Post by VeeVee on Sept 19, 2009 12:33:17 GMT -5
www.younewstv.com/areas/kotv/57580797.html
Tulsa Film Company makes history...
by Jackalope501 (Subscribe)
Posted on: Sep 6, 2009 at 12:46 AM CDT
Location: Tulsa, OK, - White Sands Missile Range, NM - San Antonio, TX
Tags:Film documentary local world premiere Miracle! Pictures Script-2-Screen film festival
One of this year’s most promising films was produced in Tulsa in less time than you’d think, with a budget you’d never believe. “The Road to Bataan” chronicles the 20th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March held at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. This event brings in larger fields of participants with each passing year; climbing from 4,600 in 2008 to over 5,300 in 2009. And how is this possible? To quote an interview from the film, “It’s something that should not be missed…something that should not be forgotten, and a cornerstone of our freedoms.” The Memorial Death March is held to honor the American and Filipino soldiers who defended the Philippine Islands from the Japanese Imperial Army during the onset of WWII. Poorly equipped, starving and ridden with disease, they managed to hold off the invaders from December of 1941 until April of 1942 when a second Japanese army was committed to their defeat. Oddly enough, these men constituted the only US forces engaged in a ground war with the enemy at that time. (Our involvement in Europe would not happen until later.) Upon their capture, thousands were marched to death through the jungles on their way to P.O.W. camps. The attrition rates were staggering. Those who survived would remain Japanese prisoners until the end of the war, under very harsh conditions. The film raises some serious questions, and the first I could think of was why don’t I know more about this? Sitting in River West Studio and speaking with the film’s director Jack Randal, I find out that I’m not alone. “It’s a little known, or a little publicized part of American History”, he tells me. “If you look at the political landscape at that time, it wasn’t exactly a popular story. It was a big loss for the home team.”
So what drew Miracle! Pictures to the project? “Well, my friend Dan Snow was telling me about taking his ROTC cadets down to White Sands for this event and asked if we wanted to shoot it,” Randal explains. “Once we got down there and actually saw the magnitude of this event, we knew the story was good… at that point our job was simple, just don’t screw it up. Everybody got choked up at some point during that weekend. It’s inspiring, it’s overwhelming, and that’s what we want to relay to the audience.”
And what about the production time and budget? The film was shot over 3 days from 27-29 March. Final voice-overs were added and Post-production was wrapped on August 2nd. That’s only 4 months from start to finish on a feature-length film with a run time of almost 96 minutes. That’s unheard of, especially for small budget independent films…unless your production company is Miracle! Pictures. The Road to Bataan is the second film released by this company within a calendar year, following The American Hero Ride which was released at last year’s Script-2-Screen Film Festival in Tulsa on October 4th, 2008 and won for Best Documentary. The production time was the same at 4 months, with Bataan coming in under budget at around $3,000 compared to the Hero Ride’s budget of $5,000.
MIracle!'s film crew was also in San Antonio earlier this year to film the Japanese Ambassador's formal apology to the Bataan survivors at their national convention, an apology these men have waited 67 years to receive. Their footage was used for local and national news broadcasts.
The Road to Bataan World Premiere, Saturday, Oct 3rd at 6 pm
Phillips Auditorium, TCC Metro Campus, 909 So. Boston Ave.
Admission is $8.00
call 918.282.2520 for more details
Tulsa Film Company makes history...
by Jackalope501 (Subscribe)
Posted on: Sep 6, 2009 at 12:46 AM CDT
Location: Tulsa, OK, - White Sands Missile Range, NM - San Antonio, TX
Tags:Film documentary local world premiere Miracle! Pictures Script-2-Screen film festival
One of this year’s most promising films was produced in Tulsa in less time than you’d think, with a budget you’d never believe. “The Road to Bataan” chronicles the 20th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March held at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. This event brings in larger fields of participants with each passing year; climbing from 4,600 in 2008 to over 5,300 in 2009. And how is this possible? To quote an interview from the film, “It’s something that should not be missed…something that should not be forgotten, and a cornerstone of our freedoms.” The Memorial Death March is held to honor the American and Filipino soldiers who defended the Philippine Islands from the Japanese Imperial Army during the onset of WWII. Poorly equipped, starving and ridden with disease, they managed to hold off the invaders from December of 1941 until April of 1942 when a second Japanese army was committed to their defeat. Oddly enough, these men constituted the only US forces engaged in a ground war with the enemy at that time. (Our involvement in Europe would not happen until later.) Upon their capture, thousands were marched to death through the jungles on their way to P.O.W. camps. The attrition rates were staggering. Those who survived would remain Japanese prisoners until the end of the war, under very harsh conditions. The film raises some serious questions, and the first I could think of was why don’t I know more about this? Sitting in River West Studio and speaking with the film’s director Jack Randal, I find out that I’m not alone. “It’s a little known, or a little publicized part of American History”, he tells me. “If you look at the political landscape at that time, it wasn’t exactly a popular story. It was a big loss for the home team.”
So what drew Miracle! Pictures to the project? “Well, my friend Dan Snow was telling me about taking his ROTC cadets down to White Sands for this event and asked if we wanted to shoot it,” Randal explains. “Once we got down there and actually saw the magnitude of this event, we knew the story was good… at that point our job was simple, just don’t screw it up. Everybody got choked up at some point during that weekend. It’s inspiring, it’s overwhelming, and that’s what we want to relay to the audience.”
And what about the production time and budget? The film was shot over 3 days from 27-29 March. Final voice-overs were added and Post-production was wrapped on August 2nd. That’s only 4 months from start to finish on a feature-length film with a run time of almost 96 minutes. That’s unheard of, especially for small budget independent films…unless your production company is Miracle! Pictures. The Road to Bataan is the second film released by this company within a calendar year, following The American Hero Ride which was released at last year’s Script-2-Screen Film Festival in Tulsa on October 4th, 2008 and won for Best Documentary. The production time was the same at 4 months, with Bataan coming in under budget at around $3,000 compared to the Hero Ride’s budget of $5,000.
MIracle!'s film crew was also in San Antonio earlier this year to film the Japanese Ambassador's formal apology to the Bataan survivors at their national convention, an apology these men have waited 67 years to receive. Their footage was used for local and national news broadcasts.
The Road to Bataan World Premiere, Saturday, Oct 3rd at 6 pm
Phillips Auditorium, TCC Metro Campus, 909 So. Boston Ave.
Admission is $8.00
call 918.282.2520 for more details
?? leonard. just cant recall the given name. i can remember a face for twenty years, but i forget the name in twenty minutes. a failure of advancing age i would imagine. i do so wish i could have visited with the 31st representative for a longer period of time, but there were folks lined up to shake his hand, as they were with the other two bataan survivors. did i mention he was a survivor of one of the "hell ships" and was doing forced labor in japan at war's end??? one of the other two men was a ground crew mechanic at clark field and after that debacle he was given a springfield .03, along with other ground crew members and formed into an adhoc infantry company. i think they were labeled "provisional aircorps" infantry or some such thing. the third man was a retired lieutenant colonel. dont know if he started the war as a second lieutenant or was originally an enlisted man who rose thru the ranks after the war. it was mentioned that the guy from the 31st drove from chico, california to tulsa for this event. now, i dont know whether he actually was behind the wheel or was a passenger in the car, but that's still quite a trip for a man approaching 90. he seemed to be in good physical condition, alert mentally and stood as straight as a flag pole. i told him i was privileged to have shook his hand. there cant be too many of these guys left whether in the PI or the states. as far as this film being shown on the history channel,etc i can see it happening, especially if they clean up some of the sound. its pretty poor quality in spots, especially in some of the exteriors at white sands, new mexico.