“AND IN THE END.. (our last day)

“AND IN THE END" (our last day)

... the love you take, is equal to the love you make" (from the Beatles' song "The End").

We said it felt more like the end of an era than just a film. After 8 months of experiencing together the biggest thing that's ever happened to any of us, that's almost how it felt.

The last 2 days were a completion of the first 2 days (which were shot up state in the woods if you recall). Only now there was no way we were going to fake "summer" in upstate New York, running around in skirts, tanks, shirtless, etc., pretending that the bare trees were ripe and lush or that the water wasn't ice. So everything was done on what they call "blue screen" which, again is really all green walls, floors & ceilings on the set around us, so they can later computer generate the scenery. (Hmm. Now that you know this, let's see if you'll be able to tell once you see the movie which shots were really done outside and which were not!)

First was the "tank" scene. After wandering through the woods where Dr. Robert (Bono) has dumped us on his way back to California, we stumble into Mr. Kite's (Eddie Izzard) circus, where we find Prudence (who's been missing) playing "Henry The Horse"!

Now we are all together again for the last time before the film takes its dark turn.

The "tank" is the lake we come across and decide to take a rest at as the LSD begins to wear off. We all end up in the water.

This was supposed to be the big nude scene, but in PG-13 movies you can't show any nipple, but crack, nothing! So only a few of us had to bear it all because Julie decided that our colorful clothes floating around would look much more interesting than a bunch of organless barbie dolls. However, Max, (who's about to go to Vietnam and is starting to lose it) rips all of his clothes off so we have him floating about all naked and crazy looking; then Jude and Lucy get naked for some underwater love play. (They are able to beautifully hide their private parts by wrapping around each other. It's an UNBELIEVABLY exquisite shot where they do a John and Yoko like wrap and kiss underwater for a very long time).

The rest of us had to twirl around under the water singing, and let me tell you, having spent my entire childhood pretending to be a mermaid in any body of water I could get into, I thought this would be a piece of cake! Oh no. I had to twirl about in my clothes, dance around JoJo AND sing the song "Because" all under water WITHOUT making any bubbles AND while staying exactly in the middle of the water's depth!! Oh and again the whole 48 frames (song sped up) thing. (Which at least made it easier to stay under water for the whole verse because it wasn't as long!)

Turns out I'm incredibly buoyant (maybe it's the boobs) and JoJo sinks like a giant boulder! We tried to balance each other out because it was imperative that we stay in the middle of the water, not too close to the surface or to the bottom, so we remain in the right camera frame for the whole blue screen thing.

Once we'd go under water and hear "action" then the beginning of the song, I'd start my singing & twirling only to go bobbing straight to the top. After a number of takes trying to stay down long enough to sing with no bubbles, and while trying to twirl and look sexy, floaty and peaceful, they finally thought to put an ankle weight ...around my thigh). After that, I was Sadie the f**ing Mermaid!! I flipped and twirled and wrapped around JoJo, singing and seducing. It was a BLAST! My ears were filled with water; my nose, (having drunk almost as much water as my mouth forced me to gulp down -- yuck), was burning like mad; AND, in the last take, (once I figured out how to REALLY make the ankle weights work for me even more) I did this diving down flip thing, and my pants completely split open. Bearing all! The wardrobe department said I'd start a trend of velvet chaps. Another tortuously wonderful scene indeed!

The last scene left to shoot (except for Jude who finishes the beginning of the film in Liverpool this month) was us at the circus tripping on Mr. Kite, the Blue Meanies, the Hendersons, and each other.

Most of all, I think we were all just tripping on the whole crazy, amazing, bizarre, exciting, confusing, challenging, dream-making, trip of it all.

We were all reduced to tears as we were officially "wrapped" one at a time.

I wonder if I will ever again work with such beautiful, and uniquely talent people.

Thank you, Julie Taymor.

Thanks all of YOU for letting me share with you the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of.

Hope to have many of you at the premiere next Thanksgiving!!