Guest blogger: Jaime King writes about hitting bottom on ‘Mother’s Day’ set

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One of my favorite people in Hollywood is Jaime King, the actress who has built quite the fanboy resume with roles in ‘Sin City,’ ‘My Bloody Valentine,’ ‘The Spirit,’ ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ series and the film ‘Fanboys’ (which brought her together with her future husband, director Kyle Newman). King is beautiful, of course (she’s always listed in the hot-chick rankings in men’s magazines, such as the time she was listed at No. 16 on Maxim’s 50 Sexiest Women), but I’m smitten with her firebrand sense of humor. I asked her to do some guest blogging for Hero Complex. Here’s what she sent. -- Geoff Boucher

So I decided it would be fun to blog about my experience making my new film, “Mother’s Day.” The horror film is a remake of Charles Kaufman’s original 1980 Troma cult classic. It is being directed by Darren Bousman and stars me, Rebecca De Mornay and Deborah Ann Woll (the beautiful new vampire from ‘True Blood’). I nearly had a heart attack when I showed up at the cast dinner and saw Kandyse McClure from my favorite television show, “Battlestar Galactica.” I don’t usually get star struck but I do fall over now almost every time I see her in the makeup trailer and I try to bond by using the word ‘frack’ as much as humanly possible.

I knew filming this movie was going to be interesting from the start. I just got my appendix taken out 2 1/2 weeks ago and hey, I’m not method, but my character is pretty traumatized after the loss of her child so I thought, “Why not? I will use this pain for my acting because that is what actors do, right?’ But, of course I promised I would take it easy and have a stunt double.

Cut to: Last night, exterior, dusk. Beth (my character) runs out of her house, chased by a gun-wielding psychopath, begging her neighbors to help. The neighbors, who are only 20 feet away unloading groceries but don’t hear her because (cue the loud tornado sirens) her panicked screams are muffled in the din (think ‘Lady in a Cage’). Beth gets kicked to the ground, she kicks back, she gets dropped hard on her butt, she gets dragged by one arm and shoved back into the house. Basically, it sucks to be her. So I did the first one myself, then for the hard falls they bring in the stunt double. I see the shot, and like every other paranoid perfectionist actor, decide I am the only one who can do the action the way it really needs to be done.

We do it six times, six angles, six adrenaline-fueled takes during which my body feels nothing.

First I knocked my head, then my knee swelled up, then I popped my wrist out and, lo and behold, after the final shot ... I can’t walk. So they carry me to the hospital, while at the same time everyone tries to get their continuity photos as I wail in pain. (Gotta make sure my hair matched for the next shot!) My awesome producer, Richard Saperstein, stunt coordinator Bobby King, and my best friend, Sara, come with me to the hospital where I am forced to get hopped up on painkillers just to cut the agonizing pain. Turns out, I fractured my tailbone on the third day of filming. Bummer.

When the Percocet kicked in, I felt a level of intoxication that would put Cheech and Chong to shame. I then proceeded to make a slew of raunchy jokes that just sort of tumbled from my lips in a dirty and uncontrollable way. I am lucky to still have a job let alone be considered a lady after this impromptu comedy routine. I rememebr one particularly crude exchange; the nurse came in to give me a shot in the butt and said I’m going to poke you with this, but promised she wouldn’t push it in all the way. To which I replied “Oh, don’t worry, I’ve had worse down there,” but it wasn’t quite phrased like that. Groan.

Don’t ask me how it happened, but in hindsight (hah!) I’ve come to the conclusion that I was possessed by Seth Rogen. Finally, we left the hospital and made a pit stop at the local A&W, where Sara got me to eat a whole double cheeseburger and French fries ... probably in an attempt to sober me up.

And now it’s onward and upward. I will continue to film, sitting on an inner tube but without a river, without the sun, and without a bottle of Boone’s. What I do have is an amazing cast, a sick script and the knowing that I have the most interesting, amazing opportunities given to me and an awesome film on the way that (hopefully!) people will really love.

-- Jaime King

JAIME KING IS A NOMINEE FOR THE SCREAM 2009 AWARDS, YOU CAN VOTE FOR HER IN THE CATEGORIES OF BEST HORROR ACTRESS AND BEST FANTASY ACTRESS.

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