The highlight of working on this film for me, was having Richard Gere touch me! No, not there... but an "excuse me" touch because I was in his way in the trailer!:) And that was my only thrill on the film! It has taken me a year to thaw out from this one, but seeing this movie in the theater last month, brought back a "flood" of freezing Mothman memories. And... yes ladies, he DOES look just as good in person!

This film was shot in various locations of western Pennsylvania, but mostly in a small town called Kittanning, about 50 minutes north of Pittsburgh. There's not much to do in Kittanning, so when Richard Gere and company set up shop there for over a month in 2001 - the town welcomed him with open arms! They stood outside his trailer, screaming, all hours of the night, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him as he stepped out of the makeup trailer and into his limo. I had never seen anything like it! I wasn't a huge Richard Gere fan before the film, but seeing him in person was a real treat -he looked PERFECT as he played Washington Post reporter, John Klein. he came complete with his own hairdresser, makeup artist (who were wonderful people), costumer, personal assistant, limo driver and body guard.

Getting a call to work on a major feature film is always exciting: big pay, good food, seeing your name in lights & working with principal actors are the perks. What's not exciting is working in the dead of winter, outside, at night, by the river, on an icy bridge! I can honestly say that I was never so cold in all of my life, thermal long johns, and three winter coats were not saving me from the brutal Mothman winter winds!

This movie is a real thriller, based on true events, that happened in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where the real Mothman, supposedly made his presence known and felt.

Also starring in the movie are Laura Linney (You Can Count On Me), who plays, the beautiful local police officer, Debra Messing (Will and Grace), who plays Mary, Gere's wife and resident weirdo, Will Patton, who is constantly haunted by the Mothman. All are under the direction of Mark Pellington (Arlington Road), an over-grown John Belushi look a like, who also makes his cameo in the film, as the big bartender. He's developed quite a reputation in the film industry for shooting his actors in extreme close ups and lots of darkness which really makes for a lot of scary scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the film. He would often play a spooky track from the movie (during filming) to get the actors into character. Look for more films from him in the near future as this was the first of a three picture deal for him from New Line Cinema.

The movie begins with John and Mary buying their first dream house, filmed in Shadyside, Pa. They were so happy that they decided to "break in " the closet with a little afternoon delight only to be busted by their obnoxious real estate agent - the first of many cheap thrills.. err scares, throughout the film. Upon leaving their new home, they go for a little thrill ride down a dark and windy road and that's when she sees it. Two red eyes come at her causing Mary to swerve and smack her head off of the windshield, giving her a concussion and landing her in the hospital. It was there that they discover a huge inoperable brain tumor and the lovely Mary soon dies, leaving John to wonder what caused her to have the accident in the first place. The only clues she left behind were eerie drawings of a huge black winged creature with red laser eyes. Two years later, John gets a call to go to Virginia and mysteriously ends up in Point Pleasant West Virginia, brought there by fate and a dose of bad turns. His car dies and he soon finds himself pleading for help on the doorstep of fellow West Virginian, Will Patton and his homely looking wife. Any minute you're wondering when the scenes from Deliverance are going to begin, but instead, Patton is so freaked out by the Mothman and is thoroughly convinced that Gere is out to get him. The local law shows up as Laura Linney. I'm sorry, but there is not a police officer in all of West Virginia that looks as good as her, sorry West Virginians, but she looked too perfect! This casting was so unbelievable (in my opinion) as I often found her good looks, and perfectly coiffed hair, distracting from the very convincing role she played. Patton, on the other hand, is scarily convincing in his role, so much so that he is what is described as a "character actor" who really "becomes" the character he is portraying. I couldn't even touch him on the day that his makeup artist got sick for fear that a new person would jinx his character... whatever!!!

Soon many trusted people in the town, begin "seeing" it, too and John is sucked into myth. He is haunted by terrifying visions of his dead wife and soon confronts the Mothman himself... over the telephone! The creature can read minds, predict disasters, imitate voices and even see through walls. Though we never quite see the Mothman, just knowing he is around the corner or at the door is scary enough for me. The only times we know when the Mothman has struck someone is ....their eyes - via the use of some pretty cool contact lenses, the Mothman supposedly burns the retinas of the eyes, leaving behind red burns. That's where the makeup dept. comes in, by using some new tattoos and custom made lenses, the actors looked really convincing.

Richard does his own investigating on why these things exist, but never quite finds out from paranormal professor, Dr. Leek, played by veteran actor, Alan Bates.

The highlight of the film is when the Mothman predicts the town bridge is going to collapse and kill over 300 people. Weeks of night filming in blizzard like conditions, made these scenes THE most difficult I have ever worked on. Hundreds of shivering extras hade to be dirtied and made to appear like they had just fallen into the river. Needless to say, they were not very happy campers at 4:00 in the morning when they had to be wet down, but hey, it's SHOWBIZ, right! Many stunt cars were used in this scene along with fake styrofoam pieces of the crumbling bridge. An actual bridge set was built in Pittsburgh to film the collapse and the actors falling into the river. I had the opportunity to work with Laura Linneys stunt double, who did a lot of her driving scenes and falls. Stunt doubles hair, makeup, height , weight & wardrobe all have to match the actor's or actresses exactly or the "stunt" won't work - they often shoot the wide scenes first by using the stunt double and then, cut to close-ups of the real actress and magically edit them together as one!

Hero Richard, saves the next Mothman victim, Laura from the freezing river and they live happily ever after! And the Mothman is never heard from again.

I loved this movie mostly because I worked on it and received a nice paycheck, and you will, too, but it did l leave me wondering a few things: like... is anyone really worthy of receiving a $15million dollar paycheck.... and where did the mothman disappear to after he left Point Pleasant, W. Va.?
Hmmmm........... I'm going to hope for Return of the Mothman, if only to help our struggling film community!

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older