Forget about actor George Clumsy shooting his movie in St. Louis. Acclaimed indie filmmaker and SLUM alumnus Gussie Van Santloo has announced that he will shoot his next film right here, on the campus of his alma mater.
Van Santloo is famous for such films as last year's "Milche,' about a dairy farmer in Pevely, MO, "My Own Private Place," about straight teen angst in the gay-friendly Central West End, "Good Will Bunting," about a poor boy who makes decorations for political campaigns, and "Elefant" about a young pachyderm born at the St. Louis Zoo. He is also famous for his shot-by-shot re-make of Albert Hitchrock's suspense classic "Psycho-deli." It was this last film sparked his idea for his latest film.
"Back in the 1970s, there was a lab safety training film shot at Benton Hall, a film I remember fondly from my days as student. Of course, the film, 'Lab Safety First,' was old already when I saw it but I just loved it. With the recent interest among filmmakers and the public in reviving and screening these delightful old training films, I knew this was my chance to introduce this wonderful film to a wider audience," the director said.
"I knew immediately that the best approach was to re-make it, shot-for-shot, just as I did for Hitchrock's film," Van Santloo said.
The filmmaker was eager to return to SLUM where he was an undergrad, but worried that he might not be able to shoot his film at the original location.
"I really wanted to shoot my film on the SLUM campus, in a Benton Hall lab, where the original film was made. The problem with using original locations for a historical film is that they are often too changed," he said. "When I saw how much the campus had changed, I feared that the labs where 'Lab Safety First' was filmed would now look far too modern."
"Imagine my surprise to find them little changed from the 1970s. Their retro look is perfect," he said.
The cast and crew for the film are scheduled to arrive on campus in mid-May, to begin filming before the summer session starts, when the labs are available. So far, the filmmaker is very pleased with the local support he is getting for his project.
"The SLUM staff has been very helpful and very cooperative. Not only were the labs largely unchanged from the 1970s, but much of the equipment is still here, which helps cut our costs. They still even use some of this stuff in classes - it's amazing," Van Santloo said.
"We are delighted to have Gussie Van Santloo on campus to shoot his movie," said Rob Labboy, lab equipment manager. "We are trying to give him our full cooperation, but we hope he doesn't damaging anything during filming. We don't have the budget to replace anything and, actually, we need it all for next fall. If anything breaks, I guess I have to get more duct tape," said Labboy.
Van Santloo assured worried faculty and staff he would be as careful as possible with the vintage equipment. If the film, to be released in late fall in time for the all-important awards season, proved to be the Oscar-bait Van Santloo was hoping for, he promised to donate one percent of profits to help buy new equipment.
"Even if that doesn't happen," he added, "I will come back and hold a bake sale. Maybe that will help."
After all his success, Gussie Van Santloo remains a loyal SLUM alum.
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