NewEnglandFilm.com

This year, David Strathairn earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of crusading journalist Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney’s film Good Night and Good Luck. Strathairn gives an equally powerful performance in the New Hampshire independent film The Sensation of Sight. The movie is the result of the fledgling New Hampshire film production company, Either/Or Films.

Aaron Wiederspahn is a long-time writer who has had held various jobs in the music and film industries. In his travels, he met Buzz McLaughlin an experienced playwright and dramaturge (and author of the widely read The Playwright’s Process). Together they formed Either/Or Films. According to Either/Or’s website, the company’s mission is to, "create films that challenge, provoke, and feed the audience by offering stories of hope, redemption, and healing." Buzz McLaughlin further explains, "We are seeking to produce films that put people in the real world, people who are struggling or in trouble: these character-centered stories will take a protagonist on a journey to a place of ultimate healing and hope. We’re not necessarily looking to make feel-good movies, rather we want to tell stories that deal with the harsh realities of life."

Motivated by this artistic desire, McLaughlin and Wiederspahn selected their first film to produce. The script, The Sensation of Sight, was written by Wiederspahn and is his directorial debut. The movie is an off-beat drama about man’s search for meaning amidst the ache of despair. Finn, a middle-aged English teacher, enters a mid-life crisis impelled by a recent tragedy. He sets about a small town selling encyclopedias to locals. He makes a number of sales and has some strange encounters. Finn’s anxieties begin to consume him as he finds himself pursued by an unrelenting ghost. Circling through sleepless nights and desperate days, The Sensation of Sight intertwines lives of loneliness and disconnection, fatefully leading Finn toward an unexpected and sublime awakening.

McLaughlin and Wiederspahn wanted to film in a small town, the setting of the The Sensation of Sight. Wiederspahn, a New Hampshire resident, and McLaughlin, a frequent vacationer to the Granite State, knew exactly where they wanted to make their film. Wiederspahn notes, "Peterborough, New Hampshire had not only the look we wanted for the film but also the added benefit of being located in a state that has no sales tax. Many states offer tax incentives to lure productions to film within their borders, but New Hampshire has the greatest incentive of all, no sales tax on any goods!"

Having settled on their location in early 2004, Either/Or Films composed a business plan and set out to find investors. Through the New Hampshire Film Office, Widerspahn and McLaughlin met Mark Constance, the founder and director of a 713 Production. Constance is a veteran assistant director who’s worked on over 30 major productions including, Being John Malkovich, Charlie’s Angels, and Fever Pitch. Recently, Constance returned to his native New Hampshire in an effort to switch hats from assistant director to producer.

Constance immediately took to the script for The Sensation of Sight and came aboard as a producer. "Over the years, I’ve read countless scripts," Constance explains. "Many are predictable or try too hard to fit into some conception of what a film should be. The Sensation of Sight was different on so many levels. It leapt off the page as original, unpredictable, and inspiring, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the production." Constance helped the production to assemble a first-rate crew and served as the film’s production manager as they shot in October-November of 2005.

Attached to star in the film was David Strathairn. Strathairn is a veteran actor with a fine track record, having appeared in such films as Eight Men Out, Lone Star, and L.A. Confidential. Straithairn and McLaughlin had become acquainted with one another in the mid-1980s when McLaughlin founded The Playwright’s Theater of New Jersey. Straithairn lived one town over from McLaughlin’s theater and became an enthusiastic supporter and participant in the endeavor. The two fell out of touch for a while, but when McLaughlin first read The Sensation of Sight he knew his old friend Straithairn would be perfect for the lead role. After reading the script, Straithairn agreed and joined the production.

The Sensation of Sight is set to appear on the coattails of the enormous success of Good Night and Good Luck and Straithairn’s leading role in that movie. Though no less a film, the Sensation team can only benefit from the timing.

The Sensation of Sight is currently in post-production. In late February, the producers traveled to Los Angeles to finish sound editing, music composition, and color scheming. In addition, they will be meeting with publicists and marketing specialists who will help find distribution for the film as well promote the movie at major film festivals, including the pinnacle of the circuit — Cannes. The filmmakers anticipate a late-fall 2006 release.

Either/Or Films fully intends to keep making films in New Hampshire and New England. "Though we understand many roads in this business lead to Los Angeles," explains McLaughlin, "we don’t want to get sucked into the Hollywood system. We are determined to keep our headquarters in New Hampshire and to remain true to our vision of making independent films that are honest and reflect real life."

This past Oscar season the phrase "good night and good luck" may have seemed ubiquitous, but come this fall "the sensation of sight" might be the words New Englanders most closely associate with David Straithairn.