A Great Family
A random sampling of highlights from some of the 220 Xena: Warrior Princess crew. Interviews by Sue May, March 2001.
The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 17
Rachel Voon: wardrobe standby assistant (3+ years). There's lots of highlights, but through Xena I've been to heaven and hell and all around the world with a really cool crew.
Simon Hawkins: key grip (5 years). Lucy and Renee. Working with those guys. That's what'll stick in my mind. Those are the guys that make this job work, really. I mean, everyone else has been great, but without those two as leads it wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun as it has been.
Alex McDonald: clapper loader (2 years). The day when I was about to fall in the pool at Lion Park and Renee grabbed me. I was just about to throw the slate at somebody but Renee grabbed me and stopped me from falling in the lake. That was pretty amusing really.
Mike Becroft: art director. (Xena: 6 months. PRP since 1993) The sort of historic base of the sets and the kind of history that we've used on the show. Being able to reproduce and make and build villages and weapons and things from a bygone age that you don't get to do very often.
Ken Durey: special effects supervisor (PRP 8 years). It’s been a wonderful experience having the opportunity to train lots of young people into effects because of the wide range of effects we've done. And the opportunity, even though the pressure's on, to do them reasonably well. We've had a lot of support from management and any major items of request have always arrived. It's been a great experience. I'm probably ending my career with Xena and it's good to have been able to pass on a few of the little bits of information that I've gleaned over the years on to some of the younger ones.
Tim Pope: 'A' Camera focus puller. (1+ year). It's one of the most fantastic crews that I've worked on. I guess that all trickles down from the top. Lucy and Ren are great to work with and it just chills out the whole shooting scene. There's not much stress or aggression in the crew. Everybody gets on. It’s just like a huge big family and I guess that's what I'm going to miss the most.
Mike Abbott: unit department. (3.5 years). The good time that I've had doing it. Working with people that are really great people. Being able to share things really, and being able to look after people, which is what my job's all about.
Julian Rosenberg: construction. (PRP since 1993). It's just been a dream run. really. Like a family. It's been full of interesting things to build and good working relationships and lots of satisfaction. It's been great.
Sharon Ninness: special effects. (5 years). As the first woman in New Zealand to do it, it's been a fantastic experience to have a full time job setting things on fire and blowing them up. It's a sad thing after 5 years - it feels like the family's leaving, but it’s been a great experience.
Lars Eldby: boom op. On April 1. 2000, I replaced Hugo, who had been here since the beginning. The highlight was actually coming on here that first day and I was sort of being quite wary and tiptoeing around to find out what Renee and Lucy were like. I'd heard good things, but I didn't know if they were drama queens or a bit stuck up or whatever. But they weren't. They were really, really lovely. Those two especially made me feel like part of the family from day one. They never stopped saying hello each morning and asking me how my family is and just generally being just like a good friend or a best friend even.
Monique Knight: 2nd Unit script supervisor. (2 years Xena + 3 years Hercules) It’s been a great learning curve for everyone. The great thing is you come to work and you get to do so many different bits of action. It's not just drama. There's heaps of stunt fighting and underwater stuff and you get to blow up things and there's lots of action cover. You know that when you're getting up at 5.30 in the morning, there's a heap of other people all getting out of bed at the same time because they love doing what they do. That's the best thing.
Craig Dunn: stunt performer (4 years). I think the quote for the stunt team on Xena is: either go hard or go home.
Allan Solly: best boy (2 years Xena + 4 years Hercules). All the crazy stunts and effects that we've done over the years. It's not like the average sort of job - flame effects and interactive lighting effects for explosions, characters morphing, ripple and various water effects, lightning strikes and all the different sets. The different lighting styles from the various DPs that we've had over the years from John Mahaffie, John Cavill, Donny Duncan, Waka Attewell and Simon Riera. They all have their different styles of doing the lighting and different ideas, you’ve just got to try and keep up with them all and keep them all happy.
Ana Davison: 3rd AD (1 year). I would say firstly the people. I've really enjoyed working with everyone and also what comes to mind quite strongly is the locations that we get to visit. We are very lucky to get to go to the places that we do, and film in such amazing environments.
Vanessa Hurley: makeup artist to Lucy Lawless. (5 years). I was just thinking about when I first started on the show, I was so nervous about doing Lucy’s makeup that I got shingles on my face, which was really attractive. Now I have this running joke with Lucy that nothing is ever too bad or too awful to get shingles over: “This is nothing to get shingles over, Luv.”
Tere Cherrington: lighting assist. (1 year) The fact that it's been a family away from the family. Being with a bunch of guys in the lighting crew all from Hawkes Bay and myself being from Northland.
Paul Radford: scenery artist (8 years) Somebody said in the office I can’t believe you've been here 8 years. I said “Neither can I, I find it very depressing: I woke up one day and I was 8 years older.” And they said, “But that would have happened anyway. You’d still wake up and be 8 years older.” And I went, “Oh yeah, OK.” I don’t know what sticks in my mind most about it. except it was just the most incredible opportunity to do stuff you'd never get to do. And you look at all these boring police shows, boring TV commercials and all that crap and you go, here we are doing caves and castles. Fantastic, just fantastic. Great people. Chloe and Eric did a great job putting it all together. Rob Gillies: brilliant.
Carmen Leonard: 1st AD (1 year). I've been an AD for 15 years. This would have been the best year of those 15 years and the reason for that is an amazing crew, an amazing cast and people I’ve learnt from so much every day. Every day I've come here I've learnt something and after 15 years that's saying something.
Dennis McKenzie: medic 8 safety (10 months) It’s going to be a very, very hard act to follow. Lucy makes me proud to be a Kiwi and I’m just grateful to all the Americans that buy the show and make it what it is.
Jane Gray: 2nd AD 2nd Unit (casual for 3 years). The diversity and the fruitiness of it all, the fruity sets, amazing fruity costumes and fruity makeup at times. It has been a very colourful production. The crew are colourful. Another great highlight of course has been working with the cast, the cast have been amazing and delightful people to work with.
Jim Scorrar: stunt rigger (PRP since 1993) The big thing is that there's been steady work for the last 8 years. There’s lots of great memories that we will have but to be specific about one great memory, I don't know - there's so many. I feel privileged to be part of something special and I think the whole Xena thing has been quite a special project and being part of that has been really good.
Monique Williams: production assistant. (3 years) Being quite young myself and working with a bunch of people who are really experienced and professional on a professional fast turnaround show has been a great experience for me and taught me heaps on quite an intensive level.
Barbara Cope: make up artist to Renee O'Connor. (Since Day One: June 26, 1993). I think it's just the ongoing experience to have five years with the great team that we've had. It's been an amazing privilege really. Now we all have to roll out of the safety net and get back into the real world and it's going to be hard, although I think it has come to a natural conclusion. But it's been amazing.
Katie Tate: 2nd AD (1 year). I don't know really what to say except that it's been like a family and everybody sticks together. Whether you’ve made a mistake or done something really great you are rewarded just by the people that you're working with and that's true for Lucy, Renee and everybody on the set. This is my second to last day and I'll miss everyone so majorly because it's my family. Everyone here is family. They stick together through thick and thin. Somebody has a family crisis everybody pulls together, somebody has a birth or a wedding everybody just sticks together and that’s what I'll remember about it.
Shane Dawson: stunt coordinator. (PRP since 1993). I'd say it has been a big learning curve, because when I first started I was a stunt man and then developed into a stunt coordinator. I was blown away with that. I just wanted to do stunts and just jump around, get paid to dress up and be like a kid again. But I ended up having to take on a coordinating job. which is a little bit different. I enjoyed it. Changing from jumping around to coordinating other guys to jump around was really cool because it means I can actually create stunts and have fun doing it. It's been great.
Geoff Short: stills photographer (6 years). There have been lots of highlights, but I remember particularly one of our rare away shoots to the volcanic plateau. We had three consecutive days of constant rain and it was freezing cold and extraordinarily horrible. Everyone was miserable. And then we had to go up the mountain and we thought that was pretty unlikely but then it dawned a very beautiful cloudless day and it was magic. We had a fantastic time up in the snow - beautiful pictures, beautiful movie - and It made all the misery worthwhile.
Brian Robertson: grip 2nd Unit. The experience of a lifetime.
Amber Simpson: stand-in for Gabrielle (2 years) The crew relationship and how close we all are. The crew and the cast are like a big family and that's definitely the best thing. And the beautiful locations that we get to go to as well.
Grant Vesey: props mistress or the storeman, I call myself. (PRP since 1993) The most common thing I’ve said is “how many do you want and when?” Double question mark. I never had any art history or anything like that and it's been fantastic to have the money to do whatever you want really, to create on this scale. We’ve researched every period there has been — ancient Japan, China, India, every country in the world - and into the future. It's been great. With Rob Gillies being the designer that he is, he's given me the chance to design stuff, which I've never done before, so it’s brought out the creativity in me. I’ve found something in myself that I didn’t know was there. I’ve been to drawing class and learned how to draw so I can relay my ideas. For me, that’s been the biggest thing, to get that creativity really going.
Sean Campbell: stunt performer. (6-7 years) My greatest highlight is meeting and getting new friends over the last seven years. Pretty cool. The stunts are all pretty out there, really. It’s good because it varies from day to day. If you like adrenaline, it’s a good job.
Sally Forde: health & safety officer (4.5 years). Stepping out of the real world with tragic events and stepping into an unreal world with tragic and happy events. I got to go to really amazing locations that I never would have got to see. And I get to work with the most crazy bunch of people that are great fun and I'll miss them all. It’s been great.
Craig Wilson: standby props. The highlight of the experience of Xena is to have worked with two of the nicest actresses you could possibly want to meet and to also have the enormous Pacific Renaissance machine behind everything we do. We can make everything look as beautiful as we've ever wanted to. And it's just been the best.
Slade Leef: stuntman. (6+ years). The people I've met. The extended family feel. It's cool.
Dana Little: camera operator, (1+ year, previously focus puller). I've enjoyed the job immensely. I've enjoyed having the variety of directors and the variety of DPs. Loved having resources available. I've enjoyed the production streamlined process. Everything's in place. Things are there when you need them. A very enjoyable, pleasant filming experience.
Paul Grinder: 2nd unit director (6 years). The length of it - six years is a long time. A really good learning curve. A huge learning curve. It was starting out as a first AD and then unwittingly becoming a director and along the way being asked to learn a lot of stuff and being able to put it to use.
Rob Bavin: standby props (2 years) All of it. Definitely working with Lucy and Renee. They've been brilliant. A really fun crew. Friendly people and a great time.
David Sargeson: genny op (10 months) It's a close knit family. It’s a big show, the biggest show that I've done. Lucy & Renee. They just treat you like a family. It's cool. You spend so much time here that it does become your life, so it'll be sad when it goes.
Lomelle Henry: wardrobe department, extras. (2 years). It's been good working with the most amazing bunch of creative people. The costumes have been amazing, the sets have been amazing, lighting's been great and just everyone pulling together on the huge eps has been quite amazing. It's a unique family feeling.
Jo Warren: 3rd AD 2nd Unit (1+ year) It's been interesting, completely different to anything else I've ever worked on or seen, in terms of how it’s run and how people operate. I've learnt more in one year on Xena than I learnt in three years at film school and three years of working in the industry before coming here. It's been a whole lot of good times. 2nd Unit is a great place to work. Fantastic.
Jane Gadd: production secretary (1+ year). The people, the team that I work with and the onset crew and the off-set crew, they were really great. Just being on a production this size, because it is a big machine. It's great.
Linda Hal Couper: make up (6 years). One of the great things was looking after all the amazing guest stars we had from New Zealand, Australia and America, but what made it all possible and that's my highlight is working for such a great company. I've really enjoyed having so much artistic freedom and the fact that you get respected here so well.
Jonathan Swanson: grip assist, Pegasus assist. I thought the greatest thing was where people had come from all over to this one place and have been able to work together perfectly and get on well. Everyone's just so much fun about it. It's a cool job. I love it.
Nooroa Poa: stunt performer (5 years). I've enjoyed coming to set and hanging with the brothers, the stunt crew. Meeting people, too. It's been a real pleasure meeting people from overseas and getting to know a lot of the crew. I found it was quite a bonding that we've all made. The highlight has probably been the thrill that we've got out of the stunts that we've performed over the years.
Katrina Hodge: wardrobe standby and Lucy's personal dresser. (6 years) I can’t think of how to put all of my feelings into one sentence except that I love everyone and it's a great big family.
And the last word goes to the future - one of the many babies born to Xena crew during the six-year shoot, Mollie Durey: My name is Mollie. I'm five. I help my dad, Ken. Sometimes he forgets where to go. And when he says to me to do a job I do it straight away. (Mollie's dad is Ken Durey, special effects.)