Coffee, Cardboard & Chaos: Props for My Dave Grohl Documentary

Have you ever stared at a cardboard box at 5:30 a.m. and thought, “Yeah, this is gonna be a Grammy-winning prop”? No? Just me? Welcome to the very early mornings of working on my Dave Grohl documentary, where the coffee is strong, the glue guns are hot, and I’m still wondering how I got myself into this glorious chaos.

Let’s rewind a bit.

I’m currently in pre-production for Out of the Wishing Well, a wild, heartfelt, slightly chaotic documentary about my adventures with Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters. (Yes, that Dave Grohl. Yes, I’m crying - but it’s from the glue gun fumes in my eye.) The whole thing is a love letter to music and the glorious messiness of a creative life. You can follow the journey HERE.

Up early making a mess

But today’s story? It’s about movie props. And how, when you’re making a music documentary for the first time, that can mean turning your garage into a chaotic workshop before sunrise.

For some of the more fun scenes in my Grohl documentary, I’m including skits and playful recreations.  The solution? Props. DIY movie props for music films, to be exact.

So at 5 a.m., while the world sleeps, I’m cutting up cardboard hoping I don’t slice my thumb open pre-caffeine kick-in.  Is this prop historically accurate? Debatable. Is it hilarious? Absolutely. Well, I hope so!

Is there a Dave Grohl documentary in the works?

Yep. Mine. Surprise! I’m the one making the Dave Grohl film, a personal and offbeat look into fun adventures I had many years ago when I was younger, had more hair and less wrinkles.  Whenever I’m working on this, I always think of that deleted scene from the Sound City Documentary where Dave visits his old friend Barrett Jones and he jokes about his forearms hitting his love handles whenever he’s walking around.  Lol.  

Whether I’m building a tiny Foo Fighters stage out of cereal boxes or rigging a fan to blow someone’s hair back for that “stadium moment,” I know these props — these absurd little creations — are helping bring the story to life.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a fake tour bus to build out of a rolling laundry basket. See you at sunrise.

In case you didn't know, the other guy in this post, is someone I worked on Hollywood movies with!