STRICTLY BUSINESS: SILVER SCREEN PROJECTS IN MISSOURI

The name of the movie escapes me.

It did make the big screen, but they were mostly drive-in theater screens.

It was in the late 1950s, and film crews were in a nearby Missouri town, filming a movie.

A chance acquaintance with a member of the filming crew led to an opportunity for me to appear before the cameras -- during one crowd scene, and in a careening car that wheeled around a corner, wheels screeching.

We looked forward to the movie's release. It eventually came to the area via the large drive-in movie screen.

But where was my crowd scene? The car screeching around the corner was there, but the driver was definitely not identifiable.

My chance at Hollywood stardom was shot.

At best, I could tell people that the 1957 white convertible (top up) which screeched around the corner was mine. And that I was the driver -- Really!

Filming in Missouri

Filmmaking can be a lucrative business.

Production of movies, television programs and commercials can have an impact on areas selected as film sites.

Cape Girardeans had an opportunity to experience life in front of a camera more than a year ago when Bud Sports, a division of Anheuser-Busch, spent a Sunday afternoon filming a 30-second commercial for Budweiser Beer and Starter Athletic Gear.

More than 100 locals were in an athletic crowd scene for the filming.

In another instance, six months later, the city of Cape Girardeau was the subject of a television special, filmed by a crew from Senica, Slovakia. Three television journalists from Slovakia were filming a documentary on local government of a small city in the United States.

Last October, Hollywood came to the Missouri Ozarks to film "Winding Roads," the first movie of Goldenlight Films. Local actors were hired to fill in the minor roles. Crew members were from both Los Angeles and the Ozarks

Actually, movie and television filming is becoming a big business in Missouri and Illinois.

Several movies have been filed in locations throughout Missouri, thanks, in part, to the combined efforts of the Missouri Film Commission, the St. Louis Film Office and the Kansas City Film Office.

Joseph Driskill, director of the Department of Economic Development, reported that from July 1997 to lst June, feature film producers spent more than $38 million in Missouri.

Five major projects were filmed in Missouri during the past 18 months.

-- "Ride With the Devil," a Civil War-era film was shot at sites in the Kansas City area.

-- "A Will of Their Own," a NBC mini-series, and "The Big Brass Ring" were filmed in the St. Louis area.

-- "Park Day" and "Winding Roads" were filmed in the Springfield area.

Goldenlight Films is an independent film company founded more a year ago by Ted Melfi, a Southwest Missouri State University (Springfield) graduate; Melfi's wife, Kimberly Quinn; and Springfield actor Jason Askinose.

The trio formed the production company after working together in Springfield last summer on "Park Day," a feature-length film written and directed by Springfield native Sterling Macer Jr. The film won the audience choice award at New York City's Urbanworld International Film Festival and was entered in the Chicago Film Festival.

The Missouri Film Commission, which attends industry trade shows and film festivals and publishes the Missouri Film Production Guide, recently sent a piece of Missouri to England.

BBC, a British network, used the old Gumbo jail in Chesterfield as a setting for taping of "Noel's House Party," a popular BBC show.

Most major films are shot at the state's two major metropolitan areas -- St. Louis and Kansas City -- because of the availability of lodging, personnel and easy airport access.

The St. Louis International Film Festival, which was held in November, attracted many movie people to St. Louis. Large audiences watched more than 70 films from around the world as producers put their productions before the public.

Films were screened at the Tivoli, the Vaughn Cultural Center and Grandel Theater, the Fox Theater, the Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Kirkwood Cinema and the St. Louis Art Museum.

Filming in Illinois

More than 50 projects have been filmed in Illinois during the past year, including segments of some major movie titles -- "Message in a Bottle," starring Kevin Costner; "Never Been Kissed," a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore; "U.S. Marshals," starring Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes, and "Love and Action in Chicago," featuring Jason Alexander and Kathleen Turner. .

"U.S. Marshals" was filmed in and around the Metropolis and Brookport area, and the Reelfoot Lake area of western Tennessee.

Also filmed in Illinois were television episodes of "Chicago Hope" and "ER."

The state's film industry helps to strengthen Illinois' economy and create many temporary job opportunities.

The Illinois Film Office, which operates as a part of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, reports that the 57 projects last year created more than 19,000 local temporary jobs, generating more than $83 million in revenue.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.