Spotlight on... Dan Smarg

Author: — By Lauren Smith and Jodie Zhang

The Middlebury Campus: Tell us about your film.

Dan Smarg: I started a film here at Midd sophomore year, but we didn't get to finish it because the two leads went abroad. I ended up going abroad to England the following year. At York University, I didn't plan to shoot a film, but I decided to refocus on a picture once the opportunity presented itself. In my efforts to get acquainted with some of the other students there, I went to the York Cinema Society. There were about 40 people sitting around this big, round table - I was the only "Yank," so to speak. The timing was perfect because people were pitching scripts for spring film projects. It was a Thursday and Monday was the deadline. That night, I went home intending on writing a 10 page script, but after three all-nighters in a row, I submitted a 90 page feature. Out of 20 scripts, five were selected. The head of the club said, "We love your script, but we're concerned about the length. We'll lend you a camera for two weeks tops," and I said I need it for three months! They said, "We'll see what we can do." Just another adventure from there. I had two months from that point on to do preproduction like open auditions and shot/blocking lists. So I spent the five week Easter break in Southern France traveling around, drinking a lot of red wine and preparing an elaborate battle plan, a rotating schedule, for 30 people. As long as I personally worked seven days a week for three months, I could keep the cast and crew working on a rotating schedule so they wouldn't get stressed.

The Campus: What is "The Bike Thief" about?

Dan: The story is about a young man, Jack, who is running through the Yorkshire countryside when he gets chased by a German Shepherd. He comes across a bike and steals it to get away from the dog. Returning the bike is easier said than done. It's really a series of farcical conflicts that build exponentially, one upon the other.

The film is showing May 8 in Dana Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. On June 19, I'm premiering the film in York, England as well. At this point, the rest remains to be seen. I'm looking for future commissions with independent studios, or managers that are willing to work with me. I will also put the film in student film festivals.

The Campus: What was the production of "The Bike Thief" like?

Dan: In American dollars, it probably cost me about $5,000. I funded the picture through my film company, Maverick Filmworks, Inc. which I incorporated in the summer I came to Middlebury because I got tired of working for other people doing jobs like caddying. Every dollar I make, I put into fictional projects. The guys on the crew and I joke around a lot, saying, "This film was made for a load of pints!" which is true.

The Campus: Do you have any funny anecdotes from the making of "The Bike Thief"?

Dan: Yeah, there are lots. There's an elderly lady, one of the ancillary characters in the film, and she has a shotgun that she uses to defend her farm from marauding hooligans who are looking to steal from her garden. But in England, it is illegal to own firearms, so I went to the local military base, police stations, antique dealers, pawn shops to find this gun. I even looked behind the counter in the pubs all over the city, but I couldn't find one anywhere. The day of the shoot, we still didn't have the shotgun. I only had access to the farmhouse location for one day. The owner of the house said, "I'll give you eight hours. You can do whatever you want, just don't tell me." The English kick ass! Our unit turned the house upside down for the shoot. And as it turns out, the owner's son had a 18th century, blue steel, antique shotgun that was worth about 30,000 quid - that's about $60,000 US dollars, like the ones seen in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." The first thing he says to me: "How do I know you're not going to steal this thing?" I looked him in the eye: "Because if I do, you can shoot me." So Gwen got her gun.

The Campus: How did you learn to make films?

Dan: I don't like to take classes, so I taught myself everything. I saved up for four years and bought all the equipment myself... read manuals. [laughs] They're a blast to read. I'm obsessed with cameras - it's my passion.

The Campus: What was the most challenging aspect of making this film?

Dan: I had 30 people working on the project, so I had 30 different schedules for working adults, business owners, community theatre actors and students alike at any given moment to coordinate for three months. I'd shoot for about six hours a day, then watch the dailies (footage) before I let myself sleep, which would be about an average of three hours per night. To be honest, I still can't believe we finished it. But for my first shot, I couldn't have imagined a better experience.

The Campus: What are your plans for the future?

Dan: I'm already drafting a screenplay adaptation of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I wanted to wait until later on in my career to start it, but there's an indie studio in Hollywood right now that just commissioned a pro screenwriter to do it, so it's my job to build a better motor. John Galt would expect no less for those of you who know of him.

The Campus: Do you have a particular "style"?

Dan: It's my own. In terms of shooting, I refuse to use tripods. I built this apparatus called the "F-16" that looks like a crossbow to stabilize. It doubles as a tracking device and a car mount. So my style is very organic. Immediate. For the most part, I like to just let it fly. In terms of directing, my ambition is to make good epics, not like "Troy." More like "The Godfather" and "The Last of the Mohicans" - films that combine classic epic plots and Dante Spinotti-style photography. The plan is to make "kickass movie magic."

The Campus: What inspires you to be a filmmaker?

Dan: The amazing thing about filmmaking is that it's completely unstructured. Direction is personal. I like that. I can put in 20 hours everyday for three weeks straight, and still get up each morning and I don't even think about anything but what comes next. There are those moments when you're about to pass out from exhaustion, but I just stay out of the driver's seat then! This might sound cheesy when I say it, but when I arrived in England, this project began as a way to meet new people. But now, I have made connections there that I will keep for the rest of my life.

The Campus: Who's your favorite director?

Dan: Francis Ford Coppola. And Michael Mann. They're ideal to me. Technicians. Naturally, the French New-Wave dudes like Jean-Luc Goddard and François Truffaut, too. I'm also a big fan of the Italian director, Bernardo Bertolucci.

The Campus: So what is your favorite film?

Dan: My favorite film, bar none, is "Top Gun." It is the most kickass film ever made.

The Campus: How did you become interested in filmmaking?

Dan: The moment that I realized that this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life was when I was standing on the stage winning the New York National High School Film Festival for an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The film was called "Bluepocalypse Now." At that moment, my buddy Charlie and I looked at each other and thought, "We can do better work." From that point on, I realized that I wanted to put all my energy into making good films.