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Neuse II to make second film appearance
Filming of beleaguered boat to begin next
week
By Lee Raynor
Editor
Posted: 9:30 PM EST Thursday December 22,
2005 |
John Hartman, left)
and his brother, Philip, discuss how the CSS Neuse II will be used
in a Civil War-era film that will spotlight the boat. The Neuse II
also was used in a television documentary on The History Channel
about the CSS Albemarle, sister ship to the Neuse.
John Hartman, right,
and his brother, Philip, explore the swampy area Thursday near
Neuseway Park. Cypress trees and the land's topography make the area
a perfect backdrop for "Secession Path," the movie John Hartland
will begin filming in Kinston next week.
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A Colorado film-maker Tuesday will begin
shooting a movie centered around the CSS Neuse gunboat. The Neuse II
will substitute in the film for the original ironclad.
John
Hartman will feature the Neuse II in a story about a Confederate
army captain who is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome
and questioning his role in the war. The captain's commanding
officer, in an effort to rehabilitate the man, sends him on a
mission to spy on Northern spies who are gathering information about
a Confederate ironclad being built in Seven Springs.
“The
movie will be intriguing and thought-provoking,” Hartman said.
The film, to be called “Secession Path,” will be 20 to 30
minutes in length. Hartman, who has made several other short films,
plans to enter it in the Sundance or Durango film festival. Hartman
works as a substitute teacher in Denver when he is not in
production.
Hartman has contacted Stuart Johnson, active with
the North Carolina Film Commission, to help with casting and as a
possible source for additional money. Hartman said local financing
of $1,000 to $3,000 would make a difference in the final work, and
result in what Hartman calls “big time,” but the lack of additional
money will not delay the project.
“Other film-makers raise
$40,000 to $50,000, but that's not really necessary,” he said.
A group of area re-enactors will appear in the film. Neuse
II builder Alton Stapleford will portray the boat's
builder. |
The Neuse II came to Hartman's
attention through his brother, Kinston resident Philip Hartman, and
from “several other” sources, he said. Hartman contacted the
Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce in November in an effort
to reach Ted Sampley, the boat's originator, but was given an
incorrect telephone number. The two finally came together this week.
“The crew will be on the boat as special guests of the
organization that owns the boat,” Sampley said. “They will film
inside and on the boat.”
Sampley and Kinston officials have
gone head to head about safety issues concerning the Neuse II.
Sampley voluntarily agreed to suspend public tours of the boat in an
effort, which has been futile so far, to reach a working
relationship with the city.
“I don't anticipate any problems
from the city,” Sampley said. “The issue was inviting the public on
board for tours. We're just trying to be cooperative in that area.”
“Secession Path” will be a fictional story based on
historical fact. Hartman is intrigued by the land where the first
battle was fought in Kinston and by the city's swampy areas, both of
which could be featured in the movie.
“You have lighthouses,
wooden bridges, a swamp, re-enactors and the only full scale
ironclad in the world,” he said. “I'm going to be tapping your
resources. The battlefield looks feasible if I can get a release to
use the land.”
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