A film portraying the lobster industry, territory wars, and the struggle for personal redemption in an insular community is providing acting debuts and economic infusion this spring on Vinalhaven. The film, Sternman, written and designed by two men who have spent their summers on the island since childhood, was scripted specifically for present-day Vinalhaven. During its two-month production schedule nearly every business on the island, many historical landmarks, and over two hundred of the island’s 1,200 year-round residents will be featured or involved in the independently financed film.
The script is co-written by Hollywood screenwriter Ian McCrudden and actor and screenwriter Tom Hildreth of Los Angeles and Vinalhaven. Production Designer Dan Boxer, hailing from New York and Vinalhaven, was also Marine Coordinator for another Maine-produced film, Cider House Rules. In recent years, partly due to incentives offered by the Maine State Film Office, Maine’s coastal and inland communities have become popular filming locations. The producers hope that Sternman will attract public attention similar to the Camden-based film In the Bedroom and the recent HBO release Empire Falls. The last film to be produced on Vinalhaven was Deep Waters in 1947.
The crux of Sternman, without giving away the “happy ending,” is the encroachment of mainland fishermen into the island’s fishing territories. Eben, the main character, played by Hildreth, is a hotheaded young man whose lobster fishing ties go back multiple generations. He is unwilling to wait while the elders of the island debate birthrights and conservation zones. Impetuously he takes matters into his own hands, which results in an accidental crime and the loss of his wife, boat, traps and integrity within the community.
Boxer explains, “The original idea is based on a concept of a local guy getting into deep trouble and earning his way back into his community. It is a powerful script, tailor-written for Vinalhaven. On a budget level, it is a great advantage to work with what already exists. It is a tremendous help to set it here on Vinalhaven. Anything we might attempt to alter would only diminish the film.”
Of the 43 principal roles, 26 will be played by island residents. Over 150 extras, from schoolchildren to day-trippers to the town manager herself, have been utilized in various scenes. Island businesses — Surfside Restaurant, Fisherman’s Friend, Port O’Call, Carver’s Harbor Market, Black Dog Pub and primarily, the Vinalhaven Fisherman’s Co-op — have been filmed before, during and after regular hours. Local landmarks such as the Washington School, State Beach and Lane’s Island Preserve have served as site locations, as well as several private homes on the island.
It is the town’s and islanders’ willingness to open their homes, businesses and selves to the film production that has allowed it to, so far, remain within its modest budget. While one producer calls it a “micro budget” film and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) union classifies it as a “modified low-budget agreement,” the bottom line is that the film is operating on a privately raised $300,000. Keeping within that figure, given this spring’s soggy weather and island variables such as ferries, fuel prices and feeding the film’s crew, has proved an ever-present challenge.
The budgeting is 26-year-old co-producer Melissa Davis’s forte. Holding a post-graduate degree from the University of Southern California’s producing program, she has quickly learned a lot about the “island factor” — actors who miss the last ferry and must stay in a mainland motel, grocery stores that close down before the day’s shooting is over, days of filming lost due to fog, or missing camera equipment that cannot be shipped “overnight” to an island. The film was budgeted as a 21-day shoot, with camera equipment, U-hauls, RVs and the professional actors and actresses themselves hired at a daily and weekly rate.
She says, “… We are very fortunate to have Tom [Hildreth] and Dan [Boxer] knowing who to call to help us figure things out. There are people here they have known since childhood who have helped us in so many ways. On a bigger film, the production manager and location manager often just sit on the set and tell others how they want it to be. But Vinalhaven is so different, like nothing I had ever thought of. Before coming, I could not imagine island life, ferries, that `main street’ could be so tiny and contained. I think it has been a culture shock on the entire crew… `What, no cell phone reception?’ It is so incredibly beautiful here though. Now I hear crewmembers saying, “I can’t leave, I don’t want to leave, the world is so far away.”
While it may cause a culture shock for the film crew, in many ways, the movie being filmed on the island has hardly caused a ripple among the locals. Some have said that, aside from being good for local businesses, “you wouldn’t even know they are around.” Vinalhaven Town Manager, Marjorie Stratton stated that “The experience, from our point of view, has been very good. They met with the Selectmen prior to their arrival, answered their questions and provided their proof of insurance. We’ve received no complaints.”
For the local residents who have key roles in the production, the experience has mostly been a diversion from fishing. Norah Warren, who manages the Fisherman’s Co-op, has been cast in the role of “Betty,” who is coincidently the manager of the fisherman’s co-op. Her husband, Jimmy, a native lobsterman, captains the vessel FANCY STUFF, Eben’s vessel in the film. Jimmy and his boat are now film veterans, having worked previously with Boxer in the production of Cider House Rules. Their children Francis and Fiona, ages 10 and 8, also have bystander roles.
The Warrens were asked to go over the script to check it for dialect and plausibility. Local lobstermen Walter Day, and Gerry, David, and Kyle Doughty, were recruited as captains and script consultants, providing accurate depictions of lobster fishing and coastal knowledge. That “authenticity” is what co-producer Forrest Murray says makes Sternman “right on target.” Murray, who has 40 years’ experience in the film industry and has produced 15 independent films, admits that the potential of the script struck him on the first reading, “…almost like a Wild West Movie.”
On the cooperation of the community, Murray states, “In a sense, we come into a town and take it over. It is my responsibility to be sure we are polite and diplomatic. We knew what we needed in terms of casting and mechanics, and no single person said `no.’ ”
Some Vinalhaven residents have expressed concern that the movie will bring even more attention to the island and will, perhaps “over-glorify a business that isn’t glorifying.” Says Lee Osgood, whose family’s ties to lobstering extends several generations, “We joke among ourselves that we are all pretty much the same — strong back and a weak mind — but the truth is, it takes a good mind to make it in this business, and a hell of a lot of hard work. I wouldn’t want to see it over simplified, or overdone.”
The movie’s co-writer and leading actor, Tom Hildreth, having lived most of his childhood summers on Vinalhaven, is concerned and sensitive to the local community’s response to the movie. He says, “If anything, I am hoping to convey some very strong messages that speak to the integrity of this place. For me, it has been a love poem to the island, a love letter from my own personal history. It is nothing but well-intentioned.”
Sixteen-year-old Natalie Conway, an aspiring screenwriter, was offered a position as an intern on the set, working alongside Kirstie Bingham, the Production Assistant. She has been the coordinator with the school community, gathering volunteers for various crowd scenes. Conway has enjoyed the uniqueness of the opportunity, observing close hand how much is involved with each shoot. Even so, she admits that the script and its interpretation have her feeling protective toward her community.
She explains, “The movie focuses just on islanders in the middle of summer. It never mentions tourists and they [the producers] don’t realize how much the island changes as a result of that. I feel that the movie lacks something because of that. Sometimes I think they have lost sight of the fact that this is where we live, year-round, that it is our community, not just a movie site. I think they are missing the beauty of Vinalhaven, and overlooking how we live here throughout the year.”
“They asked me if anything like this [script] would happen here, and I told them, `not the way you wrote it’. I don’t think this person would ever come back to the island, at least, not ever back on the water. I don’t think the other fishermen would allow it. I said, `you are seeing our town from an outsider’s point of view, it’s like you see the shell, and I can see the yolk.’ ”
After an estimated six months of editing and post production work, a premiere is planned for the Vinalhaven community. After that, the film will hit the circuit of independent film festivals where it will hopefully find its market among theater or television distributors.