kansas

Hello! It’s been awhile! I didn’t mean to take such a long hiatus. I’ve had plenty of projects and things to share, but just plain got too busy to compose any posts. But this is BIG NEWS! The movie I worked on 2 summers ago has now been released! My last post was about working on the movie (my first time ever working on a movie); and the filming being abruptly put on hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strike of July 2023. All movies in progress that involved SAG–Screen Actors Guild members were ordered to stop. Thankfully, soon after the strike started, this movie got permission to resume filming; and with some adjustments, completed the filming on schedule.

So yeah, the movie has now been released, and it is getting a great early response! Here’s the trailer:

THE MOVIE CAST is loaded with awesome, talented actors, some that you’ve no doubt seen or heard of. Here’s a partial listing of the Top Cast from IMDB, and below it I’ve listed some shows they have starred in that might sound familiar to you:

Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure, Urban Cowboy, No Country For Old Men), Bailey Chase (Longmire, Homestead), Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke), Mary Beth McDonough (The Waltons), Darby Hinton (Daniel Boone), Rudy Ramos (High Chaparral, Yellowstone), Additionally, Western musician RW Hampton was in the cast.

THE STORY is based on the beloved memoir of a Kansas homesteading family in the late 1800s. I read the book more than 15 years ago, and loved it. I was thrilled when I learned it would be made into a movie, and then couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to be invited to assist with costumes. Click on either of the book images to be taken to the book on Amazon. The one on the left is the paperback; the right is the Kindle version.

Paperback version: https://amzn.to/4jNdPxG

THE MOVIE PREMIERE was held back on March 28, in Wichita, KS, to a packed house, with a line down the street to get in. Then it started a nationwide theater run on April 18. It is still showing in a few select theaters. Next comes streaming, I’m told. It comes up in a search of streaming sites, but no availability date is given yet.

The movie website: https://sodandstubble.com/

IMDB page (gives it a 8.4/10 rating): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22465610/

The famous cast members I listed above are only a handful of the sheer army of professionals who worked on this movie. And I do mean professionals; talented and accomplished in their respective fields. Many are local or regionally known celebrities, and many are ‘unknown’ experts in their field. It was a large, complicated coordination effort. It was a privilege to work among them, and see up close how all of the moving parts come together.

Below is my series of posts about working on the movie. It doesn’t seem like it was 2 years ago. I hope I’ll get the chance to work on another one someday.

Hold on; Things are on hold

Happy Independence Day; and some views of filming day

Movie Gig Update–Filming is underway

Newest member of the family

A Summer Gig!

Please allow me to extend Black History Month by a week, to tell about this unique and special place, the town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Nicodemus is the “only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the American Civil War.” (Per Wikipedia)

The National Park Service has a page telling the history of Nicodemus: https://www.nps.gov/articles/nicodemus.htm Here’s an excerpt from their page:

The small town of Nicodemus, Kansas sits quietly on the northwest Kansas plains. Founded by newly freed slaves in 1877, Nicodemus was a refuge from the Reconstruction-era South, a reflection of a mass black migration from the South to the Midwest after the Civil War. Nicodemus was the first black community west of the Mississippi River and is the only predominantly black community west of the Mississippi that remains a living community today. An all-black outpost on the frontier, this “unsettled” land offered a chance for black farmers and their families to start anew. Today, a few people and buildings remain from the original township, a testament to the resolve of the people of Nicodemus to build a new life on the prairie. Between the end of the Civil War and the 1880s, many courageous black settlers sought better lives, better land, and better opportunities in the heartland.

When the railroad was built, it didn’t pass through Nicodemus. The interstate highway system doesn’t pass through the town. The challenges getting to and from the town, and the Dust Bowl and other conditions in the region made it hard for the town and citizens to thrive. As the end of the 20th century approached, the town was down to just a handful of residents, and the buildings were badly deteriorating. There was concern that the town might literally disappear. The National Park Service brought it into their system. It’s now a National Historic Landmark and Site.

Nicodemus is a more thriving site now, with the NPS resources behind the ongoing restoration projects. They hold cultural events. Nicodemus has a great, active Facebook page, where they regularly post historical facts and photos of their town and related events and places. Here’s a post from today:

On my visit to Nicodemus several years ago, while I was speaking to the Park Ranger at the Visitor’s Center, a young adult black woman arrived, almost out of breath. She was attending a professional conference in Denver, and saw it as her chance to visit Nicodemus. She had rented a car and made the 5-hour two-lane highway drive to get there. I got emotional seeing her emotion; and I still get tears in my eyes remembering it. Like I said at the start, it’s a special place.

Television portrayal:

The town of Nicodemus was featured in two episodes of ‘Quick Draw’, a Hulu original comedy series set in Kansas. The filming of the series did not actually take place in Kansas unfortunately, but I still enjoyed the ‘Kansas feel’ to the series. The two Nicodemus episodes are probably my favorites of the series. I’m thrilled that they featured the town. Here’s a clip:

Here’s the series page on Hulu’s site. https://www.hulu.com/series/quick-draw-f15643e4-501e-44da-ac26-bbb3024bf9b1

Nicodemus on the web:

Nicodemus website (NPS): https://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicodemus,_Kansas
Nicodemus Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NicodemusNPS

Getting to Nicodemus (It’s not on the interstate, or near any metropolis.):

Below are driving directions from airports in the region (Denver, Wichita, Omaha, and Kansas City), and from the Brown vs. Board of Education site in Topeka. Note: The Visitor’s Center is currently closed for the Covid-19 pandemic.