Hollywood coming to Centennial Park?

PLYMOUTH - Richardson Productions of Edwardsburg, Mich., will be shooting scenes of their epic parody, "The Dork of the Rings" along the river of Centennial Park on Sunday.

Director and Executive Producer Tim Richardson has been a filmmaker for 15 years. For this film, Richardson said they were looking for a location that would be large enough for a green screen in a semi-circle shape. The green screen is 12 feet high, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep and allows for more flexibility in shooting, he noted.

"Jim Hall, an actor in the film from Elkhart, suggested Centennial Park for a shoot. He took some footage of Centennial Park and showed it to me," Richardson said. "Then on Aug. 14, several of us made the trip to Plymouth to see how the park would work into the scenes we had."

Richardson noted that he liked the concentrated and relatively quiet area and immediately contacted the Plymouth Parks and Recreation Department.

"Three weeks ago, I contacted the park department and got the ball rolling," he said. "I then faxed all of the information and the Park Board approved our request, pending an approval by the city attorney."

"The Plymouth Parks Department has been very gracious," he said. "We're interested in promoting the park because we appreciate all of their help."

Richardson said that after finishing "Kill the Messenger," a full-length Civil War drama, he wanted to do something lighter.

"When the third 'Lord of the Rings' movie came out, we started thinking about doing a parody," Richardson said. "So in January 2004, three of us started writing the script. We had the first script reading in April and began casting in May."

In the film, Lardor Corp., run by the evil Mauron, threatens to take over Muddle-Earth with the expansion of its franchises. The ring represents the evil corporation, and the hero, Frudo Buggins, must take the One Ring of Boundless Credit to Bank Boom and close the account.

"It's a comedy. I encourage people to look at it as a parody of the movies as opposed to a parody of the books," Richardson said. "We think it will catch the eyes of the public because of the popularity of the movies."

To prepare for the film, Richardson studied each "Lord of the Rings" film to see how Peter Jackson filmed the scenes. Richardson said his 90-minute parody will incorporate elements from each movie in the trilogy.

"We want the shots that look nice and like the real thing, but we also want to have an element of humor," he said.

In a closed set, Richardson and 10 crew members will be filming sequences from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The shooting will include approximately 20 "Spork" characters and six to eight principal cast members.

"We will be shooting with the main characters in canoes on the river," he said. "In addition, we will shoot the battle sequences between the Spork army and the fellowship. Specifically, actors of the Spork army will be dressed in Samurai costumes, complete with armor."

Out of a 16-day shoot, five days of filming have already been completed, Richardson noted.

"With parodies, it's always neat to see the film come together as a final project," he said. "We will continue filming each weekend until the middle of November and we hope to have the film ready by next summer."

Richardson added that more sponsors are needed to keep the project going.

"Sponsors can help by providing resources, food or money. The best way to contact us is at dotr@rpstudios.net," he said.