manager) said a few days ago, Cages will be a timeless story. And timeless will be the images of Hoot Kiam, Tiong Bahru, and Club Street. Timeless will be Singapore.
Mission accomplished.
Graham Streeter
Director
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