News-Info-Alerts

Re: The Last Bridge Home

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: September 01, 2003

"Filmmaker won't take all the credit for his six movies

He thinks his volunteers should get credit, too

By DAVID J. MARCOU - Special to the Journal Sentinel

La Crosse - Ask Scott Thompson about "his" films, and the filmmaker says they aren't. His, he means.

'The Last Bridge Home'

"The Last Bridge Home" shows at 5 p.m. through Sunday at the Rivoli in La Crosse and in at least five more venues in western Wisconsin during the next few weeks, including Independence's Opera House Thursday and Eau Claire's State Theatre Sept. 13 and 14.

"I prefer not having these films known as 'my' films. I think that diminishes the contributions of all the others - a good number of people, all of whom volunteer their time, to make them work," he said.

With support from his employer, Trempealeau County Community Television in Whitehall, and other sponsors, Thompson has written, produced, cast, directed, filmed and edited six independent films. His latest, "The Last Bridge Home," had its premiere earlier this month at La Crosse's Rivoli Theatre.

Like the rest of Thompson's production, the screening involved multitasking, beginning with Thompson and Steve Kiedrowski - who serves as publicist for Thompson's projects as well as acting in them - bringing in equipment.

Asked if he was nervous, Thompson said, "I wasn't too bad until the manager said we had some sound problems." A change of VCRs solved that dilemma.

Rivoli owner Tom Misco said, "I like working with this group, because the quality of (their) product is far and away above the quality of any other community film group."

"The Last Bridge Home" is the story of Katie (played by Amber Vance), a teenager eager to escape her small hometown.

She fears she's cracking up when she starts mysteriously receiving letters for loved ones from soldiers who were prisoners of war or missing in action in recent wars. People queue up daily to get mail through Katie.

One Vietnam vet who comes to Katie for a message is William (Billy Krause), who has been overwrought after dreaming about his brother, David, who was reported missing in Vietnam in 1971. Teenage twins Sonia and Marie Kadlec play William's daughters.

Kiedrowski, of Trempealeau, plays a disgruntled Vietnam vet. "My character talks mean, acts mean and looks mean. Because I've done some boxing, Scott decided to make Keith a boxer who takes out his anger - in the ring," he said.

In the draft lottery during Vietnam, Kiedrowski said, "I was number 327 of 365. I made plans to go to college but had two older brothers who served in the military, so I was positive about the war and the military."

Thompson got into filmmaking as an extension of other storytelling efforts.

"I'd written some novels, but there were more stories I wanted to get out," he said. "Then I wanted to do a TV show, which became a movie."

Thompson's next film project is called "My New Voice," about the Hmong, and he's writing a screenplay adaptation of "While the Locust Slept," a novel by Minnesota writer Peter Razor.

©Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"