ON LOCATION

June 2004

'Starship Exeter' beams into Austin Studios

Joshua Caleb, left, and Michael Buford play Lt. B'Fuselek and Cmdr. Paul Cutty, respectively, in 'Starship Exeter.' Austin fans created this extension of the original 'Star Trek' series.
EXETERSTUDIOS.COM

By Joe O'Connell

Mike Judge's big-budget comedy continues to crowd three hangars at Austin Studios, but next month the fourth will be crawling with "Star Trek" fans gone out of control.

"Starship Exeter" has set a July start date to film the second and part of a third episode of its ongoing fan films. Think bright and shiny 1960s "Star Trek," not the later drabber versions, says Jimm Johnson, who with his brother Josh started reworking the old show with new characters and new plots in late 1995.

"The 1960s 'Star Trek' was more interesting and unique in its vision of the future than any of the follow-ups or even any of the science fiction that came after," says Johnson, a stay-at-home dad who works on the project at night. "The others were too dark."

The first film, "The Savage Empire," came together in 2002 when the brothers moved to Austin, hooked up with Joel Sarchet and played with Final Cut Pro software on a Mac to splice together 30 minutes of footage. They decided it wasn't enough — they filmed fight scenes in Pease Park, and some green screen shots of the ship in their back yard.

Because Paramount owns the "Star Trek" concept, they can hold no hopes of theatrical or in-store sales. Instead, a making-of movie is given out for donations through the Web site Exeterstudio.com. The first film can be viewed at homepage.mac.com/starshipexeter/.

With about $7,500 in cash, they are setting out to make "The Tressaurian Intersection" and "The Atlantis Invaders" with miniature work from Thomas Sasser — an Alabaman who designed the latest "Star Trek" model kit — a touch of computer-generated animation and a lot of help from a large group of writers and crew.

Sarchet, who is in charge of set design and construction, is puzzling over re-creating the original 1960s ship's bridge through repeated viewings of the show. And they're still seeking a creative effects artist.

Why do a film that will only end up on the Internet? Why not?, Johnson says.

"I don't think this is something I'll do for the rest of my life, but it's a fun thing to do for now," he says.

And he's not alone. With the advent of video and computer editing, anyone can be a self-made Robert Rodriquez, and many are making fans films in honor of "Star Trek," "Star Wars" and even "The Matrix."

Austin Studios as part of its mission tries to bring in smaller projects like "Exeter," says Suzanne Quinn, Austin Studios director.

"That's what keeps our industry vital," Quinn says.

A TV pilot is taking its inspiration from the Poodle Dog Lounge.
Rebecca McEntee AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Wag the dog: When "Exeter" closes shop in August, the team behind the television pilot "Poodle Dog Lounge" will take up residence. Writer Bonnie Orr calls the one-hour drama a mix of "Cheers," "The Sopranos" and "Northern Exposure," about an ordinary place where extraordinary things happen. And, yes, it is based on the real Poodle Dog on Burnet Road.

Filmmakers will have a battle of the bands June 20 at Red's Scoot Inn to find a local music group that will perform in the pilot.

Casting call: Benicio Del Toro and Clive Owen are set to join Brittany Murphy in the last of three story arcs, "The Big Fat Kill," in Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel "Sin City," now lensing here. Quentin Tarantino is now expected to direct only one scene of the final story, spending no more than a day on the green-screen set.

Joining Luke Wilson on the set of Judge's futuristic and nameless comedy now shooting in Austin is Sara Rue (television's "Less Than Perfect"). She was last in town in '98 to film "A Slipping-Down Life." This time she plays the attorney general. Terry Crews ("Starsky & Hutch") is the future president of the United States. Judge is said to be very involved in selection of background extras to fit the film's homogenized, dumbed-down future.

Good news, bad news: Yes, Austin-shot pilot "Jack and Bobby" was picked up by the WB, and Dallas-shot pilot "HUB" got the thumbs-up from NBC for its fall schedule. But both series will be shot in Los Angeles, with the latter renamed "LAX."

Texas, their Texas: CBS telepic "Suburban Madness" stars Sela Ward and Elizabeth Peña and tells of the Houston woman who ran over her cheating husband with her car. Filming is under way in, gulp, Toronto.

Filming in California is "Only the Brave," the World War II tale of a Japanese American regiment that fought through German lines in France to save 211 soldiers from the Texas 141st.

Arizona, our Texas: Paramount Pictures has signed on for "A Rhinestone Alibi," about a Texas college student who provides friends with alibis for a fee. It's based on the true story of a University of Arizona student in the 1980s. No word on a filming locale.

Austin stories: "Master of the Game," the Austin Studios-shot feature that took the audience award at the 2002 Austin Film Festival, has been picked up for theatrical distribution by Sunn Classic Pictures. . . . UT film grad Scott Rice is a double finalist in the Student Academy Awards competition for his documentary "The Adventures of Mad Matt" and his feature "Perils in Nude Modeling." . . . Austin joins London and New York as the only cities to have two Guggenheim fellows in the same category. Congrats to Ellen Spiro and Mitko Panov for their filmmaking nods. . . . Kingsly Martin directs "Faith and Bullets," a one-location film that started shooting this week locally. It's the tale of a suicidal divorce lawyer who takes a door-to-door evangelist hostage. . . . Gary Walker of TexFX reports that the Austin visual effects studio recently worked on three episodes of Stephen King's "Kingdom Hospital" before it was canceled. . . . Austin rapper Smokey Smoke is planning to shoot and star in "Makin' Da Paper Stack," about a street hustler trying to make it big. . . . The Austin Film Society is upping the ante on its Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund by $10,000 this year to a cool $75,000. Since 1996, the fund has given $403,000 to 140 projects. That includes Jacob Vaughan and Bryan Poyser's "Dear Pillow," which was recently named best feature at the Boston Underground Film Festival and screens later this month at the Atlanta Film Festival after showings in March at South by Southwest.

Got a tip about the Texas film industry? Send it to Joeonlocation@hotmail.com