With the completion of the Remote Wars trilogy and the arrival of 2000, the Eagle's Nest Limited crew faced yet another crossroad. Over the past few years there had been a steady amassing of ideas and rough scripts for upcoming projects.  Still fresh from the five-year-journey that Return of the Remote took, the group's general consensus was to take a break from large-scale undertakings, and focus more on smaller, shorter films and videos (in Eric's words, "five films in a year instead of one film over five years"). A high level of creativity and innovation had always existed within Eagle's Nest Limited, so it would only be a matter of time before the gears of filmmaking would turn anew.

Return To Video

Following the success of Return of the Remote, the group found itself wanting to do more projects. As exhilarating as it was to complete a trilogy based on the powerful infrared remote control, it was slightly liberating to have finished with that concept. The group began to consider new ideas for future projects.

During the early part of 2000, the group bandied about several ideas. With the remote gone, the wide-open spectrum of possibilities was almost daunting. The group discussed a possible comedic "talkie" that combined elements of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with a character from the film drama All the President’s Men. Despite some valiant efforts, this project had trouble getting moving. The demands of the production proved rather intimidating, and at the time of this publication, it remains on hiatus.

Meanwhile, Luke Taylor had been tinkering with an idea for a short comedy, somewhat in the spirit of the 1994 short Suburban Cowboys. Suburban Cowboys had proved to be quite a boost for the group, providing some quick satisfaction during what was a bit of a creative dry spell. The idea for the new comedy evolved from how Luke always saw people in south Minneapolis or in St Paul’s Highland Park placing used items outside their homes with signs that said "Free". The range of items and the frequency with which this practice was observed was amusing. When Chris Uecker made a remote comment that indicated his observance of this practice as well, Luke knew he wasn’t the only one to notice this phenomenon. Within one week, Luke penned a draft of the screenplay for Free. Some days later, Eric Dela Cruz, Randy Hanson, and Jothan Sargent met at Luke’s place to review the draft and provide group input. The script was finalized, and production was set to begin.

Free was the story of a man, Ted, who sees his neighbor, Jones, give away an old item by leaving it on the curb with a sign that said "free". Ted then tries to outdo Jones by giving away as much as he can.

The group knew they would require a specific type of location for the shoot, so Luke took Eric, Jothan, and Randy to his grandparents’ neighborhood in south Minneapolis. They didn’t think anyone was home, but as they sat in the car near the corner of the street, Mr. Taylor emerged from the house to see what was going on. Luke got out of the car and introduced everyone to his grandfather. Everyone went inside and explained the proposed project to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. They were very supportive of the idea, and thought it would be fun to have their home featured in the short video.

The next step was getting the neighbors across the street from the Taylors -- the Griffins -- to approve shooting on their property. Luke phoned Mr. and Mrs. Griffin and explained his relationship to the Taylors and the desire to use the Griffins’ front lawn in an upcoming video project. The Griffins happily agreed to volunteer the space in front of their home. Without the cooperation of the Taylors and the Griffins, the picturesque setting of Free would never have been achieved.

The production of Free took place on a crisp October Sunday, and the shooting was completed on that day. The sky was overcast, which resulted in consistent lighting across the duration of the shoot. Mike Scanlon was the videographer.

The script of Free originally cast David McKoskey as Ted, Jothan Sargent as Jones, Eric Dela Cruz as the Man, Kimberly Hanson as the Woman, and Randy Hanson and Luke Taylor as the Thugs. As the production date approached, however, conflicts for David McKoskey and for the Hansons precluded their involvement. Charles Tombarge, who appeared in 1995’s Thea’s Way, was contacted about the role of Ted. Chuck was interested in the role, but at the last minute, circumstances intervened that prevented his participation as well.

In some last-minute scrambling, Luke Taylor was cast as Ted, Cheryl Taylor made her TCP debut in the role of the Woman, and Eric Dela Cruz and Mike Scanlon played the roles of the Thugs. The only member who remained in his originally cast role was Jothan Sargent, who gave a solid portrayal of the neighbor, Jones. With Mike Scanlon employing some careful camera work, Jothan was able to double as the anonymous Man who takes Ted’s first "free" item.

Jothan also contributed several props to the production of Free, including the lamp that initiates the action in the film, a computer, some old boots, and many other props. Several other props were found in the elder Mr. and Mrs. Taylor’s garage.

Post-production took place entirely at Music, Magic & Mayhem, the digital editing suite in Eric’s home. Sound effects came courtesy of the BBC compendium (by way of the collection of the Minneapolis Public Library). Eric and Luke knew the story called for a jazz soundtrack, and as luck would have it, Stan Getz’s "S-H-I-N-E" worked perfectly both in terms of mood and in terms of duration.

Free was the first TCP product released under Grace Basement Productions. Ironically, Free never premiered in the basement of Grace Hall. Its initial screening was on December 2, 2000, during a Christmas party at the apartment of Avisia Whiteman--a longtime UST friend and Remote Wars trilogy fan. Free was also shown in several smaller venues, including Eric’s home, and the home of Robert Taylor, Luke’s father.

At that time, however, little did the TCP gang know that a much larger audience would soon view their work...

The Film Fest

In April 2001, IFP/North sent an e-newsletter that advertised a small film festival scheduled for September in the town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It sounded like a fairly unintimidating and friendly affair, and the group decided it might be worthwhile to submit.

The group had submitted to other things before, most notably to MNTV, but with no success. Figuring there was little to lose, and perhaps something to gain, whether it be feedback or actual inclusion in the festival, the group pooled their money and submitted Free and 1994's Suburban Cowboys to the First Annual Grand Rapids Underground Film Festival, also known as "The Bearded Child Film Fest."

Several weeks went past, and the group went about their business. Suddenly, on Monday, August 27, a brief email message was received from Dan Anderson, the curator of the Bearded Child Film Festival. It read simply, "Thank you for entering the Bearded Child! Your films are both very entertaining, and I'm glad they will be a part of our fest on Sept.8. If you can come, we'd like to invite you to speak to our audience and do a little Q and A after the screening. Let us know if you can make it."

It was a tremendous boost for TCP. The Bearded Child Film Fest would represent the first time people who were not friends or family of the group would view TCP work.

Jothan Sargent and Luke Taylor hastily made plans to attend the festival. A recap of their experience can be viewed by clicking here.

When Jothan and Luke returned and regaled the group with their tales from the festival, it provided additional inspiration to create more work and try to go to Grand Rapids again.

Randy Hanson had already conceived of a story that could be used in the next picture. It was time to get the cameras rolling again.

Bringing a 'Simple' Vision to Life

Encouraged by the sheer enjoyment of filmmaking and bolstered by the prospect of once again bringing TCP's unique brand of humor to the fine people of northern Minnesota, production began on Randy Hanson's "One Key Guy" (working title) in October, 2001.

One small production milestone that was achieved was the securing of a location shoot at Settergren's Ace Hardware in south Minneapolis. Owner/manager Mark Settergren gave the approval for his shop to be featured in the newest TCP release. The involvement of Settergren's Ace Hardware signalled the first time an entity not directly connected with TCP (eg, friends, family, St Thomas, etc) granted permission to use their property as a location. TCP had shot on location before, but it was typically done in a furtive manner and/or on land within the public domain (see, for example, Thea's Way or ROTR's "Runnin' Round the Cities" sequence). With Settergren's, TCP had received overt permission as well as cooperation from the host. The shoot went perfectly, and Mark Settergren has requested for a copy once the film is complete. He even indicated that the film may be shown to Settergren's customers on the TV above the cash registers.

Most of the production went smoothly, but TCP hit a bit of a roadblock when it came to shooting the final scene of OKG. After inquiring at several area video shops, TCP received rejection after rejection for another location shoot. Fortunately, Eric DelaCruz called on his good friends at Visitation School and Convent, and requested permission to shoot the scene in the school's own store. Permission was willingly granted, so the final scene was rewritten, and the new ending was even better than the first. For one, full sound was added to the final scene. Most importantly, the scene marked the on-screen return for TCP veteran actor David McKoskey, best known for his role as 'The Bully' in the Remote Wars trilogy. An unexpected, but much welcomed, result that came out of the film shoot on that day was that David and Randy Hanson conceived the title for OKG. On December 2, 2001, the name Simplify was born.

Post-production on Simplify was completed at Geek Central during December and January. On March 9, TCP unveiled Simplify to a larger audience at the film's official premiere.

TCP's Cinema Lounge

In April of 2002, TCP hosted a mini-festival at Visitation School in Mendota Heights. Despite the unpleasant weather, a nice complement of family and friends showed up to watch a number of TCP films. Click here to read more about the event and see some photos.

Grand Rapids 2002

As summer 2002 approached, word was received that once again, a film festival would be held in Grand Rapids. Energized by the previous year's experience, TCP submitted the newly completed Simplify, along with Remote Wars and The Bully Zaps Back. Happily, all three were accepted for screening.

In August 2002, returning festival goers Jothan and Luke were accompanied by Eric Dela Cruz to Grand Rapids. New for 2002, the festival would be stretched across two days. While all three TCP guys were excited about the festival, there was some disappointment. Specifically, the 2002 Grand Rapids festival coincided with the Itasca County Fair, one of the biggest draws of the summer. The festival had not received much publicity, and as a result, attendance was dismal. The highest attendance count made by the TCP guys was 20. Exacerbating the disappointment was the poor projection bulb and mismanaged audio on the second day of the festival. TCP's collaborative effort, Simplify, was barely seen... or heard.

Nevertheless, it was not a waste. Despite the anaemic attendance, TCP received some positive feedback on the Remote films. Moreover, Eric, Luke and Jothan brought a video camera to record their experiences and share them with Randy, David, and Mike Scanlon, who were unable to attend. The three festival attendees then took the video one step further, producing Northern Vignettes, which would become an entry in 2003's Grand Rapids festival.

Grand Rapids 2003

Produced as a semi-serious documentary chronicling the experiences of the 2002 Grand Rapids film fest, Northern Vignettes was submitted and accepted at the 2003 Grand Rapids festival. For 2003, a group of five would make the trek from Minneapolis/St Paul: Eric, Luke, Jothan, and festival newcomers Randy Hanson of TCP, and Mike Nead, of Minneapolis-based production company MediaNeads Inc. TCP's Northern Vignettes earned the first slot at the festival and played to an audience numbering well over 70. The audience's reactions indicated their approval and fondness for Northern Vignettes, and this was corroborated by their many questions about the production. MediaNeads' production The Wiping Power Tool earned equal praise on the following night.

On the Saturday in Grand Rapids, the five Twin Citians were taken on a pleasant bike trip on the Taconite Trail, led by Max Page, and acquaintance of the group. The group also happened upon Fish-a-Rama, a community celebration in the town of Coleraine. The six bicyclists were the recipients of warm welcome and enjoyed some of the day's festivities before returning to Grand Rapids for the final night of the festival.

The final night confirmed some of the group's suspicions about the artistic direction of the festival; specifically, that it was increasingly becoming a showcase for experimental and avant-garde film. The group neither makes nor is very interested in the experimental genre, and many lengthy discussions took place as to whether the group would participate in future years.

Some positive things definitely came out of the festival, however. Some highlights included the positive response of audiences to the TCP and MediaNeads productions. Another memorable moment came when a young man from Grand Rapids approached Randy Hanson and said, nearly starstruck, "You're the Hero from Remote Wars!" Later, a Grand Rapids teen who had made a film and submitted it to the festival, had a few moments to talk to Eric. He told Eric that Remote Wars gave him the inspiration to have his film's characters teleport from one location to another. Realizing the impact they had made on people of Grand Rapids, the group received a nice boost of esteem.

Lake Wobegon Film Festival 2003

Two months after the enjoyment of Grand Rapids, the group submitted Suburban Cowboys to the Lake Wobegon Film Festival in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Much to the group's delight, Suburban Cowboys was selected for inclusion in the festival's shorts presentation. Eric, Jothan, Luke and Randy made the 100-mile trek to Sauk Centre to see the morning's screening. Due to other obligations, they were unable to attend the evening presentation, which by reliable accounts, was very well attended. Nevertheless, after a lunch at the Palmer House Hotel, the four decided that they would try to come back to the Lake Wobegon Film Festival, provided it is held again.

IFP/MSP Cinema Lounge - February 2004

Not content to wait until the following summer or autumn to participate in the Grand Rapids or Lake Wobegon Film Festivals, TCP submitted Suburban Cowboys to the monthly Cinema Lounge event, held at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis and sponsored by IFP/MSP. Suburban Cowboys played to a packed house and TCP decided it will be great to submit again. Luke Taylor joined IFP/MSP shortly after attending the event. Eric Dela Cruz thought Cinema Lounge may be a great place to screen Free, Simplify, and other TCP productions.

What's in a name?

Alas, the TCP, or "Trans Collegiate Pictures" moniker has grown tired, not to mention poorly representative of a group well into their thirties. The name could in fact prove restrictive. A new name seems needed, but nothing has really been embraced yet. If you have a name suggestion, send it to Eric Dela Cruz for consideration.

(TOP)