I had a cast, but where was I to shoot the film? I needed a small bar. Maybe I’ll just construct a bar on a studio lot. That should be cheap, right?! Wrong. No money for that. I have to find a real bar here in Boulder and probably shoot from closing time to opening time (about 2:00am – 8:00am). That sounds like fun (note the sarcasm!).
My son, Andrew, and I scoured Boulder for a bar that would fit the look and feel we had in mind. Tough work, I know, but we had to do it! We visited over 20 bars and restaurants in the Boulder area. They all turned us down... flatly. Then it hit me…
Mudrock’s Tap & Tavern, one of my favorite sports bars in the Boulder area, actually had two bars – a large, main bar inside the restaurant and a smaller “side bar” separated by a wall… and I even knew the owner. What was I thinking? I scheduled a meeting with “Harpo” and told him what we were up to with the film. We needed a bar for about 20 days and we had no money. He immediately agreed to let us use the side bar at Mudrock’s AND we could shoot during the day! What a break!!
Now we needed just a few other locations for half-day shoots. Karing Kind, Lefty’s Gourmet Pizza and Ice Cream, and the Sport Stable all jumped on board and loaned us their facilities. Lefty’s Pizza even had to shut down for a few hours during their busy time on a Saturday to allow us to shoot. These are all great people and great companies!
The Mudrock’s side bar was decorated with all kinds of major-brand beer signs and tap handles, and I didn’t have the right to use those brands in the film. So, Andrew and I visited six local microbreweries to see if they would “sponsor” the film by loaning us lit signs, tap handles, coasters, apparel, other merchandise, and beer of course. Again, we had no money to pay for any of these things, but they all agreed to help, including Oskar Blues, Bootstrap, Boulder Beer, Avery Brewing, Lone Tree Brewing, and Left Hand Brewing. To this day these are the only beers I drink!
So, within 60 days we had our locations and sponsors in place. What’s next? Props and wardrobe of course! We’ll talk about that next week.
Army & Coop was released on Apple iTunes and Amazon Video this month! Take a look. Tell me what you think.
You can also win "Free Beer for a Year" at: www.armyandcoop.com.