ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180005
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Southwest Virginia's coalfields are starring in the movies once again.
There was "Coal Miner's Daughter" in Wise County and "Lassie" in Tazewell County. Now comes a CBS television movie about a miner, filmed in Buchanan and Tazewell counties in January.
Bernice Green, a CBS spokeswoman in New York, said an air date hasn't been set.
The working title for the movie, which stars Wise County native George C. Scott and Ally Sheedy, is "Wilcox v. Baker." The movie was inspired by Garsko vs. McCoy, a real-life 1981 court case in West Virginia. It involves a coal miner, played by Scott, fighting for custody of his great-grandson.
"It's his granddaughter who becomes pregnant and has a child with medical problems," Kathy Belew, a staff assistant at the Virginia Film Office, said of Scott's role. "He tries to adopt the great-grandchild to put him on his medical plan. It gets complicated."
When film crews are looking for a mountainous backdrop for their story lines - particularly if mining is involved - Tazewell is a natural, Belew said. "It gives people a comfortable feeling, knowing they've done feature films here before. If you're doing a film that's set in the mountains, it's the perfect place to do it."
Outdoor mining scenes were shot at a Crystal Bay Mining Co. underground mine near the Oakwood and Permac Inc. coal-preparation plant. Fifteen Crystal Bay miners had parts in the production; mechanic-electrician Ferrell Compton had a speaking part.
The movie, part of which was filmed in Mercer County, W.Va., used 375 local extras and had a budget of $1.5 million, much of which found its way into the local economy during eight weeks of shooting, said Barbara Altizer, executive director of the Virginia Coal Council.
Altizer worked with the Virginia Film Office to help the producers find locations for the filming. With a partner, Altizer did the casting for stand-ins and extras.
"I really feel like it was a wonderful opportunity for our coal industry," she said.
James Clevinger, a mechanic with 15 years' mining experience, said the men at Crystal Bay had a good time helping make the film. The film company had planned to use professional actors, but after seeing how well the miners worked as a team - and that they had the ability to ignore the camera - the company decided to use the real thing, Clevinger said.
The filmmakers were down-to-earth people and were impressed with Buchanan and Tazewell counties, particularly the fact that they could drive 45 minutes in any direction and encounter vastly different scenery, Clevinger said.
In turn, Clevinger, who made $110 for his day's film work, said he and his co-workers were impressed with all that's involved in making a film.
"It wasn't anything at all like what we expected," he said. "There was more hustle and bustle than what we [anticipated]."
All the miners really liked Scott, Clevinger said. "If you didn't know who he was, you'd thought he was one of us ... thought he's old George down here at the mouth of the hollow."
Inside mining scenes were filmed at a realistic set that the filmmakers built out of plastic foam at the Tazewell County Fairgrounds, Clevinger said.
Altizer said the original script called for a miner to start a flood in a mine when he struck a rock with a pick. The coalfields folk had to teach the filmmakers that miners nowadays use machines, not picks, to dig coal, she said.
The only bad thing about the experience, she said, was the weather.
The heavy snow and cold in January made it tough on the production company as it moved equipment from site to site, she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB