I was floundering and freaking several weeks back until a strange series of events lead me to salvation. See, I had no crew as of yet and was in a panic. Money on my credit cards was one thing but no crew!!! I had the basics, a cinematographer, a sound woman, maybe a PA, but I was in serious trouble. Looking in the Hudson Valley Film Guide, I found the name of an old friend, who said she couldn't work on the film but that she would pass on the news that I was crewing up.
A week later I got a call from a Lori Niekrewicz who wanted to PA on the film I said that was great but if she was up to it, I really need a Production Manager who could run the production for me. Lori stepped up to the plate, and a few weeks later I was almost fully crewed up and things were going great.
Lori's sister Nicole was actually an apprentice/assistant of Linda Burton, a talented Art Director (or was it Production Designer?) who's recently finished work on Robert Duvalls most recent film and Goldie Hawn's TV movie. Nicole helped out as well getting me a fantastic Prop Master and Wardrobe Assistant (we made Nicole the head of wardrobe also - a very different dept. from Art but, hey, this is the independent world). Nicole has been nothing short of fantastic.
I ran around picking up all kinds of production stuff in Manhattan like a PA because I had no PAs here to help me. I was grossly unprepared (hardly any storyboards or shot lists done, I hadn't met with Spencer, my DP at all but Thursday my Dad came down and picked up me and the stuff.
Thursday night most of the crew showed up at my house where they were to stay for the first weekend. Lori took some people to her house and has arranged for everyone to stay at a camp site starting tomorrow where the cast and crew will probably freeze-to-death-but-everyone's-psyched-so-who-cares...