Traverse City Hits The Screen

Traverse City is ready for its close-up as several area locations and personalities are preparing to hit the screen.

A cast and crew of nearly a dozen northern Michigan residents – plus numerous other extras and behind-the-scenes players – teamed up to make the independent feature-length film Thaw of the Dead. Traverse City-based film production company Treefort Collective will host the northern Michigan premiere for its zombie thriller today (Saturday) at 1pm at the State Theatre.

“It’s a winter survival film set in a post-apocalyptic world where you have to survive the elements…and zombies,” says cinematographer and Treefort Collective co-founder Matthew von Dayton with a chuckle.

Written and directed by Treefort Collective co-founder David Marek (Somewhere West), Thaw of the Dead is a “unique arthouse zombie film (that) blends b-movie special effects with majestic northern Michigan landscapes,” according to the production company. Starring Benjamin Busch (HBO’s The Wire, Generation Kill), the film features numerous recognizable locations from across the region, with scenes shot along the Boardman River and in downtown Traverse City, the Boardman Dam powerhouse, and Leland’s historic Fishtown.

Originally intended as a short promotional film for the Traverse City Zombie Run – which will hold its ninth annual race today at 9am at Right Brain Brewery – Thaw of the Dead was expanded into a full-length film after Treefort Collective successfully raised more than $12,000 on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to film additional scenes. Filming on the project started in late 2013 and continued through 2015. At its world premiere at the Royal Starr Film Festival in Royal Oak earlier this month, the film won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film. Following its Traverse City debut, Thaw of the Dead will also screen in San Francisco on November 2 at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival.

“It would have been impossible to make the film without the support of the community,” says von Dayton. Local filmmaker Rich Brauer lent his support to the project, while companies including Cherry Republic, Leelanau Coffee and Maxbauers donated food and beverages for the shoot and Grand Traverse County and Fishtown Preservation Society officials helped coordinate access to locations for filming. “It takes a village to make a movie, and this is an example of that,” says von Dayton.

Cast and crew members will attend today’s premiere to introduce the film and host a Q&A afterward. Tickets are normal State Theatre matinee pricing ($6.50 general admission or $5.50 for members) and are available at the door. An after-party for the film will be held tonight at Right Brain Brewery. Following its Traverse City premiere, von Dayton says Thaw of the Dead will likely play other festivals and could be picked up for distribution. “We’ve already been approached by one distributor who wanted us to sign right away…we’re still figuring out our long-term plans and what makes the most sense,” he says. 

Meanwhile, two Traverse City natives will both make national television appearances on separate shows debuting on Tuesday, November 7. Thirty-one-year-old Dan Farrier, who graduated from Traverse City Central High School in 2004, is one of eight contestants who will compete on CMT’s hit reality fitness competition show Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, airing at 10pm.

Billed as “the toughest competition series on television,” the show hosted by WWE star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin pits athletes, power lifters, MMA fighters and other physically elite individuals against each other in a series of grueling physical challenges and obstacle courses. The last contestant standing has an opportunity to run Austin’s “Skullbuster” course for a chance to win $10,000.

“This is what I do for a living, so I thought I had a pretty good shot at it,” says Farrier, talking to The Ticker by phone from San Francisco, where he currently lives and owns a cross-training and obstacle course race training facility called Hawc Gym. “But it was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done – and I’ve been in the military. The filming was last August in southern California, so it’s 110 degrees and you’re competing all day against the elements, against other competitors and against yourself. It combines everything from strength to endurance and incorporates it into these primal challenges that bring out every ounce of energy in the competitors.”

While Farrier can’t discuss the outcome of the show until it airs, he notes his episode had a special military theme featuring all ex-military competitors who had the opportunity to win cash prizes for charity throughout different challenges in addition to the show’s main cash prize. “It was a great physical and mental challenge, and a great learning experience,” he says of taping the show.

Also on November 7, a new season of the History Channel’s The Curse of Oak Island will debut at 9pm. The adventure reality series stars Traverse City resident Marty Lagina – founder of Mari Vineyards and Heritage Wind Energy – and his brother Rick Lagina as they hunt for treasure on Oak Island off the coast of Nova Scotia.

According to the History Channel, in this season the brothers “welcome new researchers and special guests, forge new alliances and explore new, intriguing theories. Nothing will stop them from finding out what could be buried on Oak Island, who concealed it there and where 'X’ marks the spot.” The description continues: “Will Rick, Marty and their partners unearth a vast, hidden treasure? Or like the many who have come before them, will they only find more obstacles–or worse—proof that a deadly curse really does protect Oak Island’s secrets?”

This is the fifth season of The Curse of Oak Island, which averages 5.4 million viewers per episode and is the History Channel’s No. 1 series in key demographics, according to Nielson.

Pictured: The cast and crew of Thaw of the Dead. Photo credit: Nikki Kleinrichert.