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Lights, camera, action

By By Jack Weinstein (Contact)

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

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.

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.

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 fossil discoveries during the 1920s.

“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 advantage 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.

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