Michael Ninn's Catherine

Ninn’s Catherine, The Unique

It was finally time for the pivotal scene of the movie – the fight scene. Audrey as 20th Century Catherine pulled the ornate knife out of the indoor fountain and attacked 18th Century Catherine, i.e. Justine. Granted, I was at the back of the room, but it looked to me as if Justine was being stabbed. I was about to jump in and save my buddy Justine when Lucky stopped me! Michael Ninn had choreographed the struggle so precisely that it looked absolutely real, although no porn stars were hurt in the making of this film. [I stopped her? I must have been on a wine run.]

Next up, Otto. “Could we practice this once before she has to do this?” Otto said a bit worriedly. Audrey practiced, and then sprang at him, plunging the knife through his abdomen. (Although it actually went through the bend in his elbow.) “You have to keep your arm closed,” Michael Ninn directed. “It’s kind of like hiding your dick for soft core.” (Hee, hee, hee. I love porn analogies!)

When Otto was sufficiently “dead,” the makeup artists applied fake blood onto his stomach and dribbled it from his mouth. Oops. The blood on his face was on the wrong side from where it was yesterday. “We have to re-do it,” Director Ninn said. “Or continuity goes out the window.” The “blood” was reapplied and the scene was reshot. [“Continuity” is generally not the primary concern in industry movies, as any of you with any experience watching them probably know, but we give it a shot (as it were) once in a while just to mess with the critics.]

The final Catherine scenes had to have Audrey as 18th Century Catherine in close-ups, so Justine got to go home. Audrey got to take a nap while Michael shot a scene for Phoenix Ray’s feature. (It’s a smart actor who can sleep on set.) Then she was turned into 18th Century Catherine The Great, complete with white makeup, wig, costume, and jewelry. She looked amazing.

Even More Risque:  KSEX Daisy

ninn's catherine imageIt was early evening and storms had been threatening all day. The threats had come to fruition with lightning, rain, and fog. Actually it was a very cool look. God tends to smile on Ninn Worx sets, providing beautiful lighting, while the Ninn Worx crew pumps it up perfectly! [Ninn and God are tight. They go way back.]

Audrey delivered her dialogue and was then filmed sitting on an apple box. (It’s difficult to sit in a hoop dress, remember?) “That will make a great DVD menu,” Michael Ninn mused.

The fog wafted up over the balcony as 18th Century Audrey-Catherine was “killed” in a way that matched 18th Century Justine-Catherine’s “death.” “That’s BOTH of our fog machines working,” one of the crew guys laughed.

After her untimely death, Audrey thought she was finished, but she wasn’t quite done. The crew had discovered a waterfall that ran down one of the walls of the house. (The water was outside, but the wall was glass so it could be viewed from the inside.) Director Ninn saw it as a photo opportunity, so planted Audrey in front of the water. Lightning guys shined pink lights onto the waterfall, which looked as if it was cascading down around Audrey’s head. I jumped in and snapped a few photos, and then watched as the still and video cameras captured the scene. Michael Ninn was more than captivated. “I’m changing my ad campaign,” he announced. [These pictures are actually quite good, as D.Minion seems to have grasped her bracketing lesson rather well on this day. To my knowledge she has never used that setting on her camera again, but it was really handy on this day. DM’s one of those people that needs to repeat exercises in order for them to take hold. Although every once in a while I’ll still yell “bracket” across the room when she’s taking pictures, just so I can watch her shake. It’s the simple pleasures in life, really.]

Even More Risque:  A Sigh and a Thigh High Cy

The Ninn Worx graphic artist had stayed up until 3:30 am the night before putting the finishing touches on the campaign pictures, but even he wasn’t upset that he had to scrap the entire thing when he saw Audrey’s pictures in front of the window of water. [Right. And that’s his story and he’s sticking to it. He did proceed to earn his paycheck again, however.]

Audrey and Otto were finally finished…for now. Audrey removed her white makeup and put on her street clothes, turning her back into her normal self. However, she was looking forward to June when she, Otto, and the Ninn Worx crew would head to Budapest for more filming of the epic Catherine. [We would replay all of the “data” from last year at this time when we were talking at length about Catherine, but we like you so we’re not going to. Feel free to use the “New Stuff” index if you’re really curious.]

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