2008 -- Oct 9 | Apr 27 | Mar 5 -- 2007 -- Dec 10 | Nov 20 | Nov 12 | Nov 3 | Oct 17 | Oct 3 | Sept 3 | Aug 11 | May 27 | Apr 29 | Apr 14 | Mar 11 | Feb 19 | Jan 27
2006 -- Dec 19 | Nov 26 | Nov 20 | Nov 11 | Nov 6 | Oct 30 | Oct 15 | Sept 23 | Sept 16 | Sept 4 | Aug 27 | Aug 20 | Aug 8 | Aug 1 | June 29 | June 21
Hi everyone,
The documentary is continuing to evolve as the year unfolds. Last month we drove down to Regina and filmed the Riders opening of camp, interviewed Ryan Whippler and Sheri Trapp (marketing gurus for the Riders) and the affable Jim Hopson (President and CEO of the Riders). We also filmed some of the Senior Bowl, the game was played at a very high level considering the boys hadn't played for months and interviewed two longtime fans ( a highlight for me). We chatted with Frank McCrystal and made plans to come down in the middle of August to interview him and to film the Rams as they prepare for the 2006 season.
A couple of weeks ago we filmed the spring camp of the Hague Panthers and met the three players we're going to follow in the fall. I think I'm going to love six-man football. Last week we filmed the opening day of the Holy Cross Crusaders spring camp. A week later we filmed coach Barry Rawlyk opening the weight room at 7 AM and filmed the boys working out and had preliminary interviews with three of the four guys we're going to follow this fall. On Monday, we drove out to Hague at 6:30 AM and filmed the town waking up. We then filmed the school busses arriving and filmed the morning rituals in coach Kirby's classroom (announcements and the Lord's Prayer). We interviewed the three gentlemen we're following this fall from the football team as well.
A good friend of mine, Kenny Byers, has an uncle from Winnipeg (Bob Antymniuk) who is a self-described Roughrider fanatic. We're hoping to include "Uncle Bob" and his family get together on the Labour Day weekend. They have some amazing activities planned and Bob exemplifies what it means to be a loyal Green and White fan.
We've contacted Brent Butts management team in Vancouver and are trying to secure an interview with him. Cory Wolfe (reporter for the Star Phoenix) has graciously volunteered to contact Kelly Hrudey on our behalf for an interview with the man behind the mask. We're also working on interviews with Wendell Clark and Catriona Lemay Doan. Ryan Whippler, the Riders marketing guru, has given us a major boost. Ryan has given us permission to film the half-time festivities on July 8th, marking the 40th anniversary of the Riders first Grey Cup.
All in all, the project is going amazingly well. I'm personally humbled by the generosity and accessibility of everyone from high school up to the Riders. So far we have in excess of 20 hours of quality footage and we've only just begun. Thank you for your support. I'd love to hear from any of you, if you feel compelled to write back. If you have any ideas for our project or leads for interesting people to interview please don't hesitate to let me know.
Regards,
Tom Simes
Five Stones Films