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A lot of waiting, punctuated by a laser of focused attention. Such is life on a film set.
The set is for the film Wasteland, which recently concluded production in South Brewster County. It features Terlingua and Study Butte's epic views and local haunts. Writer-director Hermes Cavagnini was drawn by the stark landscape of West Texas.
He's not alone. Our wild desert terrain can be seen in Giant, Paris Texas, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and most recently Boyhood, directed by Houston native Richard Linklater.
Wasteland is a contemporary western thriller which follows four outlaws and a female bounty hunter chasing each other along the Tex-Mex border.
Cavagnini explains, "I was looking for a lunar landscape. A desolated location to represent the aridity of the characters.Landscapes and locations had been the most important point in my decision, but not the only one. I met several people in Terlingua, and upon experiencing their artistic bent, decided this locale offered the poetry necessary to make the movie."
Catfish is one of those Terlingua characters. The only local cast member in a speaking role, Catfish also founded Terlingua's theater company Low Budget Productions in the 1970s. He chuckles, "I like that its a spaghetti western, directed by an Italian, in modern times. It happened to be shot right here in our neighborhood, and pretty inconspicuously."
Cavagnini aims to complete post production in time for the film festival circuit that begins in March. Wasteland just launched a crowd sourcing campaign on Indigogo to help raise funds for this final stage.
Jessica Lutz is a citizen reporter for KRTS, Marfa Public Radio.