Panic on the streets on Beijing

I wonder to myself... Will life ever be sane again...

This is an actual picture taken last night. Not by me - I was too dumb to take my camera - but taken by John my DP.

Let me backtrack a second.

This is sort of silly. We are in Beijing preparing for our shoot. Been here for coming up on three weeks. We start shooing on Monday.

We finally have finalized our contract with our "big" star. I know she is famous because everyone tells me she is famous. I know because whenever I tell a Chinese person who we're using - they all seem impressed.

I've met her twice and she is smart and cool and very much in control of herself and her image.

I heard from my assistant that she was to be doing a little PR event at the shopping mall near her house. I figured I could go pick up a little BRoll at the event and might use it later. The BIG STAR just had a book come out that she wrote - and her first CD in a long time as well.

So the event is supposed to start at 6:45.

We are supposed to be picked up at 5:30.

If I haven't made mention yet - Beijing traffic makes LA look like small town Indiana. I have no clue how anything will get done during the Olympics. If you try to travel across town during rush hour - you might as well quit - because it can take 2 hours to go 10 miles sometimes.

Our ride got to us at 6. We barely pulled up at the mall at 6:35. And my gosh - the place was crazy! This picture only shows what it looked like from the stage back. There were people on all sides - even people climbing up into trees like Zacheus.

It was amazing.

For the next hour - a guy got on the mike and kept telling people if they didn't step back - then Annie - the star - wouldn't come out.

We were ushered up into the press area - with absolutely no creditials other than that we had a camera. Annies manager was no where to be seen. The press area was surrounded by riot gates and police. Literally we stood and watched the crowd surge around us on all sides and the police kept filing in - trying to push the gates back. At one point - one section lifted into the air and Shao Chun - one of the producers - joined the police in grabbing the section and trying to keep the crowd back.

John was looking at a large lightpole and thinking of climbing it to escape.

I am so freaked out by large crowds and there literally was no where to go if things went south.

After trying for an hour to get people to listen - and more and more riot police showing up - Annie finally came out and did one song.

And then the police shut it down.

It was amazing. They cleared a path for us and we escaped. On the way out - I finally saw Annie's manager - and he said that she was scheduled to do 5 songs - but that was it. They couldn't do anymore...

Wow!

So now I guess I have an idea about how Chinese feel about her. And when we have a fight on the set - all she has to say is - well, 1.3 billion Chinese love me - and what do you know anyways, white man?

Sigh.

The price of working with celebrity...

I wonder to myself....