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| Tuesday 21st March 2000 | Page 11 of 12 |
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Xena: Warrior Princess filming in progress The figure in the hills to the rear is Kevin Smith. Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor can be seen to the right. The other performer in shot (further right) is Adrienne Wilkinson, who plays Livia (aka Xena's now adult daughter, Eve). |
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Close-up of Kevin Smith working on a scene |
Close-up of Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor and Adrienne Wilkinson |
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I think of how many variables had to fall into place within a few
seconds - Lucy and Renee standing up and facing forward, the bouncers
looking away, my inability to keep the camera steady or frame up a good
shot due to the sheer excitement of what I was seeing - it never ceases
to amaze me that I got the photograph above, which turned out to be the
absolute jewel of my entire trip to New Zealand. It really was a case
of point, click and hope but fortunately the Fates must have been
smiling on me that day, because it stands as a fabulous record of the
whole experience! One thing I wasn't sure of until later was that the
black-clad figure standing to the rear turned out to be Ares himself,
actor Kevin Smith, which definitely made what I'd seen even more
worthwhile! There can't be many Xenites in the world who've been in the
lucky position of seeing Renee O'Connor, Lucy Lawless and Kevin Smith, all in the same place and in costume to boot, but I definitely did! For the short period of time I was able to watch, Lucy and Renee spent most of their time sat behind the hill largely out of view. I must confess I felt really sorry for them to be out filming that day given the chill wind that was blowing; I was cold enough in jeans and a T-shirt, yet they were only wearing their ordinary costumes, without even the long overcoats seen in some of the early fifth season episodes. What professionals they both are; they must have been absolutely freezing! It also occurred to me later while looking through the photographs that Renee had spent a lot of time sitting on her own away from the main filming area and, knowing as we all do how seriously she takes studying her role, I wondered whether she had spent all this time with her head in the script! Now knowing that Renee and Lucy were there, I was determined to try to see as much as possible of the actual filming, so walked a short distance around the camp so I could watch from a better angle. I also contemplated trying to get another photograph or two if possible, because obviously at that stage I had no idea whether any of the pictures I had already taken would turn out. After all, so many lucky coincidences had brought about this amazing day in the first place, I was sure my luck would hold out for a bit longer. Unfortunately, that was about when my luck ran out! When trying for another shot, I was noticed by one of the bouncers - built like the side of a house - who then began to run towards me at great speed! Oh shit, I thought, how am I going to get out of this one? Given that I was still trembling with excitement and gagging for breath (wouldn't you be totally overwhelmed by seeing your idols in the flesh, right there in front of you?), I was hardly in a fit state to pose as the average Bethells Beach tourist, but it was obvious that was what I would have to do, preferably very, very quickly! It must have been the fastest I've ever managed to regain my composure, as by the time he reached me, I was somehow totally nonchalant and off-the-cuff about it all. In the end, I played dumb and he turned out to be a really nice guy who just asked me not to take any more photographs, which was fair enough. "So what are they filming up there?", I asked. "A commercial", he replied. I ended up chatting to him for about five minutes on the subject of New Zealand and life generally, which was most illuminating I must admit! Although they didn't seem to mind people watching from a distance, it was obvious from the fact they wouldn't even admit to who they were and what was really being filmed, that I would have been on to a definite loser had I confessed to being a real-life Xena: Warrior Princess fan on the loose, which is something I briefly contemplated while I was standing there taking about "having spent a lot of time on the west coast" during my holiday so far! So, after that, I beat a hasty retreat, safe in the knowledge that I had done just about everything I possibly could to follow the crew over those two days. I would have loved to be able to get closer and admit to being a Xenite, but as it stood it was clear they didn't really want any public interest or involvement in what they were doing, which, although it's understandable, was a shame. It was a truly amazing experience to witness some real Xena: Warrior Princess filming in progress, and as for seeing Renee O'Connor in real life, that fact didn't hit me for days afterwards. My chance encounter with the crew had elevated an already fabulous New Zealand holiday into the stratosphere! To say it was a dream come true would be an understatement. As I remarked at the time, I think all my Christmases for the next ten years must have come early on that cold, windy Tuesday! I spent most of the following week wandering around in a sort of trance, not quite able to take in what I'd actually seen, but six days later I returned to Bethells Beach to have a closer look at the filming site and take some detailed photographs for reference, which you'll find on the next page. It was a strange feeling to think that the cast and crew had been working there so recently, and I can't wait to see the finished episode, just to appreciate what I saw in its proper context. Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed being able to share some of the incredible thrill of encountering the Xena: Warrior Princess crew at work out on location. When you get the opportunity to watch the fifth season finale Motherhood, keep a close eye out... if you notice any bushes twitching in the background, that'll probably be me! |
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Adrian Petford 19th April 2000 |
• Go to the Epilogue | |
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My final picture - the Xena: Warrior Princess production camp On the right of the photo, Renee O'Connor can be seen sitting on her own behind a hill, poring over the script. Kevin Smith is standing to the upper right of the camera crane. To his left is Lucy Lawless, wisely wearing something warm over her costume. |
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Close-up showing Lucy Lawless, Kevin Smith and Renee O'Connor |
 So What Was Ares Doing There?Kevin Smith speaks... Those who have seen the televised version of Motherhood will know that Ares is conspicuous by his absence from the scene above, and what exactly he was doing there has become one of those burning, unanswered questions ever since the episode aired... until now! On Saturday 2nd September 2000, Kevin Smith appeared at the Panathenaea convention in London, UK, and mentioned this scene several times during his appearance on stage, as well as talking to me about it at more length when I met him later on. All of this information is direct from Kevin Smith himself, and what he had to say was very interesting indeed... When asked about his favourite Ares scene, Kevin quoted a "scene that was cut from the end of Motherhood" as one of them, which immediately put a very broad grin on my face! The missing scene was an extended opening to the final scene on the beach, in which Ares talks with Xena. Xena thanks him for saving Gabrielle and Eve's lives and asks him what he is planning to do now that he has given up his immortality through this generous act. Ares must answer that he is planning to go off wandering the earth on a voyage of self-discovery or something like that - Kevin joked that he'd be "doing his Kwai Chang Caine (the nomadic hero from seventies television series, Kung Fu) bit!" Later on Kevin was asked specifically about what was the best of the scenes cut from Motherhood, but he hadn't seen the televised version, only a near-final edit when he was called in to do some post-production dubbing, so wasn't entirely sure which scenes were cut or retained. He did quote the final scene with Ares again as a sad loss because he said it was a great potential new starting point for the character. Kevin described it as a good coda on the episode and season as a whole, as well as Ares' established character up to that point, with a lot of potential for him to go off in a different direction towards something new. Later in the day I had the opportunity to meet the man himself, and asked Kevin about the missing Motherhood scene, mentioning that I had been there watching them filming it. He jokingly asked me whether I was the guy on the motor bike who had been riding around in the area at the time, as this had apparently caused havoc with the filming. Whenever Kevin was about to start saying his lines to Lucy, this motor bike would roar past, ruin the shot and they'd have to start again! I assured Kevin that it wasn't me and all I did was stand there quietly on the beach and watch! He mentioned again that it was a lovely, significant scene and what a shame it was that it had been lost, saying that it's always his personal favourite scenes that seem to end up being cut!
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