{"id":68,"date":"2009-04-01T11:04:04","date_gmt":"2009-04-01T18:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=68"},"modified":"2010-02-19T11:26:06","modified_gmt":"2010-02-19T18:26:06","slug":"anatomy-of-a-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/anatomy-of-a-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of A Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"judd\"A three-way confab between Judd Nelson, the acclaimed Maine film director Huey (the singular talent with the singular name), and screenwriter Brian Daly (like Nelson, a Portland native) highlights their hopes to turn Salt Hay into gold.
\nInterviews by Colin Sargent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever since Judd Nelson starred in\u00a0Fandango<\/em>,\u00a0The Breakfast Club<\/em>, and\u00a0St. Elmo\u2019s Fire<\/em>, it\u2019s been a sort of El Dorado for Maine screenwriters to try to write a screenplay enticing enough to lure Nelson home from Los Angeles long enough to shoot a film here on location.<\/p>\n

Brian Daly\u2019s poignant\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>, winner for best full-length screenplay at the Maine International Film Festival, is just that project.<\/p>\n

Listening to Nelson, UMO and USC Film School grad Daly [who wrote Showtime\u2019s\u00a0Big & Hairy<\/em>, starring Richard Thomas], and the award-wining moviemaker Huey, you can\u2019t help but sense the energy and purpose this trio has for making this dream happen, and happen here in Maine.<\/p>\n

What excites you most about Salt Hay?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judd Nelson: It\u2019s what excited me first about the project: It\u2019s a story that takes place in Maine, to be filmed in Maine, about people from Maine, and written by someone from Maine.<\/p>\n

The salt hay in the title is the hardy sea grass around \u201cBlueberry Beach,\u201d a softly disguised Higgins Beach in Scarborough. But what\u2019s the story about? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Brian Daly: It\u2019s about a boy who makes it his mission for the summer to kiss a girl for the first time. He thinks if he can reach this milestone, the mysteries of the adult world will be revealed to him and he\u2019ll find a way to keep his parents from fighting. While he\u2019s on his quest, he keeps getting knocked down by life, but he keeps popping right back up like the salt hay in the marsh.<\/p>\n

His father, played by Judd Nelson, needs to grow up, too, if he\u2019s going to hold his family together\u2013his eternal-teenager act is getting old.<\/p>\n

What skills will you draw on to convey this darker, regretful side of Roger? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: I don\u2019t know if it is a skill, per se, but what I bring to the role of \u201cRoger\u201d now, as opposed to years ago, is the experience that comes to all of us, through the natural process of getting older. Hopefully this will make for a wiser, more grounded \u201cRoger.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cBlueberry Beach\u201d here seems like a magic place where families return every summer to hunt for their lost innocence. That\u2019s true with so many \u2018destination attractions\u2019 in Maine, where we all seem to be searching for something.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daly: Higgins Beach is timeless. Every summer the rock is out front, the farmland across the river glows at the end of the day, and little kids pee in the puddles.
\n
\nWhat year are you taking us back to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daly: It\u2019s the summer of 1963. I remember how optimistic I felt that summer at the beach, with President Kennedy in the White House and the very real expectation that I would be flying to junior high in a few years by personal jet-pack. When I wrote the screenplay, I drew on my memories of how I felt then.<\/p>\n

As a native Portlander, this has to appeal to you. If Higgins Beach is the magic spot in\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>, where are the touchstones in Maine that you feel you need to visit whenever you return? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: When I\u2019ve been out-of-state for any length of time, that first moment when I cross the border into Maine\u2013wherever in the state that might occur\u2013brings me a feeling of comfort, a sense of knowing I am now standing where I am from, and where I belong.<\/p>\n

[For] touchstones, I almost always take a flight to Boston, then rent a car and drive the last 100-plus miles.
\nI get off Interstate 95 at Portsmouth, head down toward Strawbery Banke, then cross the water on the old bridge so that my first steps\/tracks in Maine are on Badger Island.<\/p>\n

I always stop at The Sea Hag for a couple of lobster rolls, which I eat where I stand (I get some lump crabmeat and lobster to go)\u2013if there is a better lobster roll anywhere else on the planet, I\u2019ve not tasted it.<\/p>\n

Then I head north until I reach the outskirts of Portland, and I like to drive by the house of my infancy on Catherine Street, then drive by the house of my cavity-prone years on Falmouth Street, then head up to the Western Promenade so I can drive by the old Carroll Street house, and if there\u2019s snow on the ground, I\u2019ll boot-slide down the long curved \u201csled-track\u201d that runs along the old cemetery.<\/p>\n

I always drive through the Old Port, and down Exchange Street. The first \u201creal\u201d job I ever had (other than delivering the morning Press Herald) was working at the old Candle Factory on Exchange Street.<\/p>\n

Across the street there used to be a leather shop, \u201cTogether Leather\u201d if I remember correctly. The owner was a really cool long-haired guy who\u2019d let me hang around and help out, and his girlfriend was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life.<\/p>\n

I also hung out at a psychedelic poster shop called Boom-Boom, where I got the Easy Rider, Raquel Welch, and Sophia Loren posters that were the mainstays of my bedroom wall-art.
\n
\nWhere is your magic place, Huey, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: The Maine woods hold a deep attraction for me. My film\u00a0Wilderness & Spirit<\/em>, A Mountain Called Katahdin demonstrates that. But I\u2019ve always had a great attraction to the Maine coast. Growing up in Nashua, the Maine beaches were our major destination in high school. I have thought about making a movie on the coast, and Salt Hay is my chance to do that.<\/p>\n

Daly (to Nelson): Where did you go to the beach when you were a kid?<\/p>\n

Nelson: We went more to Sebago Lake. [But] man, I have so many memories of Old Orchard, not the least of which was seeing large dudes from Quebec wearing Speedos. What up with that horror show?!<\/p>\n

Not that you can ever go home again, or can you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: Some of the places of my youth may have disappeared, but when I drive up Congress Street from City Hall toward Longfellow Square, I can still see the Monument Square barber shop where I got my first haircut, and Recordland, where I bought all my 45s, and the State Theatre, where I would sneak in to see all the R-rated horror films.<\/p>\n

I must\u2019ve snuck in to see\u00a0Mark of the Devil <\/em>(the first film ever where they gave the audience members \u201cbarf-bags\u201d) half-a-dozen times. I make sure to stop at Terroni\u2019s, across the street from King Middle School, and get a \u201cdouble-real\u201d Italian sandwich\u2026and then slip in quickly to Gritty McDuff\u2019s for a local beverage. {Sometimes I like to] stop by J\u2019s Oyster Bar, not only for their outstanding steamahhs, but also to see the people who run the place who have been my friends since, well\u2026since before the wheel.<\/p>\n

So you really sense the \u2018here\u2019 here, in the larger sense of Higgins Beach? Are there any images of Portland during the Kennedy era that are somehow stuck in your mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: Oh, yeah, I remember the bear-chairs in Benoit\u2019s, Angelone\u2019s Pizza, Dave Astor, WMTW weather from the top of Mt. Washington.<\/p>\n

Daly: I guess you\u2019re ready, then, to transport yourself back in time. What men\u2019s fashions from the period are you looking forward to wearing? Dreading any?<\/p>\n

Nelson: [I] am not looking forward to wearing pointy shoes, but I suspect Roger doesn\u2019t wear them.
\n
\nWhat scene in\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em> do you most look forward to shooting with Judd playing Roger?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: Well, it\u2019s hard to say just one scene. In [Roger\u2019s wife] Marilyn\u2019s French Discotheque party scene, Roger has a chance to let it all out. But I like the smaller moments when Roger has to let us know he loves his son but just can\u2019t figure out how to express it. It comes out all wrong whenever he tries to do this.<\/p>\n

[It\u2019s impossible not to be moved by] Roger and Gower\u2019s last scene together\u2013where they confront each other in that confused attempt at communication between adult and kid we\u2019ve all faced at some point in our lives. It ends on a quietly touching note.
\n
\nWhere do you dream of staying during the shooting of\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: You\u2019re kidding, right? At my parents\u2019 house, of course [in Falmouth Foreside]! With every passing day, I feel more and more fortunate that I come from such an incredible family. My parents [Leonard Nelson, partner in the law firm Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer, and Nelson, and former state rep. Merle Nelson] have both set incredibly good examples for me and my sisters: They are kind and caring, they do unto others as they would have others do unto them, they were high-school sweethearts (at Deering) and have been married over 50 years.<\/p>\n

I also feel very lucky that I was able to know and spend some great quality time with all four of my grandparents (may they rest in peace). All of my positive qualities\u2013any decency of character I might possess\u2013are a direct result of my upbringing, specifically the guidance and example of my mother and father. (All of my \u2018questionable\u2019 behavior, \u2018tom-foolery\u2019 and the like, I learned on my own.)<\/p>\n

People in Maine imagine you floating in the ether between characters and films. Tell us where you live, what make and model car(s) you drive, what your favorite board game is, favorite spaghetti sauce, secret nerdy hobby, whether you have pets\u2013some grounding information. Who you love.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: A nosy little bugger, aren\u2019t you? I live in Los Angeles, I drive a 1995 Chevy Impala SS\u2013basically, it\u2019s a cop car. I also ride a 1987 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail, a rat-bike I spray-painted flat black, with as few shiny bits as possible, and I have a ne\u2019er-do-well 1970 Toyota FJ40 with neither doors nor roof\u2013it\u2019s a truly spiteful and heinous lemon of a vehicle which almost never runs and is currently comatose with a steering disability. I think I keep it to remind myself that just \u201cwishing\u201d for something to happen is NOT enough.<\/p>\n

I have a dog, a rescue pit named Nya the Nice, and she is.<\/p>\n

(Pause) Like most people, I\u2019d prefer to keep my private life private. I\u2019m not one to talk out of school, or tell tales. I won\u2019t name names\u2026or sell anybody out\u2026and I tend not to be friends with people who do. It seems that many in the media believe that they have the power to decide what another person may or may not keep private; I strongly disagree and prefer the individual make those decisions for him- or herself, so I don\u2019t see an invasion of privacy as ever having an \u2018expiration date.\u2019 YIKES\u2026gettin\u2019 too serious, please forgive me.<\/p>\n

Actors from Maine seem to have a great regard for each other. Are there other parts in\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em> where you\u2019d like to see another Maine celebrity at work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: Any and every actor from Maine would be great to have in the project. There\u2019s Liv Tyler, Andrea Martin, Patrick Dempsey, Bob Marley, and more. I really think someone should ask Stephen King to play a role.<\/p>\n

What gets to you about\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: I like the coming-of-age part of the story, how to deal with all the new discoveries in your life when you are young, when there are still so many mysteries to life. The script also has plenty of room for a director to put his visual stamp on the film. I am eager to work with Jim Cole, director of photography, in creating the visual world of\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so unique about the setting, and how will you use it to ground Gower\u2019s innocence?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: Brian has captured the spirit of the times. I remember 1963 and JFK\u2019s assassination. I had just started high school, so that year is filled with vivid memories for me. The underlying social mores or lifestyles of the early sixties were a carry-over from 1950s conservatism. Nineteen sixty-three was a pivotal year when a whole generation was about to explode on the world as young adults. Maybe it was the sheer number of youth or just the right timing. Something was in the air, and great, hard-fought change was coming like the struggle of the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, and the hippie lifestyle.
\n
\nWhat\u2019s your most recent film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: [I\u2019ve just finished shooting] All Saints Day, the sequel to The Boondock Saints, with fellow Maine-native Bob Marley.
\n
\nWhy do you think Judd Nelson is such a great pick to play Roger?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daly: He\u2019ll make my writing look good. In The Breakfast Club, for instance, Judd had so much screen presence that audiences were compelled to watch him. They saw what was going on inside his character, but they also got the feeling\u2013somehow\u2013that there was even more in there. He has a way of deepening the mystery of his characters.<\/p>\n

Huey: From the beginning, [I\u2019ve felt] that Judd brings a nice physical presence to his acting. Often his characters exude a certain insouciance\u2013in all the complexity of meaning of that word\u2013from indifference to composure to airiness. He uses it well to cover up the deeper emotions that emerge later in the film. Roger is a showy guy who likes to have fun. But we sense this is a cover for a dissatisfaction with life.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s always looking for the next thing\u2013which [he believes must be] better than any current thing, person, moment. This affects his marriage so that at the same time that he can\u2019t keep up his relationship with Marilyn, he loves Gower.
\nRoger\u2019s struggle to handle his inner battle with himself over the fact that leaving Marilyn means leaving Gower is at the core of his character. I look forward to seeing Judd\u2019s interpretation of that.<\/p>\n

If you were back at Stella Adler\u2019s famous acting school in New York, what would she tell you to look for in your characterization of Roger in\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson: Mmmmm\u2026 What would Ms. Stella Adler tell me to find in the screenplay? Probably to find \u201cThe Truth.\u201d
\n
\nEnough about you guys. What scene will be the best opportunity for Mainers to snag walk-on bit parts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daly: The backyard discotheque party calls for people to do the Twist and the Limbo, and there\u2019s a funny sequence at an Old Orchard Beach-ish seaside amusement park that\u2019s exhilarating and mortifying for Gower, his summer in miniature.<\/p>\n

What do you hope to achieve with\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daly: Our aim is to produce a high-quality, low-budget independent film for family audiences. If we can do that, we\u2019ll introduce the brand-name value of a product \u201cMade In Maine\u201d to the movie business.
\n
\nIf everything went perfectly from this point forward, what do you see happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: We have a good core creative team. We know the best crew people in the state and have connections to Maine\u2019s wonderful actors. We need a few key name actors like Judd to help us push this over the top. I feel my fellow producers and I can handle that. What we need now is for people who believe in Maine and want to invest in the state to step forward. We need money to make the film, there\u2019s no way around that. We need insightful people who understand that investing in a film being made in Maine with Maine people is a good idea for the state and worthy of supporting.<\/p>\n

How can interested Mainers get involved in the production of\u00a0Salt Hay<\/em> at any level?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huey: Write to our production team at\u00a0salthay@me.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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