Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993 TAG: 9311250042
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TAZEWELL LENGTH: Long
That's what this whole Lassie movie deal has been for her county - pure gold.
Parker's red-ribboned gold dog bones were souvenirs at a reception last month for the 80-member film crew and the hundreds of local people who've made them feel at home during four months of filming.
The bones were a hit. "One man said he put his in a safety deposit box for his children," Parker said.
It's all been a dream for Parker, county economic development director.
After all, this isn't a horror movie or a sex flick. There have been no explosives, no car chases. It's a movie every Baptist preacher and grandma in this conservative region can embrace.
It's "Lassie," for goodness' sake. G-rated. "We couldn't have asked for a more perfect match," Parker said.
She and the film's executive producer guess the movie people have spent at least $5 million here.
It's gone for office rentals, meals, caterers' groceries, lumber, props, clothes, office furniture and supplies, fitness center use, medical care, cellular phones, rental cars, paint, gravel, road graders, more snack food than you can shake a blue corn tortilla chip at . . . and gas, lots of gas for all the trucks, trailers and vans.
The film crew filled up motels from Tazewell to Bluefield. Local people left home and rented their houses to crew members.
Four young women who leased a quaint country place sent a postcard to envious Los Angeles friends, saying, "Look what we got for $300 a month!"
Executive producer Michael Rachmil said that when he first arrived from Los Angeles, "Somebody said, `Mr. Rachmil, there's only one gear we have here - slow.' I loved it. I've gotten so Tazewell-ized."
He's even found a good stomach doctor.
Early bedtimes around these parts have taken some getting used to. And Tazewell County doesn't sell mixed drinks, so R.C.'s, a restaurant in the town of Tazewell, has packed them in. The movie folks brought in a salsa band for a party there.
"Everything closes here so early," said Jerome Holmes, a production assistant from near Beverly Hills in a Stuntmen's Association cap. He has loved the peace and quiet, though. "People are so nice here." People like Tazewell residents Kathryn Butler and her friend Clyde Rose, who've brought cookies by his office.
Alyson Feltes, assistant to director Daniel Petrie Sr., found a yellow Labrador puppy on the road after its littermate was run over. Movie publicist Wendy Leske named it "Tazewell." It's going to live with Feltes' in-laws in Montreal.
The crew at the production office in Tazewell adopted a kitten, too, and named it "Tazewell Virginia."
For an urban crew more used to angel-hair pasta than macaroni and cheese, to snow peas than pinto beans, the California crew's downed its share of home cooking. They've raved about the Thai curry and the sophisticated chow at Cuz's, the hip restaurant in a barn down the road at Pounding Mill.
They've hiked the Appalachian Trail through Burkes Garden and mountain-biked all over. They've hit the flea markets and estate sales. They're taking home antiques and quilts. Local businessman Dave Lawson organized a hayride and took them to see some Indian rock paintings.
Local people have done countless favors. The Baptist Valley Fire Department lent its pumper truck when filmmakers needed to create turbulence in a calm spot on the New River when they were filming in West Virginia.
A movie truck broke down recently, and a local mechanic came to the rescue. "And the man stayed up all night to fix it, and it wasn't a question of money," Rachmil said. "What I've noticed more than anywhere I've been is just how kind people are."
Just about everybody here's been touched by the movie. Larry and Marilyn Mustard have a snapshot of them with Howard, the Lassie dog star, on their bulletin board at Thompson Valley Grocery.
Their store's been like a prop shop. Filmmakers borrowed a deer mount. They got old pencils and a few little knives for the set. And a pile of Pop Tarts they needed for a scene.
\ When locals first heard about the movie, they cracked jokes about it. Like, sure, somebody's really gonna make a movie back up here in the boonies. But once the caravan of equipment and crew starting rolling in, Larry Mustard said, "It's just like a normal thing."
Tazewell County people have been impressed by the moviemakers' work ethic. "Lord, those people work to way up in the morning," said T.E. "June" Bowling Jr., who's served them beers at his Frog Level Service Station, on the road to the film site.
Clinton Bell, owner of the sheep farm where the movie's being filmed, shuffles his sheep and cattle around for the crew. Meanwhile, he's studied the intense nature of the filmmaking and been fascinated with the equipment - such as a light that illumines his whole valley for night shoots.
Another local farmer and businessman, Bobby Brittain, is the film crew's local guide. He drives director Daniel Petrie Sr. around, has built a road to the prime movie location and torn down a silo.
He's won a speaking role, too, and is going with the crew to the next shoots in Richmond. "Yeah boy, I'm having a real good time," said Brittain, as he spits his tobacco on the movie lot. He looks like a country version of Captain Kangaroo.
Producers hired about 20 people full time, plus 200 extras and stand-ins from around Virginia. A local teacher has tutored the child actors.
Within days, it'll be all over.
Christy Parker plans to get some dog biscuits bronzed as future gifts for visitors from the county supervisors. And despite her two dogs at home, she's been eyeing a $650 collie puppy at Mercer Mall in Tazewell.
by CNB