Stephen King story filmed in St. Marys

STEPHEN KING SHORT STORY COMES ALIVE IN FILM PRODUCED IN CAMDEN COUNTY


ST. MARYS, GA—Coastal Georgia Film Alliance announced the recent filming of "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands," in St. Marys, Georgia. The film is based upon a Stephen King short story that is part of King's Dollar Baby Films program. Filmmaker Brandon Herron also filmed parts of the story in Darien and Brunswick.

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" is from "Skeleton Crew," King's second collection of short fiction. When Herron discovered that King was inclined to sometimes give aspiring filmmakers rights to his short stories, he pursued the process and ended up with one year's non-commercial film rights to the story. Herron had previously produced a documentary, but never a narrative and wanted more than anything to have a film that could be seen at a film festival.

According to Herron, the story is told mostly through flashbacks to the early twentieth century. The "teller" relates his meeting of a man with a curse and the strange events that took place over a friendly poker game. The flashback sequences will be black and white while the modern scenes will be in color.

"I've been watching a lot of older black and white films," said Herron. "My biggest influence for the look of the film is Stanley Kubrick's 'Killer's Kiss.' It has a great shadowy, moody feel to it."

Herron said the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance made filming in St. Marys easy. "They provided me with a location that worked out great," he said. Herron also said that finding actors was never a challenge.

"I know a lot of Stephen King fans," Herron said. "Some of my actors even doubled as crew members."

Herron's goal for the film is to get it into film festivals. He plans to continue to make films, his life's passion. "I've fallen in love with filmmaking and I think a few of the cast members have as well," he said.

Coastal Georgia Film Alliance chair, Doug Vaught, said that projects like Herron's can bring a lot of notice to St. Marys and the surrounding area when it comes to the filmmaking community.

"The Film Alliance plans to include 'The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands' in an upcoming micro film fest to be held at Theatre by the Trax," Vaught said. "We are fortunate to be able to showcase local artists creating films like Herron's that are inspired by legends like Stephen King."

For more information about Coastal Georgia Film Alliance, visit www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org.