Large local turn-out shows interest in horror movie to be filmed in Lansing next summer

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

 

Nearly 100 people were in attendance at the Kerndt Brothers Community Center in Lansing Thursday, November 6 to learn the details of a horror movie, "The Burial," which is to be filmed in Lansing next summer.  Tom Garland, a professional comedian and actor from Cedar Rapids who is slated to play one of the lead roles in the film, welcomed the crowd and set a light, entertaining tone for the informational meeting.

Garland will portray the local troublemaker in the movie. He introduced Kristine Hrycun and Jack Meggers, who are the principal instigators of this project. Hrycun will take care of production aspects of the movie while Meggers is the writer and director. Both have extensive backgrounds in Los Angeles in movie and television production. The intention of these early informational meetings is to do a lot of preliminary work in the area to let people know what is happening involving the production so no one is surprised when it happens next summer. The current phase of the production is primarily publicity and fund raising.

Meggers, who grew up in the Mason City area, reflected on his Lansing connections that drew him to want to make a movie in the area. As a boy, he spent many summers and weekends enjoying camping adventures in the area. In addition, his father now lives in Lansing. On one such trip back to the area during college, he was enjoying a peaceful moment at Effigy Mounds National Monument when raucous music and noise disrupted his reverie. He looked over the cliff and below him were several teenagers partying on speed boats in the Mississippi River.

From this one incident, the seed idea for the movie began. He wanted to examine the conflicts that arise when cultures clash, when the past and present collide; when friends make decisions that take them down the wrong path. He wanted to tell a cautionary tale with a message that would also educate people about the significance of the sacred burial mounds in the area.

It wasn’t until much later that this idea became a horror story. Both Meggers and Hrycun emphasize that this is not a horror story in the style of the “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” It is a thriller with the goal of building terror in the audience. They both cited the movie “The Shining” as being an example of the type of film they hope to make. Last year’s release entitled “You’re Next” is similar to the type of film they intend to make.

Hrycun and Meggers stressed that they want to make a story-based, intelligent, horror film. “You’re Next” was a low budget independent film which cost under $500,000 and grossed approximately $20 million. Hrycun and Meggers are hoping for similar success but such success takes more than hope, it takes “due diligence” in determining the smartest way to film and market the movie.

They decided on the genre of horror story for several reasons. First, horror is marketable; people like to be scared. Movies are made to make money so it makes sense to choose a genre which will generate profit. Second, horror is translatable. Regardless of language or culture, the same types of events create fear in people. This cannot be said of comedy or many other genres. They emphasized that the overseas market is a huge venue for horror films and they want their film to be marketable abroad as well as in the United States. Ninety-minute films are typical in this genre because of video on demand and other similar sources.

 

ECONOMIC BOON TO THE AREA

Meggers and Hrycun emphasized the economic boon that they feel the film will bring to the area. Thirty to forty crew and cast members will need housing, food, transportation, building materials and things to do during the month-long shooting period next summer. In addition, a smaller crew will be in the area for several months preparing for the movie shoot. There will be some short-term jobs available generated by the movies’ needs.

Most of the movie will be shot outdoors in wooded areas but there will be some interior shots in downtown Lansing stores. They emphasized that featuring a town in a movie can increase tourism to the area. People come to see where "Field of Dreams" was shot or they go to see the bridges of Madison County.

They intend to use actual stores and not create a false façade or interior for the movie shots. They will, however, not use actual burial grounds in the movie. Meggers stressed  that they have been doing a great deal of research about the Mound Builders and the various burial mounds in the area. Any burial mounds used in the movie will be created specifically for the movie and no sacred ground will be desecrated.

Since this is a beginning film for both Meggers and Hrycun, they will make a low budget feature film (under $3 million). This limits the amount of money spent on locations, so they have decided to use the woods around Lansing as the primary location. Computer-generated special effects will not have an important role in “The Burial.” Meggers stated, “We want to rely on the story generated by the characters and their choices and how those choices affect their lives. We don’t want special effects to take over the story.”

 

INVESTMENT

OPPORTUNITIES

Hrycun and Meggers addressed an important aspect of these preliminary meetings. They are looking for investors. They stated that movie making is risky business and approximately 50% don’t make money back, but there could be up to a 25% return on an investment if the film does well. A small investment in a movie would be approximately $5,000. A mid-range investor puts up approximately $50,000. Meggers said the best reason to invest is because “you like the movies; it’s fun to be involved.” Major investors, in the $175,000 to $200,000 range, receive credit lines like “Executive Producer” on a film.

There are other ways to invest beyond money as well. Advertising by paying for product placement in the movie is another way to invest. For example, a local brewery or winery might want to have their brand displayed in a bar scene. This type of national exposure in a movie could make a big impact on their business.

Hrycun emphasized that although this is a first film for both of them; they are not new to the industry. They both have worked in all aspects of production for several years and so have a realistic picture of what it takes to get the movie from the script to the screen through smart business practices.

Another type of investment is through the opportunities the shooting of “The Burial” may offer for young people to shadow professionals involved in all aspects of movie production. Networking, mentoring, apprenticeships and job shadowing are all very important aspects of learning a trade such as film making. Meggers explained that they have been mentored by Becky Smith, film production professor at UCLA, originally from the Okoboji area. Smith has been an invaluable resource about making a film in Iowa since she has done this type of work here before, using local cast and crew. In addition, Liz Gilman, Executive Producer of ProduceIowa.com, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs located in Des Moines, has been very helpful.

 

QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE

During a question/answer period after the presentation, questions from the audience ranged from “How can I be the one who gets murdered in the movie?” to “How long will it be before we see this movie?”. Meggers stated that extras will be used in the movie and they would like those extras to be the area residents, although none of the extras will be murder victims.  As the movie gets closer to production, details will be released about becoming an extra and other ways of becoming a part of the process, such as shadowing professionals in the movie making business.

As to a timeline for the movie, Meggers explained that the pre-production time starts approximately two months before the shooting; shooting takes about one month and post production editing takes four-six months. Hrycon explained that the finished film is then shown at film festivals and film markets to potential film distributors.

Timing of a film release is critical because distributors want to maximize the audience; therefore a film may be ready for release but held back until the best time to release it to see the most earning potential. The film will probably end up with an "R" rating but that is not known until after it is completed and has gone through the rating system. Meggers is hoping for a release in 2016.

Will the movie be shot on real film? Meggers stated that real film is much more expensive and also more difficult to manage because it would have to be flown back and forth to Chicago, IL daily for processing. High quality digital cameras will be used for this project.

Hrycun asked if there were any concerns or worries. One resident asked, “Will Lansing downtown be blocked off? Accessible?” Hrycun emphasized that the production company will get permission from all sites where they want to film and will let people know several days in advance if an area will be unavailable for traffic. People are allowed to watch the filming process as long as they are quiet and stay out of the shot. Most of the shooting will be out in the woods, so there may be just a few days downtown where a certain area may need to be sectioned off. The production crew will take before and after shots of every locale so that they leave it exactly as it was. Meggers  stated, “We respect the people of this area and the beauty of this land. We do not want to disturb any aspect of life here.”

Another audience member asked about how to contact the company if they are interested in providing catering or housing. Currently, all information can be sent to either Meggers or Hrycun. Their emails are jackmeggers@gmail.com or kristinehrycun@gmail.com. Soon they will hire a production manager who will manage those important details.

Finally, one of the area teachers asked “Are you willing to come talk to students?”  Both Meggers and Hrycun enthusiastically replied that they love to talk to students about their craft. They already have meetings set up at Iowa State University and Drake University but would be more than willing to talk to area students as well.

Meggers and Hrycun are currently based out of Des Moines until the movie is completed. Additional information about the movie will be published as it becomes available. Information may also be obtained by visiting www.wholeheartedproductions.org or https://www.facebook.com/theburialmovie.