Harwich Will Be Transformed Into The Moon In Weisman Movie

by William F. Galvin

            HARWICH –With the passing of storm clouds, the full sap moon rose over the peninsula this weekend, igniting paths of light upon the water and glowing in strips through stands of trees in the crisp night air. The moon is our closest celestial neighbor and the first door we open to the question of life in the universe beyond.

            The moon may be closer than residents of this community think.

            Harwich may even be the dark side of the moon to local property owner, writer, producer and movie director Jay Weisman. The part-time resident hopes to use Harwich as the setting to shoot “Shockwave, Darkside,” a feature-length science-fiction movie about religious war on the moon.

            Weisman said he wrote the majority of the script while spending time at his Great Sand Lakes home over this past Christmas. He admitted this week the project is in its early planning stages, but if all goes as planned the movie will be shot here between November and next January.

            “I like old war movies of the 1950s,” Weisman said. “This is the modern version set on the moon. A 21^st Century version was the genesis of the idea. It’s a morality tale like in Rod Sterling’s ‘Twilight Zone.’”

The movie director said he is a big science-fiction fan and the genre is getting a lot of exposure these days. Weisman’s story focuses on character and conflicts rather than special effects and spectacle, he said.

“ ‘Shockwave, Darkside’ does what science fiction does best; explores the themes of today projected onto the canvas of tomorrow. Fusing such elements of classic war films with today’s whip smart video game culture, it is a genre-mashing, exciting and poignant look into power and cost of faith, disillusionment and corruption,” the preliminary business plan states.

Weisman met last week with members of the town’s planning department and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandy Davidson to discuss the endeavor. The director said they discussed the needs of the story and how they plan to put it together, and he showed a location scout clip to illustrate how the basic concept is put together.

“Once we saw the end product, you’d think you were on the moon,” assistant town planner Elizabeth Hude said of the clip. “He then peeled away the layers until you got down to the sand and gravel. It was amazing.”

“I’m  personally very excited about it,” said Davidson. “It’s just the beginning, but it could be the start of multiple projects.”

Davidson said she has had a chance to meet Weisman and they have talked several times since then. She said this is a small project, but he will be bringing people into town and that will have an economic ripple affect.

The chamber executive director also said the state is active in attracting filmmaking, and this could lead to additional productions.

“Science fiction is an extremely popular genre in the movies these days and I love the imagination and creativity,” Davidson said. “We’re here but we will be transported to the moon by the story line and creativity on the screen.” 

A location for the shooting has not been determined as yet, but Weisman said he wants to do as much as he can in Harwich. He said it will not require a huge setting because they will be shooting close up on the five soldiers in the movie.

Some of the work will be computer generated, Weisman said, but they will be “very clever” about it. The location scout scenes were shot at the Brewster Sand and Gravel pit, the director said.

Weisman is a graduate of the Film and Television Department of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His background is in special effects and he has also been an interactive producer.

An award-winning filmmaker, Weisman recently won the award for Best American Short Film at the Avignon Film Festival and the Best Short Film Based on Originality and Experimentation award at the Wine Country Film Festival for his World War II drama, “Surveillances.” He also produced the effects for “A Town Has Turned to Dust” for the Sci-Fi Channel. He has also directed and written the animation and vocal performances for several video and Web games, including “Stuart Little 2” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

He will be joined in this project by producer Stuart Ginsberg, who brings 20 years of entertainment public relations to the project. Robert Fiske, who will be the director of photography and special effects supervisor, also brings 15 years of experience. Elwaldo Baptiste, an editor and post-production supervisor, has interned for Columbia Tristar Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. Pipeline Entertainment, Inc. will serve as producer and management firm.

Why Harwich? Weisman, who lives in New York, said he’d like to spend more time here. The technology today has created big spikes in regional filmmaking, he said. Film editing can be done on a computer so there is no reason to have to work from New York, he added.

He cited low-budget productions Peter Jackson, director of “Lord of the Rings,” started out doing as an example of how technology allows growth in regional filmmaking.       

“The climate of the town seems amenable to it,” Weisman said. “The outpouring of support has also been encouraging.”  He added that he does not anticipate  disruption in community.

“It’s important to put our best foot forward,” he said. “We want to be respectful of the environment. This is my neighborhood too.”

No actors have been selected at this time.  Weisman said those decisions will be based on the amount of money they can raise. He has put forth a couple of financial projections ranging from $25,000 to $250,000.

“Ultimately it will come down to how much support I can get,” Weisman said. “The higher the level, the more recognized the actors will be.”

Davidson said this is a good opportunity for the town because Weisman would like to spend more time here and there is the potential for additional projects. The movie director said he hopes to have a “meet and greet” event locally in the near future.

“He wants to do right by Harwich,” Davidson said. “He wants it to be a positive experience.”   

3/27/08