Welcome to my message board.
New member registration has been disabled due to heavy spammer activity. If you'd like to join the board, please email me at MaxDevore at hotmail dot com.
New member registration has been disabled due to heavy spammer activity. If you'd like to join the board, please email me at MaxDevore at hotmail dot com.
Desperation filming
Fangoria reports that Desperation will begin shooting in Arizona in September; casting is currently underway. Production is expected to wrap by February 2005.
Comments
That is pretty cool about him and his Harley!
According to the Betts newsletter, "First, Steve was able to ride his Harley this week for the first time since his accident six years ago. While he still feels the effects of the accident, this should be a great step forward mentally for him. "
Bisbee will be used for all exterior and mine shots, while interior shots will be filmed at the Tucson Convention Center. Shelli Hall, director of the Tucson Film Office, said the production is important because Tucson has been losing film business to places like New Mexico and Canada, which offer studios huge tax incentives.
Auditions will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Inn Suites, 475 N. Granada Ave. Please bring proof of U.S. residency or work papers as these are paying positions. Those interested but unable to attend should call 631-1952 for a later appointment.
Others are needed as stand-ins, white miners, townspeople, military personnel and Vietnamese men and women. Those interested in work as "extras" should mail a recent photo along with contact information and personal statistics to: "Desperation" c/o Inn Suites Hotel, attention Tina Kerr, 475 N. Granada Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701.
However, it took more than a few tricks and treats to allow the $12 million production to be shot in the United States in an era when many projects automatically head north to Canada or other foreign locales to allow producers to make the most of their budgets.
Indeed, "Desperation" executive producer Mark Sennet and director Mick Garris mounted a major effort, enlisting politicians including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Gov. Janet Napolitano, to shoot "Desperation" in the state. A number of the state's businessmen even pitched in for the cause of having a major TV production shot in the region.
Oscar winner Cliff Robertson, Emmy winner Tom Skerritt, Annabeth Gish, Ron Perlman and Steven Weber lead the cast of "Desperation," which chronicles the ordeals of a group of travelers thrown together in the nearly deserted spooky Nevada mining town of Desperation, complete with an enormous haunted mine pit and an abandoned movie theater.
While King's book was inspired by his cross-country trip through Nevada, Bisbee proved the perfect location. Using a location that brings the author's vision to life was important, but fighting to film "Desperation" in Arizona became much more than that.
"We want to do everything we can to keep our industry in the country and not outsource it to Bangalore," Garris said, referring to the Indian city that has become a hub of outsourced telemarketing jobs.
The big challenge for Sennet when hammering out the budget for "Desperation" was closing a $1.5 million differential between filming in the United States and filming outside the country. Sennet had made a number of key political connections during the past few years when he was working on the politically themed, Washington-based HBO series "K Street," and he drew on them to get financial breaks needed to close the gap.
Sennet brought aboard McCain, who lobbied with Napolitano to help the crew of "Desperation" get breaks on a number of services in Arizona in order to make the budget reasonable for ABC.
Copper giant Phelps Dodge let the crew film at its Bisbee mine for a small fee, with businessman Donald Diamond and local businesses, including Nissan and Hertz, pitching in to keep the production costs under control, Sennet said.
According to Sennet, in their efforts, the "Desperation" team received a lot of support from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has made it a priority of his administration to find ways to stem the exodus of film and TV production from California in particular and the United States in general.
The success of setting the project in Arizona also prompted Napolitano to get behind a tax incentive initiative, which would give film and TV productions a 15% tax break similar to other states, Sennet said.
"We look at this as a test case with others to follow suit if it works," Sennet said.
I just spoke to Mick Garris and he confirmed what I thought. That Tom Skerritt will play Johnny Marinville in Desperation. He also told me that Since Cliff Robertson recently had back surgery, and is recovering, he has been replaced by Charles Durning.
Lilja
--
Lilja's Library - The World of Stephen King: http://www.Liljas-Library.com
Shane Habousch stars as young David Carver, and Matt Frewer (Trashcan Man) is on board as Ralph Carver.
Principal filming will start on Tuesday in Old Bisbee, said Michael McGinn, the location manager. This work over the next three weeks will cause intermittent closures or delays of some streets in Bisbee.
The production, which is making a television movie from Stephen King's novel "Desperation," is scheduled to last three weeks.
McGinn said in a news release that most of the cast and crew have arrived in Bisbee.
On Sunday, world-renowed helicopter pilot Kevin LaRosa maneuvered over Highway 80 past the Lavender Pit while filming a scene involving the erratic driving of stuntman Glenn Wilder, McGinn said in his release.
Bisbee police officers delayed traffic at three points to allow the film crew to capture the scene. McGinn said this was necessary to allow for the filming and to protect the public's safety.
On Tuesday, filming will begin elsewhere in the city.
From Tuesday through Friday, the production company will be filming in Old Bisbee. Because of the limited parking, Brewery Gulch will be closed to traffic going up the canyon to allow the film crew members to access their equipment. Parking and traffic also will be restricted on Naco Road.
Intermittent delays also are scheduled at the traffic circle over the next three weeks. The delays are so the crew can film various scenes in Lowell.
Most of the delays will occur during the middle of the night, as much of the script calls for the effect of a dark night.
To achieve the deserted effects called for in the script, the production company is working closely with the Arizona Film Office, Arizona Department of Transportation and the Bisbee police, McGinn said.
The delays will be limited to 15 minutes, the production company said.
The film also will be shot on Phelps Dodge property.
The proximity of the mine and the town of Lowell was part of what attracted filmmakers to select Bisbee as the location.
The filming on mine property is off limits to the public, McGinn said. Extra security has been arranged to ensure the safety of the public and production crew.
After the filming in Bisbee, the production will move to Tucson.
King's official site states that Henry Thomas (E.T.) will play Peter Jackson in Desperation.
Lilja
--
http://www.Liljas-Library.com
Tom Skerritt, Steven Weber, Annabeth Gish, Ron Perlman, Henry Thomas, Matt Frewer and Charles Durning Star
Production has begun in Bisbee, Arizona on "Stephen King's Desperation," in which an unlikely band of people find themselves forced to be reluctant heroes as they battle an unspeakable horror in a small, Nevada desert town. The film, based on the novel by Stephen King -- America's best-selling and award-winning master of horror -- will air as a three-hour original film in 2005 on ABC.
Tom Skerritt ("Picket Fences," "Contact," "Alien"), Steven Weber ("Wings," "Stephen King's The Shining"), Annabeth Gish ("The X-Files," "Mystic Pizza"), Ron Perlman ("Hellboy," TV's "Beauty and the Beast"), Henry Thomas ("Gangs of New York," "ET," "Moby Dick"), Matt Frewer ("Dawn of the Dead," "Stephen King's The Stand," "Max Headroom") and Charles Durning ("Evening Shade," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Tootsie") star.
In the middle of the Nevada desert stands the once proud mining town of Desperation - a harmless, non-descript little community that one may briefly notice on a drive through the vast, empty desert on the way to some distant vacation destination. But something evil has taken over Desperation - its name is Tak, and its mission is to eliminate anyone who gets close to stumbling upon its secret.
While posing as Desperation cop Collie Entragian (Perlman), Tak is able to catch his prey while surveying the nearly empty highway. Caught in his deceptive web are famous author Johnny Marinville (Skerritt), whose misdeeds from the past may come back to haunt him; Ralph (Frewer) & Ellie Carver (Sylva Kelegian) and their son, David (Shane Haboucha) - whose faith may hold the key to bringing down Tak; and Mary Jackson (Ms. Gish) who, with her husband, Peter (Thomas), will discover a courage they never knew they had while battling the beast. Meanwhile, Johnny's aide, Steve Ames (Weber), and his traveling companion, Cynthia (Kelly Overton), find out for themselves the horror that has taken place in Desperation when they go in search of the famous author; and the town's veterinarian, Tom Billingsley (Durning), knows firsthand the secrets of Desperation.
Everyone will soon discover that the unearthing of a long abandoned mine in Desperation awakened Tak, and his control over the desert's animals and insects make him even more invincible to the unlikely band of people who have found themselves forced to become reluctant heroes, as they battle to bring down the beast... and save themselves in the process.
"Stephen King's Desperation" is executive-produced by Mick Garris ("Riding the Bullet," "Stephen King's The Shining," "Stephen King's The Stand"), Stephen King and Mark Sennet ("Martin and Lewis," "Dr. Vegas," "K Street"). Garris also serves as director. The film is from Sennet-Gernstein Entertainment in association with Touchstone Television.
Casting directors are looking for extras!
They want people between the ages of 18 and 35 who are six feet tall or taller.
They must be willing to get a military-style hair cut.
If you're interested, head to the Inn Suites Hotel Downtown today and Tuesday from noon to five.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=112704a6_filming_brief
Wow, it sounds that this movie sure is disrupting the daily life of many Tucson residents!
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=112904a2_ericmovie
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/photo/113004congress.html