22 — Friday, November 6, 1998 — North Shore News Escaping life’s wild ride *THE only way I can describe the expe- rience of it, and I’m only a day and a half out of it so it hasn’t really setded yet, is that in many ways it’s like war — you go with the best pessible plan you can come up with and then you prepare to dodge bullets.” tor vears Scour Smith knew he wamed to make a film but atier hearing stories Of how it Gikes filmmakers vears to write and then some more vears to actially raise the money to even start film ing he didn’t have the patience. Lucky for him. Instead, he went out to tind the money himself, and in just over wwo years, he’s got his first testure in the can, Rollercoaster, was written, directed, and co-produced by smith. [tsa story of suicide pact made between teen lovers Darrin and Calog. ‘They decide to create an expression of their love by jumping off the collercoaster at Wonder World, the city’s bankrupted anvisement park. Leaving the group home with triends in tow they get the security guard to let them inte the park, but not without a price. Emotionally unpre- pared, and faced with the reality of fife and death, they are forced to reveal to cach other their values, secrets, and fears. Smith studied film at Simon Fraser University before head- ing to Toronto to attend the Canadian Film Centre for a vear. This led to a nomination for a genie award for his short film «Shhh. He also directed a few episodes of Madison in it’s tinal sea- son which is where he met the tilm’s co-producer Connie Dolphin. “She's one of those rare breed of producers who can walk on set and not stand in the corner and be ‘the pro- ducer’, but can really immerse herself and everyone has a good time around her.” His ambition scems to come easily to him. In fact, he does- n’t seem the angst-ridden struggling artist one associates with young independent filmmakers as he sits here in front of me munching on an egg salad sandwich. Maria Verdicchio: “This is your first feature, and you directed, produced and wrote it? Was it everything you expected, or more?” Scott Smith: “It was everything 1 expected, and a lot more. Tt had always been designed as a great low-budget idea one location, minimal cast, no extras, one set of costumes. “The fact chat we had it in the antusement park (the PNE) meant that we could get lors of production value for the fact that we had this great set that was already builr. Then with a budget under a million dollars it turned out to be such a huge thing. ft always docs though, ic doesn’t matter what size it is, it turns out to be bigger than expected. There's all kinds of surprises. “Having said that, it was a really good time. It was a good crew. I made a commitment to make the job fun, because it can go cither way, you can have a miserable time doing it and then enjoy it later or you can enjoy the process. [ had to remind myself a couple of times in the past year what it was I enjoyed about the process and go back to thet. Working with actors, telling the story, etc. Everyone showed up at the wrap party so I think they hod a good time!” MV: “What would you do differently next time?” Smiih: “Hard to say...obvious, more money. Although, in order to benefit from more money we would have needed four or five times as much. “First you have to pay the crew what they’re really worth, then you have more shooting days. It’s even hard to say more money would help because it’s just not possible to get much more than we had. “¥ wouldn’t have minded shooting at a time of year when the days weren’t so short, we lost time with that. And we were shooting at a tine when Vancouver was having it’s busiest production season ever, but everything we set out to do we did. “You sort of wring your hands about everything you missed, but, everything we shot I’m really, really extremely happy with. That’s a good feeling. “You always know at the end of the shooting schedule, you have a gut feeling as to whether you have the movie or you might have the movie and I feel strongly that I have a movie.” MV: “Where did your idea for the story come from?” Smith: “It was kind of an amalgam of two ideas. I always waned to do a film in an amusement park. “T remember being a drunk teenager and watching the rides spin around and thinking, ‘Id like to do this sometime.” Ther: about two or three years ago I was thinking abour what 7 TONIGHT D EVERY NI Maria VERDICCHIO FILM PROFILES Twanted to write and in the back or my head tound myself really artected by these teen suicide Stortes, suicide pact stories in particular, “PE started thinking more and more about whar it was that would cause tecnagers to kill themselves, not se much what the details were, bat the human instinet or what emotional drive created the need te ond vour fife. “Sccondly there was 4 very strange power in teenagers doing it togerier. There was something interesting in that, the idea that killing vourselt with a friend is providing vou with something you can't get by living. “Malling over chat tora while LE thought of the amusement park and the whole notion of escape and rides asa great metaphor for what suicide is. which is an escape. And then aking the logical extension of thar, to get away from everything once and a while, and go see a movie or got to an amusement park. “It's sort of an extreme extension of that instinet, not being able to handle the emotional turmoil of your lite and te escape from that and end it all. “Once Phad thought of that as a metaphor, Thad some- thing to play with and it was just about finding how to weave it together. [hope I did that, we'll wait and see.” MV: “Your heavily involved in producing this. It’s rather unusual, isn’t it, especially for a first-time director not only to be directing, but producing as well? Is it because you're a ‘control freak’?” Smith: “No! Honest! Actually, | operate the camera some- times too — No, Pm joking. I don’t think Pm a control freak. “T think a fot of directors by their very nature have to be somewhat of a control freak. The reason T was producing the movie had nothing whatsoever to do with that. “Lam very interested in the financing and marketing of films, the gamble of taking a film to a festival and hoping it becomes the *buzz’ of the festival. P can’t wait to try that out. I could faif miserably. That part intrigues me. “ET don’t like the day to day producing, that’s what Connie did. The deal was I raise the money and she spent it. “The producer’s job is rather Jarge and undefined, what most people think of when they think of producers, Connie was filling that role. I did it somewhat happenstance because what I was trying to do as a writer/director was to find a pro- ducer for the film. “As time went on I grew impatient, | wanted to do the stupid thing, so I though: Id start meeting with distributors while ] was waiting to hear back trom people. “Suddenly it dawned on me, Pd been raising money for two and a half years, why give up ownership to somebody else? So that was it, a lot of raised eyebrows here and there, but | also got a lot of support.” MV: “From the idea to the first day of production how long was it?” Smith: “Just over two years. [ was so impatient. I'm one of those people who reads the paper about how it took seven years to do a film and I don’t have the patience for that.” Business Conadion Owned © True Wholesale Buying ¢ Cut Out the Middleman © Buy Direct Wo'll bect all advertised prices & ol coupons ABDITIONAL INSTORE PECIAL 180 caps VITAMIN DISCOUNT STORES. “Guaranteed Lowest Prices in Caneda” 152 Lonsdale & 2nd 988-3454 ‘| Rollercoaster ROLLERCOASTER wraps up production at the PNE: (top) Sean Amsing, (middle row, ieft to right) Brendan Fletcher, Kett Turton, Crystal Bublé, (lower row) producer Connie Dolphin, director Scott Smith and Brent Gienen. 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