Damaged

Read below about a Film project shot in Green Bay, WI

Green Bay, Wisconsin is an unlikely place for a film community to pop up, but that’s pretty much what happened. The Independent Filmmaker’s Guild started up in December of 2004 and making it possible to network with other non-professional, wannabe movie makers. The possibility of getting something done tends to get easier when you find there are plenty of people ready to help- even something as crazy as making a movie.
When I tried to make my first feature in 1996, an ill-conceived, poorly written comedy that nobody understood, there were only a few thousand things that could go wrong. Most of them did and the movie sits in a back closet of my house, on ¾ inch tapes- a format I can’t easily upload to my mighty Mac and edit at a leisurely pace. What’s the diff anyway; the movie would still stink and instead of being a curiosity it would be confirmation that my skills, whatever they might be, hadn’t taken up residence yet.
It also cost me a butt-load of money that I couldn’t afford to throw away- and that was before I had a wife and two kids.
Paul Rinehard was responsible for that debacle, but only in a roundabout way. I’d worked with him on one of his films, "All You Can Eat," the year before and realized that it wasn’t impossible to make a movie in Titletown. Paul even managed to find a distributor for "All You Can Eat," driving the idea that there might be a payday at some point too. I don’t blame Paul for those ideas getting into my head- he didn’t put them there- but it sure did irritate me for a long time that he was able to finish with a coherent picture and I was left with a whole bunch of… well, poop.
What was I to say when Paul asked me to produce a movie for him? I can’t say I jumped at the opportunity. Not that I doubted him in the least, it’s just that I had a project of my own I’d hoped to get started with in the next few months. Either that or move to Florida. I couldn’t decide which would be a better use of my funds.
Eventually I gave Paul a straight answer: "Maybe." I just needed to read the script. I did and thought it showed lots of promise. Paul and I spent months getting it ready to shoot, with Paul doing all of the hard work. I made suggestions and even helped steer a thing or two, but all the writing was done by Paul- even the bad jokes that sound like something I would have said.
Casting is the area that I take the most pride in on this film, mostly because I got exactly the cast I wanted. I either coerced or convinced Paul that I knew the perfect actors for his movie.
Tiffaney Dantinne was someone I knew from IFG. I knew she was talented and knowledgeable about filmmaking. When I knew she could do better than her first audition (early morning after a weekend bender I’m guessing) I suggested she audition for Paul with another actor. She did much better and earned the part.
I went to college with Shad Bever and always wanted to work with him on something. He’d ignored my advances for over a decade and probably only accepted this role because he found out I wasn’t directing the movie myself.
Sadie Rinehard didn’t get her role because she was Paul’s daughter, she got it because she did a great audition.
Barb Alloy and Kathy Hardtke were two ladies that Paul and I had both worked with before and were hoping to bring into this dysfunctional family. Fortunately they were both willing and able.
There was a lot of discussion about the overall look and feel of the film. Paul and I both believed that for DAMAGED to work it had to be unsettling from beginning to end. I’m a big fan of "N.Y.P.D. Blue" and the style of camera work that Greg Hobblit brought to it that first season. I’d also enjoyed Paul Greengrass’ hand held camera work in "The Bourne Supremacy," and believed that the style would work for our movie as well. The rapid fire editing would make Peter Hunt hold on for dear life, but it was exactly what we needed for this movie to work. It certainly didn’t make it easier.
Most of the feedback has been positive, though you’ll always be able to find dullards who lock everything down on a tripod. Me? I love the Bogen, but not for this movie. DAMAGED is meant to be a disturbing experience. We never want you to be a fly on the wall- we want you to be in the room with the psycho killer, looking for a shadow to hide behind.
Shooting started in October of 2006 and lasted for five weeks. We did have one minor hiccup- one of the people who was raising money for us wasn’t delivering. The money that he assured us would be available was going to make the whole shoot easier… if it actually was available.
A week before we were going to start Paul asked me if I thought we should wait for the money. I decided to not wait, mainly because we had a schedule and the actors and crew were fired up to get started. I didn’t want to throw out a speed bump, even if it meant I’d be paying for the shoot from my own pocket. It’s a good thing we started without the money since we’d still be waiting.
The shoot went remarkably well, possibly the smoothest shoot I’ve ever been involved with. The weather cooperated with us and Paul’s house remained standing while we shot there. My stepmother left town for a weekend and we "spilled blood" in her bath tub- a grizzly shot that appears in the movie for about three seconds.
Our cast and crew came through in spades; top notch work from every single person. Craig Knitt and I split the shooting (with his new Canon XLH), Scott Willems recorded the sound for us and Paul’s sons were our P.A.s.
Post production lasted five months longer than we wanted. Chris Opper and I edited 95% of the movie, then Craig came in and polished it up, added the bells, whistles and special effects. Robert Graf added a few digital effects that I defy you to find- they blend so seamlessly into the practical video. The result is a movie we’re very proud of.
The premiere was held on August 26, 2007 at the Meyer Theater in GreenBay. The first twenty-five people that showed up were at least sixty years old- hardly the audience we imagined. By showtime we had 240 people, half a dozen of which didn’t remain until the end credits. We took it as a sign that we’d done something right.
So now it’s a year later, we have a great movie and I’m broke. I’m sure fame, fortune and gainful employment are not too far away but so far a commercial sale has eluded us. But then it’s only been four months since we premiered. I’m sure Kevin Smith sat on "Clerks" for years… right?
No… Oh well. I think we have a better movie.

Green Bay, Wisconsin is an unlikely place for a film community to pop up, but that’s pretty much what happened. The Independent Filmmaker’s Guild started up in December of 2004 and making it possible to network with other non-professional, wannabe movie makers. The possibility of getting something done tends to get easier when you find there are plenty of people ready to help- even something as crazy as making a movie.
When I tried to make my first feature in 1996, an ill-conceived, poorly written comedy that nobody understood, there were only a few thousand things that could go wrong. Most of them did and the movie sits in a back closet of my house, on ¾ inch tapes- a format I can’t easily upload to my mighty Mac and edit at a leisurely pace. What’s the diff anyway; the movie would still stink and instead of being a curiosity it would be confirmation that my skills, whatever they might be, hadn’t taken up residence yet.
It also cost me a butt-load of money that I couldn’t afford to throw away- and that was before I had a wife and two kids.
Paul Rinehard was responsible for that debacle, but only in a roundabout way. I’d worked with him on one of his films, "All You Can Eat," the year before and realized that it wasn’t impossible to make a movie in Titletown. Paul even managed to find a distributor for "All You Can Eat," driving the idea that there might be a payday at some point too. I don’t blame Paul for those ideas getting into my head- he didn’t put them there- but it sure did irritate me for a long time that he was able to finish with a coherent picture and I was left with a whole bunch of… well, poop.
What was I to say when Paul asked me to produce a movie for him? I can’t say I jumped at the opportunity. Not that I doubted him in the least, it’s just that I had a project of my own I’d hoped to get started with in the next few months. Either that or move to Florida. I couldn’t decide which would be a better use of my funds.
Eventually I gave Paul a straight answer: "Maybe." I just needed to read the script. I did and thought it showed lots of promise. Paul and I spent months getting it ready to shoot, with Paul doing all of the hard work. I made suggestions and even helped steer a thing or two, but all the writing was done by Paul- even the bad jokes that sound like something I would have said.
Casting is the area that I take the most pride in on this film, mostly because I got exactly the cast I wanted. I either coerced or convinced Paul that I knew the perfect actors for his movie.
Tiffaney Dantinne was someone I knew from IFG. I knew she was talented and knowledgeable about filmmaking. When I knew she could do better than her first audition (early morning after a weekend bender I’m guessing) I suggested she audition for Paul with another actor. She did much better and earned the part.
I went to college with Shad Bever and always wanted to work with him on something. He’d ignored my advances for over a decade and probably only accepted this role because he found out I wasn’t directing the movie myself.
Sadie Rinehard didn’t get her role because she was Paul’s daughter, she got it because she did a great audition.
Barb Alloy and Kathy Hardtke were two ladies that Paul and I had both worked with before and were hoping to bring into this dysfunctional family. Fortunately they were both willing and able.
There was a lot of discussion about the overall look and feel of the film. Paul and I both believed that for DAMAGED to work it had to be unsettling from beginning to end. I’m a big fan of "N.Y.P.D. Blue" and the style of camera work that Greg Hobblit brought to it that first season. I’d also enjoyed Paul Greengrass’ hand held camera work in "The Bourne Supremacy," and believed that the style would work for our movie as well. The rapid fire editing would make Peter Hunt hold on for dear life, but it was exactly what we needed for this movie to work. It certainly didn’t make it easier.
Most of the feedback has been positive, though you’ll always be able to find dullards who lock everything down on a tripod. Me? I love the Bogen, but not for this movie. DAMAGED is meant to be a disturbing experience. We never want you to be a fly on the wall- we want you to be in the room with the psycho killer, looking for a shadow to hide behind.
Shooting started in October of 2006 and lasted for five weeks. We did have one minor hiccup- one of the people who was raising money for us wasn’t delivering. The money that he assured us would be available was going to make the whole shoot easier… if it actually was available.
A week before we were going to start Paul asked me if I thought we should wait for the money. I decided to not wait, mainly because we had a schedule and the actors and crew were fired up to get started. I didn’t want to throw out a speed bump, even if it meant I’d be paying for the shoot from my own pocket. It’s a good thing we started without the money since we’d still be waiting.
The shoot went remarkably well, possibly the smoothest shoot I’ve ever been involved with. The weather cooperated with us and Paul’s house remained standing while we shot there. My stepmother left town for a weekend and we "spilled blood" in her bath tub- a grizzly shot that appears in the movie for about three seconds.
Our cast and crew came through in spades; top notch work from every single person. Craig Knitt and I split the shooting (with his new Canon XLH), Scott Willems recorded the sound for us and Paul’s sons were our P.A.s.
Post production lasted five months longer than we wanted. Chris Opper and I edited 95% of the movie, then Craig came in and polished it up, added the bells, whistles and special effects. Robert Graf added a few digital effects that I defy you to find- they blend so seamlessly into the practical video. The result is a movie we’re very proud of.
The premiere was held on August 26, 2007 at the Meyer Theater in GreenBay. The first twenty-five people that showed up were at least sixty years old- hardly the audience we imagined. By showtime we had 240 people, half a dozen of which didn’t remain until the end credits. We took it as a sign that we’d done something right.
So now it’s a year later, we have a great movie and I’m broke. I’m sure fame, fortune and gainful employment are not too far away but so far a commercial sale has eluded us. But then it’s only been four months since we premiered. I’m sure Kevin Smith sat on "Clerks" for years… right?
No… Oh well. I think we have a better movie.

The new Blog talk raido show and numbrer 2 for the week I am happy to have the great Joseph C Mistretta of the Four Finger Effects-Cutting Crew talk about Backwoods Bloodbath and other projects. Later I will be joined by Maureen Cashin Bolg of Actor's Craft on her acting classes and workshops.
Who else brings you all the film news in Wisconsin?