Wrapping up the Old Fashioned movie making magic

It was in May 2011 that a special press conference was called at the Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau in downtown New Philadelphia to announce that filmmaker and New Philadelphia native Rik Swartzwelder and his partners had chosen the Tuscarawas Valley as the location to film the movie Old Fashioned, also written by Swartzwelder.

Seven months, hundreds of auditions, and thousands of production hours later, the last of the cast and crew have gone home, but the magic of moviemaking has forever changed all whose lives Old Fashioned touched.

“What a long, strange trip it’s been, as the song goes. When you think of just the handful of people that were on the ground when we made that announcement, we have now had a small army here. Over 1,500 actors auditioned, countless local businesses came alongside of us and helped us get this film made,” said Swartzwelder, as he leaned back in a chair and reflected on the experience. “It’s extraordinary. I’m still not quite recovered from the avalanche of generosity we’ve experienced, to be honest. It was the right call, to be here. My gut told me that this was the right place to do it, and it complicated some things, but whatever it complicated was made up by leaps and bounds in other areas. It was the right call. I wouldn’t want to make this film anywhere else. I’ve how we feel about certain issues,” he added. “Multiple people on both cast and crew (from out of town) were surprised. It was fun to behold.”

Swartzwelder was pensive as he spoke of the theme of Old Fashioned.

“The theme was essential to what we were doing. The little teaser trailer gives an accurate portrayal of what the film is about. All of the ‘feet at the threshold’ is a recurring theme. Life is a series of decisions that we make. Sometimes we stay on the right side of that threshold, and sometimes we don’t. Life goes on, after our good decisions and after our bad, and grace abounds.”

He also revealed his reaction to hosting an evening at New Philadelphia’s Quaker Theater, where an overview of his films and a sneak peak at Old Fashioned were shown.

“The night at the Quaker, it was a kick to see the trailer up on the screen where I used to go see movies as a kid,” he admitted with a grin.

Old Fashioned, which will most likely be rated PG, involved many actors from the local community.

“The largest role we cast from locals was Joe Bonamico, who played George, a guy who drives the antiques delivery truck. He did an excellent job. There are other locals who have smaller roles. When you are counting extras, you are talking a lot, into the dozens.”

Hours of editing lay ahead for Swartzwelder over the next six months or more.

“The hard part is going to be cutting stuff out. Now that we are moving toward editing, if we put in every shot we took, it would be five hours long. Nobody wants to sit through that,” he commented. “The next heartbreak is that some will end on the cutting room floor…but you are going to see familiar faces. Already I know that there are scenes that cannot be cut out of the film, and there are plenty of extras in those scenes,” noted Swartzwelder of the movie, which is scheduled to premiere in the valley in fall 2012. “People had a ball!”

As for the filmmaker’s future plans?

“There are other projects, already written, that we are trying to get set up, and then I’d like to, at some point in the near future, sit down and write something new.”