411 Visits the Set of New Horror Film Widow’s Point

Widow’s Point Movie Set Report

Widow’s Point, based on the book of the same name by Richard Chizmar and Billy Chizmar, is set to be director Gregory Lamberson’s next movie after the release of Johnny Gruesome in October (Video on Demand) and January (DVD). Widow’s Point stars Craig Sheffer (Nightbreed, A River Runs Through It) as a struggling writer who spends a weekend in a “haunted” lighthouse as a publicity stunt for his next book. As tends to happen in these “spend any amount of time in a haunted place for whatever reason” stories, weird stuff befalls the “haunted” place’s visitor, and the whole stunt ends up being way more than anyone bargained for. It’s a story that will sure as heck creep the audience out, and it’s a movie that will no doubt show that director Lamberson knows how to scare the crap out of the horror movie-loving audience.

Lamberson and his assembled crew filmed Widow’s Point for around fifteen days, spread out over three weeks in August 2018. The production filmed at the ND Studios soundstage in Buffalo, New York, at the Dunkirk Lighthouse & Veteran’s Park Museum in Dunkirk, New York (it’s about an hour south of Buffalo), and at a location in Clarence, New York that doubled for the interior of the lighthouse. I visited the lighthouse location during the second week of the movie’s production, at director Lamberson’s invitation, and spent almost a full day on set. It was an eye opening experience, to be sure, as until setting foot on the lighthouse grounds I had never been to a movie set. In fact, the closest I had ever been to a movie set before the lighthouse was via those behind the scenes documentary featurettes that appear on DVD’s. Those are fun and interesting to watch, but they’re not the same as actually being there, seeing the moviemaking process firsthand.

Now, before actually venturing out to the lighthouse location, I asked a few people I knew who had been on a movie set both what to expect and what would be expected of me, an outsider, as a movie set is a workplace with its own rules and whatnot. Essentially, I was given three rules to follow; one, don’t get in the way. Two, always know where the camera is pointed. And three, when the production is actually filming, be quiet. If you can adhere to those three rules, everything else should be fine. And so, with those three rules embedded into my brain, I travelled to the Dunkirk Lighthouse to see what the heck this movie making hooey is really all about.

Day One

Well, it’s probably wrong to call it “day one” as I only spent a little over an hour on set. I arrived at the lighthouse on Tuesday evening at around 6:30 and the filming day was coming to a close (the production typically filmed until 7pm most days). After meeting production assistant (and a filmmaker in her own right. She has already directed Zombie Kids and I Dare You to Open Your Eyes and she’s only 18) Hope Muehlbauer at the front gate, I was escorted to the area of the grounds the crew was filming at by the incredibly nice production assistant Alex Weinstein. The production was filming a scene on a driveway on the lighthouse grounds and, from what I saw, the scene seemed to be going smoothly (it was a scene of a car driving away). Once that scene was completed the crew then recorded various sounds related to the car, like one of the car doors opening and closing. Once that was complete, there was one more scene to film. It was a quick scene of an actor putting luggage into a car trunk. It didn’t take long to complete. It was interesting watching the actor continue acting even after he passed behind the camera (it was like how a bowler follows through with his swing after launching the ball onto the lane).

It was at that point that I got to converse a little bit with director Lamberson, and he introduced me to a few members of the crew. There was the gigantically hilarious John Renna, who was both acting in the movie and, I guess, working security on the location (that’s what he seemed to be doing at the time). And then there was Sam Qualiana, a very nice guy when he isn’t working as the First Assistant Director (when he is working as the First A.D. the dude is a machine and maybe the hardest working individual there outside of the production designer Frank Coppola. Qualiana is a moviemaker himself, having directed Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast and The Legend of Six Fingers, among others). And then there was the immortal Michael Thurber, who was playing the lighthouse keeper character Parker. I, of course, recognized Thurber as the hilarious rapist boss from director Lamberson’s Killer Rack. Thurber is a very good actor and easy going human with a mischievous smile (he would no doubt need that good humor the next day). I also met Kate Sharun, who was doing both make up and special effects (I only saw her working on the makeup side of things). All seemed like very dedicated people who definitely wanted to be there. They all looked exhausted, in one way or another, but a sense of dedication was very much in the air. It seemed like there was no other place in the world any of them wanted to be.

The Dunkirk Lighthouse Park is a beautiful location. From the actual lighthouse, which I believe still works/functions as a lighthouse, to the other exhibits on the grounds, it’s a cornucopia of Western New York maritime history. There are boats, pieces of real anchors, and various plaques that explain what the heck everything is. Dave, the lighthouse keeper, was also on the set, basically making sure the crew didn’t blow it up or burn it down. No one was going to do that, of course (the crew had far too much respect for the production to even think of doing anything like that, and it’s not like anyone had the time to come up with a “blow it all up” plan anyway. They were in the middle of making a goddamn movie), but Dave was there anyway to make sure everything was on the up and up. If you ever find yourself in the Dunkirk area and you’re looking for something to do, drive by the lighthouse and see if it’s open. If it is, stop in and walk around the grounds. Even if you’re not into boats and shit you will still find it interesting (I’m not interested in boats at all and I thought the whole place was cool as hell).

Several members of the crew told me that the lighthouse was haunted. There were rumors running rampant of objects moving all by themselves and of strange noises and “invisible presences” all around. Several people had stories of something touching them and then never actually seeing that something. I’ve never believed in ghosts or spirits or any of that kind of thing, but after walking the grounds and experiencing the old timey ambiance of the lighthouse building I can see why someone would suspect the place is haunted. If ghosts and spirits were real, they would no doubt hang out in a place like the lighthouse.

After a little more conversing with the various assembled crew, director Lamberson was told that there was a continuity issue with an actor’s wardrobe from a scene the crew had filmed earlier in the day. For whatever reason, no one caught the error at the time, but now with the error known director Lamberson had to decide what needed to be done to fix it. As Lamberson would say multiple times throughout my visit, “directing is really just solving problems all day long,” and, at first, Lamberson wasn’t going to do anything. Mistakes are made all of the time, and with the budget being what it was (tight as fuck), it was a mistake that the movie would just have to live with. Leaving the scene alone wasn’t Lamberson’s final decision, though. The production had dealt with multiple issues up until that point that had altered a good chunk of the shooting schedule, and there was likely a chance somewhere the following day to sneak in a redo of the messed up sequence. He just had to find it.

So, as the crew cleaned up what needed to be cleaned up and packed up what needed to be packed up, Lamberson conferred with second assistant director Kyle Mecca on the next day’s schedule. Movies, by and large, are filmed out of sequence. I knew that, intellectually. I didn’t realize how “out of sequence” out of sequence actually meant. The following day’s call sheet had scenes for damn near every section of the movie (beginning, middle, and end). The whole thing seemed insane. How the hell were they going to get all of it done, especially with wardrobe changes and set redresses? I was dumbfounded by it all. It seemed impossible. For Lamberson and 2nd AD Mecca it was just the schedule for the next day and they would get it done. It was what they did. And Lamberson and Mecca quickly found a solution for the mix up. The sequence would be re-filmed before lunch.

And that was the end of the first day. A potential disaster averted. Problem solved.

What the heck would happen on day two?

Who is Gregory Lamberson?

Gregory Lamberson is a filmmaker, a writer, and a consummate family man. He made his first real deal movie back in the mid 1980’s, the classic splatter flick Slime City, and has made several movies since then, including Naked Fear, Slime City Massacre, and Killer Rack. Since moving to Buffalo from New York City (he lived in nearby Fredonia for a good chunk of his early life), he has made all of his movies in western New York and also worked on movies from other filmmakers who have made their movies in the area. In fact, Lamberson is one of the key people responsible for the ongoing filmmaking boom in western New York, helping establish the area as a place where projects can get made. Lamberson is also an award winning author, having written The Jake Helman Files series, Black Creek, the Johnny Gruesome novel, among others. As I understand it he is focusing on the filmmaking side of his career at the moment, with the hope that Widow’s Point leads to more movies (which it should). As for the family aspect of his life, Lamberson’s wife Tamar has worked on several of his movies in various capacities (she co-produced Johnny Gruesome and is a producer of some sort on Widow’s Point), and his young daughter Kaelin has appeared in several of his movies. In fact, Kaelin has a significant part in Widow’s Point and was a constant presence on set in general.

If you’ve seen any of Lamberson’s movies, you’ll never see the movie credited as “A Gregory Lamberson Film.” While he may be the movie’s director and it is his vision on the screen, he’s more than willing to admit that film/movies are a collaborative process and that it takes an army of people to get a movie made. Everyone who worked on the movie, it’s kind of their movie, too. Lamberson could probably get away with the “A Gregory Lamberson Film” credit if he wanted to. He has certainly developed a style and a reputation since making Slime City. That’s if he wanted to.

The Widow’s Point set was a fairly laid back affair, something else I was told to expect. There was a sense of stress in the air, sure, because there was work to be done and the crew only had so much time to get it done, but at the same time it didn’t seem like the life of the world was in the balance. There was no yelling, no freak outs or meltdowns. Did tempers flare? Maybe a little, every now and then, in isolated cases, but that kind of thing can happen anywhere at any work location. There were like fifteen different people in the general vicinity working on the movie. People are going to have arguments about things. It’s just going to happen. The “bad feelings” never lasted more than a few minutes. It was like seeing a big family suck it up and just move on. At the same time, it seemed like the crew had too much respect for Lamberson, what he was doing, and the movie in general to flip out and cause a scene. Making a movie is hard enough without extra bullshit, and I don’t think that was a problem anyone wanted Lamberson to solve.

When the day was over and all of the problems for that day had been solved, Lamberson and his family went to dinner and then back to where they were staying during the shoot. It was time, at least for a few scant hours, to not have any problems to solve.

Day 2: Wednesday

I arrived at the lighthouse set around 10:30am. Most of the crew arrived at the set around 8 and actual shooting started at around 9. I wanted to get there around that time, too, but “unforeseen circumstances” prevented that (being in what amounts to “vacation mode” can really mess with your head and your own sense of purpose in the morning). The production was filming inside the lighthouse building at that time. It was a hot, sunny, beautiful day outside, with a nice breeze coming off of nearby Lake Erie. Inside the lighthouse, it was a very different situation.

The lighthouse building is old with smallish, cramped rooms (by today’s standards) along with narrow hallways and stairs. It’s also filled with all sorts of late 19th century/early 20th century appliances and knickknacks and whatnot. The wood floors creak like crazy, and it takes a little practice to figure out where, exactly, the floor makes noise. Now, fill all of those areas with filming equipment, chairs, and multiple bodies, and that small, narrow area becomes even smaller and narrower. On top of that, it was stuffy inside, and that was with the air conditioning working. All of the windows were closed and covered with newspaper, too. You could call it a hot box, an oven, a fire pit. A potential one of those things, anyway.

At that time, the crew was filming in the narrow hallway that connected to the entrance to the stairs to the lighthouse. Star Sheffer was on set, conferring with director Lamberson and getting ready to shoot the next scene. I was surprised at the look of the set and Sheffer’s costuming. When I read the script I pictured everything having a sort of blue tinge to it. There was way more white and yellow daylight than I expected. How would that work? That isn’t how you make a horror movie.

The set went quiet. Lamberson called action. And the scene at hand unfolded on the monitor. Star Sheffer tried to open a door but was met from behind with a gnarly surprise. And it was at that moment that I could see how Widow’s Point would work. The bright white light, the sweat on Sheffer’s face, his frazzled hair and dark colored shirt, the surprise waiting for him, it all clicked in a sequence that probably lasted maybe a little more than a minute. I stood behind Lamberson and director of photography Mathew A. Nardone as they watched the monitor. Both instantly caught various issues with shadows and other “technical” problems that would necessitate multiple takes. I didn’t see anything myself, but then I was watching Sheffer act more than anything else. Lamberson and Nardone had to see that everything in the scene worked.

When this scene was done they all moved on to the next scene fairly quickly. As the crew moved things around and made sure what needed to be shot could be shot, Sheffer once again conferred with Lamberson about the next scene, how it needed to be done, etc. (there was quite a bit of discussion about breathing and how the scene would cut into the next one). Marissa Haley (key hair and makeup) and Kate Sharun were both hard at work, making sure Sheffer and everyone else involved in the scene looked like they needed to look. Sheffer asked for some Tums, which the crew had in a plastic box that was filled with other assorted items that might be needed (this plastic box was deemed a set necessity). And then the scene was shot.

Once that scene was finished, another scene was quickly set up. This scene was filmed two ways, with Sheffer giving completely different performances in each one. The second version was the one everyone preferred (this second performance was essentially thought up on the spot). Yet another scene was set up quickly, this one involving a stunt cell phone. If you’ve ever wondered what a stunt cell phone looks like, it looks exactly like any old regular cell phone because I think it was just an old phone to begin with. Once Lamberson got the take he wanted, Sheffer asked if he could do part of it again as he had an idea on how to end it. This was done quickly, too. It was at this moment that the crew had to set up some sort of visual effects shot and the camera team had to swap out a lens (I believe there was also a battery change for the camera). As a sense of sudden controlled chaos enveloped the set, Sheffer stepped away to get some air and talk with this writer about how he got involved with Widow’s Point.

Meeting Craig Sheffer

Craig Sheffer has been working in movies and television since the early 1980’s. He’s probably best known in the horror movie world for his starring turn in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. He’s also worked with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It, he had a recurring part on the popular TV show One Tree Hill, and he’s worked steadily in both TV and movies, appearing in multiple genres over that time. Horror, comedy, action, drama, the man can do it all.

To say that I was nervous meeting Sheffer would be a serious understatement. Here was a modern horror icon working on this low budget movie, in this hot as fuck lighthouse, and I had to talk to him. What the hell would I ask him and would he even want to answer my questions anyway? He’s a busy guy with a job to do and I’m just some guy on the internets. As soon as I actually met him, all of those nerves and misgivings went away instantly, as Sheffer has a warm, engaging charisma that just radiates off of him (he also has a vibrant smile that shows off maybe the nicest teeth in the history of humanity. They’re the kind of teeth that, if they ran for political office, you would vote for them). I got to shoot the shit with him on the set for a few moments before filming the door opening scene, which made the eventual longer discussion an easier transition.

Sheffer met Lamberson on the set of Battledogs, a Sci Fi Channel movie that was made in Buffalo back in 2012 and they’ve been friends ever since. They’ve wanted to work together for several years, with initial talk of doing Lamberson’s novella Carnage Road as their first project. When Widow’s Point came up, Sheffer agreed to do it because of his friendship with Lamberson (he also, obviously, liked the script, but he probably wouldn’t have done it if someone else had been making the movie. He didn’t come right out and say that but that was definitely the impression I got).

I asked Sheffer about his wardrobe and current hairstyle, as it was something that I didn’t see in the script. His answer for why he had the hairstyle he did was simple yet brilliant (it was all about his character’s state of mind). Sheffer also talked about his acting craft in general. No matter the part or movie, he’s always working on his craft and trying to get better with each performance. He has also developed the ability to cry on demand, something that he feels makes his acting better. If he can do that, he can do anything.

When Sheffer was called back to the set (Oh my God, did my discussion with Sheffer delay the movie in any way? Did I violate the “don’t get in the way” rule?), I asked him about “fame” and being recognized for the various movies he’s appeared in. I thought he would be recognized most of all for Nightbreed, since horror fandom is everywhere and horror movie nerds like their stars. Surprisingly, Sheffer told me that it all tends to depend on how old the fan is. Older fans know him from Nightbreed and A River Runs Through It, while younger fans know him from One Tree Hill. He also gets recognized for the Hellraiser sequel he made (Hellraiser: Inferno) and for the various guest spots he’s done on television (Criminal Minds, CSI, even Major Crimes).

While walking towards the lighthouse John Renna told Sheffer that he just turned away a female fan that somehow found out he was in the area and wanted to see him. I was sort of weirded out by that news (it was real life proof that celebrities are followed no matter where they go) but Sheffer seemed to take it all in stride. In fact, he told Renna “You should have told me that when she got here. I would have signed an autograph for her.”

See? A nice guy through and through.

I do wish, though, I asked him about his apparent love for Evian water. I didn’t even know Evian water was still a thing.

Back to filming

Back inside the lighthouse, the crew filmed a scene involving a set of stairs that lead up to the top of the lighthouse. Sheffer and Lamberson discussed a “giggle” that is pivotal to how the scene will play, although I don’t think there’s an actual “giggle” on set. This scene, like the others so far, goes by relatively quickly, and Sheffer is sent to the wardrobe department for a wardrobe change. The art department is getting ready to redress the hallway set. Everything will look different soon.

The crew moves everything outside to “the cliffs” to re-film the previous day’s scene. It’s still sunny outside, but it’s considerably windier than it was when I arrived at the set. It’s also much windier than the previous day. How will this new wind match up with the sequences that will come before this scene and after it? No one seems to be worried about it. The crew moves things along as quickly as they can, setting up an elevated dolly track thing for the camera to move on. There are three actors on set, Katelynn Newberry and Dominic Luongo, who are playing Rosa and Andre, two characters that Lamberson created specifically for the movie. Willow Xylia Anwar is also there, playing one of the spirits that haunts the grounds. Newberry and Luongo are both dressed in modern clothes, whole Willow is decked out in one of the freakiest old off white dresses you will ever see. Even knowing that it’s a movie and it’s all make believe, seeing one of the ghosts “up close” was still unsettling.

After getting the camera set up and the sound equipment ready (Lamberson was wearing headphones at this point so he could hear what the hell the actors were saying. The wind was that bad) the sequence was shot. Seeing Willow’s ghost in motion, walking slowly behind Newberry and Luongo was creepy, mostly due to Willow’s super stoic face. If she had stopped and turned her head to look at Newberry and Luongo I think I would have run away at that very moment. That’s always the scariest thing ghosts do in ghost movies. Look at the camera/audience. Even when ghosts are bullshit I don’t want them looking at me.

Once the sequence is in the can, the actors’ dialogue is re-recorded, up close, likely due to the wind. There’s also, I believe, an insert shot filmed. This happens so quickly I’m not entirely sure what happens. All I know is it’s windy as hell out and, in a way, kind of nice. Much, much different than inside the lighthouse.

The crew packs up its equipment and heads back to the lighthouse. It’s here that I talk, for a few moments, with Luongo, who is a local actor and super nice guy who, up close, sort of looks like Jonathan Schaech’s stunt double. I ask him how many scenes he’s set to be a part of today, and he checks the call sheet because he isn’t exactly sure (he ends up being in seven scenes). We talk for a few more minutes, and then Luongo heads back inside. “I need to get inside into some air conditioning before my makeup melts off.”

Back inside the lighthouse, the hallway looks completely different. Sheffer, as expected, also looks completely different. The frazzled hair is gone, and he looks super refreshed and relaxed. This scene is set to have Sheffer walk down the hallway and touch the locked door to the lighthouse. This should be a simple scene, as it’s just Sheffer walking and touching something. In and out. No big deal. The scene actually takes longer than expected because of the lighthouse’s creaky floor. There’s a call to “grab wild audio” here, presumably to help mask whatever the creaky floor sounds like.

Once the “wild audio” is captured and Lamberson likes the scene, it’s time to break for lunch.

Lunch? Food? In this heat?

Lunch

Feeding the crew is an absolute necessity on a film set. A hungry crew is an unhappy crew, and since you don’t want one of those you have to feed them. Lunch was served under a caterer’s tent that was set up on the lighthouse grounds. I have no idea where the food came from, but I imagine it was commissioned from a nearby local place. There was a wide selection of foodstuffs to be had: salad, some kind of pasta, sausage, and the incredibly popular beef on weck, which is, as far as I can tell, a roast beef sandwich. It’s a big deal in western New York. I had some salad and a small piece of the sausage, which was good but didn’t taste like any sausage I have ever had before. There was a fairly disturbing discussion on how much horseradish you’re supposed to put on a beef on weck, (either lots or more than that), but I didn’t get involved in that. I just observed.

Lunch lasted about half an hour. Once lunch was over, filming returned to the lighthouse. There was a brief scene filmed involving cars outside, but I didn’t get a chance to find out what, exactly, was being filmed. There was a “coroner’s van” there that “worked this time” and everyone seemed to be happy about that.

Back to the lighthouse

When filming returned to the lighthouse, the conditions inside were considerably different than they were a mere hour or so before. It was definitely much warmer inside, and even with the air conditioning on it still felt like an oven. Everyone I saw was sweating profusely or as close to profusely as you can get. The one person who didn’t seem to be sweating was Michael Thurber, who was decked out in his “Parker” costume, which was multilayered and included a heavy flannel shirt. How the hell could he stand being in here with all of that shit on in this heat? The man is a trooper through and through, no doubt.

The next scene to be filmed had Sheffer (he had a new, somewhat elaborate costume on) and Thurber walking down the lighthouse hallway and Thurber locking Sheffer inside the base of the lighthouse for the start of Sheffer’s character’s publicity stunt. Director Lamberson wanted a very specific choreography for the scene, but it was, in general, a “simple” scene. It shouldn’t take that long to get through.

Yes. Shouldn’t.

Sheffer and Thurber did a quick rehearsal of the scene’s choreography and then filming began. Lamberson didn’t like the first take.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

And they go again. Lamberson doesn’t like this take, either.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

And they go again. Two more times. Lamberson isn’t satisfied with the way the scene is playing. He talks with both actors. They figure out what they’re supposed to do. And they go again. It’s still wrong. They’re going to have to go again.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

Sheffer and Thurber perform the scene. They’re a little more careful with this take. They think they’ve nailed it.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

Lamberson discusses the scene’s choreography again with Sheffer and Thurber. Armand John Petri, the movie’s composer, is on set. I strike up a conversation with him. Petri tells me he’s there to get a better sense of what Lamberson is doing with the movie so he can start coming up with some score ideas. Makes sense, especially on a low budget movie (it’s all about trying to get ahead of the game when you can). The scene at hand begins again.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

It’s at this point that just about everyone notices that the air conditioning isn’t on anymore. Why not? Dave the lighthouse keeper and the movie’s electrician try to figure out what happened. The scene continues filming in the interim. It’s even hotter now.

It’s still not what Lamberson needs.

“Cut! We’re going again!”

I look over at the digital thermostat on the wall. It’s 80 degrees inside the lighthouse.

80 degrees? What the fuck?

Should I tell someone just how hot it is in here? Should the actors go upstairs to the makeup room so they can get into some air conditioning (the makeup room had its own dedicated air conditioning system)?

It took several more takes before Lamberson was satisfied with the scene’s choreography. In the end, I believe the production did over eleven takes for this one “simple” scene. It took almost three hours to complete.

All of the takes looked fine to me. Both Sheffer and Thurber were on their game and made each take interesting. Some takes played a little longer than other ones, there were differences in how long it took Thurber to close a gate and a door (Sheffer drops a plastic cooler in this scene, too, and there was a whole discussion on how that was supposed to play out), but, again, they all looked fine to me. I’m not the director, though, and it isn’t my movie. Lamberson wanted something very specific, and he took the time needed to get it right. There was no yelling, no screaming, no flip outs, no meltdowns from anyone. There could have been, and when I look back at it there probably should have been. It was so goddamn hot in that lighthouse. I wouldn’t have blamed the crew if they had walked out and stayed away until the air conditioning was fixed. That’s how nasty it was inside. The crew didn’t, though. They all toughed it out and kept going. That’s how dedicated they all were to what was going on.

They were all making a movie. A good, scary movie. Fuck the heat.

I couldn’t share their sentiments exactly. I knew I had to get out of there. The last thing the crew needed was watching me pass out from the heat and then smash into one of the old timey end tables in the room. Because, in a few minutes, that would have happened.

Getting out of the lighthouse

So, yeah, I wimped out and got out of the heat of the lighthouse. There were other scenes to be filmed but I have no idea what they were. I do believe that the air conditioning did, eventually, kick back on, but it would no doubt take several hours to “cool” the building down. The filming day didn’t have those hours. I’m upset that I didn’t get to see more of the movie being shot, but I know I made the right decision to step outside.

So what the heck did I do the rest of the filming day?

I watched the crew not directly involved with filming inside the lighthouse put the Lighthouse Park back together. Led by Frank Coppola, the crew returned the lighthouse grounds to the condition they were in before filming began. There was signage that had to be put back on the main building. There were information plaques that had to be reattached to their displays. And there was this big ass information kiosk that had to be returned to its original location. Putting this kiosk back was a six plus person job and involved lots of starting, moving a little bit, and then stopping. The kiosk was cumbersome, unwieldy, and it had to be put back a certain way. When it was finally returned, the kiosk looked sturdy as hell. Watching it go back, though, I’m amazed that the damn thing just didn’t fold up as soon as they touched it. How could something so heavy be so fragile?

It was at this point that I found out that the coroner’s van doubled as a transport vehicle for Coppola’s tools and other assorted equipment. I thought then that having that van double as a coroner’s van was brilliant and ingenious and I still think that. It’s how low budget movies get made. They use everything at their disposal in multiple ways.

What would the van double for in a future movie?

The end of the day

You knew that filming was continuing when you heard either Hope Muehlbauer or Alex Weinstein announce “Rolling!” When I didn’t hear them I wondered what sort of issue the crew had run into. I wasn’t going back in that lighthouse, though. The breeze outside was too nice to walk away from.

It was a little before 7pm when the “Rolling!” announcements slowed down and stopped and the crew started filing out. The newspaper came down from the windows and the outside lights were removed. Everyone looked exhausted, even more than the previous day. When Lamberson finally came outside he looked both drained and ready to go again if need be. I asked him, point blank, how the hell do you do this? In this heat?

Lamberson’s response? “It’s going to be even hotter tomorrow.” The location in Clarence, the one that was doubling for the interiors of the lighthouse, didn’t have working windows or air conditioning. And the weather report for the next day was set to be even warmer. They would get through it, though. It was a challenge, a problem to be solved. He, and they, would solve it.

Lamberson and I also discussed how much of the movie was left to be filmed (the production was essentially halfway done at that point) and how the ending was going to be achieved. I can’t tell you what Lamberson has planned, but I think, when all is said and done, the ending is going to blow people away. And freak them out.

And that was the end of the filming day.

Conclusion

Principal photography ended for Widow’s Point on August 27th, 2018 and, as I understand it, the movie is in the midst of being put together. The stuff that I saw being filmed looked great and, I’m certain, that when the movie is completed it’s going to be beautiful looking and scary as hell. And, as I said at the beginning, it was an eye opening experience watching the movie getting made. Making a movie is hard, backbreaking work and not the least bit glamorous. Moviemaking is blue collar art, no doubt about it.

You can check out the movie’s Facebook page for updates on what’s happening with the movie. And I want to thank Gregory Lamberson for inviting me to the set and everyone who talked with me, even for a few brief moments, about what it was they were doing. I hope I didn’t get in anyone’s way. If I did, I apologize. At least I didn’t ruin any of the shots. I don’t think I’m going to end up on the soundtrack. Unless, there was that one time… nah. I doubt any of the mics picked that up.

And if you ever get a chance to visit a real deal movie set, do it. If you end up having even half the fun I had while watching Widow’s Point get made, it will have been worth it. Big time.

Widow’s Point? I had a blast.

Check out the Widow’s Point Facebook page here.

Check out the Dunkirk Lighthouse & Veterans Park Museum official website here and Facebook page here.

Widow’s Point book cover image from Amazon.

Image of Gregory Lamberson directing Crag Sheffer courtesy of Brett Roedel.

Star Eye image courtesy of Widow’s Point Facebook page.

All other images from Bryan Kristopowitz.