Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504875
Matt McFarland. 'I'd stare out the window, imagining my stories as films.' 22 C I N E M O N T A G E U N I O N M A D E HOW CHILDHOOD MOVIE FASCINATION LED TO A CAREER By Matt McFarland W hen I was g rowing up in Oma- ha, Nebraska, during the '70s and '80s, movies were a refuge from the Midwestern winters and my fa- vorite source of entertainment during the summer — absent watching Cornhusker Football with my father. My mother would take me to the soli- tude of the movie theater, and I remember running through the aisles of Omaha's Cinerama Theater during "Star Wars" as my mom begged me to sit still. The summer movie program would pick me up weekly in a school bus to watch camp classics like "Godzilla" and "Infra Man." Home alone on most summer days, I would pull out my par- ent's 8mm projector and watch sample reels of Chaplin classics. My dad would regularly project home movies. The light projecting memories and stories on the screen fasci- nated me. I was mesmerized by storytelling through images. I'd stare out my window, writing stories that I envisioned being projected one day. As the '80s approached, Super 8 film gave way to VHS. My mom began a vast collection, bending my ear with movie trivia about actors from our hometown, like Brando and Fonda. I spent the '80s and high school absorbed in classics that would influence my writing. College and the weather pushed me to Tempe, Arizona, to pursue creative writing. A friend and I would shoot small scenes on his video camera. Through sheer grace and serendipity, Arizona State began a screenwriting program with Stephen Geller, known for his adaptation of "Slaugh- terhouse Five." I jumped at the chance to learn from this man whose talent and generosity proved key to my development, Out of Omaha and I wrote screenplays with a new sense of purpose until the special MFA program abruptly ended. Looking for a creative outlet, I found an active independent film community at Scottsdale Community College, with 16mm cameras, rewind benches, and an early Avid. Having all of this within reach, I could simply grab a camera and go shoot. I accidentally flashed the first roll of film as I was loading a Canon Scoopic. I wasn't sure how to read the light meter, and I ran over my foot with our wheelchair dolly. But when dailies came back from the lab, I was shocked to see a beautiful image despite my many mistakes. The alchemy captivated me. I was "all in," so I sold my car and bought an Arriflex 16BL to shoot my newest feature screenplay. I bartended to buy film stock and would shoot on the weekends with help from unpaid friends. After money and fa- vors ran out, my production stopped short at 36 pages shot. I sat in my garage project- ing dailies on my Bell & Howell, wondering what was next. I had no more money, but I SEE PAGE 52