Atlantis, Iceland shoot – day 3
Lucky Records was the destination for the first activity on Day 3. It was there we were to meet Dr Gunni – Gunnar Lárus Hjálmarsson – musician, chronicler of the history of punk music in Iceland, author of Blue Eyed Pop – the history of popular music in Iceland (amongst other publications) and a great guy to meet.
The connection with Dr Gunni “just materialised”. As a going away gift, Morgan (one of Rick’s daughters-in-law) found what she thought would be ideal. A copy of Blue Eyed Pop. In arranging the book (which arrived in Rick’s hands the day before leaving for Iceland) in an email Morgan mentioned to Dr Gunni what Living Not Beige Films was up to. Gunni was interested and suggested we get in touch. Which we did.
Gunni also told us that the punk museum would open while we were in Reykjavík, inviting us to come along. Being the shy retiring types we said “thanks but we have a full schedule”. NOT!
Then, the Thursday before we left, Airwaves announced that John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) would be here to open the Museum. And we would be there – but we’re getting ahead of ourselves – that’s day 6 and we’re still 3 days away from that. All the same, we had started to get a feeling that with the way things were happening, we were meant to make this film and the catch cry was born “of course, because this is Atlantis, Iceland”.
After a fantastic interview with Gunni, it was off to meet the Vikings (real Vikings, of course, not the sanitised, TV types). Editor and lead camera Cole managed to strike a blow in the side-project Revenge of the Larsens, before tacking a difficult scene in yet another side-project, Scorned in Reykjavik, with leading actor Alf (more widely known from her earlier works as Álfheiður).
And then it was time to rock and roll with our first band filming – Pink Street Boys at their Pink Street rehearsal studio (hence the band name). The rollicking performance in thier tiny rehearsal space was a challenge to the camera crew, but their adaptability and that of their equipment shone through, handling the tight environment with great success.
Another great day’s work and it was back to the Residence, to download, backup, de-brief, empty a bottle or two.
