Paris - Saturday June 30th 2001

I'm looking forward to today's shoot. After spending two days underground we're going to be out in the open air - all day. The worry now is the weather, will it stay dry? I set out at 9.30am with my trusty Metro map and instructions from Eduard on how to find the Church, in front of which filming will take place. I'm familiar with the general area - Les Invalides but not this particular Church. With a little assistance from a lady in a chocolate shop, I find my way without any problems. There's no doubt that I have found the right place as I hear "SILENCE!" being yelled and cars are stopped from driving past the pavement in front of the Church.

The all clear is given and I walk across the cobblestone square. The Church is beautiful and across from the front entrance is a square with a garden and play area for children. The next scene will take place in the garden, so cameras and equipment are being carried through the gate in preparation. Whilst I am chatting to Christophe, a photographer from SIPA Press, one of the actresses dressed in a red mini skirt with short blond hair comes over and says hello to me. She seems familiar but I'm not sure why. Clearly I look confused because she laughs and says "it's me Geraldine, don't you recognise me?" (Geraldine Sorin-Robbe is Michael's co-star playing the role of MARINE LACOMBE). WOW! what a transformation. Now I can see that it's her but the disguise certainly had me fooled!

The sun was now shining, it was turning into a beautiful day. I went to sit on a bench inside the garden to watch the scene being filmed from there. A young man (actor Olivier Raynal, playing DST agent Macintyre also known as Mac) is sitting on a park bench, eating a sandwich. He is part of a DST surveillance team which includes Vincent Martin played by Francois Montagut in one car and stationed in a second car on the other side of the square are two other agents Rocco and Lombard played by Cyril Lecomte and Emile Abssolo Mbo. Mac then drops the sandwich into a rubbish bin before he leaps over the fence onto the square.

There is a lot of interest from local residents and passersby who stand and watch the proceedings for a while before moving on. Michael is frequently asked to sign autographs as the "Young and the Restless" ("Les Feux de l'Amour", as it is known over there) is very popular in France. Michael is not the only person gaining public attention. Janeen's father, James Best - Rosco, "Dukes of Hazzard" - is also visiting the set today. James plays the role of CrackerJack in the series. He doesn't have any scenes to film but has come to watch the action.

The main scene today takes place in front of the Church. In brief, Marine is wandering along the cobblestone square dressed in a bright red suit, red stiletto shoes carrying a handbag. A motorcyclist comes speeding along the square, drops something into Marine's handbag and wheelies off, out of sight. Meanwhile Julian who is following the biker, in a car turns onto the sqaure but is stopped when a rollerblader falls in front of him. Marine runs and jumps into the car with Julian. Out of site, around the corner, is another car with two occupants watching the proceedings. The driver of the second car is Vincent Martin (played by Francois Montagut), the DST Agent who appeared in the train station in yesterday's shoot.

The scene is of course filmed in sections and whilst the equipment is being moved back to the pavement area from the garden, the motorcyclist, rollerbladers and the driver of car number one, practice their timing. It all looks rather tricky to me and I don't fancy being in the rollerblader's position. The sound of squealing brakes resounds around the square and the motorcyclist excellerates past the Church entrance. The driver of the car is Michael's character, Julian but as Michael is directing, his double takes his place behind the wheel. There are a few pigeons nonchalantly pecking on the ground. Janeen decides to drop some crumbs in the square to encourage a few more to join them - for the visual effect. They don't stay long once the motorcycle revs up and I duck as they fly overhead, lucky or not, I don't want any presents from them!

Once everyone is happy with the scene it's time to move onto the next. Michael is now going to take the driver's place in the car. He goes off to change and have his make-up done. Suddenly, the schedule changes. Michael is halfway through having his hair styled when he discovers that one of the actor's has to leave within the hour, for a prior engagement. Michael has no choice but to go and direct the actor's scene now, regardless of how his hair looks.

The equipment is moved yet again, this time to the other end of the square. The second car and it's occupants are to feature in the next scenes, which will be filmed in both languages. I take my place behind the monitors, now in the shade, along with Janeen and other crew members. Poor Geraldine - who is not needed for the this scene - takes the opportunity to sit down and take off her shoes. Her feet are in agony from wearing the stilettos. She still has a couple of scenes to film, including one where she will get out of Julian's car and run, so will need to wear the shoes again. Some ice is found to help ease the pain. There are a lot of people in the garden enjoying the summer sunshine and "entertainment" of the film crew, some stand and watch rather than sunbathe on the grass. Traffic has to be stopped from driving past when the filming takes place and the onlookers are asked to be silent too.

Time is running out. The shoot is due to finish at 5.00pm with a possible overrun of three hours. It's now around 5.00 and yet again the equipment has to be moved. I'm getting the hang of helping move the chairs and refreshments. Michael runs back into the make-up room to finally get his hair fixed so that he can film his scene with Geraldine in the car. Before he takes his place behind the wheel though, he checks out the camera angle. Simultaneously another scene is being shot to save time.

The last few scenes to be shot carry on from after Marine gets into Julian's car. Julian drives past the Church at full speed when another car pulls across in front of him, cutting him off. Michael's double is once again driving the car in order for Michael to direct. Then in the next scene Marine jumps out and runs off while Julian finds a man pointing a gun at him, demanding he get out of the car. The man who is arresting Julian is DST Agent Rocco. Michael of course takes his place as Julian as he gets out and places his hands on the bonnet. The dialogue is again taped in both languages and finally around 8.00pm when "COUPER!" is called for the last time that day, everyone claps including the large group of onlookers who have been lining the street.

Everyone gets to work putting away the equipment and Michael goes to get his makeup removed. A photo shoot is scheduled for the cast and crew as this is the last day for some of the crew. Wine and nibbles are laid out on a table whilst a couple of benches are pulled into the centre of the square. The sun is beginning to set and everyone gathers together to pose for Christophe and several onlookers who just happen to have their cameras handy, as do I - the opportunity is too good to miss! It's then time to say goodbye and get directions from Eduard on how to find Monday's location.