Northern Michigan supports a feature film scene

By Chris Loud

Sun contributor

What is it really like to be part of a feature film production? If you want to know the truth, the real down and dirty truth behind the fancy cameras and makeup, ask one of the many production assistants who donated their time to help local filmmakers shoot a full-length action comedy all around Leelanau Country, the Traverse City area, and the Upper Peninsula in September. They gained valuable experience, and added a nice silver bullet to their resumes, whether they plan to go into film production or not, but what they brought to the table as young, passionate northern Michigan locals was invaluable to the production team.

The movie is called Quicksand, directed by JohnPaul Morris, and produced by Nick Loud (my brother) and myself. The film is a “Bromantic comedy” about friendship and a road trip gone wrong. The story follows two unemployed college grads who lose their best friend’s wedding ring and set out on an adventure-filled road trip between Grand Rapids and the Upper Peninsula to get it back in time. It is expected to be released by the end of 2020.

We all live in Traverse City, and our shared goal is to fortify a strong, sustainable base for the film and TV industry here in northern Michigan. We want to build upon what other local filmmakers have done, like Rich Brauer, who was simultaneously shooting a feature film production in the Houghton Lake area, for his sequel movie, Frozen Stupid 2. He’s also based in Traverse City, and a lot of his cast and crew are local as well. That’s right, northern Michigan supported twofeature film productions happening at the same time.

We in the northern Michigan community are uniquely capable when it comes to the hard work, team effort, and random skills needed on a movie set. For example, during our production, there was a ridiculous amount of trailering. I’m not talking about a movie trailer, used to promote the film (coming in 2020!). No, I’m talking about a trailer that you pull behind a vehicle. We had an equipment trailer that needed to be on set every day. It’s a road trip movie, so we had a trailer rig for filming car scenes. Other characters had cars, and some of those needed a trailer to get to and from set. We even had beautiful vintage camper trailers, thanks to Wander Land Camping from Traverse City, for our mobile green rooms. So, it’s a really good thing that northern Michigan kids know their way around trailers. Have you ever seen a teenager parallel park an SUV with an equipment trailer on Front Street in Traverse City during rush hour? We have. (Well done, Hayden Thomas.)

Also, the support from the community, specifically from Leelanau County, was simply amazing, and at times, people and organizations came through for us at make-or-break moments. It rained a lot during our production, and at the pace we needed to shoot, we could not afford to wait it out. The Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay donated three vendor tents that proved to be invaluable throughout production for keeping our cameras dry. 

We had a wedding scene to shoot later in production, and the locations were just not coming together. Cammie Buehler at Epicure Catering and Cherry Basket Farms stepped up and let us shoot a wedding scene at their beautiful location in Omena. We also needed a wedding dress last minute. I called Grace Elizabeth Bridal in Suttons Bay, and she agreed to fit and provide a dress for our actress playing the bride at NO COST. 

For a character we affectionately referred to as the “crooked cop,” we searched far and wide for the right kind of vehicle that fit the role. I messaged Brent Hallet, from Northport, to see if he had any leads. He was ready to get us a car from the lot where he works in Traverse City, sending pictures of choices. Then, a last second Hail Mary from our production assistant Sawyer Scott, who lives in Maple City, found us a decommissioned police car from Mark Smith in Suttons Bay. It was perfect.

In addition to last minute saviors, the owners of Shady Lane Market and Dana Frost provided spot on locations for us, and were so great and easy to work with throughout the process. Emily and Cooper Heston, who own and operate Falling Waters Lodge in Leland, let us use their house while shooting scenes in Cedar. Finally, Claire Wood and the Leelanau Conservancy were so gracious in letting us scout and shoot scenes at several properties across the county. In addition to Leelanau County, dozens of Traverse City area people and organizations helped us out, like the Grand Traverse Motel, Wilson’s Antiques, the Omelette Shoppe, Earthen Ales, and we received an incredible amount of support from Ray Minervini and the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

Many of our cast and crew, and ALL of our awesome production assistants were locals, eager to get the job done, whatever it might be. Have we actually fostered a local filmmaking base? That remains to be seen. However, I can say confidently that the young, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial artists and film aficionados we as a community have been claiming to be promoting and supporting over the last several years are coming of age, and they have followers. 

One of our PAs, Andrew White, still not old enough to drink, has worked on more film sets than some of our seasoned crew members. He was a leader amongst the production assistants, and stepped up in the last week to help with hair and makeup. Andrew, along with several other PAs and crew members, is a great example of how programs through the Traverse City Film Festival have helped foster students and young adults interested in film and visual media. Morgan Burke-Beyers has been guiding interns at TCFF throughout the process of making short films, and working together as a crew, and many of those current and former interns ended up working with us. Also, Tom Mills and the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District Career Tech Center in Traverse City have set up programs to allow young people unique opportunities to consider and pursue a career in filmmaking. We were lucky enough to get a couple current and former students from there as well. 

So if you see any of our PAs around the area, including Madison Bluemel, Hayden Thomas, Jonelle Sickles, Alecia Svense, Sawyer Scott, Sander Breneman, Livy Sarnack, Hailey Jansson, Duke Bishop, or Jack Perry, ask them what it was like to work on a film in their backyard. I’ll reference this again. Northern Michigan supported two simultaneous movie productions, developed and produced locally. If you’re wondering why it matters to have new industries, like film and visual media, or tech industries like those supported by 20 Fathoms of Traverse City, ask these highly capable young adults why it matters. Make sure to catch them before they move away. But we’ll do our best to keep them around as long as possible.