BY DAVID SERVER | Normally I wouldn't discuss events outside of an actual trip in one of these reports, but this was too weird not to mention, so just bear with me on this one. I was driving to hang out with some friends on my last night in Boston before I headed off to Prague, and more specifically, to the set of Guillermo del Toro's 'Hellboy'. I turned up my radio, and was shocked to hear the following lyrics -- "You're going straight to Hellboy." A few seconds later, I came to my senses and realized that they were actually singing 'you're going straight to hell, boy', which I later learned was part of the chorus to The Clash's song 'Straight to Hell.' Just a weird coincidence maybe, but still pretty cool. Not to mention more or less accurate -- 24 hours later, I was airborne and en route to Prague to check out the set of 'Hellboy'.

After one brief stop in Germany and an even briefer nap once I arrived at my hotel in Prague, I was ready to 'czech' everything out (get it? Prague? Czech? Nevermind...). I gave Guillermo a quick heads up, and he very casually informed me that a car would be by to pick me up in an hour, but he warned that I would 'be bored before I knew it.' The first day was a lot of things, but boring most certainly did not end up being one of them. When I arrived at the set in the car that Guillermo had sent over, the first thing I saw was a large group of nuns entering the building. This struck me as a little weird -- the movie *is* called HELLboy...but I adopted a wait and see policy. Once inside, everything was wooden infrastructure. I tried to figure out if this was a scene in some rooftop somewhere, or maybe an abandoned warehouse. I then went through a small door, and did a bit of a double take. Now I appeared to be in a New York subway station (movie sets can be great like that). As I looked around and took everything in, I heard a familiar voice call my name, and there in the thick of it all was the man himself, Guillermo del Toro, sitting in front of all the monitors in preparation for the next shot. I quickly headed over to him to say hey and get all caught up in what was going on. As I arrived, a friend of his was giving him a mountain of DVDs to pour through (Guillermo's offices are practically wallpapered in DVDs), and he received each DVD with even more joy than the previous one. We then exchanged a warm greeting, and we started up with the He1l-speak. He was eager to hear how the fans (that means you guys!) were responding to the new photos released through Hellsite, and if people were starting to become curious about Hellboy and who he was. I also commented on how cool it was to see Hellboy advertised on MovieFone so early, which he also seemed quite pleased about (he's a big fan of the new tagline featured in the ads, "From the other side, to our side").

I then got a quick update on what they were shooting all this week -- Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is battling the demon Sammael (Brian Steele) in a New York subway system, where Big Red gets knocked about a bit, and then almost hit by an oncoming train. In classic Hollywood style, however, there was no Sammael on set (except a prop torso), nor was there a train, as both were to be added by the effects team later on. Before they started shooting, I sat down (in Ron's chair, no less) to watch the chaos unfold. I took a quick look around to see what the rest of the set looked like. A long, dirty white subway hallway, complete with turnstiles and a track for the fictitious passing train. Looked pretty good to me. Dirtied brownish tiles label the location as 'Palmer Street' (a reference to producer Patrick Palmer). Czech and non-Czech crew populated the set, many wearing Hellboy T-shirts and caps, or reading the latest Wizard Magazine, as the extras waited to the side and got ready for an upcoming shot. Some prosthetics lay strewn around, including a stunt mask for Hellboy (which was excellent), the previously mentioned Sammael torso (you've all seen what he looks like now from the AICN shots, but in person it's way cooler), and last but not least, Hellboy's iconic Right Hand of Doom (which looks like they actually pulled it straight out of the comic). I was startled back into the moment by one of del Toro's blaring cries of "Aaaaaaaction!" (which sort of rumbles the immediate area around him, myself included). They proceeded to shoot a scene in which some debris falls through the ceiling of the subway station, startling the extras. Whatever it was that was supposed to fall was apparently going to be added later. They did this a few times, with Guillermo encouraging the extras to move faster and spread out more. Between shots, I asked if he would be present at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, where the entire Hellboy crew (del Toro, Perlman, and comic creator Mike Mignola had been present last year) has given a rousing presentation last year, along with a nifty exclusive Hellboy movie poster. He sadly replied that he would be too busy shooting (he clearly wishes he could make it), but that Hellboy's presence would be felt at the con regardless. As was mentioned in the interview that was posted with del Toro here on CountingDown earlier, the two posters will feature the good guys and the bad guys, with each poster labeled 'GOOD; and 'EVIL'. Guillermo said that he had originally wanted them to say 'WEIRD' for the heroes instead, but was afraid people wouldn't get it. He also showed me a sneak peek at the 'Good' poster -- very very cool. And, as a side note, Selma looks great as Liz. I was told to expect the official character biographies soon on Hellsite, and more photos to start popping up in the coming months.

Being a fan of the character Abe Sapien (who is HB's fishlike partner in the film, for you Non-'Boyers out there), I was informed that actor Doug Jones has wrapped his filming for the part one day prior to my arrival. Drat! Never one to let a fan be disappointed, however, Guillermo treated me to a quick clip they had shot recently of Abe swimming underwater. For those of you concerned that Abe looks too stiff in the promotional shot release recently, let me just say that you have *absolutely* nothing to worry about. Doug/Abe looks absolutely beautiful, and extremely fluid. Especially worth noting was Abe's fluttering gills, which added a lot to the shot. There were also digital touches to be added later, including Abe's sub-aquatic eyelids, so the shot will be even better in the finished film. It was a little weird, as the actual water was to be added to the shot later digitally, but Doug's mime skills are clearly in full force, so kudos to him. Abe fans should know that their favorite character is going to look great on film, so have no fear.

As I was getting over the coolness of the Abe footage, who should come in but Ron Perlman himself. Actually, it wasn't so much Ron as Hellboy himself, as Perlman was in full facial make-up and body suit (under a ripped black T-Shirt), minus the 'Hand', and with a little hole in his leather pants for the tail. I have to say, all ass-kissing aside, Ron looks truly great in make-up. As someone who was quite unimpressed with the first shot of Hellboy released by the studio, I have to say, even the much improved second photo doesn't do Rick Baker's make-up job justice. This man *is* Hellboy. His face is not the smooth visage that has fans concerned, but a craggy demon's face, with a scar running across his left cheek. His body suit makes him huge, looking as buff and dangerous as the Hellboy we all know and love from the comics. The horns look excellent up close. He's also wearing some groovy amber scalera contacts, which look pretty groovy. He gave me a quick but friendly greeting, having met him once before in San Diego at the Comic-Con, and we then proceeded to chat for a bit about how the shoot was going. He seems to be having a great time, even enduring the constant make-up sessions. He was especially impressed with Rick Baker's sculpting and prosthetics of Hellboy shirtless, which Perlman admitted he had only seen for the first time the night before. He commented that it struck him as, above all else, "powerful" and "beautiful". All this and more can be found in the Perlman interview posted here earlier.

Between shots, the Guillermo and Ron would often pound back Red Bulls (an appropriately popular drink on the set). As I waited for shooting to continue, I was shown a couple...well, ok, a *lot* of images from the shoot thus far. And when I say a lot, I mean really a lot of stuff. Let me just say, as someone who considers myself a serious Hellboy fan, I was not only not worried by anything I saw in there, but now I am even more stoked to see the flick then I was before. Bruttenholm looks perfect, the BPRD is extremely cool, Selma (while she doesn't seem to have red hair) looks excellent too. Visually, there really isn't anything that will worry you guys, so just know that. In the interest of keeping the movie slightly under wraps, I won't continue here. But suffice to say, the movie is gonna look awesome. If the performances are half as good as the visual design, we're in for a really big treat.

*BOOM!* I quickly looked up to see what had happened, only to realize that the Hellboy stunt double had just been yanked on a wire through some of the turnstiles. Pretty cool shot. Apparently like they didn't get it quite as Guillermo had wanted it, so they had to do another take (which takes about 15-20 minutes to set up). After the second attempt, all were pleased with how it looked, and it was time to move on. I then actually got to see Ron in *full* costume for the first time, including his dusty and beaten BPRD coat (the cape flap over his shoulders looks great), his tail (which is, y'know, a tail), and the articulated Right Hand of Doom. Very cool stuff. After some playful teasing about Ron having to get strapped into his harness for the shot ("I'm like a workhorse! Just strap the ole' saddle on..."), they were ready to continue. In the next shot, HB gets knocked just to the edge of the train track, where he slides to a stop, looks at an oncoming train (also to be added later with CG), and says, (you guessed it) "Aw crap."

I couldn't think of a better way to close out Day 1 than with the classic Hellboy one-liner, but I got one anyways. After shooting had wrapped and I walked off the set (for some reason I was almost surprised that I in fact *wasn't* in a real New York city subway station), Guillermo asked if I needed a ride back to the hotel. So, that's just what I got. In the same bus as Guillermo himself, as well as Director of Photography Guillermo Navarro! Exhausted, and thoroughly geeked out, I thanked Guillermo for the first of many times, and prepare to get some much deserved sleep in preparation for Day 2...