June 15, 2015
The Old Orange Historic District on a sunny Saturday morning looked like a step back more than 70 years. A woman wearing white gloves and a hat walked with her son carrying a paper sack of groceries. A shiny green 1930s pickup truck was parked on the street under the old oaks. But it wasn’t a time warp. More than 30 people hurried around placing photography screens and microphones, Thick cables crossed the yard of the house known as Meadows Oaks on Seventh Street and Cypress Avenue. The producers of the independent film “The Example” used the house for the set of the short movie that they hope will be accepted into the film festival circuit.
The historical fiction film is a collaborative effort by director Wyatt Cagle, writer Gordon Williams and Kenneth Dupuis. All three are veterans in making movies and videos. Their company is G Sharp Productions and CGL Studios. They have made four other short films before, including the award-winning “Not Like the Commercials.” All are graduates of Lamar University, where Williams is the long-time operations manager of the television studio for the Communications Department. Cagle, a Houston-based filmmaker, is originally from Bridge City.
The Lamar University connection helped gain the house in the Old Orange Historic District. Brianna Meadows, a Lamar graduate in communications, suggested her parents’ house. Ben and Kelly Meadows agreed to let the yard, porch and house be crowded with technicians, cinematographers and actors.
Earlier in the year the producers put out a call for vintage 1930s and early 1940s vehicles. Williams said Herschel Stagner of Orange loaned his restored pickup truck and Gary Breaux of Orangefield loaned his restored sedan.
The story has seven actors, including two boys. Kate Robards, a West Orange-Stark High and Lamar University graduate has one of the roles. Other adults are Jeremy Allen, who grew up in Groves, Kedrick Brown, Emma Van Lare and Marc Isaacs. The boys are Evan Horsley and Daniel Stallings.
The film crew also brought business to Orange. The crew stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and ate at Robert’s Steak House. The Old Orange Cafe catered lunch the day of the shoot.
The veteran filmmakers raised money to pay for the crew and cast, plus rent the equipment needed for the production. The money included a grant from a non-profit California group that supports rising filmmakers. The independent movie circuit could be compared to the farm teams for baseball. Their previous short film was accepted in to more than 40 film festivals across the U.S. and Canada.
“The Example” is a fictional view of how a bigger news event affects individuals and families. The filmmakers did a documentary a decade ago on the World War II-era race riots in Beaumont. The riot, which included a white mob burning some of the black part of the city, inspired them to write a fiction story based on the event. The story centers on a black businessman who lost his business in the fire, and a white police officer. Both have wives and young sons the same age. They come to a clash on a summer’s night at a road block. Williams describes it as “two fathers and decisions that will affect their families.”
He doesn’t know when the film will be completed. The steps include editing, sound and an original score from a composer. The film will end up 20 to 25 minutes long. Williams said it will have a Southeast Texas showing.
-Margaret Toal. KOGT-
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