12 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FEA
MOVIE
T
LAWRENCE CHOSEN PLACE FOR FILMS
BY JACK WEINSTEIN
jweinstein@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Lawrence is the Hollywood of the Midwest. The University of Kansas is Hollywood's version of Universal Studios. Don't believe it? From films starring zombies, to soft-core porn, to nuclear attacks and the faux documentary that depicted what would have been had the South won the Civil War, Lawrence and the University have been the sites of many projects that have graced the silver screen.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
A scene from the IMAX film "Sea Monsters 3D" was shot at Dyche Hall, located just south of the Kansas Union, on campus last Thursday. The National Geographic film is one of a litany of feature films shot on campus or in Lawrence. Other feature films have dealt directly with the history of the city or University or have tied KU elements to certain parts of their plots.
"Sea Monsters 3D" examines marine reptile life in the ocean while dinosaurs roamed the earth. Using half animation, and half live action reenactments, the film depicts the life of a dolichorhynchops, a short-
necked plesiosaur. Producer Lisa Truitt explained exactly what the film is about.
"The underwater story follows one marine reptile through her life," Truitt said. "Whenever her life in animation comes to a critical juncture, we cut to a reenactment of a real paleontological dig. What they find on the dig, you learn something and it dictates the direction that the story takes."
One of those paleontological scenes was filmed on campus, but nearly the entire film was shot in Western Kansas including Monument Rock and Castle Rock, with the exception of one scene in Oklahoma.
The Dyche Hall scene contains the lab work conducted after marine reptiles with neonatal bones were found without egg shells. The find suggested that those sea creatures gave live birth in the ocean as opposed to laying eggs.
fossil discoveries during the 1920s.
That particular discovery actually took place in South Dakota, but most of the finds highlighted throughout the movie took place in Western Kansas, including finds by the Sternberg Family of Hays, who were responsible for some significant
"This is where it happened, this is where most of the finds were made," Truitt said. "Kansas was an inland sea during the Mesozoic period."
During the Mesozoic period, the age of reptiles, 245 million to 65 million years ago, Kansas was under water as part of an ocean and did not rise above sea level until the late Cretaceous, the last stage of the Mesozoic period.
The 40 minute full-length IMAX film is expected to hit screens nationwide in October 2007.
"There's tremendous interest in this movie," Truitt said. "I know Kansas City is really excited about this."
Prior to "Sea Monsters 3D" "Confederate States of America" was the last film to have been shot in Lawrence.
Written and directed by University of Kansas theatre professor Kevin Willmott, CSA examined what life would have been like had the South won the Civil War. The satiric film, filmed from a British documentary point of view, was shot at the University's Oldfather Studios, 1621 W. Ninth St., and in Kansas City. It debuted in 2004.
Willmott said Lawrence has a developing film community.
"Lawrence has a growing film scene," Willmott said. "The film department is growing and the students coming out of the department are staying in the area and making films."
Willmott said the experience of filming in Lawrence was great for his cast and crew. They were able to utilize many volunteers in the area. He said he was amazed at the types of professionals who lived in Lawrence, saying it was beneficial to them because they took advan-
Willmott
tage of their talents.
Wilmott said there wasn't a better place for him and his crew to shoot CSA.
"When you're making a low-budget film, or a no-budget film in our case, you have to look at your resources," he said. "Your resources determine where to shoot your film. For us, Lawrence was the best place."
Judy Billings, vice president of
the Chamber of Commerce, has been directly involved with films in Lawrence since the 1980s. She said that movies filmed in Lawrence were very beneficial to the city.
"It's not about getting publicity for the town, but the economic impact it creates," Billings said. "Movie productions spend a huge amount of money while they're filming."
Though many movies have been filmed in Lawrence, Billings said that not a whole lot of people knew that. She mentioned "The Day After", a film shot in Lawrence in 1981. Had it not been for a line in the movie, "This is Lawrence, Kan., is there anyone out there," no one would have known the movie was about Lawrence.
Billings also highlighted another benefit to having movies filmed in Lawrence. Television star Michael Landon shot a film in Lawrence in the late 1980s. Billings believed, had Landon not passed away shortly after his time in Lawrence, he would have filmed another movie in town or encouraged others to film there.
“It's a very exciting thing when it happens," Billings said.
- Edited by Janiece Gatson
films shot on campus or in lawrence
"CARNIVAL OF SOULS"(1962)
"CARNIVAL OF SOULS" (1962) A teenage girl survives a car crash only to be tormented by zombies. Filmmaker Herk Hervery, a Lawrence native directed the horror classic.
"LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT"(1975)
Linda Lovelace was best known for her work in the porn film "Deep Throat" when she came to Lawrence. A parade scene was filmed on Jayhawk Boulevard and other
scenes were shot at Potter Lake for the soft core porn.
"LEO BEUERMAN"(1969)
Also directed by Hervey, the film that examined the life of a disabled Lawrence resident earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject.
"KANSAS"(1988)
Matt Dillon plays a man returning home for a wedding and Andrew McCarthy plays a bank
robber scheming to use the young man in his latest plan.
"THE DAY AFTER"(1983)
The made-for-TV movie examined the effects of a nuclear holocaust on Lawrence and Kansas City, Mo. after a strike from the Soviets.
"NICE GIRLS DON'T EXPLODE"(1987)
Things seem to spontaneously combust when April Flowers gets physically aroused leaving the
main character to believe she has pyrotechnic hormones.
"CROSS OF FIRE"(1989)
Downtown Lawrence was transformed to resemble the 1920s in this TV miniseries that told the story of the rise and fall of D.C Stephenson, the leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana.
"WHERE PIGEONS GO TO DIE"(1990)
TV star Michael Landon wrote and directed this film about an elderly man's memories of time spent with his grandfather in the 1950s Midwest.
"CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA"(2004)
An examination of what the United States would have been like if the South had won the Civil War, written and directed by KU film professor Kevin Willmott.
films shot elsewhere with a direct KU or Lawrence connection
"DARK COMMAND"(1940)
John Wayne stars as federal marshall who opposes William Cantrell, a fictitious version of William Quantrill. Wayne and co-star Walter Pidgeon accompanied KU students to the world premier at the Granada in downtown Lawrence as part of a contest they'd won on campus.
"BRIAN'S SONG"(1971)
Billy Dee Williams plays former Kansas running back Gale Sayers and James Caan plays Brian Piccolo, a Chicago Bears teammate.
The two become close friends that are forced to deal with complicated issues especially when they discover that Piccolo is dying.
Former Kansas basketball player Greg Ostertag is Joe Sparks in this basketball comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg.
"EDDIE"(1996)
"RUNNING BRAVE"(1983)
"HE GOT GAME"(1998)
Former Kansas coach Roy Williams appears in the Spike Lee film as himself.
--to the film's stars Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jewel.
This film tells the story of former Kansas track star Billy Mills. The Native American won the gold medal 100,000 meter run at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and is still the only American to capture gold in that event.
"NECESSARY ROUGHNESS"
(1999)
KU alumnus Scott Bakula plays 34-year-old Texas State quarterback Paul Blake, who leads a team of misfits to victory, but not before an epic showdown with the Kansas Layhawks that ends in a 4-3-2 the
--to the film's stars Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jewel.
Based on the novel, Woe to Live On" by KU alumnus Daniel Woodrell, the movie is filmed near Lawrence, uses KU students as extras and KU theater professor Paul Mitier teaches a Missouri dialect
"BLUE CHIPS"(1994)
Former Kansas basketball players Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan appear in the basketball film starring Nick Nolte, Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
"RIDE WITH THE DEVIL"
(1999)
"ERIN BROCKOVICH"(2000) The real life Erin Brockovich graduated from Lawrence High. Julia Roberts played her in the movie.
"ABOUT SCHMIDT"(2002)
Jack Nicholson plays a lonely KU alum that finds his way back to Kansas. All campus shots were filmed at the University of Nebraska.
---