Moore, Mathews team up together again for short film "Quiet please," said Will Moore, who was directing scenes for the short film "Quarter to Life," in Victoria on Sunday. "Camera rolling." "Action." Moore concluded filming for the short movie Sunday and now has about two months of editing and sound work ahead of him. A hodgepodge of actors and crew turned an innocuous home on Topaz Lane into a set for the first and last scenes of the film. Since filming began on Friday, the youthful filmmaker could have been spotted around town at locations including the Rosebud Fountain and Grill, DeLeon Plaza, Easterling Motors Inc. and an office building downtown. Chad Mathews, the star of Moore's first feature film "Wesley Cash," returned to star again in this short film as Josh Anderson. In the movie, Anderson discovers his girlfriend, played by Amy Arlitt of Yoakum, is pregnant. Though Anderson does not really love her, he feels the stress of obligation, said Moore. "This is the first real responsible choice he's had to make," said Moore who grew up in Victoria and now lives in New Braunfels. "He goes to tell his friends and they kind of decide to have one last hurrah. The story delves into their recklessness." Mathews' connection to the film goes beyond mere acting however. He also wrote it. The first draft was spawned by a difficult time he was having during his mid-20s. "When I wrote the original, I was living my quarter-life crisis," said Mathews, who grew up in Victoria and now lives in Los Angeles. Mathews, whose real name is Chad Svatek, said he wrote the initial draft while working the graveyard shift at a hotel in Los Angeles. "I would come home in the morning and I would write until I would pass out around 12 or 1 p.m.," Mathews said. "It was therapy for me." Though Mathews has been through many feature-length and short film drafts with Moore's help, Mathews said the story still speaks to a specific time in many young adults' lives. "It's a strange time when you leave college and you're supposed to grow up and go to the real world," Mathews said. James Paul, who was from Victoria but now lives in Houston, returned to play the character Ross, one of Josh Anderson's friends. Paul, whose real name is James Paul Gietz, said he could relate to the storyline as well. "It's also the age where people go through a couple of different jobs," said Paul. Paul said it is an interesting struggle between graduating from college and finding a career. Matt Johnston, who was assisting editor and who played Josh Anderson's friend Jimmy in the short film, said the 15-minute long movie will give those who finance the project an idea of what a feature-length version could be like. Johnston can be seen hosting the show "It Takes a Thief" on the Discovery Channel beginning Sept. 12. Johnston compared the short film to a long trailer intended to create interest in a feature-length version and to enter into various film festivals. Working on the sequel After adding local film "Wesley Cash" to the Western genre as his first production, Victoria-raised Will Moore is planning to revisit the genre by shooting the sequel next fall. Moore is holding a DVD sale of "Wesley Cash" in Victoria during late July to help fund the budget for his second movie, "Cowboy Smoke." Moore sees his second film as a twist on the traditional spaghetti Western. During the movie, an anonymous man arrives in a small town claiming to be the descendent of a fictional character made famous by Clint Eastwood - the Man with No Name. The unnamed man is hired to bring justice to a local land baron who is running an immigrant smuggling ring in South Texas, said Moore. "I wanted to shoot a modern-day Western and make it kind of cool," said Moore who now lives in New Braunfels. To do so, Moore drew cliches and themes from lots of Westerns and compiled them into one film. "The character (will) be this walking talking cliche cowboy but he's never ridden a horse," said Moore who is writing the script along with directing and producing the film. "It's all this cliche ... this cowboy smoke." Moore said the script is not yet complete but he envisions his main character as a man who wants to be a hero just like the character in Clint Eastwood's movies. But the cliche cowboy falls short of expectations. When facing his own demise, he bails and leaves others to be punished in his stead. Then the man, shamed by his choice, returns to take revenge. Moore said the movie also speaks to the sometimes-illusory reason for illegal immigration. "People risk life and limb because of the idea, because of what they think is here," Moore said. Although this is only Moore's second dive into feature film production, he began his career by following his father, costume supervisor Stanley Moore, into the world of film costuming. The young filmmaker worked in the wardrobe departments of films such as "We Were Soldiers" and "The Faculty." After Will Moore graduated from the University of Texas in 1999 with a history degree, he moved to Los Angeles. He began working as a film production assistant and as a literary assistant at the Gersh Agency. Moore said working with writers as a literary assistant gave him a lot of experience with storytelling and script writing. In 2002, Moore began his production company Bandwagon Films. Just as Moore shot "Wesley Cash" in the Victoria area in 2003 and screened the movie in Victoria in 2004, he will return to Victoria for his second film. He also plans to hold auditions in the area, but doesn't know when. Echelon Entertainment in California intends to distribute both "Wesley Cash" and the upcoming sequel. Echelon will try to sell the films to movie markets in the U.S. and abroad such as cable, pay per view and video stores. But before Moore signs over the distribution of his movie to Echelon, he's hoping to raise money for his second film via "Wesley Cash" DVD sales in Victoria. The DVD will be on sale at various locations July 25 through July 31. Moore said the DVD will be for sale at 5 Topaz Drive in Victoria from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. He also hopes to place copies on displays in local stores and have a street team selling the disks. The DVD is also available for $14.99 online at www.bandwagonfilms.com/dvd/wcdvd.htm. Moore completed "Wesley Cash" with a $20,000 budget, but he hopes to have a $100,000 budget for "Cowboy Smoke." Though Moore doesn't anticipate "Wesley Cash" to be shown in theaters because of its small budget and lack of big-name actors, he intends to enter "Cowboy Smoke" into film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival to increase its chances of being picked up by a distributor and shown in theaters. # Jennifer Lloyd is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6516 or jlloyd@vicad.com. Moore, Mathews team up together again for
short film "Quiet please," said Will Moore, who was directing scenes for the short film "Quarter to Life," in Victoria on Sunday. "Camera rolling." "Action." Moore concluded filming for the short movie Sunday and now has about two months of editing and sound work ahead of him. A hodgepodge of actors and crew turned an innocuous home on Topaz Lane into a set for the first and last scenes of the film. Since filming began on Friday, the youthful filmmaker could have been spotted around town at locations including the Rosebud Fountain and Grill, DeLeon Plaza, Easterling Motors Inc. and an office building downtown. Chad Mathews, the star of Moore's first feature film "Wesley Cash," returned to star again in this short film as Josh Anderson. In the movie, Anderson discovers his girlfriend, played by Amy Arlitt of Yoakum, is pregnant. Though Anderson does not really love her, he feels the stress of obligation, said Moore. "This is the first real responsible choice he's had to make," said Moore who grew up in Victoria and now lives in New Braunfels. "He goes to tell his friends and they kind of decide to have one last hurrah. The story delves into their recklessness." Mathews' connection to the film goes beyond mere acting however. He also wrote it. The first draft was spawned by a difficult time he was having during his mid-20s. "When I wrote the original, I was living my quarter-life crisis," said Mathews, who grew up in Victoria and now lives in Los Angeles. Mathews, whose real name is Chad Svatek, said he wrote the initial draft while working the graveyard shift at a hotel in Los Angeles. "I would come home in the morning and I would write until I would pass out around 12 or 1 p.m.," Mathews said. "It was therapy for me." Though Mathews has been through many feature-length and short film drafts with Moore's help, Mathews said the story still speaks to a specific time in many young adults' lives. "It's a strange time when you leave college and you're supposed to grow up and go to the real world," Mathews said. James Paul, who was from Victoria but now lives in Houston, returned to play the character Ross, one of Josh Anderson's friends. Paul, whose real name is James Paul Gietz, said he could relate to the storyline as well."It's also the age where people go through a couple of different jobs," said Paul. Paul said it is an interesting struggle between graduating from college and finding a career. Matt Johnston, who was assisting editor and who played Josh Anderson's friend Jimmy in the short film, said the 15-minute long movie will give those who finance the project an idea of what a feature-length version could be like. Johnston can be seen hosting the show "It Takes a Thief" on the Discovery Channel beginning Sept. 12. Johnston compared the short film to a long trailer intended to create interest in a feature-length version and to enter into various film festivals. Movie Maker Magazine Movie Vine Local grad's film impresses viewer Editor, the Advocate: I had the pleasure of attending the screening of "Wesley Cash,"
the first feature film of Victoria High graduate Will Moore. Filmed locally
in the Victoria area, it is a gritty and suspenseful story of greed and
revenge in a small Texas town. I encourage everyone to attend one of the
screenings being held this week at the Victoria Community Theater. 'Wesley Cash' sits well with movie
goers in Victoria VICTORIA - Violent, yet tender, Will Moore's "Wesley Cash" was a big hit with film goers at the Victoria Community Theatre on Friday night. The suspense thriller is about
a veteran, who after learning of his father's death, comes home with dreams
of settling down and rebuilding the family cattle business. But things
go awry and Cash ends up on the run. Victoria grad will debut his first
feature film in former hometown VICTORIA - As a thank-you to the local actors who starred in his film, a former Victorian will screen the movie in December at the Victoria Community Theatre. He follows that class act with a casting call for his next movie that he also plans to shoot in the area. Will Moore, who graduated from high school in Victoria in 1995 and now lives in Austin, wrote and directed "Wesley Cash," a full-length feature film that was filmed locally in August 2003 using a 16mm camera. Working on a small budget, Moore ended up selling the camera after the shooting was over so he could finish the process. He spent about nine months editing the production on his personal computer. "The hardest thing in the editing was the lip sync between the audio
and video," Moore said. "The 16mm camera we used was noisier
than I thought, so we had to record a lot of the audio over again."
Tickets available for screening The screenings will begin tonight at 6:30 pm. and 8:30 p.m. at the Victoria
Community Theatre at 206 E. Constitution, and continue at the same times
through Dec. 22. Victorians have major roles in movie Charles Colson had to die Aug. 14 and he'd been dreading it. Colson is playing an ambiguously evil sheriff in an unnamed movie that was filmed around Victoria in August. A clearly dispensable character, the sheriff is shot dead in a scene filmed late in the movie. Colson knew he had to fall down to be dead and he has a bad knee that had him worried. He is a Victoria hairdresser and massage therapist and had even fretted to clients about his imminent fall. The production is full of Victorians from the top down. The director,
Will Moore, is a Victorian, Memorial High School '95. The male lead is
Chad Svatek, St. Joseph High School '93. "She's the gossipy woman in the mercantile store," he said. Colson plays Sheriff Tanner, a party to a conspiracy that involves murdering a man and stealing his ranch. Wesley Cash, the man's son, comes back from the military to right the wrong. Tanner's a bit of a wimp for a conspiratorial villain. "Ruth gave me Will's number in Austin and I sent a picture and called him, asked him what kind of guy is the sheriff? He said, 'He's kinda shy and timid and always wanted to be with the big boys and never made it,'" Colson said. "He's a sheriff who can be manipulated. He's insecure and not quite sure about things." In a scene where he is called on to kill a man, Tanner can't do the job
and throws up. "I liked the shirt. Somebody gave it to me for Christmas," he said. It's a shirt with broad stripes and a denim collar. He decided to sacrifice
the shirt for the sake of art. "I decided it'd be kinda neat to have
a souvenir of the movie," he said. "I come by it honestly," Moore said of his acting. "My uncle was the first Ph.D. in drama from the University of Texas. I started doing stuff with the community theater and accidentally crossed paths with this guy (Will). "My character's Daniel Irvin. He's one of the bad guys. He's the suit - he may be a lawyer, he may be a banker. He's one of the schemers. He must be an awful person but he's a pretty smooth character." Womack, who says he lives in the middle of a pasture a few miles from
McFaddin, was hanging around while they shot Colson's demise. Aug. 14
was not a good day to die, with broiling temperatures and little breeze
stirring. The crew was shooting at Virginia Dierlam's ranch house near
McFaddin. They had all caravanned over about 10 a.m. from the Fagan Patterson
ranch, around the corner on Texas Highway 239 where they are quartering.
Patterson got a role in the picture and offered the use of the deer-lease
cabins on the ranch. Included in the caravan was a trailer carrying Wes' car, a red Chevy II, a little beat up but sexy in a dilapidated way. It has a hot cam so it lopes along roughly. They trailer it because it only gets about five miles to the gallon of very expensive fuel. It is also inclined to capricious behavior so they minimize actually driving it. Shooting starts with Sheriff Tanner getting out of a ratty Chevy pickup borrowed from a visitor. They do the routine with the little clapper held in front of the camera. It reads "Untitled - Wesley Cash." They change the numbers using pieces of tape. "Scene 140, shot 2, take 1," producer Dana Blumn says. And they really holler "Action." In Scene 140, shot 2, take 1, Colson gets out of the truck, takes a few steps, pauses and makes a little apprehensive noise, then goes on toward the house. Things in filming happen in little bitty increments, shots accumulating 45 seconds and a minute at a time, to be all stitched together into a movie in post-production. In the next shot, he passes by the Chevy II that is parked in the ranch yard and slaps the back fender as he walks past. In the car, Wesley and Mandy are making out. This is a day so sweating, dripping, miserable hot that not even a 16-year-old could relish making out. They must be sliding around on each other like two catfish in a washtub. Wesley got out of the car and walked up to the house with Tanner, who banged on the door. Tanner was done up with a big brown Western hat that looked right sheriffly. When Tanner is shot, blood spatters across Wes, who looks down and reacts in horror. They were first going to squirt the "blood" from a pump-up pressure tank with a hose attached but finally settled for just flinging it off a sponge. When the sheriff got to do his death scene, a revolver slipping from his hand into the dirt, he explained his knee problem and looked around for something to slump down dead on. They finally did the best they could, Tanner looking ouchy as he died. Afterward, Colson was walking around with his pretty Christmas shirt covered with big patches of blood. He looked pretty happy with himself, shiny and ruddy in the heat. Colson nurses some hope of remuneration when the film is finally finished and has heard that an appearance in a movie will allow him membership in the Screen Actors Guild, the movie actors union. Union membership could open the door to other jobs and you can hear that thought percolating in Colson's mind. It will be some time before the post-production work is finished and that is the expensive part of the job for Moore. Blumn said, "He'll have to transfer the film, edit it, transfer it back, He's got to sell the camera to raise some money to do post-production." Moore himself was making jokes about putting the equipment up on eBay. He is the son of movie costume supervisor Stanley Moore, a former Victorian, so he has a legacy in the movie business. Will started out as a history major at the University of Texas and discovered two or three years into school that he was interested in movies. He wrote the screenplay for the movie. "Parts of it are true. It
kinda comes from stories I heard from my uncles when I was a little kid.
I took it and gave it a modern spin," he said. When he's finished with work in Texas, he will go out to Los Angeles, where he is moving, to work on the musical score with Jonathan Case, another Victorian. Shooting was finished last Thursday, golf course shots at Colony Creek, and there was a wrap party that night. The crew will disperse, at least until somebody else comes up with a script. Actors sought for movie to be filmed near Tivoli July 4, 2003 JOY MYGRANTS Victoria Advocate A low-budget movie will be shot in the Victoria area this summer and some roles are open to local actors. Auditions for 10 roles in the "Wesley Cash Project" will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Victoria Community Theatre. The chase thriller tells the story of Wesley Cash, a young man who returns from service in the military with the hope of rebuilding his family's cattle business. Cash discovers that his recently deceased father was actually murdered and finds himself running for his life from his father's killers. Some of the roles already have been cast with actors from Austin and California. Movie director and Austin filmmaker Will Moore said he is looking for approximately 10 actors from the Victoria area, including one to two older women, six to seven men ranging in ages from mid-20s to late-40s and a young boy. Moore said he hopes to cast a couple of the principal roles and a lot of supporting cast in Victoria. "The most important thing is to come in and be relaxed, be yourself," he said, offering tips to actors interested in auditioning. Moore said he chose to do some casting and to film in the Victoria region because he grew up here. "I think South Texas is beautiful. It's really open and very picturesque," he said. "I think it was important for me to shoot here and it's important that people who were from the town be involved in the project." Moore, who is the son of movie costume supervisor Stanley Moore, formerly of Victoria, wrote the script. "It was a combination of stories I heard when I was younger," he said. "I'm a big fan of this genre, the chase-thriller genre. I always wanted to twist the story into a chase thriller." The low-budget film will be Moore's first feature film. Since living in Austin, Moore has shot 10 short films, two music videos and other short film projects. The movie will be shot on the Fagan ranch near Tivoli, he said. He plans to begin filming Aug. 4 and finish Aug. 31. "I'm financing this all myself. It's been a year in the making. I had to work two jobs to save money," Moore said. "After it's shot, I'll have the film processed and transferred so I can edit it. From the time we finish shooting, it could be a whole year before I have a finished product. With independent, low-budget films, you have the time but not the money." Moore said it was an important goal for him to make a feature film. "It's the story that's inside of me that I want to tell," he said. For more information about the movie or Moore's production company, Bandwagon Films, visit his Web site at www.bandwagonfilms.com
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