GETTING WHAT YOU GIVE IN “CALICO”

John Michaels
Jul 22, 2017 · 4 min read

Whether you believe in Karma or not, it is a favored theme of artistic individuals. Songwriters, Playwrights, and filmmakers almost universally subscribe to the idea “Do bad things and bad things will happen to you.” Most of us can acquiesce to this idea as it seems to follow the Golden Rule idea found in most ideologies and religions of the world. Zheng Huang is a filmmaker who quickly agrees, although he sees it as a Chinese idea. The producer states, “This theme is a very historical theme of China. My family taught me from time to time the importance of this. When Phil Masters approached me about producing a film based on this ‘natural law’ he said that he grew up hearing the exact same thing from his family. He had a great script that was somewhat open but really had the overall theme. I was on board immediately!” Producer and director created “Calico”, a tense and dark movie which conveys the idea that we are responsible for our own actions, even if they are inspired by moments of passion and duress. Filmed in the same setting as so many famous productions, LA’s Griffith Park, “Calico” was not without its challenges but luckily had Huang there to bring his talent and positivity. Some of the challenges which he overcame for the film might be proof that he is right, what you put out into the world is likely what you’ll get back from it.

“Calico” is the story of Mike, his cohorts, greed, revenge, and the price that these ills extract from us and those around us. The characters in the film pay the ultimate price for thinking of themselves rather than the greater good. This is the inverse relationship that Huang shares with filmmakers Phil Masters and Mimi Masters whom he has worked with several times. The cooperative mentality that the trio exhibits has resulted in a number of productions receiving critical and public accolades.

In the independent film world, professionals like Zheng are most often attracted to the experience of differing opportunities. The enchantment “Calico” held for this producer was the ability to work on a film that literally used film, a rarity these days. Shot on 35mm, the productions potential mishaps and need for increased preproduction planning are the exact factors that drew Huang into accepting the position on the film. The Masters duo and Zheng had absolutely no experience with actual film, a fact which all of them felt called for remedying immediately. “Calico” exteriors (primarily those filmed in Griffith) would provide the filmmakers the ability to stand exactly where so many other greats had stood and utilize the same approach (for example, as director Nicholas Ray and producer David Weisbart did in 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean and Natalie Wood). It gave them the feeling of a greater insight and connection to the tradition of Hollywood’s greats.

The visuals of “Calico” truly pay respect to the great vistas of Hollywood classics, especially those in the familiar setting of Griffith Park. As with the aforementioned idea of Karma, none of this is without a price. The environment is hot in the day and cold at night. LA traffic and the location itself add to Huang’s work as he navigated cast and crew to the site. The widely held view of a producer sitting in an office somewhere directing remotely is far from the way Zheng conducts himself when working on a film. He’s much more MacGyver than Max Bialystock. As evidence, when the productions lights went down during a location night shoot, Huang did some quick thinking. The film’s director comments, “Here we were, using 35mm film at night and the lights break. We were hemorrhaging money from our budget with every minute that went by. Without so much as a sign of stress in his demeanor, Zheng instructed some of the crew members to move cars around the set and we shot by headlight. It wasn’t in the plan and it wouldn’t have been my first choice but we were at an impasse and improvisation was called for. Besides all of the talent and ideas that Zheng brings to every production he is a part of, I think perhaps the most important is that he always seems to have his head on straight when everyone around him is losing theirs. It’s an incredibly important characteristic for a producer to have in this line of work.” When asked about the source of this ability and his possession of it, Huang concedes, “It’s just part of who I am. I think I am a naturally calm person but also, through my experience as a producer I have learned that getting upset and frustrated doesn’t serve any purpose. It doesn’t help me and it certainly doesn’t help those I am working with. Every film is going to have problems, that’s the nature of the business. Rather than operate under the idea that I’m going to avoid difficulties, I embrace the problem solving aspect of a production. The types of individuals who enjoy finding solutions are the types of people who become producers…at least the successful ones. Beyond that, it’s just thrilling to work alongside other creative types and have your input listened to and very often accepted into the process. Every time I see something I suggested make it into a film I get excited. I want to hang onto that feeling forever.” With films that have been recognized worldwide at numerous film festivals (including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival) producer Zheng Huang proves that the excitement he feels is transmitted to the film community. This level headed producer creates some mind blowing films.

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