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What is a Van Morrison Moment?
In 1984, I worked on a low-budget independent film in New Zealand called Shaker Run. I was a production assistant and traveled with the second unit crew to shoot b-roll footage not requiring the primary actors. One day we were filming drive-by car shots on the snowy roads of Mount Cargill. After a few hours in the frigid weather, it started to snow. We hustled to get the final shot and return to town before the roads became impassible. When the driver reversed the camera truck, he wedged the tires into a mound of snow. We were stuck.
The sun was setting and there were no other cars were in sight. I felt a sense of dread, wondering how we’d free the truck and return to civilization. That’s when one of the camera assistants, a Wellington denizen named Peter began laughing. “You know what’s happening here, don’t you gents,” he said. “This is a Van Morrison moment.”
Peter climbed into the truck and retrieved a large boom box. He inserted a Van Morrison CD called Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast and pressed play. The instrumental strains of “Into the Mystic” echoed against the mountains. He lit a joint and passed it among the crew. Within minutes we were all baked.
The truck headlights illuminated the falling snow. The engine hummed like a large cat. Miles below, streetlights and building marquees came to life as the small town of Dunedin…
