Photo by Steven Glynn.

Made in Lansing:
An interview with Michael McCallum
By Rich Tupica

Rebel Pictures’ filmmaker Michael McCallum has shot scenes in a number of cities across Michigan – places like Grand Rapids, Detroit and Frankenmuth, but his string of indie films often feature a particular backdrop: Lansing – his home turf. In this interview McCallum reflects on his favorite Lansing scene (it involves tigers) and he also talks up his new short film, “A Sure Thing.” It was written by McCallum and his father/collaborator William C. McCallum. The gritty-noir tale was filmed entirely in Lansing and features performances by Cassie Little, Denis Link, Shawn Doolittle, Charles Dunn and Kelley Young. It was shot by Lansing-based photographer Kevin W. Fowler. “Sure Thing” premieres at the Waterfront Bar and Grille in Lansing on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. There will also be some live music from From Big Sur and a performance by local magician Samuel Pratt. This latest short will be featured on a compilation DVD alongside four other Rebel Pictures short films: “Shadowpuppet,” “Slow Burn,” “Memento Mori” and “Small Town Fireworks.” Here’s what McCallum had to say:


How would you describe “Sure Thing”?
“It’s a black and white noir crime drama. It’s got some dark comedic moments to it and some lighter comedic moments. I think there are some moments where people will chuckle, but it definitely has some dramatic tones to it. It’s basically about the main character I play – Johnny.”

How would you describe Johnny?
“He’s a compulsive gambler up to his neck in gambling debt and he has a day and a half to pay it off – it’s about what happens in that time. He’s getting the shit beaten out of him in the opening of the film. He’s being punched and it freeze frames and a little narration comes over it, it says, ‘Some guys don’t know when to shut up,’ then it goes back into real time. He gets knocked to the ground, spits some blood out and says, ‘I’m one of those guys.’ The guys beating him up are like, ‘5 o’clock tomorrow, we want the money!’ Johnny goes, ‘Tomorrow, 5 p.m. – five … that’s my lucky number.’

How did you find the time to do “Sure Thing” while also working on your upcoming feature, “Buffalo”?
Good question. Well, I’m single. This lifestyle definitely keeps me single. For me, I like creating and collaborating. We shot this short last August. I was actually sitting at the Waterfront Bar and Grille with my father – who has the starring role in ‘Buffalo’ – and we were eating and having a couple beers. We were in the process of editing and putting ‘Buffalo’ together. I said to him, ‘I know we should probably just take the rest of the summer off and just coast a bit, but I’d really like to put another short together before the end of the summer.’ I could feel him being a little hesitant, because he just knows the stress that I go through with it.

Did you have the script for “Sure Thing” at that point?
At that point I just had the opening sequence in my head, that’s how it started. Then my father and I just started kicking around ideas at Waterfront, which my father is wonderful at. Instead of treating it as a father and son thing, we act like collaborators – he won’t sugarcoat anything. I just made notes on a Styrofoam to-go box and wrote some bits of dialog down. Then I wrote out the screenplay, which happened to be about 10 or 12 pages. I put him as a co-writer on it and we started to get things together for it. We were shooting by August; we did it in an extremely short amount of time – in 35 hours over two days. It’s a 24-minute short. It was pretty crazy.

How did the limited time schedule affect the film?
“Most of my shoots that are done in really short time frames like that have a certain energy to them. It’s something you can’t put a finger on. It’s kind of a different film for me because it has an original score through the whole thing – local musician Jeff Starr did that. He’s a great guitarist. He came up with these little themes for different characters. It has a different vibe from any of my other films.”

Why did you choose Waterfront as the location for the premiere?
“I like to give that love back to the establishment. We do the feature films in the traditional setting at the theatre. With a theatrical setting, you have to rent it for two hours, so it’s just ridiculous to do that for a 24 minute film. So for my short premieres I’ll pick a venue or location that we shot one of the scenes in for the event.”

When will “Buffalo” be completed, do you have a release date?
“We’re going to end up doing a couple fundraisers for it, an in-person one and probably a Kickstarter, too. It’s really based on time and money right now. My editor gets a lot of work in the summer and he’s married and has kids. We’ll probably get back to working on that more in the fall.”

You use Lansing as a backdrop quite often in your films – what was the first scene you remember shooting in Lansing?
“That would probably go back to my second student film at Lansing Community College – it was shot in and around East Lansing. That was 1999, early on. A few of my other early short films were shot in Lansing, too. But, with Rebel Pictures, the first Lansing shoot would’ve been ‘Fairview St.’ The first scene for ‘Fairview St.’ was shot at a reformatory in Ionia – but the next scene was downtown Lansing by the old CATA station. We shot it all in sequence.”

What’s your favorite Lansing scene?
“I like some of the stuff we’ve done interior wise at some of the Lansing bars. It’s hard to pick one. How a place looks inside the camera is really important. We shot a scene by Rum Runners for ‘Sure Thing’ – and the street looked so different from how your naked eye sees it. One really memorable one was the Potter Park Zoo scene in ‘Fairview St.’ – we shot in the zoo by this tiger cage, it was meant to be symbolic of the character being caged, and these two detectives are following him. I had the camera constantly moving in the scene. It almost created this vortex, constant movement – he’s moving around the cops and they are moving around him and you see these tigers in the background. So that was a cool, different location.”

How do you choose which spots in Lansing you want to shoot at?
“It really depends on the story. It’s like casting. I love being able to take Lansing and manipulate it, move it like a ball of clay – it’s cool to hand select and create the world in that frame … the character could be downtown Lansing in a scene, but then turn a corner and be in East Lansing. It’s not meant to take place in Lansing or East Lansing. All of my films except ‘Buffalo’ have been a no-descript city. The place hasn’t been mentioned. ‘Buffalo’ was the first one where characters talk about Lansing and being in Lansing – I did that because I hadn’t done it before.”

Rebel Pictures' "Sure Thing" review
by Mary Cusack
August 24, 2013 at 6:18pm

"Sure Thing" Proves There's no Such Thing


“Sure Thing” is the latest film noir love letter to the medium, as well as to Lansing scenery and architecture, from Rebel Pictures.  Co-written by Rebel Pictures owner, actor and director Michael McCallum and his father/actor William C.McCallum, “Sure Thing” is a fairly formulaic tale of an unlucky loser putting the pedal to the metal, playing chicken with a brick wall.  What elevates the story beyond formula is the continuing high quality of Rebel Pictures’ production values.

As the film opens, compulsive gambler Johnny (Michael McCallum) is taking his taking his lumps, a 24-hour reminder that his marker has been called in.  He spends the next few hours taking sloppy action to fix his situation, while trying to preserve his relationship with dark-haired honey Angela (Cassie Little). Could there be irony in that name? Perhaps.  Johnny’s actions send him careening toward an inevitable showdown with the Boss (Denis Link).

One of McCallum’s strengths is in surrounding himself with talented cast and crew.  The stable of Rebel Pictures talent changes occasionally, but the quality remains consistently outstanding, elevating the production values beyond the stereotypical “local indie.”

For “Sure Thing,” two Rebel Pictures associates have taken on new titles and responsibilities. First is Kevin Fowler, local photog extraordinaire.  Fowler has shot stills for film and theater for years, and brings his keen eye to “Sure Thing” as its Director of Photography (DP).  Fowler is a master of light and composition, as evidenced by the crisp contrast and luscious texture she emphasizes.  In one stark scene, Johnny visits an ex-flame/bartender (Kelley Young) at what locals will recognize as the Waterfront Bar & Grill.  Fowler’s lighting creates such a lush contrast between her silken black hair and luminescent skin that one might believe she is an angel…although given the plotline, more likely a fallen than a guardian.

Also taking on new a role is frequent Rebel Pictures comedic foil Jeffry Wilson.  This time around,Wilson works behind the scenes as the key grip and boom operator, doing a bang-up job of recording on-set sound effects. At the end of his horrible day, Johnny comes home to his claustrophobic apartment,wearily emptying his pockets to take stock of his financial situation.  The sigh of a drawer being pulled, the clicks of a small money case being opened, the rustle of bills being counted…the nuanced noise of these almost still moments amplifies the growing resignation echoed on Johnny’s swollen face. 

True aficionados of subtlety will geek out to the sound of coins tinkling out of his pockets as Johnny flops down in defeat and exhaustion.  Chronic nappers can empathize with that moment, when one has to decide between getting back up and picking up the change or giving in to exhaustion, accepting that the coinage will end up stuck to one’s thighs or lost in cushions forever.  It is this level of detail upon which Rebel Pictures has built its reputation of quality.

Filling out the package is a perfectly-paced score by local guitarist Jeff Starr.  The bare-bones guitar and bass compositions keep contemplative moments from dragging; instead, the score heightens the mental action scenes going on behind Johnny's face.  McCallum knows how to maximize a dead-eyed stare, sighing deeply without exhaling a breath.

As a writer, McCallum is an expert at forging the kind of rogues and roustabouts that McCallum the actor can portray with ease.   As a director, he teases great performances out of non-actors.  This time around, the best layperson performance comes from Stober’s Bar co-owner Denis Link as the big bad Boss man, Mr. Chapel.  Their final scene together is short, but rife with such subtle (again with the subtlety!) bons mots that a second viewing is required to fully appreciate their banter.  Link will also be seen in Rebel Pictures’ upcoming feature “Buffalo.”

Then again, every aspect of the film requires a second viewing to full appreciate.   Lansing area residents will love seeing the places they know interpreted in such fine artistic form.  Film noir buffs might bristle at- but should instead get a kick out of- seeing two stereotypical henchmen poking away at their smart phones like teenage girls.  It’s this combination of gravitas and humor that makes “Sure Thing” a good thing.


Directed by
Michael McCallum

Written by
Michael McCallum and William C. McCallum

Director Of Photography
Kevin W. Fowler

Edited by
Jonathan Worful and Michael McCallum

Original Score
Jeff Starr

Songs by
From Big Sur, Big Willy, David John

Cast
Michael McCallum ("John"), Cassie Little ("Angela"), Denis Link ("Mr. Chapel"), Shawn Doolittle ("Stick"), Charles Dunn ("Knucklez"), Eddie Montemayor ("Street Hustler"), and Kelley Young ("Bartender").