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Lawrence filmmaker Jeremy Osbern. Photo by Richard Gintowt

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By Richard Gintowt (Contact)

Monday, February 27, 2006

For more than a decade, “CSA: The Confederate States of America” has been the Lawrence film scene’s 10-ton guerilla.

Written and directed by KU film professor Kevin Willmott, the film’s 14-year journey from an unpolished script to a headline-grabbing “Spike Lee joint” has involved the better part of Lawrence’s film community.

Now that the “CSA” journey is nearing its completion (the film opens in Lawrence on March 10), a pressing question arises:

What next?

“We need another theatrical release and we need people to keep making films and bringing more people into the film community,” Willmott says.

“That’s how these things always get started. Austin didn’t start out of nowhere — it started by people staying there and making films, and eventually it became a mecca for independent films.”

“The more breaks you get, the more breaks come to that community,” he adds.

“That’s the key. When you get a chance to make a film with a budget, then you try to get some of that money back to the community that’s been supporting you instead of just going out to Los Angeles and forgetting about where you came from.”

homeTown pride

The traditional rule-of-thumb for aspiring filmmakers is to get an education and promptly pack your bags for L.A. or New York. That’s started to change in the digital age — where feature-length movies can be made in any locale on realistic budgets.

Chris Ordal is part of a growing group of young Lawrence filmmakers who are making a commitment to building the very scene they could just as well leap into by leaving town.

“One of the reasons we started our company is because we wanted to make an actual scene here, so we wouldn’t have to leave, and more importantly, so that people behind us wouldn’t have to leave,” says the 24-year-old Ordal, who teamed with former KU film students Brendon Glad and Brad Roszell to form a production company called homeTown collaboraTions.

“If we’re making a bunch of films, but nobody’s getting paid — we don’t have a scene,” Ordal says. “For all of the films that we’re working on now, we’ve secured budgets ahead of time, so we’re not telling people, ‘When this gets big, you’ll make your money’.”

Such advance budgets are the exception to the typical college-town formula of writing a script, enlisting some theater-buff actors and taking out a line of credit for a digital video camera and a computer. It’s the kind of professional atmosphere that young filmmakers covet, and thanks to some workhorse business dealings, homeTown producTions is in the preliminary phases of two such films: “Motherfucker,” a documentary about a popular New York hipster party, and “Earthwork,” a feature film profiling Kansas artist Stan Herd.

“We’re going in with a plan, so that when we do get movies made … they’ll be sold,” Ordal says. “If you go to any city in the county, somebody about our age is making a feature-length independent film. Only the people who are smart enough to tackle the business end of it and the marketing are the people who are going to be seen.”

Ordal, who helped film and edit portions of “CSA,” says that the Sundance experience helped him and his peers realize that they need to “step it up.”

“Those of us who were close enough in the circle to watch that whole progression learned a lot about the industry and the ways that decisions are made,” he says. “It puts us well ahead of the game.”

Realistically, Ordal says, it will take another five years for Lawrence to start becoming a “legitimate” film scene like Austin. But many seeds are already sown: a national breakthrough in the form of “CSA,” a university-spawned community of filmmakers and a collaborative group of dedicated creative thinkers who don’t plan on leaving.

“Everybody needs to take a step back and realize that if we want to make Lawrence a legitimate film scene, we need to have ‘CSA’s coming out on a regular basis,” Ordal says. “People talk about how Austin had a film scene that started about ten years ago, but I bet five or ten years before that it was where we are.”

Green acres

A glance at the current local landscape reveals half-a-dozen feature-length films in progress. The writers, producers, crews and casts overlap, indicating a desire on the part of each participant to be involved in whichever project breaks through to wider acclaim.

Patrick Rea is hoping “The Empty Acre” will be the first out of the gate. The 26-year-old director recently completed his long-incubating film with the help of his SenoReality Pictures team, which includes co-producers Stephen Deaver, Ryan Jones and Bob McGee. Conceived as an “X-Files”-esque thriller, the 105-minute film straddles the line between suspense and horror and features an all-local cast.

“One thing you don’t want to do with your first full-length movie is pigeonhole yourself into making something that’s like everything else,” Rea says. “It shows a little range — we don’t have to just do horror movies.”

Now that the film is complete, the real uphill battle will be selling it. Rea says his best-case scenario is to find a distributor that will give “The Empty Acre” a proper straight-to-DVD release.

“Many movies are making more money on DVD now than they are in the theaters,” Rea says. “The DVD market is booming, and because of that it’s not really a stigma anymore.”

Like Ordal, Rea learned much from his involvement with “CSA” (he contributed storyboarding and animation to the film’s fake commercials). The main revelation, Rea says, was how long the selling and distributing process can take.

“We’ve only spent two years on (‘The Empty Acre’), so we really don’t have anything to complain about,” he says. “There’s a lot of local actors that are in it and they want to see it, but I want to show it to them when it gets sold.”

“They’re outside my house with torches and pitchforks,” he jokes. “At the same time, they understand why I’m doing it … I want them to have the best impression possible.”

That’s because even if Rea were to sell the movie, he’d likely have to return to the editing room and/or film additional scenes at the request of the distributor. To get to that point, however, Rea must play a cat-and-mouse game to try and sell his film for the highest price possible.

“You kind of have to put your game face on and not show what you spent,” he says. “If you say that it was $50,000 and it gets in the papers that it’s $50,000, then whoever decides to buy it will give you $55,000.”

To that end, Rea and his crew spent copious amounts of time lighting the film properly and editing it smoothly. If it looks like a million bucks, it could fetch as much — no matter where it came from.

“The common idea of having to go to Los Angeles to succeed in film is slowly evaporating,” Rea says. “If we were doing what we’re doing right now in LA we’d be dead, or in huge financial trouble … If you have a good idea and some talent, you can compete.”

L.A. confidential

Lawrence’s resources only go so deep, however, and local filmmakers can benefit from connections with coastal types — particularly those who began their careers in Kansas.

Ethan Shaftel of easyAction pictures is one such filmmaker. The 24-year-old Free State High School graduate drops $600 a month to share a small apartment in Los Angeles in hopes of building a cadre of relationships that will take his career to the next level. He holds down a day job designing DVD board games, but his labor of love is a feature film titled “RestEZ” that is currently in post-production.

Shaftel and his Lawrence-based partner Alec Joler shot most of the film in Kansas, a decision based largely on the fact that it’s easier to shut down streets and obtain permits here than it is in LA. The disadvantage of shooting in Kansas, Shaftel says, is the limited web of film-industry resources.

“Out here I can throw a stone and hit a filmmaker and it turns out ‘Hey, they own a Steadicam’ or ‘Hey, they have a car-mount in their basement,’” Shaftel says. “In Lawrence and Kansas City, if you ask everybody you know and they don’t have a solution to a problem — that’s about all you’re going to get.”

Shaftel says he was impressed with the “very active” Lawrence film scene that he connected with while filming “RestEZ.”

“The key with filmmaking is your community,” Shaftel says. “Perhaps the bonds are even closer than when you’re in a big city where lots of people are doing what you’re doing … I was really surprised at all the resources that are available (in Lawrence) — it’s just that there are so many more out here (in L.A.).”

Shaftel estimates that he would have been able to audition “10 to 20 times” as many actors if he held casting sessions in LA. Once the movie is complete, he hopes to take advantage of a short list of connections that could help get his movie sold.

“That little list — maybe eight names long — I just wouldn’t have if I didn’t move out to Los Angeles,” Shaftel says. “They’re not the super powerful and the super rich, but they’re people who are actually decision makers when it comes to getting movies made and forming the career of a young filmmaker.”

Shaftel is trying to convince Joler to move out to Los Angeles, but he knows that “RestEZ” may have one advantage if Joler stays put.

“One thing that really lights people’s imagination in Los Angeles is the idea of a good, wholesome Midwestern kid using a camera to tell a real story,” Shaftel says.

“It’s still a romantic notion that people get excited about.”

Lawrence feature films in progress:

“RestEZ”

Story: A new drug allows you to “push the pause button on life.”

Key players: Alec Joler and Ethan Shaftel (directors), Aris Blevins (writer)

Current status: Post-production

Why it could be big: Shaftel moved to LA to build a network of industry resources.

More info

“Rigged”

Story: A female boxer fights through deception

Key players: Lawrence-based contributors include Bobby McGee (producer) and Hanuman Brown-Eagle (cinematographer)

Current status: “About 90 percent done” and looking for a buyer

Why it could be big: Intricate character development, slick cinematography and a lead actor who “kind of looks like Tom Cruise.”

More info

“The Empty Acre”

Story: An “X-Files-esque” thriller set in Kansas

Key players: Patrick Rea (director), Stephen Deaver (co-producer), Ryan Jones (sound/effects/animation) and Josh Robison (editing)

Current status: Finished and seeking a buyer

Why it could be big: The straight-to-DVD horror/thriller market is booming.

More info

“Wilt of Kansas”

Story: A biopic of Wilt Chamberlain

Key players: Kevin Willmott (director), Rick Cowan (producer), Scott Richardson (co-writer)

Current status: Casting and fundraising

Why it could be big: Willmott can build on the success of “CSA” to raise more money and get better theatrical distribution.

“Air”

Story: Feature-length musical with three interweaving love stories

Key players: Jeremy Osbern and Chris Blunk of Through A Glass Productions

Current status: 60 percent finished with filming

Why it could be big: Shot entirely on 35mm film (cost: $250 for four minutes) and features a musical score from Kansas songwriter Steven Unruh.

More info

Miles Bonny / Organic Proof (on the patio) :: Veteran area groovists Miles Bonny and Organic Proof (pictured) kick off a series of first-Saturday shows under the stars with full hip-hop, soul, funk, and jazz flavors ... More info

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