A bad day
In the overall scope of things, production on “The Dead Can’t Dance” has been relatively trouble-free. Sure there are scheduling problems, there were some special effects problems, there are lots of little things that can, do and will go wrong. We just have to stay flexible, change and adapt. Welcome to the world of independent filmmaking with no budget.
But there haven’t been any true roadblocks, or a day gone completely to hell — until now.
Yesterday we drove to Burrton, KS, to shoot at an old gas station I had discovered a while back. It was in town but set against a large grassy field and on a dirt road. It looked like it was in the middle of nowhere, which was perfect. (Although it didn’t have a storefront, so it wasn’t too perfect.)
We tried for months to get permission to use the gas station, through our Burrton contact, Montie, who said he would be more than happy to help us out (he’s a friend of Jack’s). Anyway, Craig and Brandon tried several times to get ahold of the actual owner but with no success, and Montie didn’t return calls. Finally, though, he did and he told Craig everything was cool with our shooting there. Then we had to switch dates. Craig’s scooter got stolen (which sucks) so he was pre-occupied with other things, so I had Brandon try to call Montie. He did. Montie said no problem, we’re good to go.
So we went. We loaded up everything into three carloads and made the 45-minute trek out.
When we got there, though, it immediately started raining, and I was very stressed out about the weather. It was cloudy with a 30 percent chance for rain. But the rain eventually subsided, and things looked good. It looked like we were actually going to get through the shoot. Awesome.
The gas station wasn’t manned by anyone, people just showed up and got gas with a credit card. And working around them wasn’t easy. When I was there months ago, hardly any cars pulled through. Cars yesterday seemed to come in spurts, so we had to pause and let them do their business, and some trucks rolled through, and nearby there was a man working a salvage yard. All very loudly. And we had some curious people drive through just to see what we were doing.
But we were managing. We got there about noon, were finally set up and rolling probably about 1. Then at one point, an older man pulled up and came over to talk to us. He didn’t seem too friendly at first. I told him we had talked to Montie, and he said, “So?”
Then I further explained what we were doing, that these were the opening shots of the movie and what the story was about. He laughed. And things seemed to be OK. I asked if it was OK if we were there and he said yes. I thanked him profusely, and he got in his truck and left. Cool. Everything seemed all right.
But much later, about 6, he showed up again with a very angry wife. She asked who was in charge, and I went to talk to her. She was very rude, very cross, and I tried to explain that we thought we had permission to shoot there. She yelled at us, and said that we didn’t. We apologized. I mean, it wasn’t like we were trying to sneak onto the premises and get away with something. We had a canopy set up with lawn chairs and a table — we were obviously there.
Anyway, she told us to get off the premises immediately. Again, very, very rude. And it’s their right — it’s their property. It just could have been handled differently. She didn’t understand, and there was no reasoning with her.
So we packed up and left — and our entire day was wasted. To make matters worse, we were probably an hour or two from being finished. The opening scenes of the film would have been shot.
And it’s not like this isn’t hard enough — getting everyone together, coordinating everything, making use of Guy while we have him, working on TJ’s days off, etc. So it was heartbreaking that everything we had done was completely useless. Unfinished and wasted. We can’t use any of it. We have to start all over on that scene.
We all came back with our tails between our legs, and I felt humiliated and broken. Seriously bummed out.
So this day was a low point. And I told everyone I’d rather that this happen now instead of completely finishing the movie and having it tied up in legal matters should they object. In the overall scheme, it’s just one day. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. We were so close. But, oh well.
And this is why we always get release forms signed. We always cover our bases, go through the correct channels. This time we didn’t — we relied on what we thought was an insider contact, and it reached up and bit us. A very important lesson learned.
So it’ll take a day for the sting to wear off. I woke up today extremely depressed and doubting myself. What in the world have I gotten myself into? Why did I ever think I could pull this off? How are we ever going to finish this film?
But we will. We will regroup, start all over and find another location, and just forge ahead. Somehow. I’ve had crushing blows like this before and refused to give up, so I’ll refuse to give up again.
But maybe not until tomorrow.
-r.
