Filmmaking easier than most think, SE students told
by Pam Garrett, reporter

    Producing a movie may not be as hard as most people think, according to an independent filmmaker.

   Dan Millican visited SE Campus last semester to describe how The Keyman, his first full-length feature to write and direct, came to fruition.

   Millican said that there are six parts to making a film: idea, development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution.

   In August 1997, while returning to his vehicle after going into a store, Millican made a disturbing discovery. He had forgotten his three-month-old son in the car. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes, and no harm was done. But Millican could not get past the horrifying question of “what would I do if something had happened to him?”

   "If something had happened, I think that without my faith, I would have gone insane,” he said.

   Thus, the Keyman was born.

   “The Keyman is that insane individual dealing with tragedy caused by his own actions. In my mind on the drive home that day, I completely scripted out the scene where a father discovers that he has left his child in the car. Out of all the drafts and all the changes, that one scene remained virtually untouched over the next two years,” he said.

   In early 1998, Millican teamed up with screenwriter Kimberly Seilhamer, and together they wrote the script. Over the next two years, Millican put the project together, secured funding and polished the script. Producer Susan Kirr and co-producer Betty Buckley (Wishbone) joined the team during development.

   Pre-production began at the end of July 2000. Dallas was chosen as the location for the shooting. A huge, century-old dry cleaner’s complex was found to serve as the Food Bank and the squatters’ home, affectionately called the “abandonment.”

   Doug Leonard, winner of two Emmys for art directing, and his art team transformed the abandoned cleaners into several sets. Between two buildings in the complex was a courtyard that once was the stables for the horses that pulled the carts of laundry into the facility.

   Adam Baldwin (Full Metal Jacket, My Bodyguard) was sent the script and, as a father of three children, was very touched.

   “When I read the script, I told my agent I had to get in touch with this director,” he said.

   Baldwin said he felt a connection to the character, “I had to play this part. Being a family man helps me a lot because I have three kids. What my character goes through tragically involves a kid and the feelings that come out of that are very readily at the surface for me,” he said.

   Several Dallas commercial companies contributed to the production value of the film. Working on the same equipment that the special effects companies use in California, Video Post and Transfer, Showcase Digital and Reel FX Creative Studios brought high dollar visual effects to a low budget indie film, Millican said.

   After graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington, with a degree in radio, television and film, Millican became a public relations representative for an insurance company in Dallas.

   Millican is making the jump from the commercial industry to feature films. He has won over 25 national and international awards for his writing, directing and editing.

   Millican said anyone with the right attitude can do what he has done.

   “Set a goal and stick with it. I’m not the type of person who waits; I go for it,” he said.