Young filmmaker looking for ‘War’

By MARK MAYNARD — The Independent

Andrew Heaberlin is an aspiring filmmaker on training wheels.

He’s only 22 but his ambitions make him seem much older. Heaberlin is working on a short film project titled “Let It Be War” that he hopes to have ready for the festival circuit.

The independent film is set in 1948 in a fictional city in Kentucky named Clear Creek. Several coal miners from that town have returned from World War II where they had been trained by the Army in tactical explosives.

After returning to their home and jobs in the coal mines, they are angry about the abusive working conditions that employees, like themselves, have to endure. Using some of those tactical skills learned while serving their country, they decide to do something about it in a big way. “The special effects are going to be interesting,” said Heaberlin, who wrote the script.

The film lasts only 20 to 25 minutes so the entire story moves quickly.

The movie opens from the coal camp on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. “That (President Roosevelt’s speech) is on the radio in the yard,” Heaberlin said. “From that it jumps into World War II, then it jumps to 1948.”

Heaberlin, a Russell High School graduate who started his college career in Ohio University Southern’s electronic media program, said there’s no underlying message with the film.

“I really love history,” he said. “That’s one of the things that inspires me along with the generation of that time period. I want to do whatever I can to keep that era alive.”

Also, Heaberlin said the film would probably get a PG rating. “It’s a clean script,” he said. “No curse words or gratuitous sex. I made it that way so everybody could watch it. The ultimate goal is to tell a good story,” he said.

“You’ve got to do something to get your name out there and be noticed. It’s been an interesting experience for me. When you don’t have the big budget, you rely on people.”

Heaberlin’s film crew consists of students from OU’s broadcasting program, most of them seniors like Heaberlin. His producer is Jennifer Taylor.

“Everybody (on the film crew) is a student,” he said. “I stuck around because I wanted to do this project. The people I have are worth sticking around for.”

Heaberlin, who has done everything but “fill out the graduation papers” at OU, has a budget of $25,000 for the film and he’s in the process of fundraising.

“We’ve got about a fifth of it (raised),” he said

Heaberlin has registered with the secretary of state’s office for nonprofit status, making donations to the project tax deductible. His company is Company Town Pictures Inc. The film has a Web site — letitbewar.com — and information on giving to the project is available there. Heaberlin’s good friend and fellow Russell graduate, Anthony Tackett, developed the Web site for the movie. “People who have seen it have been blown away,” Heaberlin said.

“We’re embracing social media. We’re on Facebook — we have more than 250 on a fan page — and have 100 followers on Twitter. We have a Wordpress blog and a Youtube channel updating every week. We also have a Flickr account for production photos.”

Heaberlin isn’t afraid of hard work. He plans to build a coal tipple as part of the set for the movie. He’s looking for property in the Athens area as a venue for the film. He credits his father, Tim, with giving him the construction skills. “We can build anything,” he said. “When we get the property, he’s going to draw some plans for us.”

Heaberlin is casting professional actors and time is of the essence. “I only have two months before I lose my crew (when they graduate),” he said. “The urgency is losing my crew.”

Heaberlin estimates the filming would take about a week.

The goal for the project is to entertain viewers and also to hopefully be a springboard for future films, Heaberlin said

“I definitely want to be making movies,” he said. “A lot of careers are started exactly this way. In order to finance a feature film, you have to make short ones.”

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

The Daily Independent