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| March, 2003 |
| Seattle Times Low budget, big dreams: Filmmaker shoots her first feature in Everett (article added 03/27/03) By Moira Macdonald Seattle Times movie critic It takes a village to make a movie, and right now the village for the independent film Evergreen is gathered in an elegant Everett kitchen, helping writer/director Enid Zentelis' dream come true. Zentelis, a 32-year-old Northwest native, watches intently as actor Bruce Davison (X-Men) grabs Mary Kay Place (The Big Chill) and tries to drag her across the shiny floor, as Noah Fleiss and 14-year-old Seattle actor Addie Land look on. They rehearse the argument over and over, finding the right emotions while meticulously choreographing their actions � arm goes here, keys get picked up there. It's early afternoon on a busy shooting day for Evergreen, Zentelis' first feature, about a young woman and her mother struggling with poverty in a small Northwest town. Production for the film continues in Everett through March 30. It's rare to see a crew this size, and actors of this stature, appearing in a low-budget film. (Pennies are watched here; after Davison opens a beer bottle for this scene, a crew member carefully replaces the cap, so it can be re-used.) But Evergreen seems to be under a lucky star. Zentelis was selected to attend the prestigious Sundance Screenwriters Lab in Utah in 2000, and has spent the years since refining and polishing the screenplay. The film attracted its high-powered cast on the strength of its writing � it's the kind of real-person ensemble story that actors clamor to do. "We were very moved by the script � in its specificity, it's very much a universal story about identity, about a young girl who confuses material success with her own self-worth," said Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance Institute's feature film program, who helped single out Zentelis' screenplay. The program has assisted such feature films as Boys Don't Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Smoke Signals, and many more. Since Zentelis' time at Sundance, where she worked closely with the institute's creative advisers (many of whom are Oscar-winning screenwriters), the institute has helped her in numerous other ways � assisting with casting, finding producers, sending the script out to potential funding sources. Satter said the institute also provided donations of camera equipment, film and lab processing, through grants made to Sundance. "Once we select a project," said Satter, "we stay involved on an ongoing, year-round basis." On a short break from shooting, Zentelis talked about how, in writing the screenplay, she looked back to her hometown � to "people and places that I know, as well as elements of the times." She cites a quote from Newt Gingrich several years ago, about how the poor should "grow their own economy," that inspired her to think about the difference between haves and have-nots, and to craft a story about a poor girl and a rich boy, and their families. Though the Evergreen town is unnamed, it's inspired by Zentelis' fondness for the Northwest. Growing up poor outside Bellingham, she said, "the landscape pretty much saved me." Though she still has family in the Northwest, Zentelis has lived on the East Coast for some time, earning a B.A. from Hampshire College in Massachusetts and an MFA from New York University's graduate film program. In New York, she made several award-winning short films, and last year directed a staged reading of Evergreen at the Tribeca Film Center, in which several of the film's current actors participated. The cast, said Zentelis, was attracted by the screenplay, and by the opportunity to work in an ensemble � and the final roster (which also includes Gary Farmer, Lynn Cohen and Cara Seymour, Nicolas Cage's love interest in Adaptation) is everything the young writer/director could have wished. Zentelis says she wrote the role of Susan with Place in mind, but never dreamed she'd be available to do it. And she's especially proud of Land, a student at Seattle's Nova High School, who's making her film debut in Evergreen as the central character, young Henri. "Addie just has a very real, very soulful quality. A lot of kids (who study acting) are trained to lose that, early on," said Zentelis, who chose Land after holding numerous auditions of local teens. The Evergreen producers assembled a crew of about 30 that's mostly local and, unusually, mostly female ("it's a film about women, by and large run by women" said Zentelis). For location, Bellingham was felt to be too distant from Seattle (where much of the film's equipment was rented), but Everett had the right small-town look, said line producer Fran Dunaway, who's among the many local members of the crew. A few scenes were shot in Marysville, and one at Bellevue Community College's studio, but mostly the film is being shot here in Everett, where the city "parted the waters with hospitality," said Dunaway, helping the crew with locations, lodging and whatever was needed. One of the movie's major locations is the home of Davison and Place's characters, an elegant Everett home overlooking the water, complete with tennis court, swimming pool, gated entrance and posh interior d�cor. To obtain use of the house, "I just knocked on the door and asked," said Dunaway, who acted as the film's locations manager. It's a triumph for Evergreen to have gotten this far � so many independent films never make it to production. But more work remains. Executive producer Scott Rosenfelt (Smoke Signals, Mystic Pizza), on the Everett set, says he's hoping for an eventual art-house release, but that's still a long way off. Right now, the plan is to have a cut of Evergreen completed by end of summer, to meet deadlines for major festivals such as Sundance. But meanwhile, the cast and crew work efficiently to keep to their tight shooting schedule. Zentelis, seeming remarkably at ease for a first-time feature director, watches Davison and Place go through their paces, and gives some quiet advice to Land. Then the camera rolls, capturing the scene from a variety of angles. "That's it," says Zentelis, finally. "That's good." And the village goes into motion, moving on to the next scene, capturing a dream. Copyright � 2003 The Seattle Times Company Mary Kay's film Killer Diller (formerly known as Bottleneck) is in post production. (article added 3/27/03) Plot Outline: A group of misfits at a small Baptist college form the Killer Diller Blues Band. It's based on the book, Killer Diller by Clyde Edgerton. Bottleneck stars Will Lee Scott, Fred Willard, Lucas Black, W. Earl Brown, Ashley Johnson, and Mary Kay Place, among others. The feature was filmed in the Missouri towns of Fayette, Glasgow, Booneville and Columbia. Bottleneck is the story of a group of misfits at a halfway house in a small college town who discover a common bond in blues music. Producers have not yet announced the stars of the film. Tricia Brock, a native of Columbia, is the writer and director of the film, based on the novel Killer Diller by well-known novelist Clyde Edgerton. The book is set in North Carolina, but Brock thought that her native Missouri might provide the ideal locations. The main location is a small college town, with a picturesque college campus. �I mentioned it to my mom, who still lives in Columbia,� said Brock, who now resides in southern California, �and she said, �it sounds like you want Central Methodist College in Fayette.� So I called the film commission, asked them for pictures, and when I saw them, I said, �Mom�s right!�� �I think I first talked to Tricia�s mom, a couple of years ago,� said Jerry Jones, director of the Missouri Film Commission in the Department of Economic Development. �Her mom called and said her daughter had a project that might work in Missouri. Then I heard from Tricia.� Last summer, Brock called to ask for pictures of small college campuses around the state, but especially Central Methodist. The film office scouted, photographed and submitted a half dozen possibilities, but Central Methodist seemed to have everything the project required. Brock and her producers traveled to Missouri in August to meet with film commission and tour Fayette and the neighboring locations. They were not disappointed in what they found. �The locations were incredible. We were finding almost everything we needed, and they were dead-on,� Brock said. �And the people were equally incredible. Everyone at the college, in the towns, was bending over backwards to help.� After months of preparation and planning, the film is ready for a spring start. The long prep time did not dampen the enthusiasm for the project from any party involved. (From The Missouri Film Commission) |
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