Naturalfilms Film Blog

L.A. Actors Make A Scene In Madison

The Capital Times - METRO - C1
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - Doug Moe
(Reprinted with permission)

DARREN BURROWS , the actor who starred in the highly rated CBS series “Northern Exposure” in the 1990s, spent the last several days in Madison hanging out in the Willy Street neighborhood, sleeping above Mickey’s Tavern, breakfasting at Monty’s Blue Plate and generally falling in love with the isthmus and the lakes.

“He’s about ready to buy a house,” Burrows’ buddy and colleague, Madison writer-producer Nick Langholff , was saying Tuesday.

Mickey’s patrons were giving Burrows “where do I know you from” looks (he played Ed Chigliak on “Exposure”), and Randy Wayne , a young actor who recently starred as Luke Duke in “The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning,” was getting his share of glances, too.

Like Burrows, Wayne was in Madison owing to his friendship with Langholff, a Fort Atkinson native and American Players Theatre alumnus who has spent a decade working on film crews most recently as assistant director on movie sets around the world. Langholff’s film world contact list is long, and he’s the kind of guy who stays in touch. He met Burrows on “Forty Shades of Blue,” a film that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Currently, Langholff who has an office above Mickey’s is collaborating on a screenplay with Burrows, and it was the script that brought the actor to Madison this week.

Saturday, Burrows and Wayne flew into Madison from Los Angeles, and Langholff drove them out to American Players for the opening of “Night of the Iguana.” Once they got beyond the remoteness of the locale, the actors were highly impressed with the production. Langholff also convinced his friends to act for a couple of nights in a short movie that was shot in Madison this week by a film school student acquaintance of Langholff’s. You might have seen them Monday night filming at Crave. The first-time director, Justin Daering , could hardly believe his good fortune. Name actors in a student short film? Langholff, happy to help, now has another name in his BlackBerry.

This is an exciting and nervous time for the producer. Last January, Langholff and an old American Players Theatre colleague, Spring Green native Brent Notbohn , brought a cast and crew of 45 to Madison and spent two weeks shooting an independent feature film, for which they hold high hopes. Notbohn wrote and directed and Langholff produced. The film, titled “Madison,” stars the esteemed American Players actor Jim DeVita as a celebrated but disillusioned war correspondent who returns to the college town where he was once young and idealistic.

Notbohn, who wrote and directed the movie and who teaches media studies at UW-Superior, has been working long days and nights to finish post-production on the film. Madison musician Doug Brown has just completed the music score, and Jack LeTourneau at E Labs here is mixing the post-production sound. It’s all being done against a Sept. 1 deadline to get the finished film entered into the Sundance Film Festival.

Langholff saw a first cut of the film last spring, right before leaving for Sudan to shoot a documentary film. Notbohn had sent it from Superior. Langholff remembers watching it at 2 a.m., and being so blown away by the performances that he sent 4 a.m. e-mails to DeVita and another lead, Brian Mani , expressing heartfelt thanks and congratulations.

Of course, the odds against acceptance at Sundance are long, and the filmmakers, while hopeful, are plotting backup strategies. Langholff, naturally, has contacts among distributors. One way or another, the film will be shown.

When it is, Madison-area viewers of “Madison,” the movie, will see a scene shot at the venerable Plaza Bar downtown. It’s the first place the disillusioned war correspondent goes when he gets back to Madison. Last Saturday, the Plaza was also the first place Langholff took his L.A. actor friends, Burrows and Wayne, when they got in town.

Coincidence, or karma? It might just be that even Hollywood types know it’s hard to beat a Plazaburger.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 at 5:30 pm and is filed under Naturalfilms in the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.