Third time’s the charm for Waldoboro as native son Lucas McNelly uses his hometown as a setting in “Maine Noir,” his third feature film. Two years of planning has culminated in two weeks of filming at all the notable locations, including Moody’s Diner, Bear Hill True Value Hardware, The Waldo Theatre, Broad Bay Church, and the mud flats.
In the film, Lisa and her teen daughter Ava inherit a home in Waldoboro. As they settle in to small-town coastal life, making friends and dating, someone breaks into their new house. When that leads Lisa to discover cash hidden in the walls, the tension really starts to ratchet in this psychological thriller.
“Maine Noir” aims for a period feel in a modern-day movie. McNelly said he was inspired by the films of the 1940s and 1950s.
Writer, director, producer, casting director, and location scout McNelly wrote the screenplay in early 2021 and planned to shoot that fall. He launched a crowd funding campaign in July, eventually raising a $46,025 through Seed&Spark, a website like GoFundMe tailored for filmmakers. That funded the bulk of the process, but not post-production.
Additionally, costs rose as COVID-19 and other issues, such as big pledges not actually coming in, delayed filming.
Production delays also caused previously cast actresses to bow out, leading to more delays.
After nearly two years of delays, McNelly said “it hasn’t sunk in” that filming is almost complete.
On day 10, the cast and crew shot interior scenes at the Medomak House on Friendship Street. The house is owned by Medomak Exchange, a nonprofit willing to let McNelly film before needed renovations.
He and the crew did their own remodel, painting walls, ripping up carpet, moving furniture, and filling the place with props to suit their needs. In true small-town indie movie fashion, many of the “props” are on loan from McNelly’s home.
There was one duty McNelly was happy to turn over for the sake of his team: food provider. To forestall a stream of pizza dinners, locals, relatives, and friends were enlisted to cook and deliver a series of meals for the cast and crew.
The cast hails from across the U.S., including The County. The crew is a team from Birmingham, Ala. It was each person’s first time in Maine, except for the actor from The County, who now resides in California.
The group members are regulars at Moody’s and the Narrows Tavern in the brief hours between sleep and 10-hour work days. Those days are far from regular, as they were front-loaded to start early and have begun later each day. Day 10’s general call time was 2 p.m. and the last scene would start filming at 10:15 p.m.
Assistant Director Ashton Henderson also wears several hats – supervising the shooting of B-roll, which are usually scenes or images without actors, scheduling, stage managing, and more.
“On a small film, you do what you can,” she said.
After her 10 hours on set, she has just enough time to eat, do laundry, “fight the printer,” and make the next day’s call sheet, which breaks the day down into scene-sized chunks.
Second Assistant Director Claire Carley was cast in a small role when the original actress, McNelly’s daughter, had to bow out. Between changing camera lenses and managing the clapperboard, she did her own hair and makeup, stood in for the lead actresses while lights were set, and acted in two scenes.
Carley was excited to come to Maine, having previously only made it as far north as Connecticut.
“I love to travel … love the lobster and love the local people,” she said.
Jamie Lyn Bagley was cast several weeks ago as lead character Lisa. She found the role on casting website Backstage.
McNelly then requested Bagley’s help finding the actress to play her teenage daughter. She quickly thought of Morgan Barnsley. The two had met in an acting class and share a resemblance.
Barnsley moved to Los Angeles, Calif. from Massachusetts about a month ago. She was on a short return trip, packed for three days and booked on a flight back to California, when McNelly called to offer the part.
Brennan Martignoni is the director of photography, operating the camera capturing the movie. McNelly and the rest crowd over Martignoni’s shoulder to watch scenes unfold and play back. Those playbacks sometimes led to new directions being given to Baylan Wood, working lights, or Jordan Hudecz, on sound.
Post-production and eventual release details will be shared online, McNelly said. Similar to his film “Up Country,” “Maine Noir” will “definitely” have a screening at the Waldo Theatre, he said hopefully in 2024.
For more information, go to mainenoir.com.
