Wednesday November 6, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@nmichigandaily. cor RTS 9 ESCANABA COMES HOME TO DVD 'Escanaba DVD has very little to offer By Ryan Lewis Daily Arts Writer When Jeff Daniels situates him- self in the director's chair, after hav- ing written the script, and then stands in front of the camera to star in his own film, everyone is in for a treat. The accomplished stage and film actor has concocted a wonder- fully imaginative script for his three-tiered effort of "Escanaba in da Moonlight." Curiously strange and downright hilarious, this adap- tation of the same-named play is a laugh riot geared toward Michigan- ders, but funny for everyone. Daniels plays Ruben Soady, the oldest person in Escanaba never to "hang a buck." With hunting season a day away, everyone superstitiously avoids him as he travels out to the family's cabin. Something has kept Jeff Daniels discusses making films outside of Hollywood Courtesy of Monarch Jeff Daniels talks trash with the boys of summer. him from shooting his deer, and if he does not kill one this season, he will break the infamous Soady-family record for oldest man without a kill. bunctious energy. Daniels, Presnell and Albright are a great trio with true comedic value. People from the northern Midwest Upon arriving at the cabin, he is can genuir welcomed by his father Albert (Harve Presnell, "Fargo") and quirkyU brother Remnar (Joey ESCANABA IN DA Albright). The relation- MOONLIGHT ship amongst the Soady DVD men is one of the Picture/Sound: ** strangest dynamics ever filmed. After a Movie: ***I brief time, they are Features: No Stars joined by the short, Monarch Home Video mumbling, bottomless- appetite Jimmer (Wayne David Parker). Strange is a relief occurrences begin happening: They buster con experience alien sightings, Albert's The DV whiskey turns to sap and Jimmer's in qualit' car catches on fire and mysteriously scenes, a drives off. It only becomes wackier mentary a when Ranger Tom (Randall Godwin) have all b joins the bunch, but Ruben remains the DVD hell-bent on bagging his first buck. tremendo With Euchre, deer hunting and legend tha "Uper" dialect, it is a treat for Mid- learn abou westerners who can relate to the fication.I story. Daniels' film is fun, original features and weird enough to be hilarious quality is without the overkill that most quality is recent comedies force. Although he "Escana almost certainly will not receive hilarious f any tremendous recognition else to tho because of the regional release and it may not relative obscurity of the film, this is loaded D\ a great directorial debut that splendid Daniels has packed full of ram- spend ane fnely appreciate the authen- ticity of the accents and quirkiness of the actors. Their dialect is the per- fect blend of Canadian and Michiganian. Park- er's character Jimmer is the funniest part of the movie. His whiskey- chugging, rooftop introduction is a stroke of comedic genius. Watching these little known actors on screen f from the cliched block- nedies. JD itself is relatively low y. Commentary, deleted behind the scenes docu- nd production stills would een fantastic additions to - there is definitely a us amount of history and at would be interesting to ut or at least receive clari- But there are no special on the disc. The sound decent, but the picture mediocre at best. aba in da Moonlight" is a film that sadly offers little se who purchase it. While be the most interesting or VD on the market, it is a film and a great way to evening. By John Laughlin Daily Arts Writer "Escanaba in da Moonlight" was veteran actor and playwright Jeff Daniels' first time directing, but apparently he didn't feel all that uncomfortable. Daniels said, "I found myself standing on the set and it was as if I was standing there with Woody Allen and Jonathan Demme and Jim Brooks and other (directors) ... so you had choices, you had options. It was almost as if I had this team behind me that was kind of in my ear ... you didn't feel alone." Escanaba was originally a stage play written by Daniels after he finished the hugely successful "Dumb and Dumber." Daniels remembers, "I thought, -I want to write something for the theater that makes people laugh as hard as they seem to be laughing at 'Dumb and Dumber.' There's a writer named Robert Traver (also known as John Voker) who wrote a book called "Danny and the Boys," which is a series of short stories about loggers and lumberjacks in the '40s and the '50s. There was kind of a style to that - the way they talked and they way they thought - that came out in these kind of comic short stories. So I read that and it kind of opened the door for what these guys could be and how outra- geous I could make the story." The play "Escanaba" was tremendously successful in Detroit. Daniels boasts, "We ran it for three months and it was a big hit. When we blew up the theater and decided to renovate we needed to keep the staff so we opened it at the Gem Theater, and it ran for 16 straight months and broke the record for the longest running show in Detroit history." While popular as a stage production there is always the possibility that a play just won't easily translate to the screen. The dialogue-heavy world of theater often results in a boring, visually unappealing film. "Escan- aba," however, passes over that hurdle and then some. The screen had a lot more to offer Daniels in terms of getting his characters out of their cabins and into new settings. "The story, is the same. Many of the lines that are in the play are there in the screenplay. The screen- play probably expands on that ... some of the longer monologues in the play were chopped down or cut completely, but basically it's all there. The play takes place entirely inside that cabin ... but "cut to" is a beautiful thing to be able to write at the end of a scene - you don't have that luxury on stage." Daniels filmed on location in Escanaba. "We should have gone to Canada and shot it just like everybody else because of the dollar and the rebate they give film companies ... as soon as I cross the river I've got more money. But this is a Michigan film company and we just felt that it was important to use the money we had as best as we knew how and shoot it here. There was an authenticity to the film that we've got ... The town itself, after they got over 'Hollywood's gonna come in and steal our daughters and do all that stuff,' they couldn't have been more generous - they could- n't have been more helpful." The crew had the town at their disposal, and Daniels was very pleased that he was able to put as much money into its economy as he did. "We dropped almost a million dollars in that town in three months," said Daniels. "What was great, the governor saw that and he got interested .. .and then we did it again with 'Super Sucker,' our second film which we shot in Jackson." Does "Escanaba" limit its audience due to its specif- ic locale? The play experienced few problems with alienating audiences but Hollywood was still relucant to greenlight the Upper Peninsula project. Daniels responds, "Initially when I was shopping the idea, I had a (producer) in L.A. who said, 'This is a really great idea, but you need to think outside the box,' which is a phrase they like to throw around. He said, 'Yoopers in Vegas. There's your title. Think about that.' So I just said, 'Ya know what, if it ends up being regional, fine.' So was 'Full Monty,' so was 'Waking Ned Divine.' What I know is that they hunt deer all over the country ... so that kind of guys going off hunting, guys going off for a weekend kind of thing - I think everyone will get it. While it's got a regional flavor to it, I still think it translates." Facilitating the transition from stage to screen, Daniels used the original stage actors in the film as well. Daniels brags, "The casting couldn't have been better and 'Escanaba' is the stronger for it. I wasn't interested in 'casting up' as they say. These guys origi- nated the roles; they know them best and ya know, funny is funny. We're breaking rules and going against the trend of 'casting up,' but it's important as an exten- sion of this theatre company. I've got to use as many of those people in the films as we can. They are cer- tainly qualified, and they can certainly do it; and in Escanaba's case, having originated the roles, they also deserved it." A loyal and prolific man, Daniels lives in Michigan with his family and enjoys filming here. He says, "As an actor you're going on a plane to wherever, and I've got family and I want to stay here ... I have a theater company here. There's no reason, especially now with digital video coming, you can't tell stories from here - I certainly have as a playwright. It keeps me home, which is what my job doesn't always do." The future of filming in Michigan now looks brighter thanks to loyal filmmakers like Jeff Daniels. Courtesy of Monarch Jeff Daniels carries a big gun. Loosen up' UPI JtE B3XEI.T) Now at Kmart The stuff of life m 'u . .