February 25, 2005

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Publication Date: Friday, February 25, 2005

Pleasanton hits the big screen

Pleasanton has gone Hollywood.

"Planting Melvin," a full-length feature shot by JuneBug Films in Ruby Hill as well as on the peninsula, premieres next weekend at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose.

"We shot most of the movie at one private home," said Pleasanton resident Donna Garrison, who was co-producer. But the normally quiet gated community provided unexpected challenges.

"As it happened, the neighbors were putting in new countertops," said Garrison. "The workers would use their amazingly loud saw every time we had a key shot."

At first the camera crew tried to wait for the saw to fall silent, but each time they thought it was safe to shoot, the saw's shriek would pierce the air.

"Then it became laughable," Garrison recalled. "So I become the workman wrangler. I had to go over and convince them to hold off. This wasn't a really popular idea since they had a schedule to meet, but they were nice guys."

The best part of the project was working with individuals who brought their expertise to the table and cared about making the movie the best it could be, said Garrison. "The actors were excellent, with Irene Bedard (from 'Pocahontas' and 'Smoke Signals') really making it look easy, with her depiction of Billie the battered wife who leaves her husband and moves to the country."

"Planting Melvin" is about a woman who escapes an abusive relationship and finds solace in the friendship of a dying photojournalist.

"One real pleasant surprise was Richard Van Vleet (Dr. Chuck Tyler from TV's 'All My Children') who played Anson Jones, the abusive husband," Garrison said. "It was great to see a good guy play a bad guy so well."

Another actor was Don Most (Ralph Malph in "Happy Days"), who had a small role. "He essentially did us a favor by being in the movie and his scene was great," Garrison noted.

She said she called on her friends to help with costuming and props - and they even gave cookies, chips and sodas for the cast and crew.

"I spent a lot of time gathering props," Garrison said, "and was lucky to have so much help from friends who donated everything from books to old magazines and newspapers to holiday décor to antique photos to an actual Victrola record player."

She also found Laura Wheatman, a local college student majoring in theater, who helped keep track of the props for continuity in the film.

"She worked to make sure that whatever was sitting on the counter in scene 5 was still on the counter in scene 6 - even if the scenes were shot days apart," explained Garrison.

She said that she and co-producer Karen MacKellar tried to take care of all the details so writer/producer/director Kari Nevil could direct the movie.

Garrison even stepped up to the mike when the need arose while they were mixing the sound for the film at Skywalker Ranch.

"We were doing a session with a couple of the actors, replacing dialog that didn't sound great on the film," said Garrison. "Near the end our sound supervisor asks if any of us can do a voice for Rosa, the housekeeper. No one volunteers, so I say I'll do it.

"It was fun - going down on the Lucas Films soundstage, with the headset and big screen, and saying a couple of simple words: 'Dr. Jones, I'm here!' It took several takes, but that was mostly because it was such a silly little part, we wanted to have fun with it."

Historians love to note that "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" was filmed here as well as Abbott and Costello's "It Ain't Hay." Now future historians will be able to point with pride to the role Ruby Hill played in 2005 cinema.

Pleasanton premieres

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