Thespian not cowed by camera
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| At a tobacco warehouse in Upper Marlboro, female lead Gage Sheridan of Alexandria, Va., takes aim in the movie "Twilight of the Dogs." |
It's her feature film debut, but Gertrude handles scene like a pro, patiently waiting for her cue under hot lights in the decrepit, abandoned Upper Marlboro warehouse that was formerly used by Planters Peanuts.
Director John R. Ellis shouts out for "smoke" and foggy haze and an unnatural stench fills the air.
Gertrude listens for the lines delivered buy the alien Karuy, then edges past the extraterrestrial and fades behind a darkened wall.
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| Gertrude, one of the local cast members in the movie "Twilight of the Dogs,"takes a break. |
To an untrained eye, Gertrude appears to have given a remarkable performance --- especially for a novice thespian. Especially for a novice thespian who happens to be a cow.
But Ellis, the man at the the helm of "Twilight of the Dogs," isn't satisfied. The 38-year-old Arlington, Va. resident orders everyone back to their spots for a retake. He has been fretting about Gertrude's weight problem and her seemingly listless manner; there is concern the bovine actress, due to deliver a calf next week, might not be able to finish filming her key role in the movie.
On the other hand, she is not under an expensive contract. Gertrude --- that is her stage name; her real name is Bambi --- was noticed for her good looks, but landed the role mainly because she belonged to the next door neighbor of of the movie's stuntman, Doug Sloan.
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| Acting debuts: Upper Marlboro's Charlyn Miller, left, and Fort Washington's Kelly Richards. |
"Twilight of the Dogs" producers have used similar cost-cutting measures, which they say are necessary to transform Upper Marlboro into a post-apocalyptic world for well under $1 million. For example, they hired extras who responded to a job announcement made by a disc jockey at an Upper Marlboro pub, a much cheaper method than using agencies or newspaper ads.
The producers said they have not decided if the film, a science fiction adventure about futuristic scavengers and religious fanatics, will be distributed to theaters or go straight to video stores.
"Twilight" is Ellis's third film shot in Maryland, following "Star Quest" and "Invader." The latter, he says, earned $6 million in receipts.
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| Gage Sheridan aims and fires. |
"Twilight" revolves around a religious cult that is trying to rid the world, devastated by a bomb blast, of any survivors who do not share their beliefs.
Helping them out is a deadly disease, AIDS II, that is wiping out everyone who didn't perish in the explosion that ended life as we know it. Hero Sam Asgarde, an ex-fighter pilot played by "Twilight" screenwriter Tim Sullivan, is struggling to overcome his wracking guilt over dropping the bomb. He discovers a cure for the disease, a compound drawn from the blood of the alien Karuy, played by Gage Sheridan of Alexandria, Va.
To save the scavengers --- largely known as the "dogs," hence the film's title --- Asgarde proposes to feed Karuy's blood to the cow, whose milk will let the people drink their way back to health. But chasing after the cow is the evil cult leader Reverend Zerk, who views Gertrude as nothing more than a steak dinner.
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| Getting some pointers on how to do a scene by Arlington, Va., director John Ellis. |
Moviegoers will have to see "Twilight of the Dogs" to find out the ending, but co-producer Andy Ross asserts the climax owes something to the legend of Johnny Appleseed.
If this sounds a tad violent --- and a press release touts the use of a Russian tanks for battle scenes --- Ellis notes the producers are aiming for a PG-13 rating. The film has violence, "but not too excessive," and no sex, but "scenes of seduction and romance," he says.
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| Being in a movie isn't always glamorous. Here extras, who play the killer bad guys, take a break between, literally, shooting scenes. Extras were found for the movie through an announcement made by a disc jockey at an Upper Marlboro pub in an effort to keep costs down. |
But he insists that neither his character or the movie is based on the fiery end of the Koresh cult near Waco, Texas, but a collage of familiar themes placed in an unfamiliar setting.
"The whole movie is about spiritual rebirth," Bluemke says. "We're talking about current problems --- collapse of an empire, disease, greenhouse effect --- things that if left unchecked could really evolve."
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