Wolverines and Wrap Parties

I'm going to attempt to give you a rundown of the weekends events before the office turns into a madhouse, again. Now that we have wrapped, all the on set departments are converging on the office to pack up and ship out. It's just a tad crazy around here at the moment. After months of working nights, however, these people are all reveling in their sleep-ins. So, the office is still nice and quiet for a couple of hours in the morning.

Saturday. Ah, Saturday. Certainly a highlight of, well, my life. Ha. First, the football...

University of Michigan v. University of Massachusetts.

It's going to be hard to convey the atmosphere in Ann Arbor on game day. It's like the Grand Final merged with the Royal Melbourne Show. Michigan Stadium (or, The Big House) is surrounded by car parks and a golf course, overrun with people, stalls, tents and tailgaters. Everything is yellow (maize) and blue. Moving away from the stadium, throughout downtown A2, people are everywhere, dressed head to toe in their Wolverines gear. Some of them are at bars, some are gathering on porches and in front yards, some are walking to the game. They are all, undoubtedly, brimming with excitement. It's quite surreal.

About a dozen of us met around 11am at Neve's house. Yes, Campbell. From there, we walked to the game. And, as we got closer to the stadium, it became evident that so did the other 110, 175 people that were attending...




For those of you who aren't keen observers, that is Neve walking in front. Yes, Campbell. She's with her dad. The dude to the right is JP (our Props Master). The girl he tells not to take pictures is actually Neve's assistant, Ashley. It's a little joke. Hence, my silly laugh. And, if you've seen The Late Shift (Facebook video), you will recognise the blonde at the end as my boss, Georgie.

Inside the stadium was amazing. A sea of blue and yellow. I saw a total of 5 Massachusetts supporters. No doubt they traveled in for the game. You don't live in Ann Arbor and NOT go for U of M. It just doesn't happen. I felt awkward not wearing the team colours. Although, we did have bright yellow ponchos on hand, in case of rain. I think Georgie was actually a little disappointed that it held off.

The game itself was awesome. JP explained exactly what was happening at every moment (or, at least, every moment where my confusion was humourously apparent on my face) and it wasn't long before I was actually following what was going on. It was close and exciting, but in the end Michigan won. Much to the relief and jubilation of the 110,000 strong crowd (with the small exception of the aforementioned Massachusetts supporters, 3 of whom were sitting in front of us and left at the start of the 4th quarter... fair enough). Pretty much the entire crowd were like the rowdy fans who sit behind the goalposts at AFL games. "The Wave" went around the stadium a number of times... backwards, forwards, 2 at a time and in slo-mo. There were chants. There were dances. Before the game and at half time there was a performance by the (massive) marching band/s (the other team bring theirs, too). They also play little musical interludes in between every play. Seriously. It's a massive production. All of it... the game, the bands, the cheerleaders, the supporters. And it happens almost every week. Crazy.

So... I love football. Really. It's a fun game. Touchdowns are very exciting. The atmosphere is very cool.

You know what else is cool? Sitting with Neve Campbell.



After the game we walked back to Georgie's, had a couple of beers, then it was time to get ready for the WRAP PARTY :)

200 Ghostface cupcakes, countless balloons and a lot of props covered in blood. Finger food. A magician. "Stoo" the karaoke guy. A speech from Wes, the first ever trailer and a very funny blooper reel. A photo booth. Dress ups. Lots of crew, a handful of celebrities... all singing, all dancing, all drinking. Good stuff. We had the bar hired til 11:30pm and then the public were let in. Usually, at this point, we all leave. But, this was the WRAP party... not much work left to be done and a lot of hair to be let down. So we threw more money on the bar tab and stayed til they kicked us out at 2am. Enjoyed the occasional "are you with the movie?" and "oh my God, was that Neve Campbell?" from an excited unsuspecting civilian. Without blowing my own trumpet too much, having organised a lot of the party myself, I gotta say... great party! ;) Hayden's 21st? Pfft, whatever.

All in all, a pretty damn good Saturday.

A side note: Cast your mind back, if you will, to the opening statement of this blog entry. Something about attempting to write the thing in the couple of hours before the office got too busy, I believe. Fail. Massive fail. That was at 8:23am. It is now 10:39. PM. Yes, it took me 14 hours to write a blog. Crazy day.

So, I'm tired. It's time for sleep. I need all the rest I can get, tomorrow promises to be another epic.

And then, I have a 1am date with ESPN. Go Saints!

xx