One great thing about this job is the adventure involved and the people you meet along the way. I always say that with documentatry filmmaking you get to experience a different walk of life with every interview and new place along the way. "Shades of Gray" took me to sunny Key West, Frozen Minnesota and to Cleveland, Ohio where after the interview I got to see Roger Clemens take the mound for the New York Yankees. With "Adopt a Jesus" I went to the streets of Nashville, Shreveport and Houston to name a few and met folks who go unnoticed for the most part by our fast paced world. Next up, Romeo Must Hang took me to Buffalo, New York, Independent filmmaking is always an adventure.
After finishing up my 40 hour work week at WVPBS at 7pm on Friday evening we took to the road. Steve Schmidt and I were headed off to Erie, PA where we would stop for the night. On the way we listened to some of the tracks that Jeremy had cut for the film, the different perspective you get listening to music at varying times of the day is interesting. Suddenly a Angelo Badalamenti quality crept from the tracks that I had listened to months before. Some filmmakers prefer to have a score cut to the finished film but I like to have a sound in my head while I'm gathering my interviews. The documentaries I've done in the past are shaped by the soundtrack that I lay out in advance and it allows me to construct the world in which my characters live.
The next morning we finished the trek to Buffalo, NY where the mission was to interview David Schmid, author of "Natural Born Celebrities." We met David at his house and followed him to his office at the University of Buffalo where we sat down for the longest interview I've conducted or been a part of. Steve also said it was his longest he had been apart of. I prefer to call my interviews conversations, I don't write down any questions to take into the interview, this feels forced to me. I do have a specific outline in my head to which I will attempt to cover during the conversation but what happens in-between those bullet points is anything goes. The most important thing going into a "conversation" is you've got to do your homework. You've got to know first of all about the subject and characters in your film. Second you need to know about the subject your about to sit down with to have a conversation.
The interview went more than well, it was the kind of interview that takes a story to the next level. Each film has one or more, Shades of Gray had multiple interviews of that nature, hopefully "Romeo" will turn out to be as fruitful. My goal with David was to paint broad strokes with my questioning to generate deep discussion, I wasn't concerned with the details of the Powers story at this point. By this I mean rather than asking What Powers personality was like, I would ask Why is it every time a serial killer surfaces in a neighbor hood everyones reaction is, Well he was such a nice quiet guy. The scary thing is these monsters are just like you and I... average unassuming people. That is the level of conversation I was trying to get, and I more than got it. Thank you David.
After the interview it was off to the Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo. Its a contentious issue but the Anchor Bar claims to be the place that invented the Buffalo wing, there is another place in town that claims the same. I'm not much of a wing fan but being a fan of history I ordered up some, I must say it tasted like a Buffalo Wing.
At this point it's 8pm and when making a film business comes first but it's also important to have some fun along the way. With this you see and do things when time allows, this means a night trip to Niagara Falls and across the border to Canada. I've never been to the falls and even at night it was impressive. It was nothing like I had cooked up in my imagination, I pictured a secluded area lot of forestation and a giant waterfall with a guy in a viking hat riding a barrel to the bottom. I hadn't dream up the towns and casinos that had grown up on each side of the border. It was a short lived trip because it was 5 degrees on the U.S. side and it was -15 across the border. It was cold but we didn't have to give it much thought, we were heading back to West Virginia in the morning. Canada here we come.
At the border they didn't seem too keen on us bringing $8000 worth of gear into Canada. I told them we had carried the sensitive gear into the hotel and were just too lazy to carry the rest. "What do you do for a living?", asked the border guard as he searched the car. "I'm a Filmmaker," I said. "What is your film about," he said. I replied, "Actually a Serial Killer." The second guard laughed and said, "Did he do it?" To which Steve replied, "Hell yeah he did it." "Where you guys staying?" "Buffalo," I answered. "I wouldn't leave my stuff in Buffalo either," he said.
After the car was searched it was onto Immigrations to get a background check to be cleared to cross the border. Once in Canada we walked beyond the tourist traps to a little bar with curling on one screen and hockey on another. After a few hours in Canada it was back to the U.S. where once again we were searched crossing the Peace Bridge. The guard asked mostly the same questions with one exception. "What did the Canadians say when you brought all that equipment across the border?" I didn't have the heart to tell him.
Showing posts with label "Adopt a Jesus". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Adopt a Jesus". Show all posts
11.17.2009
Local filmmaker documents plight of homeless; film making a big impact - Ripley, WV - Jackson Newspapers
Local filmmaker documents plight of homeless; film making a big impact - Ripley, WV - Jackson Newspapers
Posted using ShareThis
By Christina Bright
The Jackson Herald
Tue Nov 17, 2009, 11:15 AM EST
Ripley, W.Va. -
Traveling by a bus that ran on cooking oil, eating out of dumpsters when necessary, seeking out those many people try to avoid. It might not sound like an experience many would want, but for local filmmaker Bob Wilkinson, it was all part of a documentary to show the plight of homeless people in the south.
It all started a couple of years ago when The Bridge, an area ministry started by Wilkinson’s wife Charessa, was hosting the Rock in Love Tour. She had invited Brandt Russo to attend and share his story with the young people who attended the multi-town event. Russo had become jaded by the religious establishment and followed the instructions of Jesus: sold his possessions and dedicated himself to helping those less fortunate.
Russo spent a week with the Wilkinsons during that time. “We became really good friends,” Charessa said. “At the time, he was really timid. We helped him make that transition and became like a family for him.”
It was during the Cornerstone Festival, which Charessa called a “hippy Christian music fest,” that Russo said he was not going to allow any more media access or film footage of him. Bob jokingly asked if that meant he couldn’t make a film featuring Russo. But when Russo said he would allow him to, Bob began to take the idea seriously.
After finding a diesel mechanic and military man in Ripley who was willing to help make repairs to the bus emblazoned with the motto “Can’t Ignore the Poor,” Wilkinson and Russo left Jackson County and headed south with no money and no idea what the next two weeks would bring. “I told him I’d go out and live like him,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson has making films since 2000 as a college student and has made a career of it. He has been working for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. He has produced several documentaries including “Rounding Third,” a history of Charleston’s minor league’s Watt Powell Park, and “John Brown’s Body,” a look at the legacy of Brown’s raid in Harper’s Ferry. His first independent documentary was “Shades of Gray,” a portrait of the man behind the Men in Black legend. It was picked up for distribution by Media 8/Trillian Entertainment.
This latest film is called “Adopt-a-Jesus,” named for the project Russo was trying to get off the ground in Houston. The project involved photographing homeless people around the city and encouraging others to “adopt” them – by seeking them out, learning about them, bringing them some food, and other small gestures to show them people care.
Between Ripley and Houston, they stopped in major cities along the way, interviewing homeless people, learning their stories, and feeding them. Wilkinson said he and Russo, accompanied by Jonathan James who photographed their trip, mostly found food stores and restaurants had thrown out – food that was still perfectly good but wasn’t sold. At one point they found 100 boxes of crackers that had been thrown out because the boxes were dented. Those crackers were donated to a local soup kitchen.
They had to rely on the fact people threw out cooking oil to literally fuel their trip. People were reluctant to give them used oil, which meant they had to take what was being discarded. Bob explained the bus ran on diesel until the oil reached a certain temperature and then the conversion would happen automatically. “We made it to Houston on very little money,” he said.
The trip certainly was eye-opening, not only in terms of the conditions of the homeless, but also in terms of how they are treated by everyone, including the church. Often, they would be run off church parking lots where they would park for the night.
Eventually they ended up at Lakewood Church in Houston, home of television evangelist and best-selling author Joel Olsteen. When Russo, with his long hair, piercings, tattoos, and raggedy clothes, walked in and sat down in the front row, he was escorted toward the back where cameras would not film him.
An usher later apologized, saying that he did not feel the same as the other ushers, and neither did Olsteen. The Adopt-a-Jesus project was set up outside the Lakewood Church. However, security guards quickly broke up their demonstration as people walked passed, paying little attention to their pleas for the homeless.
But they did find some positive stories along the way. A stop a Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen was one. Wilkinson said anyone is welcome to eat there regardless of their ability to pay. They also found a family who purchased a former crack house and refurbished it to make a group home.
These are the stories that helped shape the film, one Wilkinson said will cause everyone who sees it to “question your position on things.” Originally set for a 10-day run, it is turning into a five month run across the country. Russo is traveling to be at each screening during this time to help share his story. The film will have a few showings in West Virginia beginning at the end of November.
On November 30, “Adopt-a-Jesus” will be shown at the student union of West Virginia State at 7 p.m. On December 1 Marshall University will show the film in Smith Hall. Several campus groups and departments are joining forces to show the film and hold a coat drive in conjunction.
The film will be shown in Ripley on December 4 at 7 p.m. at Phoenix Rising Tattoo on Main Street.
A trailer for the film can be viewed at YouTube. For more information on screenings, visit adoptajesus.com.
Posted using ShareThis
By Christina Bright
The Jackson Herald
Tue Nov 17, 2009, 11:15 AM EST
Ripley, W.Va. -
Traveling by a bus that ran on cooking oil, eating out of dumpsters when necessary, seeking out those many people try to avoid. It might not sound like an experience many would want, but for local filmmaker Bob Wilkinson, it was all part of a documentary to show the plight of homeless people in the south.
It all started a couple of years ago when The Bridge, an area ministry started by Wilkinson’s wife Charessa, was hosting the Rock in Love Tour. She had invited Brandt Russo to attend and share his story with the young people who attended the multi-town event. Russo had become jaded by the religious establishment and followed the instructions of Jesus: sold his possessions and dedicated himself to helping those less fortunate.
Russo spent a week with the Wilkinsons during that time. “We became really good friends,” Charessa said. “At the time, he was really timid. We helped him make that transition and became like a family for him.”
It was during the Cornerstone Festival, which Charessa called a “hippy Christian music fest,” that Russo said he was not going to allow any more media access or film footage of him. Bob jokingly asked if that meant he couldn’t make a film featuring Russo. But when Russo said he would allow him to, Bob began to take the idea seriously.
After finding a diesel mechanic and military man in Ripley who was willing to help make repairs to the bus emblazoned with the motto “Can’t Ignore the Poor,” Wilkinson and Russo left Jackson County and headed south with no money and no idea what the next two weeks would bring. “I told him I’d go out and live like him,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson has making films since 2000 as a college student and has made a career of it. He has been working for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. He has produced several documentaries including “Rounding Third,” a history of Charleston’s minor league’s Watt Powell Park, and “John Brown’s Body,” a look at the legacy of Brown’s raid in Harper’s Ferry. His first independent documentary was “Shades of Gray,” a portrait of the man behind the Men in Black legend. It was picked up for distribution by Media 8/Trillian Entertainment.
This latest film is called “Adopt-a-Jesus,” named for the project Russo was trying to get off the ground in Houston. The project involved photographing homeless people around the city and encouraging others to “adopt” them – by seeking them out, learning about them, bringing them some food, and other small gestures to show them people care.
Between Ripley and Houston, they stopped in major cities along the way, interviewing homeless people, learning their stories, and feeding them. Wilkinson said he and Russo, accompanied by Jonathan James who photographed their trip, mostly found food stores and restaurants had thrown out – food that was still perfectly good but wasn’t sold. At one point they found 100 boxes of crackers that had been thrown out because the boxes were dented. Those crackers were donated to a local soup kitchen.
They had to rely on the fact people threw out cooking oil to literally fuel their trip. People were reluctant to give them used oil, which meant they had to take what was being discarded. Bob explained the bus ran on diesel until the oil reached a certain temperature and then the conversion would happen automatically. “We made it to Houston on very little money,” he said.
The trip certainly was eye-opening, not only in terms of the conditions of the homeless, but also in terms of how they are treated by everyone, including the church. Often, they would be run off church parking lots where they would park for the night.
Eventually they ended up at Lakewood Church in Houston, home of television evangelist and best-selling author Joel Olsteen. When Russo, with his long hair, piercings, tattoos, and raggedy clothes, walked in and sat down in the front row, he was escorted toward the back where cameras would not film him.
An usher later apologized, saying that he did not feel the same as the other ushers, and neither did Olsteen. The Adopt-a-Jesus project was set up outside the Lakewood Church. However, security guards quickly broke up their demonstration as people walked passed, paying little attention to their pleas for the homeless.
But they did find some positive stories along the way. A stop a Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen was one. Wilkinson said anyone is welcome to eat there regardless of their ability to pay. They also found a family who purchased a former crack house and refurbished it to make a group home.
These are the stories that helped shape the film, one Wilkinson said will cause everyone who sees it to “question your position on things.” Originally set for a 10-day run, it is turning into a five month run across the country. Russo is traveling to be at each screening during this time to help share his story. The film will have a few showings in West Virginia beginning at the end of November.
On November 30, “Adopt-a-Jesus” will be shown at the student union of West Virginia State at 7 p.m. On December 1 Marshall University will show the film in Smith Hall. Several campus groups and departments are joining forces to show the film and hold a coat drive in conjunction.
The film will be shown in Ripley on December 4 at 7 p.m. at Phoenix Rising Tattoo on Main Street.
A trailer for the film can be viewed at YouTube. For more information on screenings, visit adoptajesus.com.
11.05.2009
Opened my eyes to a whole new world..
from Lindsey Hamby's blog...
Before the film Adopt-A-Jesus, when I saw a homeless person on the side of the road I would swerve and just go on my way not thinking how that person could of been feeling that day. I never gave them money because I always thought they would use it for the wrong things. I watched the film Adopt-A-Jesus last night with a group of college students and it changed my way of thinking tremendously. I thought the movie was a great documentary which not only opened my eyes to homelessness but opened my eyes on how we can help the homeless. When I saw the card board cut-outs of homeless people that others can pray for I thought it was a great idea. The film stirred a message in my heart and also in the hearts of many others that I talked to after the movie. The movie took my mind off of me and placed it on a much greater population that I didn’t think of often.
–Lindsey Hamby (Gardner-Webb University, NC)
-to read the rest of Lindsey's Blog Post click on the the title of this post-
Before the film Adopt-A-Jesus, when I saw a homeless person on the side of the road I would swerve and just go on my way not thinking how that person could of been feeling that day. I never gave them money because I always thought they would use it for the wrong things. I watched the film Adopt-A-Jesus last night with a group of college students and it changed my way of thinking tremendously. I thought the movie was a great documentary which not only opened my eyes to homelessness but opened my eyes on how we can help the homeless. When I saw the card board cut-outs of homeless people that others can pray for I thought it was a great idea. The film stirred a message in my heart and also in the hearts of many others that I talked to after the movie. The movie took my mind off of me and placed it on a much greater population that I didn’t think of often.
–Lindsey Hamby (Gardner-Webb University, NC)
-to read the rest of Lindsey's Blog Post click on the the title of this post-
10.10.2009
Adopt a Jesus Screenings
Adopt a Jesus Screenings
November 1- Morris, Minnesota
Where: University of Minnesota-Morris, Edson Auditorium
600 E 4th St. Morris, MN 56267
When: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Free! Bring food for the Stevens County Food Shelf if you are able.
November 2- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Where: The Fallout
2609 Stevens Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55408
When: 7:00 p.m.
November 3- Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Where: Gardner-Webb University (specific location TBA)
110 S Main Street
Boiling Springs, NC 28017
When: 9:30 p.m.
November 4- Greenville, South Carolina
Where: North Greenville University (specific location and time TBA)
November 5- Syracuse, New York
Where: Palace Theater
2384 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13206
When: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: None- please bring donations of canned goods and winter clothing to help local shelters.
http://www.myspace.com/adoptajesusfilm
November 1- Morris, Minnesota
Where: University of Minnesota-Morris, Edson Auditorium
600 E 4th St. Morris, MN 56267
When: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Free! Bring food for the Stevens County Food Shelf if you are able.
November 2- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Where: The Fallout
2609 Stevens Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55408
When: 7:00 p.m.
November 3- Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Where: Gardner-Webb University (specific location TBA)
110 S Main Street
Boiling Springs, NC 28017
When: 9:30 p.m.
November 4- Greenville, South Carolina
Where: North Greenville University (specific location and time TBA)
November 5- Syracuse, New York
Where: Palace Theater
2384 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13206
When: 7:00 p.m.
Cost: None- please bring donations of canned goods and winter clothing to help local shelters.
http://www.myspace.com/adoptajesusfilm
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