Production Notes...

Omaha (the movie) is an off-beat comedy of a young man who returns from Nepal to confront not just his peculiar family and friends, but also a pair of Colombian jewel thieves who chase him across Nebraska.

As a graduate student at the University of Southern California, Dan Mirvish decided to try something ambitious, and do his thesis film as a full-length, independent feature. The unfortunate thing about USC is that it typically owns every film that is made by its students. However, there's a little-used M.A. thesis option that let's people own their own films on the condition that they can't use any USC facilities, equipment, insurance, SAG waiver, etc. So with no support from his film school, Dan decided to make Omaha (the movie).

Dan wrote the script in 10 days during May of 1993, and spent a month in Omaha that summer to see if anyone there had any interest in supporting such a film. "I was pleasantly surprised," says Mirvish. "Although the Nebraska film commission recently lost its funding and no longer exists, the local city/county film commission was a tremendous help. They put me in touch with cast, crew and other interested people." Dan set up a limited partnership and raised funding mainly from local Nebraska investors who liked the idea of a totally indigenous film that would showcase the city and state in all their glory.

Dan wanted to do the whole project with a local cast and crew. He teamed up with Dana Altman as his producing partner. Dana has lived in Omaha for the last few years and knows all the local film professionals. He also happens to be Robert Altman's grandson, and has extensive contacts in L.A. The elder Altman has given Dana and Dan substantial moral and creative support throughout the project. Other mentors have included writer/director Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day), and casting director Lynn Stalmaster (an Omaha native with a soft-spot for his hometown).

While in Omaha, Dan hooked up with Oslo Anderson, a cinematographer who has worked with Dana on numerous projects. Oslo runs a commercial studio in town, and has also done second-unit work on a few features and movies-of-the-week. Dana and Oslo were both looking to do more feature work, and this project came around at the right time.

The production team really got the whole community involved with the film. The county government donated office and storage space at the local horsetrack (since it was the off-season); the city provided a park service cherry-picker on demand; and the state department of roads gave the production carte blanche on state highways. It probably didn't hurt that Omaha includes cameo performances by Omaha Mayor P.J. Morgan, Nebraska Governor Ben Nelson, and Douglas County Sheriff Richard Roth. Back in L.A., Dan also filmed a scene with former Entertainment Tonight correspondent and anchor Michael Scott Ņ another former Nebraskan.

Local Nebraska businesses got in the act, too. They provided everything from free food for the entire shoot, a dolly, copier and fax machines, and numerous picture, camera and grip vehicles. "We had less than $40,000 to get a full-length, 35mm color feature film in the can," recalls producer Dana Altman. "But we had the world's most dedicated cast and crew, and the support of an entire state behind us. There was no way we were going to fail."

One of the biggest problems with shooting in Omaha is that it's at least five-hundred miles away from the closest lab, camera house, source of rawstock or post-production facilities. Fortunately, Panavision in Tarzana generously donated two complete 35mm cameras for the entire shoot - a package that was worth at least six times the film's entire budget. Omaha was shot with color Fuji shortends (really short) from Studio Film & Tape in Hollywood, and the production used FotoKem in Burbank as their lab. Shipping bills would have torpedoed the meager budget (the camera alone costs $800 to ship each way), but Dana established a product placement relationship with American Airlines and got virtually all of the production's shipping for free. Even when American Airlines went on strike and had no flights going out of Omaha, they provided their FedEx number and the production shipped dailies (and the camera) that way.

Omaha has a remarkably active theatrical community and there was no shortage of very talented (though nationally unknown and non-SAG) actors. The film stars Hughston Walkinshaw as the lead character, Simon. Hughston co-founded the Blue Barn Theatre in Omaha five years ago - an experimental theater group made up largely of New York transplants. Jill Anderson - a veteran of Omaha and Chicago stages - co-stars as Gina, Simon's eccentric girlfriend. An old friend of Dan's from high school, Jill got involved in the project early, and both she and Hughston became true creative partners in improvising and rewriting scenes with Dan. Several parts were written for other of Dan's friends from high school; non-actors essentially playing themselves. Dana's wife Deanna and son Drew Altman appear in the film as the frightened mother and child in the park.

"We had a great shoot," Dan says. "It was really a lot of fun, and I always tried to capture spontaneous moments on camera." For example, while filming in Alliance, Nebraska, the crew heard at a local tavern that there was going to be a cattle drive going across the main road into town early the next day. "We set up both cameras and just hoped for the best," says Dan. "We knew there'd be no second take." Sure enough, 97 cattle and eight fully-decked out cowboys on horseback crossed the road - insuring a unique production element in the film's exciting carchase across Nebraska. "It couldn't have worked better if we'd planned it."

Omaha filmed in October and November, and had clear blue skies for virtually every day of exterior shooting (no small amount of luck, given that this was Nebraska in the fall). The crew was a perfect mix of a few experienced professionals working with a large number of inexperienced, but eager volunteers. Unlike most thesis films, Dan had far more friends from high school working on the film than those from film school.

The filmmakers tried to take advantage of their ultra low-budget in as many ways as they could. For example, the concept for the handwritten subtitles for the Colombians came out of budget limitations. "I wanted the realism of the Colombian jewel thieves speaking Spanish, but I knew that real subtitles would cost too much money at the lab," recalls Dan. "So I came up with handwritten subtitles, and then just pushed the concept to the extreme." The choice of using station wagons for the carchase was also borne out of necessity. "We couldn't afford car mounts or fancy camera cars, so we needes cars that had enough room for the actors, the cinematographer, the sound guy and me," says Dan. "That meant that the hand holding the subtitles in the Colombians' car was usually my own." Literally an example of the director's hand being visible in the movie.

Another advantage of working in his home town is that Dan and assistant director Adam Hyman stayed at home with Dan's parents. Dan's mom (Lynda Mirvish) is quite a good cook: she made fresh cookies everyday for the set, and a normally skinny Dan wound up gaining twenty pounds.

The biggest location challenge was Carhenge - an absurd recreation of Stonehenge made entirely out of old American cars. It was built about five years ago, and Dan wrote the film's climactic ending with it in mind. The only problem is that Carhenge is in Alliance, Nebraska - four-hundred miles away from Omaha. As the first feature to ever shoot in Alliance, the Omaha cast and crew were embraced with even broader arms than they were in Omaha. "Friends of Carhenge" (a support group of sorts) organized free room and board for the entire cast and crew; the police blocked off streets; and a local plumbing company donated the use of a portable toilet.

Dan and editors Larry Maddox and Alex Komisaruk edited the film in Los Angeles on the Paramount Pictures lot. The studio had some empty rooms in their post-production building, and they generously let Omaha edit there. The Paramount sound department also lent a hand doing substantial post-production sound work on the film's behalf. "Our entire budget is probably less than a single day's shoot on a typical Paramount film," says Dana. "So we're very grateful to the studio for all the help they've given us."

A former college disc jockey, Dan wanted to take some risks with the soundtrack. "In keeping with the Cornhusker spirit of the rest of the film, I wanted to fill the soundtrack with as many Nebraska groups as we could get." Nationally-known Nebraska recording artists 311 and the Millions have embraced the film and contributed songs for the soundtrack. Composers M.J. Greenberg (a childhood neighbor of Dan's from Omaha) and Andrew McPherson wanted to complement the uniqueness of the film by steering clear of typical orchestral music. Instead, the original score features African percussion, Australian didgeridoos, and other instruments and musicians from around the globe. Rounding out the soundtrack are two tracks from the Rykodisc world beat ensemble Outback.

The final sound post-production was conducted by Workstation Zero, a Burbank-based sound company that includes Emmy-award winning sound editors. "They gave us a huge break in price, and we've got an excellent soundtrack to show for it," Dan remarked. The final mix was recorded in Ultrastereo, a stereo-surround process akin to Dolby.

No production goes as smoothly as it seems in hindsight. Omaha's biggest setback came just six days into the production. The lab back in L.A. had inadvertently ruined about 600 feet of film. Unfortunately, it happened to be the final scene of the movie which had just been filmed at Carhenge. After a fair bit of cajoling, the insurance underwriter paid for the crew to charter a bus and go back to Carhenge the next week to reshoot - before the prospect of an early snow would have destroyed any semblance of continuity. Although they beat the snow, the cast and crew didn't escape a blistering wind storm with gusts over 40mph in temperatures that dipped far below freezing. But everyone huddled together and finished the reshoot, keeping warm in the bus between every take.

Mirvish's film was the first indigenously made independent film in Nebraska. Based on the success of the film, then-Governor Nelson was inspired to create the Nebraska Film Commission. A number of other local filmmakers, seeing that making a film with local crews and resources was possible, have since brought about a resurgence of filmmaking in the state. Most notably, Alexander Payne and his producers decided to shoot Citizen Ruth, the first of his three films to be shot in Nebraska, based on the success Omaha (the movie) had finding well-qualified actors and crew members locally. Mirvish has dubbed this movement, "New Husker Cinema." In fact, two recent Grand Jury Prize winners at Mirvish's own Slamdance Film Festival had Omaha connections: Frank Novak (Slamdance 2000's Good Housekeeping) and Monteith McCollum (Slamdance 2001's Hybrid).

Slamdance and other festivals...

The film was completed in September of 1994, and immediately took off with several successful screenings. An AIDS-benefit sneak preview in Omaha, a screening at the Independent Feature Film Market in New York, and the official premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival (near San Francisco) were all sold-out, standing-room-only showings of the film. After screening at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 1995, Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter described Omaha as: "A cerebral, collegiate spurt of irreverence...lubricated with a brainy satirical sensibility." That same month, Omaha screened as a founding film of "Slamdance '95: Anarchy in Utah - The First Annual Guerrilla International Film Festival" - which proved to be a very successful alternative to the Sundance Film Festival.

The Slamdance Film Festival was co-founded by Dan and Dana, along with fellow filmmakers Shane Kuhn and Jon Fitzgerald. Designed as a showcase for first-time filmmakers, with no budgets, and no distribution, the festival became a huge success, screening a dozen features and an equal number of short, in venues in both Salt Lake City and Park City itself. The New York Times referred to Slamdance as a "a group of cheerful subversives." The festival was also featured in such diverse publications as USA Today, The New Republic, The L.A. Times, Italian Vogue, Film Threat, The Washington Post and Bikini Magazine. The festival proved to be very beneficial to Omaha (the movie) - prompting numerous other festival invitations and reviews.

(Now about to go into its seventh year, the Slamdance Film Festival was recently described by Vanity Fair as one of the eight most important film festivals in the world. Last year, the festival received over 2,050 film submissions and ironically, it's now statistically harder to get into Slamdance than into Sundance. Dan continues to be actively involved with Slamdance as "Co-founder-At-Large" - which means he's on the programming committee and hosts the festival each year as master of ceremonies. Check out the Slamdance website at http://www.slamdance.com.)

Festival success for Omaha (the movie) continued for almost two years, with the film invited to close to 30 film festivals, including 10 in Europe (Edinburgh, Warsaw, Wales, Avignon, Antwerp, Sarajevo, Oldenburg, St. Petersburg, etc.) plus numerous U.S. festivals including Palm Springs, South-by-Southwest (Austin), Mill Valley, Florida (Orlando), Peachtree (Atlanta), Olympia (Washington), etc. The film won the best feature prize at the Great Plains Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Following is a complete list of festivals where Omaha (the movie) was invited:

Edinburgh (Scotland)
Avignon (France)
Mill Valley (California)
Palm Springs (California)
Slamdance '95 (Utah)
Sarajevo (Bosnia)
South-by-Southwest (Austin, Texas)
Taos (New Mexico)
Avignon/New York (New York)
Worldfest (Houston)
Florida (Orlando)
Kansas City (Missouri)
Carhenge Summer Solstice Celebration (Nebraska)
Troia (Portugal)
Wales (United Kingdom)
Warsaw (Poland)
St. Petersburg (Russia)
Wine Country of Northern California
Great Plains (Nebraska)
Temecula Valley (California)
Minneapolis Shoestring Showcase (Minnesota)
Olympia (Washington)
St. Louis (Missouri)
Atlanta Peachtree (Georgia)
Independent Feature Film Market (New York)
Donna Reed Festival (Iowa)
Antwerp (Belgium)
Oldenburg (Germany)
Stockholm Film Fest Slamdance Showcase (Sweden)
Maryland Film Festival Joslyn Art Museum - Retrospective Screening (Omaha) Anthology Film Archives - Retrospective Screening (New York)

Theatrical Self-Distribution...

Critical and festival success are great, but starting in May of 1995, the Omaha (the movie) team decided to test the film with the paying audience. Naturally, they started with their base of support. "We had a very successful regional release in Nebraska: We consistently beat out the likes of While You Were Sleeping, Rob Roy, and Bad Boys when we played at the state's largest theater complex, and we actually doubled the opening weekend gross of Batman Forever when the two films screened head-to-head," said Dana. Bolstered by the success of this local release, Dan and Dana did an end-run around traditional distributors and decided to distribute the film nationally - themselves.

"Even though we had offers from established distributors, we didn't think any of them understood the strategy this film needed to succeed," says Dan. The release was unique in that it forwent the traditional indie strategy of opening in New York and Los Angeles in favor of starting in the midwest, and expanding outwards. Furthermore, the film played in numerous mainstream multiplexes, particularly in smaller cities that normally don't get independent films at all.

Bugeater Releasing (the name for Dan and Dana's distribution effort) was able to strike independent deals directly with such major exhibitors as AMC, Carmike, United Artists and Landmark theater companies to screen the film throughout the U.S. The film played in 32 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Seattle, St. Louis, Phoenix, Kansas City, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, etc. Omaha (the movie) conlcuded its U.S. theatrical release with an 11-week run in Los Angeles at the Laemmle's theatre. The Los Angeles Times raved about the film, calling it "A madcap romantic comedy...'Omaha' shines like a gem in the rough!" The paper also devoted a two-page feature story in its Sunday Calendar section.

For much of the release, Dan used grass-roots, and sometimes unconventional marketing techniques, including passing out thousands of fliers, wearing a sandwich-board in front of theatres, and for the Los Angeles premiere, even throwing raw steak and corn-on-the-cob into the appreciative audience. With the success of the American release, Bugeater has embarked on a long-distance self-distribution of the film in Germany. "With the emergence of the internet, it's now easier to organize and promote an 8-city release of the film in Germany, and still control things ourselves," said Dan. "Not bad, considering we don't speak German and the film doesn't have subtitles."

VHS...

The terms of a settlement agreement with World Artists Home Video preclude me from saying anything bad about them on this website. If you're curious about what happened to our initial VHS distribution, send me an email.

DVD...

Eight years after first screening in Park City, Dan announced at Slamdance 2002 that he had struck a distribution deal that will yield at least 350,000 DVDs of Omaha (the movie). Dan inked the unique deal with Total Movie & Entertainment Magazine which will release the DVD starting March 19, 2002. In addition to 50,000 DVDs that will be included with subscribers' copies of the magazine, one disc will be packaged with every Pioneer DVD player sold in the U.S. and Canada for at least two months - a total of 300,000 units just as part of the Pioneer deal alone. "About one out of eight people who buy DVD players in North America over the next couple of months will also wind up owning a copy of Omaha (the movie)," said Dan at the time of the release.

"This has got to be one of the widest DVD releases an independent film has ever gotten," said Dan. "What's great about the deal is that Total Movie is a magazine that will go straight to the core audience of film aficionados who will appreciate the film in the context of independent American cinema. But the regular consumers who buy their Pioneer DVD players at Costco or Circuit City are going to get a great surprise as well. They'll open their DVD box and pop in the free bonus disc ­ sure enough, it'll be my movie." Ironically, Dan was selling home video equipment at the Good Guys in Westwood, CA, when Slamdance first got started. "We had some of our first programming meetings at the Good Guys, and now, they'll be selling my film."

"I got the call from Total Movie the day before I came to Park City," Dan related. "The first night at Slamdance, I recorded the audio commentary with Slamdance projectionists and perennial jurors Gabe Wardell and Skizz Cyzyk at midnight in our condo. The next day, we shot a video intro while standing in front of Sundance's Egyptian Theatre. We edited the piece on my laptop in the back of the projection booth while we screened Alex Rockwell's 13 Moons. When we say Slamdance is 'by filmmakers, for filmmakers,' we're serious about that."

In addition to the director's commentary, other special features on the DVD include full-motion chapter graphics, a video introduction by Dan, a behind-the-scenes look at filming at Carhenge, and a stills photo gallery. On the flip-side of the two-sided disc are a number of non-Omaha-related short subjects, including short films, Hollywood trailers, behind-the-scenes featurettes and even an interview with Robert Redford. "Our destinies are tied together ­ it's fate. But this time, hešs the parasite on my show," joked Dan.

The Omaha (the movie) DVD will not at this time be available at video rental stores or for sale through normal means. "Think of it this way, though," commented Dana. "Anyone can buy the DVD for $170 and we'll even throw in a DVD player for free!" Anyone who doesn't want to spend that much money and is still interested in the DVD can purchase them directly at the Official Omaha (the movie) homepage at: www.slamdance.com/mirvish. And for more information on the making of the DVD, read about the making of the DVD.

TV and beyond...

"From financing to festivals to distribution, we've done it ourselves," concludes Dan. "Yes," adds Dana, "And Dan and I have proven that a no-budget, midwestern, indie film really can beat Hollywood on its own terms."

It's possible that Omaha (the movie) played on Sundance Channel New Zealand, but if it did, we never got paid for it. In one final irony, Omaha (the movie) did air on the Sundance Channel (U.S.) in 1996-7. In its own programming notes, the Sundance Channel said, "Omaha (the movie) played at Sundance." Dan notes, "I knew it was just a matter of time before we'd finally get in. I guess it just depends what your definition of 'at' is."

Bios...

Dan Mirvish
Writer/Director/Producer

A co-founder of the upstart Slamdance Film Festival, Dan Mirvish is also an active filmmaker and screenwriter. At the age of 25, he wrote, directed and produced the $38,000 feature Omaha (the movie) and on the heels of Slamdance, the film went on to play at over 30 other film festivals. Often strapping on a sandwich-board, Dan then self-distributed the film to 32 cities in the U.S. - in both traditional urban art houses as well as mainstream multiplexes - including an 11-week run at Laemmle's Theaters in Los Angeles. Ironically, the film was picked up by the Sundance Channel for an 18-month run.

Dan remains actively involved with Slamdance as a key programmer and master of ceremonies for the annual Park City event. Slamdance is consistently ranked as one of the top ten film festivals in the world.

In 1997, Dan wrote and started directing the feature Stamp & Deliver until the financing fell through five days before shooting. He has also written feature material for Twentieth Century Fox, NuImage, Phoenician Films and Primary Pictures. He also co-wrote the cheesy erotic thriller Control, starring Sean Young and William Devane (in video stores now).

Dan's next project is likely to be either Stamp & Deliver which now has Peter Fonda attached to star and Neil Young set to do the music, or Open House, a real-estate musical feature film. Dan recently directed a short version of Open House for the Seattle Film Festival's prestigious Fly Filmmaker series. The short has gone on to play at Slamdance and was recently invited to screen at Los Angeles' American Cinematheque and the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore.

Prior to getting an M.A. from USC's graduate film production program, Dan was a Washington-based speechwriter for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and a freelance journalist for such publications as The Washington Monthly and The New York Times. He's continued freelancing for such film magazines and books as Film Threat, Filmmaker, The Independent Film & Video Monthly, Brittish Savvy, and Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide. He's currently writing an introduction for a HarperCollins book on how to make an independent film.

Dan is a frequent juror, panelists and guest at various film festivals, IFP events, and national radio & TV shows. He recently taught a UCLA extension class and was a contributing producer to Film Fest DVD (for which he went to Chile and got tear gassed). The envy of his struggling filmmaker peers, bon vivant Mirvish is married to a pediatrician with whom he has fathered a very silly toddler.

Dana Altman
Producer

Only 26 when making Omaha (the movie), Dana is a consummate film professional who currently lives and works in the Omaha area. He has performed a variety of positions on such locally-shot projects as Sean Penn's The Indian Runner, O Pioneers, Rescue 911, Election, True Detectives and numerous commercials and industrial films. Dana also spent several years in the Los Angeles area serving on such productions as Columbo and America's Most Wanted. Dana recently made his feature directorial debut with the independent film, The Private Public.

Coming from a family rich in film heritage, Dana has also worked under the tutelage of his grandfather, director Robert Altman on sesveral of his films, and his uncle, cinematographer Bobby Altman. Dana is married and has two sons. His wife Deanna and son Drew appear briefly in Omaha (the movie).

Oslo Anderson
Director of Photography

Oslo lives and works in Omaha as a professional cinematographer. His professional credits include second unit photography on the feature film The Indian Runner and Hallmark television production of O Pioneers. He has been the cinematographer on countless local commercials and industrial films, and has worked with Dana Altman on numerous occasions.

Hughston Walkinshaw
"Simon"

When Dan Mirvish went to Omaha for casting, one name kept cropping up: Hughston Walkinshaw. Known as the most talented young actor in the city, Hughston had only lived in Omaha for five years. Having graduated from the State University of New York at Purchase where he studied in the Theatre Arts Conservatory, Hughston and several fellow students left New York to create theater on their own terms. They picked Omaha, and founded the Blue Barn Theatre.

At the Blue Barn, Hughston has acted in and directed numerous productions. Most recently, Hughston performed the midwest premiere of the one man show, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me." While in Nebraska, Hughston has appeared in several film and television productions, including the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of "O Pioneers!" starring Jessica Lange. He also worked on Sean Penn's directorial debut The Indian Runner, and had a starring role in the independent feature, Powerslide.

Jill Anderson
"Gina"

Jill and director Dan Mirvish are old friends (having appeared together in "Fiddler on the Roof" at Omaha Central High School), and she played a vital creative role in shaping the eclectic character of Gina ‹ even during the screenwriting phase of the film. During production, she worked closely with costumer Nancy Ross in crafting Gina's unique wardrobe (much of which came from Jill's own closet). Having only taken two weeks of Tae Kwon Do a few years ago, Jill worked out with a personal trainer for two months before filming began.

Jill is a veteran of Omaha's active theatrical scene, having appeared in productions with every major theatre company in the city. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omahašs drama department and hasn't stopped acting since. She worked with Hughston Walkinshaw when she created the role of Rosanna in the midwest premiere of "Brilliant Traces" at the Blue Barn Theatre. Jill is also recognized throughout the midwest as a vocalist with the Chicago-based Irish folk trio, "Beyond the Pale." Jill had appeared in the feature films The Indian Runner and Powerslide prior to her starring role in Omaha (the movie). Jill acts opposite Jack Nickolson in Alexander Payne's upcoming film About Schmidt.

Specs and Contact info...

Omaha (the movie) is Š 1995, Bugeater Films, LTD.
Additional material on DVD is Š 2002, Bugeater Films, LTD.
Color, 35mm, 85 minutes, 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
All rights available worldwide.

Contact:

Bugeater Films
c/o Dan Mirvish
4252 Mentone Ave.
Culver City, CA, 90232
USA

ph: 310-839-2569
email: dmirvish@slamdance.com
website: www.slamdance.com/mirvish