‘Basket’ Makers Taking A Gamble

Two dramas are being played out amid the rambling wheat fields west of Rockford.

The first story is pure fiction. It’s about an unorthodox schoolteacher who tries to teach post-World War I farm kids the nuances of opera and a newfangled game called basketball.

The second story is a real-life nail-biter. This is about six partners who run Spokane’s North by Northwest Productions: Rich Cowan, Marc Dahlstrom, Dan Heigh, Dave Holcomb, Greg Rathvon and Dave Tanner.

These men have laid their mortgages on the line to turn the aforementioned tale - called “The Basket” - into a major motion picture.

To accomplish this they have risked $1.5 million. That’s not even walking around loot by Hollywood standards, but it’s still a wad and a half in good ol’ Spokaloo.

They also attracted some reputable talent. “The Basket” stars the always competent Peter Coyote, last seen in the sci-fi snoozefest “Sphere,” and Karen Allen.

Indiana Jones fans will remember Allen as the quick-fisted hottie of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” True, a few years have crawled by since Allen battled Nazis beside Harrison Ford, but she’s still a hottie.

North by Northwest may not be Paramount, but it’s no stranger to show biz. The small company has built a sterling reputation working on commercials, various corporate productions and a few movies.

But all that has been work for hire. “This is the first time we’ve produced and done everything,” explains Frank Swoboda.

Swoboda co-wrote “The Basket” with his wife, Tessa, Don Caron and Cowan, who is also the director. “This is going to be our calling card,” adds Swoboda. “This will be the first time we show people who we are.”

Besides, he says, pausing to grin at the absurdity of it all, “nobody’s told us we can’t do this.”

Give these people an A for ambition. They could have played it safe and gone for the quick bucks with, say, a straight-to-video slasher film.

“The Basket,” however, relies on acting rather than action.

“In truth, it was the script,” says Allen of why she would come to Spokane to work with a fledgling independent film company. “I read an awful lot of material that I find to be a big turnoff.”

On Monday morning the cast gathered in the wheat stubble where a faux train depot called Waterville had been built. Four old-time railroad cars were hauled here Sunday from the Spokane Interstate fairgrounds to make the scene authentic.

Watching a movie being made is like watching a bucket fill with water a drip at a time.

Each scene is shot and then reshot again and again. Then the infernal process starts all over from different angles. “Roll sound. Action. Cut….”

Underneath a scalding sun, Allen, who plays Bessie Emery, meets her son, Benjamin, who is unfortunately returning from the war with a leg less than he left with.

This is disturbing news to the Emerys. As Benjamin hobbles from the train, their anticipation turns quickly to angst.

“You know how badly Nicholas needed that boy’s help on the farm,” whispers Agnes (played by the terrific Ellen Travolta), as the now-somber Emerys leave the station. “… Now he’s just another mouth to feed.”

“The Basket” has all the appearances of being a definite chick flick.

“It’s a chick flick,” agrees Tim Sanger, who plays a bit part as a soldier. “It’ll be a tear-jerker.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But the synopsis provided by North by Northwest does contain the word “relationship.” Not once, but two times.

Guy flicks never advertise the “R-word.” Guy films promote terms like “explosive,” “high-octane” or “bullet-ridden.” Blood-soaked is acceptable, too.

Three years ago, when the script for “The Basket” began to take shape, the writers tried to figure out who their audience would be. In the end, they concluded, it didn’t matter as long as their story had heart and was well-told by the actors.

“If it’s a chick flick and people go see it,” says Swoboda, “I don’t care.”