The Clarion April 19. 1993 Pa^e 8
Lights! Camera!! Action!!!
Justine Bateman Comes To BC Campus To Film Television Movie
The Brevard College pool in
Boshamer Gymnasium is usually a
place where you can find people
swimming laps, enjoying the cool
water, or learning various aquatic skills.
But on Saturday, April 3, the familiar
area around the pool became a
treacherous forest, and the normally
calm waters became churning
Whitewater rapids.
The occasion was the filming of
“The Hunter,” a made-for-TV movie that
was being filmed in Transylvania
County by Laurens Production, a Los
Angeles-based production company. The
stars were Justine Bateman, who starred
opposite Michael J. Fox in the hit
series “Family Ties,” and Joe Penny of
TV’s “Riptide” and “Jake and the Fat
Man.”
The entire far corner of the pool
The BC pool looked like a hollywood movie set, with
directors, actors, producers, and camera and lighting
technicians filling the area around the pool (above). At
right, things are not what they seem; Justine Bateman is
actually in the safety of the Boshamer Pool, not the
rapids of a whitewater river.
was transformed over the course of a few
hours into a river bank, with the movie
crew hauling in trees, bushes, ferns,
rocks, dirt, logs, and camouflage netting
to create the illusion.
Special effects technicians then
placed high-pressure air hoses on the
bottom of the pool and ran high-
pressure water hoses to the sides of the
pool. The air hoses, when turned on,
pumped enough air into the water to
make the whole corner of the pool seem
like a big Jacuzzi, simulating the
whitewater of the river. The water hoses
were used to simulate the spray and mist
of the river.
After the special effects and scenery
were all in place, the cameras, lights,
reflecting boards, director’s chairs, and
assorted other movie-making equipment
were all disuibuted throughout the pool
area. All in all, it was a very weird
scene.
The movie is based on the story of
a couple who arc kidnapped while on a
camping trip, only to elude their
captors. The chase is then on, with
Bateman’s character running from
Penny’s character through the
wilderness. In order to elude the
kidnapper, Bateman’s character must at
one point take to the river and
eventually go over a set of waterfalls.
Most of the river and wilderness
scenes were filmed in Transylvania
County, including the takes of stunt
doubles (hooked up toteafety harnesses)
going over Looking Glass Falls in
Pisgah National Forest. However, due
to bad weather and cold water, the
directors needed a more comfortable
aquatic setting for their actress to film
the close shots. That’s where the Brevard
College pool came in.
Producers contacted college officials
on Friday, and on Saturday the
transformation began. Bateman arrived
on campus around 2 p.m., and the crew
began shooting around 3 p.m. The shots
included Bateman in the turbulent water,
swimming through spray, and jumping
off of a platform erected at the -side of
the pool.
The actress’ presence on campus
caused some stir, with a crowd of
students gathering outside the pool to
view the proceeding through the glass
wall. However, when the shooting
started, the producers had the set closed
to spectators, and the area outside of the
pool was roped off.
Bateman was also somewhat leery
of having her picture taken, preferring to
shake hands rather than be
photographed.
The shoot lasted all afternoon, but
the next day you could hardly tell that
the transformation had ever taken place.
According to the producers, “The
Hunter” will air on CBS next fall.