Menu
Mullis amazed at community support for debut film project
Anthony Mullis is familiar with the support of the Putnam County community.
As a longtime local singer-songwriter, he’s seen it in the local following he’s gained performing both under his real name and stage persona Gus Moon.
But if local audiences don’t think they’ve heard as much from Anthony/Gus in recent years, ther is a reason for that. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of live performances on hold, but more recently, Mullis is working on different sort of creative outlet.
By summer’s end, Mullis hopes he’ll be introducing the world to “Bulldoser,” a feature-length film he wrote and directed as well as the very first film released by his Painted Moon Film Co.
“Bulldoser” tells the story of Dig Murton (played by Jonas Vance), whom Mullis describes as “a volatile, veteran bulldozer operator who becomes friends with a much younger female drifter.” The drifter, Amelia Tatum, is played by DePauw student Tatum Cox.
“It’s just about a man locked in his past,” Mullis said. “I’m trying to make it a very simple story.”
For the record, “bulldoser” is the Filipino spelling of the word, so it is no typo.
No one should take this for a solo project, as Mullis knows full well the importance of community in helping this fledgling film company get to its feet.
“When I wrote it, I thought, ‘I’m going to try and do this because I can do this all locally,’” Mullis said. “You spend this long in a community and you realize people care. This would never be able to be done without the community.”
Part of this was just getting the right equipment to film a movie set in the late 1980s. While Mullis and wife Abby Prather Mullis own a small hobby farm in Monroe Township (Painted Moon Farm, in fact), they don’t possess the heavy equipment or vintage vehicles needed for a movie set in the late 1980s.
Enter local farm Jeff Cantonwine, who has not only been generous enough to supply the bulldozer and pickup that Dig drives throughout the movie, but even to serve as a sort of stunt double when the scene calls for bulldozer movement that’s beyond the capacity of lead actor Jonas Vance.
At times, it’s even been a sort of happy accident the things Cantonwine has brought to the table.
“I wrote an old springhouse into the script before I ever even knew Jeff had one on his property,” Mullis said.
Cantonwine is far from the only person to whom Mullis feels indebted as the project moves forward.
There’s also Jesse Ader, who owns the house that Mullis ultimately turned into Dig’s residence. It had been the home of Ader’s parents before they passed and had sat vacant.
While it required extensive cleanup, Mullis found it perfect, not simply because it’s right across the field from his own place.
“It was like a time capsule from the ’60s and ’70s,” Mullis said. In other words, it’s perfect for a guy in the 1980s who was “locked in his past.”
Then there’s Caroline Good, of whom Mullis can’t seem to say enough good things.
“Two years ago when I wrote this, I wonder if I could get someone from DePauw involved,” Mullis said. “And now we got a freakin’ acting professor and coach to play in the movie.”
Good plays the role of Dig’s sister Shelly, but has also helped coach other actors as well as giving feedback on how Mullis is doing as he makes his way through writing and directing for the first time.
“I’ve never directed. I’m not going to push people too hard,” Mullis said. “So, Caroline, I’ve run a lot of things by her.
“The way I see it, this is film school for me,” he added later.
The university connections also include DePauw retiree (and fellow musician) Chris Wurster as well as Cox, who is current student.
And then there’s Vance, with whom Mullis worked years ago. Mullis is amazed at how his old friend is performing.
Anyone who knows Vance and his enthusiasm will not find much of it in Dig and his darker demeanor. Yet Mullis credits him for bringing new dimensions to the character that weren’t in the screenplay.
“It’s been an evolution,” Mullis said. “In my opinion, Jonas has made Dig more interesting. He’s shown a side that I didn’t know Dig had.”
And any list of helpers would be remiss without mentioning Abby, Anthony’s permanent partner in crime who has done makeup, sound and probably just about anything else needed for the production.
There’s also plenty more to do, including sound editing and the score, as well as extensive cuts to be made. Recently, Mullis said there was about 20 percent left to film and he already had 1:45 of edited footage.
He wants the final product to be a slim 1:30.
“There’s a reason the credits at the end of a film list a lot of people,” Mullis said.
He also makes no pretenses about winning an Oscar. Mullis is simply trying to build something from nothing.
“This will be a springboard for Painted Moon Film Co.,” Mullis said. “It’s not going to be a summer blockbuster. This movie, I hope it opens the door to the next.
“There has to be a first movie.”