Filming is going to be one of the greatest physical challenges any of us have ever faced. The story revolves around three skiers who find themselves stranded on a chairlift at a New England ski resort that is closed during the week. Where I grew up (in the Boston area) we had these “not so great” ski mountains that were only open Friday through Sunday, and often times my friends and I would bribe the lift operator with some cash in order to avoid the hefty lift-ticket prices as it was the only way we could afford to ski back then. While freezing my ass off up in Canada last Spring shooting GRACE, I started thinking back to those days and I found myself researching various ski mountain mishaps and accidents that have happened in real life. Inspiration hit, and (as you’ll see on the Behind The Scenes of GRACE when it hits DVD after it’s theatrical run later this year) I tucked myself away in a corner of the set and began writing. While I already am contractually committed to other projects (including my comedy GOD ONLY KNOWS, the animated AQUAMAN movie I am writing for D.C., and a pilot I am writing for Nickelodeon that Jack Black is producing), with the strikes pushing things around, a window opened to fast track FROZEN and Peter Block (A Bigger Boat) stepped in to produce the film with my company ArieScope Pictures. It was probably the fastest turn around I’ve ever experienced from conception to production… and here we are, at 10,000 feet in the dead of winter on the side of a mountain.

Crewing up has been tough as during interviews, many potential candidates would actually stop the meeting and admit right there that they just couldn’t handle it and bow out. I’m shooting this ENTIRE film practically. As you know, I’m not a fan of bad CGI or phony looking green screen, and since this story’s terror lies in the real life elements, I decided that shooting it for REAL was the only way to do it right. Today we had our technical scout in a full-on blizzard where my crew had three feet of snow dropped on them as they worked. I actually found myself in spots where the snow came up to my chest as I tried to lead the way. The nights on the mountaintop will hit well below zero (some nights are as low as -30) and my brave cast will literally be suspended 50 feet in the air and facing the elements for a good portion of the film. Stunt wise we’re looking at ridiculous high falls and climbs, and my three main actors are going to find themselves emotionally pushed past their limits. It’s going to be a brutal shoot and we’re all braced for the worst as so much of what happens (weather-wise) will be out of our control. All week long my production designer and his crew have been dragging 1-ton cranes and 40-foot tall pine trees up the side of the mountain in blizzard conditions… and we’re just getting started. To say I’m fucking cold would be a vast understatement.

Still, I have my family with me. These are the guys I’ve been with since I got my start- some of which I’ve been shooting with over 11 years now. And though I’ve heard myself referred to as “Ahab” and “Quint” already by the locals in the production office… I know that even if everyone dies or quits, my main crew will stay there with me until we conquer this mountain. Literally.

Attached is a picture from one of our pre-production scouts that sorta says it all. Also, starting next week, if fans want to log on to the Snowbasin website, they can actually WATCH us shoot the movie from Snowbasin’s live web cams. You won’t be able to see too much detail- but you will be able to check in from time to time and see what we’re up to… live.

I look forward to giving the fans something riveting, compelling, emotionally challenging, and most of all… something REAL to be scared by. Anyone who has ever skied or snowboarded knows the fear that races through your chest when the rickety chair stops over an impossibly high spot.

Will it start again?

I don’t know. Will it?”