"Old soldiers never die..."
The G.I. Wellington/Encom Years
1989-1992

With the disbanding of Mega Conglomerate Studios in July 1989, it seemed as if filmmaking days were over. The members of the group were venturing off in different directions, towards their respective colleges. With all the challenges of college life ahead, it seemed unlikely that anyone would have time to continue the hobby.

Greg Hosch and Larry Mortenson, two MCS veterans who had been through the best and worst of productions, ended their film careers with Dateline:Vietnam, which was the last MCS release prior to its disbanding.

From The Ashes...

Interestingly enough, despite this initial attrition, the filmmaking torch did not go out after all. Andrew Varecka, Eric Dela Cruz, and Michael Scanlon were all attending college in the Twin Cities. With the arrival of James Shiely—on break from Notre Dame, these surviving members of Mega Conglomerate Studios were starting a new film project in October 1989, a mere three months after MCS was disbanded.

The new project was very much a return to the group’s roots. The Fugitive Crackdown was nothing more than a glorified chase movie, unsuccessfully dubbed as a "prequel" to 1987’s enormously successful Fugitive Guy. In spite of its numerous plot and execution flaws, The Fugitive Crackdown took advantage of extensive location shooting at the U of M campus, and more innovative shooting styles were being tried behind the camera. The film served as a good learning project for the new group, still officially nameless at this point, but whose running production title was "G.I. Pictures Limited/Wellington Studios".

Thinking Bigger

By February 1990, the three locals—Andy, Mike, and Eric, were gearing up for a "big" production. The first goal for this film—as dubious as it was, was to make it as long as possible. The second goal—even more dubious than the first, was to shoot the entire film in one day. The threesome stayed up late one night in February writing what would eventually become their first script ever created for a film production. A story developed around a dark theme of white collar crime and extortion. In what was destined to become another hard-learned but valuable lesson, the crew ventured out early the following morning to shoot Instant Cash.

Instant Cash, with all of its ambitious location footage and expansive presentation, came up short of expectations. The goal of shooting the entire film in one day was obviously unreachable, and it would take four more scheduled shoots to finish production. Even the late addition of James Shiely to the cast could not shore up the film’s shaky foundation. The film’s release to a small, curious group of Ireland Hall residents in May 1990 was the final chapter in the film’s odd saga. The original print would finally see extensive re-editing three years later, pairing the footage down into a semi-coherent, presentable form. The film’s outcome proved to be a valuable lesson for the crew, and many of the mistakes made were noted and avoided in future projects.

By June 1990, the group had finally acquired a new name for its release company. "Trans Collegiate Productions" (later renamed "Pictures") was now the aptly named film entity, and its numbers would grow in a few short months.

Trans Collegiate Pictures would produce its first official film in mid-August 1990. In a gathering at Andy Varecka’s house, both old and new faces were putting together a traditional one-reel movie. The Safecrackers was yet another return to the mindless romp of the early MCS films, featuring a chase, violence, and death. However this time, the film featured full dialogue and gunshot sound effects, courtesy of Mike Scanlon’s BB gun arsenal. A sound film was a welcome exercise for the group, who had last made use of sound in Dateline: Vietnam.

The Safecrackers also saw the welcome return of MCS veteran James Waddick, last active in Dateline: Vietnam, as well as the introduction of a newcomer. Jack Forsythe made his film debut as the bumbling British Hood, and rounded out the crew which would carry TCP for the next two years.

"China Grove" and Beyond

The TCP "founding four" of Andy, Eric, Mike, and Jim reconvened in October 1990 for what was to become a classic one-reeler for the group. The Jedi Guy was shot on the St. Thomas campus in less than six hours. It was the first TCP production to be filmed using the undercranking "China Grove" style of cinematography (named for the classic "Doobie Brothers" song, whose tempo matched the ideal speed for shutter release using this technique). Jim introduced this shooting style to the group after many successful years of use with his alma mater, Wellington Studios.

The Jedi Guy served as a launching point for the group’s most creative and successful period, and the group would revisit the "China Grove" technique a second time. In the interim, however, a large project was again looming over the ranks of TCP.

After the completion and release of Instant Cash, Eric and Mike had never really been satisfied with the film, given all of its problems. Shortly following completion of The Jedi Guy, ideas were stirring for what was to become a controversial project within the TCP ranks: a sequel to Instant Cash.

Andy had been opposed to a sequel from the beginning, feeling that sequels often failed to live up to the quality of their predecessors. Jim had expressed similar feelings, though not quite as strongly as Andy. Eric and Mike, however, both felt that a sequel to Instant Cash could easily improve upon the original with better planning, logistics, and most importantly, a full script. The script itself was drafted in November 1990.

The next step was to sell it to the other two members of the group. In what would become a historic moment, Jim read the draft and said resolutely: "This will be better than the first one." Andy eventually gave a definite, though somewhat reluctant approval to the script, but was reassured by Eric and Mike that he would only have to act—he would not be responsible for any production-related tasks. On that note, the way was cleared for production on the big Instant Cash sequel, tentatively titled Corporate Raider.

Before undertaking Corporate Raider, the TCP crew opened the 1991 new year in January with another quick, "China Grove" one-reeler. One goal for the film was to feature Jack Forsythe in a title role. He didn’t disappoint. O’Gyver, which made extensive use of MacGyver-style props, was highlighted by a memorable performance by Jack as the Irish hero of cartoon physics. O’Gyver also had the distinction of being the first film to make use of editing equipment, conveniently borrowed from the St. Thomas audio/video department.

The Big Picture

Literally on the heels of O’Gyver, the crew dove into production of Corporate Raider. Since the script cast the entire TCP complement, certain sections could not be shot until summer, when those missing members would be available. So, interim production progressed with the three local TCP members slowly chipping away at the immense script. Two months into production, the decision was made to rename the sequel Agent Avarice. In addition, the production arm of TCP finally earned a name: "G.I. Wellington Limited".

While production was underway for Agent Avarice, Andy had begun sowing seeds of interest in the film hobby amongst fellow students at the University of Minnesota. In May 1991, Andy announced he was starting a sound film project: a documentary featuring a U of M cast and crew. It’s A Small U After All was created as part of Andy’s involvement in the U of M Freshman Camp program, and was well received by its audience when it was released in August 1991. It was the first project to involve a cast and crew outside the traditional TCP ranks, and Andy was applauded for his efforts to introduce filmmaking to a new group of individuals.

Meanwhile, production on Agent Avarice continued through June 1991, culminating in a shoot for the movie’s climactic ending. All TCP staff—Jack Forsythe, James Waddick, and Jim Shiely included, were on hand to finish the production phase of the film. Post-production for Agent Avarice would begin in earnest in September, and would continue into January 1992.

In March 1992, while post-production was wrapping up on Agent Avarice, Andy embarked on another sound film project with his new U of M crew—officially dubbed "Encom Productions" (named after a fictional company used in "Tron" and "Instant Cash"). Entitled New Student Weekend Report, the film was another documentary-style piece tailored for a U of M student event. It was released in early April.

Agent Avarice finally had its advanced preview to a small group of curious St. Thomas students in April 1992, shortly before the release of New Student Weekend Report. The film’s official TCP release was in late June. Its release marked the end of what was the most ambitious and successful film project undertaken by the TCP/MCS group since 1986.

Crossroads

Sadly, Agent Avarice would also represent the final film project for G.I. Wellington Limited. The 1992-1993 school year represented the final year of school for many of the crew, and the same crossroads which faced the group while in their senior year in high school, was upon them again. Andy produced a small video project in the fall of 1992, again for a U of M related program, but it would be his last project as schedules grew tighter and tighter. As James Waddick, Jack Forsythe, and James Shiely each went their separate ways, the group’s disbanding was complete. By September 1992, of the six members who formed Trans Collegiate Pictures, only two remained.