Phil Donlon on Production

The one thing I was hugely impressed with was the team comradely - all the actors who were flown in from Los Angeles ended up sleeping in Steve's [Ed: Steve Ordower, Producer] house. Doug Jones slept on a mattress on the floor. In his last film, HELLBOY, he had his own floor of a hotel in Prague. So it flattered me that everyone was willing to put aside egos and put the project first. Even our behind-the-scenes documentary director, Mark, ended up sleeping on a chair, and he paid his own way from Toronto to be on set.

When I arrived in Chicago I knew I had to connect with the Korean community but did not know how. Through a casual conversation with a friend, I was put in touch with a Korean woman, who basically cast the film with extras, and her husband played a role in the film! These little things meant so much.

Actors and crew stayed late, worked overtime, and were willing to do what it took to get what we wanted on film. Wes, who headed our art department, and who had just gotten off 'The Weatherman' with Nick Cage, had some time on his hands before going back to Los Angeles. He gave up his week and worked for free, and brought on his staff to do the same. One day we were short on grips, and the writer, who slept on a couch next to Doug, was lugging lights off the truck. Everyone was willing to help make this successful and it deeply touched my heart.

We worked fast and very hard, we shot the film in four days with two days of studio-insert shots. There was no down time. One day we had 18 set-ups. It was set-up, break down, set up, breakdown, we moved very, very quickly. We moved so quick that I forgot to eat for an entire 14 hours. I personally got little sleep, maybe a few hours every day. I definitely had my hands full acting, directing, and producing.