Mark Maynard
The Independent
ASHLAND —
Andrew Heaberlin’s independent film project “Let It Be War” is almost ready for viewing.
The project is in “picture-lock,” which means all the shots have been assembled.
“The pacing is fine, everything is fine,” Heaberlin said. “What we do is send that cut to the audio guy, the color correction, video effects and the composer. Then we bring all those pieces back together.”
Once completed, which Heaberlin hopes to be soon, the film will be ready for viewing. He’ll be shopping it at festivals and plan to show it at the Paramount Arts Center, in Athens, Ohio, and also in Paintsville where some filming was done.
“Hopefully all that will happen sometime this winter,” Heaberlin said. “My original hope was August, it got pushed back to October and now it’s November.”
The experience has been a whirlwind for the Ohio University student. He did the filming in May, traveling to three states to complete the 15-minute short film. It’s fast-paced but the acting and photography tell the story with amazing realism, Heaberlin said.
The independent film is set in 1948 in a fictional city in Kentucky named Clear Creek. Several coal miners from that town have returned from World War II where they had been trained by the Army in tactical explosives.
After returning to their home and jobs in the coal mines, they are angry about the abusive working conditions that employees, like themselves, have to endure. Using some of those tactical skills learned while serving their country, they decide to do something about it in a big way.
The movie opens from the coal camp on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. “That (President Roosevelt’s speech) is on the radio in the yard,” Heaberlin said. “From that it jumps into World War II, then it jumps to 1948.”
Heaberlin, a Russell High School graduate who started his college career in Ohio University Southern’s Electronic Media Program, said there’s no underlying message with the film.
“I really love history,” he said. “That’s one of the things that inspires me along with the generation of that time period. I want to do whatever I can to keep that era alive.”
In researching the film, Heaberlin consulted with various local historians, artists and other filmmakers while developing the script.
“It was an adventure for sure,” he said. “You’re going to have hiccups with anything you try to do. How you deal with them is what matters.”
The crew shot for eight consecutive days from May 16 through 23 in Beckley, Athens and Paintsville. Crew members were embraced wherever they went.
In Beckley they filmed at the exhibition coal mine. “Those people are fantastic,” Heaberlin said. “They let us have our run of the place for 12 hours. They’d been closed for five hours and they were still there with us.”
In the Paintsville area “people were on the hillside watching us,” Heaberlin said. “The mayor’s wife and an actor’s wife (Ronnie Dee Blair) cooked us breakfast one morning.”
A dramatic World War II scene was filmed in Van Lear and the company store is Webb’s Grocery in Van Lear. It’s operated by Loretta Lynn’s brother, Herman.
“That was a fun two days in the Paintsville area,” he said.
The explosions took place in Athens. “It went off and it works,” Heaberlin said. “Nobody got hurt; that’s the key.”
Heaberlin’s film has much authenticity, including World War II era uniforms and guns, professional acting from a strong cast and excitement galore. Several structures come crashing to the ground in fiery explosions during one portion.
Jim, the movie’s main character, is played by Mark Mihm, a superb actor from Pittsburgh who is a graduate of OU. Mihm was flown in from New York. Another experienced performer in the film is Jon Farris, a retired professor from Dennison University who has a long list of acting credentials. He plays the leader from Pinkerton, the coal company in the film.
“People aren’t going to be disappointed,” Heaberlin said. “It’s fun working with professional actors. They come over to you and have suggestions, little ideas. It makes sense and makes the movie better.”
Heaberlin said he learned a lot throughout the process and he’ll be better prepared for the next project.
“It was a little more hectic and a lot of that was my fault,” he said. “Communication is the key when you’re trying to do anything like this. I tried to do too much.”
He said the film finished with a cost of around $14,000.
"Let It Be War" is produced by Company Town Pictures Inc., a nonprofit organization Heaberlin created as a student to make movies about the Appalachian region. The film's crew was comprised of OU students studying video production in the School of Media Arts & Studies.
Learn more about the film at www.letitbewar.com or visit the Facebook page for the film to read updates.
MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.
