TERRE HAUTE — To an outsider, Terre Haute’s possibilities as a movie setting might be limited to “The Secret Life of Crows” or “The Brown Lagoon.”
But we know better.
Anyone who spends time here knows this community is special. After his return tour of Terre Haute, Steve Martin declared our city was “one of the most interesting, cosmopolitan, sophisticated towns I have ever seen in my life. I have been to Rome, to Paris, to New York, and Terre Haute is better by far.” I suspect Steve was being sarcastic on that infamous excursion 30 years ago this month. Still, the town is much more than its old stereotypes.
Some talented people, with local ties, realize the potential in this place and hope to tap into Terre Haute’s uniqueness next year. They intend to film a motion picture or two here.
One of the key people in that group — a California film producer and 1996 Terre Haute South Vigo High School graduate, Milan Chakraborty — will give his hometown a peek at his cinematic abilities this month. The new independent movie “Rock Slyde” will make its Hoosier debut at 3 p.m. Dec. 19 on the big screen of the Indiana Theatre. Chakraborty produced the film, which stars Patrick Warburton (best known as Puddy on “Seinfeld”) and Andy Dick, with cameos by Eric Roberts, Lea Thompson, Jason Alexander and Tom Bergeron.
A well-attended showing of “Rock Slyde” here could benefit Terre Haute in a variety of ways.
First of all, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the memorial fund in honor of the late Sgt. Dale Griffin, a soldier from Terre Haute who died in the Afghanistan war in October. Chakraborty, a longtime friend of the Griffins, returned for the fallen hero’s funeral last month. Chakraborty saw an outpouring of emotion along the streets and in the gymnasium of their high school alma mater, South. That “immensely powerful” moment reinforced his fondness for the town.
“I was touched to see how the community came together,” Chakraborty said by telephone Wednesday. “I’ve always been very proud of Terre Haute.”
The local screening of “Rock Slyde” — the tale of a brilliant but confused private eye (Warburton) entrenched in a turf war with a fledgling cult — could also foster interest in the plan by Chakraborty and friends to use Terre Haute as a movie setting. “The plan is to make people aware that we want to make a movie in Terre Haute next year,” he said.
“We” includes four Hauteans transplanted to California’s film industry — Chakraborty, movie and TV actor Jose Pablo Cantillo, writer and aspiring actor William Tanoos, and production manager Andrew Mardis. Chakraborty, who studied accounting at the College of William and Mary, previously handled production budget issues for shows and flicks such as “Batman Returns,” “Dukes of Hazzard,” “V for Vendetta” and “Superman Returns.” Cantillo has appeared in numerous movies and television shows, including “Crank,” “Disturbia,” “Law and Order” and this week’s episode of “Lie to Me.” Tanoos, a South grad along with Chakraborty and Cantillo, trained in acting in Los Angeles after earning his law degree from Indiana University and has co-written and appeared in two short films. Mardis earned a filmmaking degree at Full Sail University in Florida, and is a freelance producer in Los Angeles.
Their Terre Haute movie project also includes non-Hautean “Rock Slyde” writer-director Chris Dowling.
Together, they envision a film — whose script and topic is yet to be finalized — that would capture a slice of life in Terre Haute, just as “Breaking Away” did for Bloomington, “Field of Dreams” did for Dyersville, Iowa, and “Groundhog Day” did for Punxatawny, Pa.
“The objective is to show some Terre Haute locations, and weave in some Terre Haute history and trivia, and accentuate one of its greatest assets — the people,” Chakraborty explained.
The project, they hope, will draw other notable Hollywood actors into the cast. That could inspire Terre Haute investors to back the film. And, if all goes well, a profitable movie will allow the filmmakers to give a planned 3-percent cut to a handful of Terre Haute-connected charities — the Griffin memorial fund, the Coleman Cancer Institute (created by another Terre Haute native, Lisa Paulsen), the Vigo County School Corp. and the Children’s Museum, Chakraborty said.
Cantillo likes the possibilities.
“We want to open up the opportunity for the people of Terre Haute,” Cantillo said last weekend by phone from California.
It’s refreshing to see people who haven’t forgotten their roots.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
What: The Indiana premiere of the new movie “Rock Slyde.”
Who: It stars Patrick Warburton (“Seinfeld” and “Rules of Engagement”), Andy Dick (“The Cable Guy”), Rena Sofer (“General Hospital” and “Two and a Half Men”) and Elaine Hendrix (“The Parent Trap” and “Joan of Arcadia”).
Local connection: The co-producer, Milan Chakraborty, grew up in Terre Haute.
Where: The Indiana Theatre.
When: The local, one-time-only showing of “Rock Slyde” is 3 p.m. Dec. 19. Ticket window opens at 2 p.m.
Cost: $8 per person. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Sgt. Dale Griffin memorial fund, said Chakraborty.
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