Back...Again

Well it was bound to happen. Just when I've been telling friends that McKenney seems much more relaxed on this shoot, he goes and throws his back out...

One way or another I will smuggle out some pics of The Man With the Plan doubled over with a heating pad strapped to his back, trying to direct.

Because they are hilarious.

I had to basically undermine the bastard's authority and shame him into sending a Production Assistant out to get something, anything for his back. I knew just what to get, as I had almost lost the use of my own back during the race to build the set for "Satan Hates You" and keep pace with my actual construction job. It was a week of getting up at 5am to go to the set and get a few hours of work in before my 9-5er, then back to build the set until 11pm or so. The last few days it took quite a while to get my clothes on and my shoes tied. Desperate to be able to keep working, I grabbed something I knew would probably not work, one of these air activated heat wraps from Walgreens. It is basically a meshy belt that velcros around your lower back and holds two of those flat hand warmer packs you usually see in the hunting section of Walmart.
Absolutely amazing. Eight hours of actually being able to bend and twist, two motions I've come to appreciate quite a bit. And while it wasn't exactly what the PA brought back (he got the large one you strap on and microwave) and while it didn't do everything for him it did for me, it did allow Jim to get through Friday's shoot, the last at the hotel location.

Saturday was a day off from shooting, but he had to make an appearance at the Fangoria convention. Me? I spent my day cleaning the apartment I have trashed over the last ten days of builidng/shooting/running around and trying to get this tremendous knot out of my neck, the final remnant of my back situation. This afternoon we shoot a party scene. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by.