Twin City Talkie

Before you delve into this article, I suggest you make a quick offering to Jobu, because I’m about to throw a serious curveball your way.  You see, I intended this post to be about Rochester’s International Film Festival, and technically, it is.  However, as part of my attendance, I received a very interesting (and local) glimpse into the world and challenges of independent filmmaking.  That’s what I want to cover in this post.

One of the films being shown at the festival was titled, “Spirits of St. Paul: The Gangster Era”.  This drama is set in the gangster era of St. Paul in which “political and police corruption brought some of the biggest gangsters in the country to St. Paul for the safe haven that they knew would await them”.

Though the movie is a drama, it’s based on the real life story of an agreement struck between St. Paul’s police chief and notorious gangsters.  This agreement offered St. Paul as a safe haven to criminals, provided they committed no crimes while hiding out there.  The film’s story picks up right as this agreement is dissolving and new police and elected officials are trying to remove the criminal element from their city.

(Blogger’s Side Note: If you’re interested in learning more about St. Paul’s gangster past, check out Paul Maccabee’s John Dillinger Slept Here  which is published by the Minnesota Historical Society.)

“Spirits of St. Paul: The Gangster Era” is the product of father-son duo (and Bloomington residents) Gary and Brian Crask, who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in it.  Not only was it their first movie, but they also decided to make it a period piece, which means finding locations, cars, and props that have remained unchanged since the 1930’s.  Adding this multiplier of difficulty to your first film seems akin to me saying, “I think I’d like to try rock climbing”.  And then, instead of heading out to Prairie Walls  to learn, I instead book a plane ticket to Nepal to take on Mt. Everest.

Gary and Brian were also on-hand for the screening of the film, and they took time to answer questions from the audience afterward.  Among some of the interesting facts discussed during this session were:

·         The movie was filmed over a 9 month period with a budget of $35,000, which is shoestring for a period piece of this nature

·         It was filmed using a Panasonic HVX200 Camera

·         Shooting locations include: Red Wing Historic Courthouse, the Outing Lodge (link to: http://www.outinglodge.com) in Stillwater (roughly half of the movie was shot there), Shakopee, Hastings, and neighborhoods around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

·         The cars used in the film were found by contacting vintage car clubs in Minnesota, and the car owners were very excited to have them featured in a movie.

·         The production experienced a few delays, notably when the transmission of one of the main cars went out and the lead actor had to have knee surgery.

·         The most difficult person to cast was the actress who played Ma Barker (and if you see the movie, you’ll see that their diligence in finding the right person paid big dividends!).

·         Because its budget didn’t allow everyone to be paid, the cast, crew, and anyone who donated a set to the movie are part of a trust that own 49% of the movie.  This gives them the same opportunity to make some money off the movie as the Crasks.

“Spirits of St. Paul: The Gangster Era” just completed a weeklong run at the ShowPlace ICON Theatre in St. Louis Park.  They are hoping to add additional screenings, as well as a DVD release in the near future.  For updates on screenings, visit the movie’s Facebook Page. To view descriptions and trailers of all the movies shown at this year’s festival, visit their website for more information.

Coming up in my next post:

I’ll be hitting the links at one of Rochester’s golf courses, though I haven’t quite decided which one.  I’ve placed calls to all the local pros in an effort to find the course that will best handle my 400+ yard drives, but in the end it may come down to the quality of their 19^th hole.   I look forward to reporting back tales of my albatrosses, eagles, and birdies!