Tape rolls on filmmaker's dream

Director, producer, writer, photographer, lighting, props and even coffee coordinator -- Brian George Smith is happy to do every everything on the set of filming for "The Roosevelt Tree," simply because there finally is a set.

"The Roosevelt Tree" is a feature-length film written by Smith, and this weekend, filming wrapped on shooting for the two- to three-minute trailer for the movie. Wearing every hat keeps Smith busy on location, but there is still time to dream -- of securing the financial backing, of lining up the full shooting schedule next summer, of a theatrical release. So far, every step of the dream has been realized, from writing to casting to shooting, and there doesn't appear to be anything that can come between Smith and the project's fruition.

"The hardest part is that we don't really have a crew," Smith said. "I have two when I really need 12 to have a bare-bones crew. You can't make a movie by yourself, as much as I'd like to because I'm a control freak. I have found an ensemble of actors that is just incredible. These people are capable of great moments."

This week, the task was capturing those great moments on tape, and turning them into a trailer which will be distributed to potential investors. That meant filming about 50 scenes in locations such as Mead's Coffeehouse, Anchorage, Point MacKenzie and a campground on Knik River Road.

"We probably shot about five hours of tape for a two- or three-minute trailer," Smith said. "I wanted to shoot entire scenes to capture those magic moments. These are people who have lives and jobs and vacations. It's a busy theater season, too. I only had them for five days, and we had to make that work."

Smith wrote "The Roosevelt Tree" five years ago while living in California. The plot involves "an old Scotsman and a young girl who set out to save the last trees on Earth," Smith said. Smith moved back home to Palmer a short time later, and he rewrote and reworked the story until he was ready to cast the production last winter.

"I was watching a lot of local theater in Anchorage and found everyone but little Emma [the young girl]," Smith said. "Jerry Harper (who plays Pete) was written off the page. He was the perfect choice for 'Pete.'"

To find Emma, Smith enlisted some help. Blockbuster Video got behind the project and sponsored a talent search. Eighty-six 10-year-old girls turned out in Anchorage and the Valley. "And Sarah Jackson was number 72, so we were getting worried," Smith said. Jackson read a brief monologue, and Smith knew immediately he had found Emma.

"For you and I, coming in and reading a monologue would be intimidating. For a 10-year-old girl, imagine how big that is," Smith said. "Sarah did great and jumped into the role. When she's 100-percent dedicated and there, she is as good as anyone working in the business."

Making the leap from stage to screen is big, Smith said, and not everyone can do it.

"With theater, you have to be big and broad and reach the 22nd aisle with every word," Smith said. "With film, you have to unlearn everything you've learned. You have to react instead of act. We're a very sophisticated audience.

"Theater and film is like watercolors and oils," Smith said. "They are that different."

With casting completed, Smith turned his attention to fund-raising, a monumental task given the state of economic affairs.

He had the unfortunate timing of competing for money in a depressed economy, with war in Iraq just starting and people not interested in a small movie project. Instead of shooting the entire film, he decided to shoot a trailer first.

"With a trailer in my hand, we can hit those people who said 'maybe' a few months ago and show them what we're doing and the quality of what we're doing, and hopefully we can get them behind the project," Smith said. "The final piece is raising some money."

With a limited budget, Smith has been relying on the support of local businesses to help him get through the trailer shooting. A free lunch at Vagabond Blues, the use of Mead's Coffeehouse for a scene and the Blockbuster talent search -- all help a small-time project turn into a big-time event.

Eventually, Smith is hoping to have a budget between $50,000 and $60,000 -- a small budget for full-length feature movie terms.

"Just enough money to get good food on the set and build a good redwood tree," Smith joked. "And paying the cast and crew would be nice."

Smith is hopeful that filming on the movie can get started at this time next year, and have the movie on the festival circuit soon after the editing process is completed.