Filmmakers Anthony E. Griffin and Michael McCallum know firsthand what a difference a city line can make.
As the pair began shooting their second feature film, Handlebar, which is scheduled to premiere this month, they were determined not to repeat the location problems they had with their first film. For that project, the award-winning Fairview St., the creative team alerted Lansing authorities that an on-street scene would contain a fight. But the crew accidentally strayed into Lansing Township where authorities were unaware that a movie was being filmed.
"They didn't know anything about us and became very upset," Griffin recalled. "So for this project, which featured a kidnapping, we made sure to let everyone know - city police, county sheriff, even the state police post.
"As we were filming the scene, our characters grab a young woman, duct tape her mouth and throw her in the back of a van. We're doing all these wild things on the city streets - and not once did anybody call to report us."
Griffin (director of photography and producer) and McCallum (co-writer, director, editor, producer and one of the two leads) shot the 60+ minute comedy in Lansing over the space of two weekends. It tells the story of two bumbling thieves, Dwayne (played by McCallum) and Benny (Shane Hagedorn), who are hired by an inner-city Mafioso to kidnap the daughter (Grace Anne Rowan) of a rival. But the pair inadvertently kidnap the daughter of their boss, Manny (played by McCallum's father, William), and, as McCallum said, "hopefully comedy ensues."
"Dwayne is the stereotypical low-life thief who parties all night," explained McCallum, who grew a handlebar moustache for the role. "If you found he had come home with you at 1 a.m., you would kick yourself in disbelief. While you were getting ready for work, Dwayne is the kind of guy who would take food out of the fridge - and probably your stereo. He's a real bottom feeder.
"The other character, Shane, is a real enigma. He's a little out there. One of the questions is why Manny would have hired this pair of losers. He's hired them because they're completely disposable. At the end of the job, he could rub them out and no one would care."
Griffin said the film's tag line, "Steering toward disaster," acknowledges the fact that things we try to control aren't necessarily in our providence to do so.
In the film, Dwayne and Shane find themselves in a situation where they doing something wrong, and it ends up backfiring on them.
"If it's true that the evil you do to others comes back to you 10-fold, it's equally as true that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If people had left well enough alone, things might have gone better," Griffin said.
At press time, Griffin and McCallum were still finalizing details for the premiere, which will be posted on the film's Web site, handlebarmovie.com.
