Gulf Breeze grads ‘going Hollywood’ with indie film project
BY BOBBI HAYCOX Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Four former Gulf Breeze High School graduates are excited about what the future may have in store for them. They are hoping for a “smash hit” when and if their independent film project, “The Beach Party on the Threshold of Hell,” makes its debut in upcoming international film festivals.

The film project was conceived by GBHS 1997 graduate, Kevin Wheatley, also a graduate of the NC School of the Arts, who just finished working on a pilot for ABC co-starring Bernadette Peters and Christine Baranski in Los Angeles. He recruited the talents of his brother, Scott, a production designer in Los Angeles and a ’99 graduate of GBHS, along with Ryan Turi, a graduate of GBHS as
well, who joined the project team as a producer of the film. He invited a family friend and 2003 GBHS graduate, Nick Bodkins, now in his third year at UCF in Orlando, to become involved too.

Wheatley wrote and codirected the independent film and hopes it will be the first of an epic trilogy based on a futuristic history of America. It fits into the comedy/horror genre, that along with romantic comedies, have the broadest receptive viewing audiences in the film industry, according to the movie’s website: www.thresholdofhell. com.

“We wrapped the interior filming in Los Angeles on August 1 and we are confident that we can have the post-production work completed in time to submitit for showing at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January,” said Nick Bodkins who worked on scouting exterior scenes for the movie and later earned the title of associate producer of the film. “Otherwise we will
submit it for consideration at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas later in the year.”

The film has been over a year in the making, with the exterior scenes shot right here in the Pensacola area last summer.

“When I sent the 200+ pictures I shot of Ft. Pickens scenery to Kevin in Los
Angeles, the people working on the project out there who had never been to our area, were amazed. They told me, ‘We couldn’t pay enough to recreate the stuff that is naturally out at Ft. Pickens!’ They knew right off the bat that Pensacola had the unique landscape we needed for the film.”

That’s because the story takes the form of a documentary, based on a fictitious future history of the United States viewed by people living in 2200’s. The historical reflection opens with the year 2097, two decades after a nuclear holocaust that sent American survivors into underground bunkers until this point in time. What happens as they reemerge in desert-like conditions, integrates science fiction, horror, a struggle for power and the birth of a new America.

Bodkins is convinced that the Threshold Project is going to put Pensacola on the map as far as the film industry is concerned.

“Pensacola is an untapped resource for filmmakers,” he said. “This is the biggest independent film that Pensacola has ever seen. We hope it will do much to promote filming in the area.”

The interior scenes were filmed this summer in a Los Angeles warehouse, using sets designed by Scott Wheatly. Design Setters, Inc., the Los Angeles company for whom Scott works, built all the sets.

“Scott got Design Setters interested in our project and for the first time in the company’s history, it became an investor in our film,” Bodkins said. “It is a premier design company that works for major producers in the film industry.”

Not only was Kevin able to build a quality team to work on the Threshold Project, but also he attracted several talented actors to play roles in the film.

The movie opens with Jane Seymour, delivering her farewell presidential speech announcing the dissolution of the national government. Daniel Baldwin, of TV’s “Homicide Life on the Streets”, plays the role of Clark Remington, a main character.

Tony Hale, from “Arrested Development” on FOX, and Richard Riehle, who played “Tom” in the movie, “Office Space,” are members of the cast. There is also a GBHS graduate and a 2001 Academy Award nominee, Claire Lautier, who recently completed a role in the House of D, directed by David Duchovny, and starring Robin Williams. Her TV credits include appearances on “Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit”, “All My Children” and “Guiding Light”.

“Now we are in the last stage and are still looking for finishing funds,” explained Bodkins, who says the budget has always been tight but manageable. “We’ve been able to find people who believe in the project and want to invest. Within three months we will be sending out press packages and wait to hear, beginning in December, if the film is selected for the various film festivals.

Besides being well received here after the sneak preview shown during the Pensacola Film Festival this year, the makers of the film expect it to have tremendous foreign appeal. It is their hope that eventually the film will be distributed worldwide.

“The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell,” was Kevin’s vision, and I am so glad to be part of it with so many talented people involved. It was an exciting way to spend two summers and a great learning experience,” Bodkins said.