Dear Backers’ Club Members,
Welcome to Dog River
Yes, with one week of shooing “on location” in Regina under our belt, and one week of shooting in the belly of whale (aka the studio) behind us, we’re into the last half of making our movie – and it’s back on the familiar streets of Dog River.
The cast and crew drive there from Regina each morning. I head there in a white Kia van with the digital team; I would like to place a $20 bet that this sucker doesn’t survive the week. It’s about a 40-minute drive, and I couldn’t help but smile the whole way. It was sunny, with the kind of light breeze that Saskatchewanians love because it keeps some of the mosquitoes at bay and picks up some of the sweetness from the crop blooms. We parked at the hybrid curling rink / hockey arena, I donned my $20 sunglasses that I bought at the Cornwall Centre (for the record, $10 more than I’ve ever paid for sunglasses before – a true slave to style), and we walked over to set.
They had already started setting up. I took some footage on the street and then spied a ladder used by the grips to get access to a roof overlooking the first shot. Up I went. The thing about sets that I’ve mentioned before is that they can get strangely silent when the camera is rolling – it almost feels like a grown-up version of naptime in Kindergarten class complete with the occasional giggles and shushes. The silence this morning was magnified by being just 100 feet from a train track and 200 feet from the endless Canola fields just on the other side. From my vantage spot on the roof, I could hear the calls of birds of colors I haven’t seen since living here 20 years ago – so loud that I thought they would interrupt a take. Then every 30 minutes or so, a train would come rumbling through and everyone would head to the craft table for a sandwich to wait it out.
The first scene involved a few familiar images. Hank and his old Ford pickup for starters. You can really tell that Fred (“Hank”) is having a blast shooting the movie. From the roof, I saw him take off from set in what I could only call a sprint, and run halfway down the street – all just to photobomb a picture being taken by an onlooking fan. He’s all smiles, and called me over to make sure I have good pics of him in the truck to send him later. Done and done.
Don Lake and Reagan Pasternak, two of our guest stars, are also working this morning. Although I can’t tell you what they’re rolls are specifically (spoilers, of course), I can tell you that they are very good looking people dressed very well – seemingly impervious to the bright morning sunshine. The rest of us are in shorts, floppy sun hats and homemade keffiyehs (for lack of a better term – Google it).
Everything Old is New Again
The second scene of the day takes place on the steps of the Dog River Police Department. There’s one huge change that I’m sure will delight savvy viewers (as well as our Director of Photography). Back in the days of the television series, the inside of the DRPD was filmed on a sound stage in Regina. No more! Just for the movie, the producers built the DRPD offices for Karen and Davis right inside the same building that is used for the exterior!
That’s cool… but it doesn’t hold a candle to the second big surprise. After lunch in the curling rink, the last half of the day saw the entire crew move 300 meters north to the CORNER GAS / RUBY set! Now we’re in the heart of it.
…and here’s the surprise. Just like the DRPD, the entire interior of The Ruby was painstakingly recreated on location here in Rouleau. That’s right… you can now grab a bag of Cheezies from the Corner Gas set (which I did), walk a few feet over to the Ruby set, and sit down with a menu. Sure, there’s no air conditioning, no functional kitchen and the whole thing might be slowly sinking, but heck, I bet I wouldn’t be the first to have stopped here on a road trip for a cup of coffee and been fooled that it’s a working diner!
I wasn’t the only one inspired by the remarkable set. Gabrielle (“Lacey”) was just about to shoot her first scene in the Ruby when she stopped, turned around, and said to all 40 people in attendence, “Guys, can you believe it? We’re here! In the Ruby! It looks so wonderful!” Ditto the sentiment, Gabe.
Hell to Marc!
Before I wrap up today’s blog, I want to introduce the new member of our digital team. Marc will be joining Dave and I for the next two weeks to help bring you the sights and sounds of set. We’re set up on a very inconspicuous table in the Rouleau town hall. Talk about a big office!
Spirits are very high. I can sense there is still a general vibe of a homecoming among the cast and crew who worked on the television series, but it’s not unlike the midway point of a great holiday. There are the first hints of melancholy that it will all be over too soon. Every once and a while someone will stop and stare out over the fields that surround the set. Maybe they’re not as sentimental as I am, but it sure seems like they are having a moment to just enjoy being here.
Davin and the Digital Team