FUN
FACTS ABOUT
THE
WINDSPOILER WARNING = A FUN FACT WITH THIS TAG DISCUSSES KEY PLOT AND STORY CONCEPTS AND MAY SPOIL THE FILM IF READ BEFORE VIEWING.
FUN FACTS ABOUT PRE-PRODUCTION
FUN FACTS ABOUT POST-PRODUCTION
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS AND CREW
FUN FACTS ABOUT PRE-PRODUCTION
Originally, Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) and Carolyn Camburn (producer) sought financing for a screenplay (written by Mongillo) titled Assassination on X-mas Eve. Going through agents, managers and personal assistants, this script finally made it into the hands of their first choice leads, Denis Leary (The Ref, Wag the Dog) and Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby-Doo). As is the filmmakers’ understanding, Assassination was well received by both actors, but neither were able to commit to the project for a variety of reasons (all completely courteous and biz savvy).
When searching for a property to develop, Michael Mongillo contacted Stephen King and requested the rights to one of several of his short stories through the author’s legendary "dollar deal" program. With his "dollar deal," King has been known to grant first time filmmakers rights to his properties for one dollar. Filmmaker Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) is among the filmmakers to participate in this program, early in his career. The back-and-forth with Mr. King’s office resulted in the thrill and disappointment of receiving a compassionate letter from Stephen King himself. In part, this letter reads, "My business manager, who is also my agent, scolds me regularly about these deals, but I think it is important to remember all of this is about love and art more than it is about money and success…[and] the chances of approval are slight." And thus, Mr. King’s agent rejected Mean Time Production’s proposal for a variety of reasons (again, all completely courteous and biz savvy).
James Charbonneau (story/screenwriter) and Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) wrote the first draft of The Wind screenplay in ten days. For better or worse, the shooting script remained remarkably true to the first draft.
It took over a year to raise the money to shoot the principal photography for The Wind.
Michael Showalter (MTV’s The State, Safe Men) was offered the role of Mic but graciously declined due to a scheduling conflict.
Over one thousand head shots/resumes were received by Mean Time Productions in answer to The Wind casting ads. Casting was then narrowed down to about one hundred candidates. The Wind casting call took place over a two-day period in New York City.
In addition to the challenge of casting talented, committed performers in The Wind, the criteria set for choosing the five, young, male parts was particularly demanding. It was crucial to the filmmakers’ that each of the male actors have a very distinct look, since there’s nothing more annoying than watching a movie where you can’t tell the characters apart.
The equipment used to light The Wind was originally used to light Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's Evil Dead II.
All 1st and 2nd unit photography for The Wind was shot in just 18 days.
David Wexler (cinematographer) also operated camera for The Wind.
The cast of The Wind preformed almost all of their own stunts.
SPOILER WARNING! The panties Zeke Rippy (Mic) sniffs in the scene where Mic sneaks into Clair's room, although freshly washed, did, in fact, belong to Carolyn Camburn (Clair).
Excessively hot summer weather was an issue throughout the shooting of The Wind. July temperatures consistently beat previously set records during the three-week shoot. The worst heat was endured while shooting the "Clair Shows the Boys the Card in the Field" scene. The temperature in this open field reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but with the combined heat and humidity, the cast and crew might as well have been shooting on the surface of Venus.
SPOILER WARNING! Zeke Rippy (Mic) performed the only improvised scene in The Wind. Armed with some specific details to cover in this monologue, Zeke improvised the entire "Mic Prepares to Confess to Mom" rant.
Davis Mikaels (Earl) was a last minute replacement for the actor originally cast in the role of Earl. This actor, for whom the role of Earl was actually written, had to back out of the project at the last minute. Davis graciously accepted the role two weeks before shooting. With little time or preparation, Davis shaped the role to suit his interpretation and delivered a performance that is far superior to anything the filmmakers ever imagined.
The fake food and drink products (designed by production designer Jay Hollinsworth) that appear in The Wind include beer named Brew, chips named Snacks, and cereal named Flakes.
SPOILER WARNING! The "dead" animal that Billy stokes lovingly in the "Mic and Billy Meet In the Field of Grass" scene is a fox fur shawl that Jay Hollinsworth (production designer) purchased at a New York City flea market.
After the gate was check and called clear for the last shot of principal photography (the "martini shot"), the scene where Mic and John argue under the streetlight, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Whether this marks success or failure for the project remains to be seen.
Johnny Lee Michaels (score composer and producer) resides in his native Finland. With the exception of spending one week in Helsinki, Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) was only able to collaborate with Johnny on The Wind score by telephone.
SPOILER WARNING! Joanna Bonaro performed the "Legend" voiceover in the beginning of The Wind. She altered her voice to transform herself into the future Vanessa of a post-apocalyptic world that "ends with a whimper, not with a bang." No digital effects were used to alter Joanna’s voice.
SPOILER WARNING! The voice of the cheerleader whispering, "Those college boys are watching us," is actually the voice of Taylor Warren (producer/editor/sound designer).
SPOILER WARNING! The voice of the Clair’s answering machine is actually the voice of Michael Mongillo (filmmaker).
The punch sound effects in The Wind were designed by combining elements of a gunshot, pig's guts being squeezed, a bass drum kick and a handclap.
When attending the Independent Feature Film Market in NYC to raise finishing funds, The Wind was the only work-in-progress (category) project to screen a trailer, not finished segments or isolated scenes. Although the reaction to the trailer was overwhelmingly positive, no additional funds were raised through IFFM contacts.
Thinking it exceedingly vain to see his name appear again and again and again in the film credits of The Wind, Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) opted to create several anagrams of his name, all of which ended up being unintentionally Scottish.
Zeke Rippy (Mic) is the guy whose pals replace his condom with a coffee "single" in the now infamous Folgers TV ad.
Carolyn Camburn (Clair) is the housewife in the New Jersey Resources TV ads.
Davis Mikaels (Earl) is the "chicken legs" guy Damon Waynes berates in the 1-800 ad. He's also the sun-blonde hipster who gets drenched with fountain water by that nutty biker in the Mentos ad.
Scott Parrish (John) would entertain cast and crew on the set of The Wind by performing interpretive dance and lyrics, tailored to each request, most often musical versions of that day's scenes.
Philipp Karner (Billy) is a native citizen of Austria, working as an actor in the good ol' US of A. Philipp's English is so fluent, no one on the cast or crew had a clue of his background until he revealed it during shooting.
As well as being a talented actor, Joanna Bonaro (Vanessa) is a singer/songwriter.
SPOILER WARNING! James Thalman (Bob) actually dragged himself about twenty-five feet across the forest ground, using only one arm, in the "Bob Crawls From His Grave" scene.
Zeke Rippy (Mic) once raced cars professionally.
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS AND CREW
Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) can be seen with comic book co-creator Mike Zittel (storyboards) in the last scene of Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy. The banner for said comic book, titled The Philistine, prominently reads, 'BATMAN IS A PUSSY - READ THE PHILISTINE'. Credit for this text goes to Jay Hollinsworth (production designer).
Carolyn Camburn (Clair/producer) and Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) met on the set of Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy. Carolyn was a convention attendee in the comic con scenes.
Filmmaker on set David Fisher recently co-wrote and co-starred in the independent film Bro. He also directed the documentary Liberation of the Spirit, The Journey of Magda Watts, which aired on PBS.
Thomas Edward Seymour (camera dept. assistant) recently wrote, co-produced and co-starred in his first feature film, Everything Moves Alone.
Knowing that The Wind would be shot in and around Michael Mongillo’s (filmmaker) home city (Meriden, Connecticut), the script was written with many shooting locations in mind. To help out a local boy, the cities, towns, companies and individuals that own every shooting location granted access to Mean Time Productions free of charge. Many locations were procured through proper channels at City Hall(s), others through friends and family, others through neighbors and word-of-mouth contacts. The bottom line: outside of LA and New York, people actually get excited about making movies. People are willing to lend a hand and bend the rules for local folks who are trying to realize a dream. The moral: make movies where you live.
Interesting side note: the film Jacknife, starring Robert De Niro, Kathy Baker and Ed Harris, was shot in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1988.
Among the locations for The Wind was DeMaria Farms in Kensington, Connecticut. On this property, the owners, Bob and Marilyn DeMaria, run an amazing Halloween attraction annually for charity. Halloween enthusiasts can ride a horse drawn cart along the spooky, winding trails through this hundred-plus acre property to the sights and sounds of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, witches and hundreds of Jack-o-lanterns ... Definitely the right vibe for the main exterior location of The Wind.
SPOILER WARNING! The "Mic Jumps Off the Cliff" sequence of the chase scene was shot on a cliff at a Meriden, CT, reservoir that Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) and his friends used to jump from when he was a teenager. This sequence was written and designed with this location in mind because, as in the movie, you can’t see that you’re jumping off the cliff until you’re actually in mid-leap.
SPOILER WARNING! The scene in which Mic (Zeke Rippy) walks by the dilapidated Fairview sign was shot within walking distance of Michael Mongillo’s (filmmaker) Meriden, CT, home. The sign, constructed from balsa-wood and Styrofoam, was erected just moments before the scene was shot.
The story for The Wind came to James Charbonneau (story/screenwriter) in a dream where he was seeing through the eyes of Clair.
There is not a single spoken or written curse word in The Wind.
Mic and his mom Vanessa's last name, "Vinder," is a German last name that means, "wind."
SPOILER WARNING! Although the wind is a physical presence in the story, it is not a sentient being or a spirit. The wind, simply, is a metaphor for society.
SPOILER WARNING! Leading to the murder of Bob, the characters in The Wind become increasingly removed from society and revert to more and more extreme primal behavior as the story progresses. Symbolic and literal examples of the characters’ swelling primal behavior are both subtle and overt: the weapons the characters wield are clubs and knives; John and Mic objectify the underage cheerleaders; machines, like Mic’s car, are unable to be repaired; Billy tosses his modern tools away in a fit of anger; Clair applies her makeup as if it were tribal, war paint; and Billy and John’s kiss is not about being "gay," the act suggests what people may do, given no social context. There are many more examples of the characters’ devolution, but perhaps you would rather spot some for yourself.
SPOILER WARNING! With the exception of Mic’s mom, there is a deliberate absence of adult authority figures in The Wind. Parents, stepparents, grandparents, cops and institutions are all mentioned by the characters in The Wind, but remain as nebulous as the legend of the wind itself. It is not the very present video games, pop music, controlled substances, literature, comic books or magazines, nor is it the television shows or movies spoken of and alluded to in the story; the absence of family and civic guidance is the culprit of this morality tale.
The woods that the characters in The Wind frequent is always refered to as "the forest." This is one of the director's choices intended to further steep The Wind in the language of myth, legend and fairy tales.
The movie Billy refers to in the "Return To the Scene of the Crime" scene is Fire In the Sky, starring Robert Patrick (X Files, Terminator 2), D.B. Sweeney (Eight Men Out), and James Garner.
The fictitious town in which the story of The Wind unfolds is named Fairview. Michael Mongillo (filmmaker) has written five screenplays (three with The Wind co-screenwriter James Charbonneau) that take place in this alternate reality of his home city, Meriden, Connecticut. Michael calls this series of screenplays The Fairview Chronicles: there’s White Car, Comic Book Intellectual, The Other Side of the River, True Sailing, and The Wind.
The filmmakers kindly request that anyone (cast, crew or fans) who would like to share additional The Wind FUN FACTS please e-mail Mean Time Productions.