Amazon Prime was summoned on the small screen without explanation.
That happens from time to time around here, like when we were on a road trip cutting through some northern states on our way to northwestern Ontario. It turned into an exploration of roadside attractions — based on websites and Google searches.
Travelling through a small, quaint town in Illinois called Woodstock, we were instructed to figure out the reason for our being there. Odd, I thought as we travelled down a residential street. As we approached a T-intersection, a large, stately house fronted by that classic American white picket fence appeared before us when the answer came in stereo from the back seat: “Ground Hog Day!”
Sure enough, the Bill Murray classic was filmed almost entirely in Woodstock, although in the film it’s called Punxsutawney, home of the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, the central figure in the annual Groundhog Day prognostication upon which the film is based.
We ventured out to the town’s main square where little plaques identified key moments in the film — like where the car splashes through the puddle and Bill Murray’s character happens upon the insurance policy-peddling Ned.
Back to the current day in the living room, in front of the TV, which has been doubling as a film screen for the past 14 months. There’s no big reveal expected and I’m only partially paying attention when one of four names in the opening credits catches my attention and I blurt out: “Tara Dawn Winstone?”
If you’ve been kicking around Barrie a bit, you’ve likely happened upon Tara Dawn, if not on the radio in the mornings then maybe hosting one of many local events. Look a little further, there’s her on-air partner, Matt McLean.
What? Marshall Green? Local lawyer and major supporter of the arts locally along with many other community initiatives whose personal network seems endless. A judge in the flick, no less.
Oh, and there’s Trudee Romanek, a winner of the Excellence in the Arts award during the inaugural Barrie Arts Awards in 2008. She’s a writer/editor — science books for girls, now plays and more. But she’s also active in local theatre.
There are so many more names, drawing from across Simcoe County in the truly local film, Good Grief It's Friday.
Others include Keelan Ballantyne, Dorothy McCallion, Devon Humphries, Patricia Hammond, John Sandham and Melanie Case from 95.1 The Peak FM in Collingwood plays the femme fatale with Christopher Clark in the title role and Elise Alexandra.
Then there are the places.
The film’s creator, Mike Patterson, told me the indoor scenes were shot in Barrie and the exterior scenes took advantage of key spots in Elmvale, Orillia and Oro-Medonte Township.
But the film takes us through the fictional Bay City. Ring a bell? Well, then you’ve been kicking around a very long time.
Patterson was granted some artistic licence during his days at what was then CKVR as a producer. He created four narrative productions, including the buddy cop show Bay City Beat in 1985, a one-time, hour-long production.
Although Good Grief was originally created as a radio play by his lifelong buddy, C.L Gordon in the 1980s.
The storytelling seed had been sown years earlier for Patterson in his first gig with CBC’s film department. But life got in the way of any realistic pursuit of film.
Finally, in retirement, he has been able to bring it all full circle.
“The democratization of filmmaking is what this is an example of,” he says of today’s ability for a regular guy like him to be able to put together a full, feature-length film.
He won’t say what the total cost was, other than it’s less than what we might think and “not wildly out of reach for anyone with a passion for doing it.” But he figures he put out $4,000 to $5,000 on the high-definition camera, lighting kits and sound equipment.
Then there are all those local names and places. He mentioned his project to those he knew, drawing from a variety of acting experiences and found many willing partners and those willing to share in his dream.
“I explained to them that this is just me pursuing my passion,” he said, adding that if there are profits, they’ll all get a cut.
His hope was that he’d secure a spot in the Barrie Film Festival, but the pandemic altered those plans for now.
Fast forward to streaming giant, Prime.
Patterson stumbled across a YouTube show by a fellow called Jay Horton, who has done a couple of dozen ultra low-budget horror films which he’s managed to monetize. There the Barrie filmmaker learned about the aggregator Film Hub, which distributes films that fit its technical requirements.
From there Patterson was able to get Vimeo and then Zuzu to pick it up, which led to Amazon Prime.
And that takes us back to our living rooms, where Good Grief It’s Friday is ending with the suggestion of more to come.
Is there more Mike?
“There’s the possibility of a sequel… I’m currently giving it some thought,” he responds. “There are other films I was to do as well.”
So the passion continues….
Marg. Bruineman is a staff reporter with BarrieToday.
