April 30, 2007
 
RUTHERFORD ON FILM: Random Ties Link 'Buddy' Film; Vanna White, White Castle Burgers Play Role
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Huntington, WV (HNN) – What do November 14, White Castle, and Coors have in common? Believe it or not, all of the dates and products had significant purpose in the making of “Two Tickets to Paradise,” a film about three buddies on their way to a national college championship battle at the Orange Bowl.
 
After acting roles ranging from Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Eight Men Out” to Michael Whitman in the series “Life As We Know It,” D.B. Sweeney decided he needed a role to showcase his talents. And, like numerous featured players looking for a good part, he had to don lots of hats and make it himself.
 
As a result, Sweeney wrote, produced, directed and starred in “Paradise” (originally titled “Dirt Nap”). For West Virginians , and especially Huntingtonians, the flick may have no meaning except for a connection to Marshall. Having been born on November 14, Sweeney has a special connection to the air crash that took the lives of 75 members of the 1970 football team, fans, coaches, and crew, but to the remarkable come back of MU as the team rose in the 90s to play for championships.
 
The university’s tie with Sweeney began about two years ago when in the words of Keith Spears, former vice president for communications and public relations, “I got a call from a filmmaker interested in including the Thundering Herd in a football genre film.” Admittedly, Spears thought this would be the “big call” from a well financed production company wanting to tell the story of the 1970 crash.
 
Spears told those gathered at the Appalachian Film Festival Awards Banquet that Sweeney said, “No , it’s not about that; it’s about three guys who drink a lot of beer.” MU tailgaters have attained that distinction, but Sweeney then had some explaining to do in order to obtain ‘permission’ to use the Herd in his proposed film.
 
“When I asked him why Marshall,” Spears recalled that “he was so enamored by what had happened at Marshall, at the comeback in the 80s and through the 90s, that he wanted to salute the Thundering Herd with a [fictional national championship] game at the Orange Bowl.”
 
At the time, Dan Angel was MU’s President and he had come from the Lone Star State. D.B.’s on-screen match between the Longhorns and the Herd gained support. When word went out for tailgating extras at San Diego’s Qualcom Stadium, the Herd Faithful answered the call scoring about 150 in green to the Texans 28.
 
Originally, Sweeney planned for the Herd to upset the Longhorns in the fictional game. But, Texas contractually had other ideas: You can not use our “logo” unless we win.
 
“I got in a fight with UT about the winner,” Sweeney told an audience during the Appalachian Film Festival at the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center. That created a dilemma for in the fiction script a reformed gambler finally hits a Vegas jackpot by betting on underdog MU.
 
“It was so important, I cut around it in the movie,” Sweeney explained, adding, “when he’s in the shop the newspaper says ‘Texas wins squeaker 33-30.’ It was a compromise.” That’s why “Paradise” does not show more game footage. “That would mean I would have to make MU lose, and I did not want that. There’s nothing wrong with Texas; it’s what’s right with Marshall.”
 
Actually, the filmmaker had to woo some MU alumni who showed up for the tailgate and in the stands footage to become Texas for the day. Spears remembers Sweeney politely asking, “Could we borrow some of your Marshall people,” meaning some Southern California alums consented to wear “dirty brown” for the scenes.
 
Prior to presenting Sweeney with the Governor’s Golden Appy for filmmaking (an engraved apple from Blenko glass), Spears praised Sweeney for “having a heart for the film” but his “integrity and durability. I saw him put up a Coors [product placement] banner, carry lights and camera equipment and gett out and patting you on the back to keep everyone happy in 115 degree weather.”
 
Marshall, incidentally, shares screen time with a televised game show queen --- Vanna White. A part of the script has the three dudes passing through her home town during their cross country odyssey. Sweeney had to secure White’s involvement to be part of the film.
 
“A friend of mine works for Sony Television, which produces ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ Sweeney explained. “I found out on the internet that Vanna likes White Castle Hamburgers, so when I got to meet her on the set of ‘Wheel,’ I brought her some White Castle hamburgers. She thought that was nice.”
 
Sweeney suspects the No. 1 letter turner may have been flattered by the script too. “She was 48 at the time . I think she liked the idea that three younger guys were saying how ‘hot’ she was.”
 
One of the more expensive portions of the production came from a soundtrack that features Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Bob Dylan and Huntington’s own American Miners. Unlike actors who often do favors for friends by working a day or two at ‘scale,’ Sweeney stressed that the music industry and rock musicians in general have a get out your checkbook attitude.
 
However, he secured a Springsteen song for a small sum thanks to a chance meeting with the singer in 1984 and their mutual interest in Bob Dylan. Later, he had to persuade Dire Strait to give him permission to after the fact use on of their hits. As a first time producer, Sweeney had already shot the scene --- without an alternative soundtrack --- so backstage passes and a little help from friends secured the rights.
 
During his acceptance speech in Rocco’s 21 of the Frederick, Sweeney told the audience, “I made this movie because increasingly in our world there are two Americas --- the American that the media want you to see and the hidden American. To me, the hidden America is the real America,” he said. Having visited every state except Montana and Idaho, Sweeney added, “It’s a great country and I like to drive around.”
 
Speaking from the center of the Keith Albee, Sweeney told attendees of the film festival, “I’d love to act in a theatre like this. It’s unbelievable.”
 
But Sweeney who borrowed bucks to produce “Two Ticket to Paradise,” needs to find a theatrical distributor for his “Wild Hog” – esque “road movie.” He’s had offers for a direct to DVD purchase, but still believes the film, which has garnered critical praise at numerous festivals, should play at the local multiplex.
 
While giving nine people their first opportunity to be in a movie, Sweeney offered practical budget advice to filmmakers. “It’s easier to make your budget small,” he explained. Using the banquet as an example, he hypothesized that you have a script with a boyfriend and a girlfriend eating out. “Make sure it needs to be at a banquet with 150 people because Starbucks would be a lot cheaper [to shoot].”