by John Waters

An Austin-based group of filmmakers is planning on shooting an action thriller later this month in South Brewster County. The film Big Bend Movie, will be the directorial debut for filmmaker and producer Robert Stewart, who has been in the business for 20 years.

The film plots the course of a terrorist who enters the United States across the Rio Grande. The intent of the film is to raise public awareness of border security – as such, the film is scheduled for release in early October, just before the November elections.

In a written statement, Robert Stewart espoused his goal: “The troubling situation at the borders of the United States has many components: Economic, Cultural, Racial, National Sovereignty and Homeland Security. Foes of a strong border policy use these and other issues to distract and sway the citizens of this country for their own political benefit – and endanger the safety and security of ALL Americans while doing so. Can you help us shape the result of this years election to make America safer. Can you help us show the American people what could, and probably WILL happen, to our nation if we continue to ignore this danger?

‘I hope so. I hope you will review our website and decide that if your elected officials will not send the National Guard and every possible available law enforcement officer nearby, to the borders – until such time as proper security measures can be installed – that we will shout to any and all citizens of this country, ‘Alert We are in Danger!’ And then the politicians can deal with the political fallout of our effort…before we have to deal with ‘fallout’ of a different kind.”

The film’s website solicits monetary donations towards the film.

Big Bend Movie’s storyline is this: a Chechen terrorist intent on detonating a “suitcase” Nuclear Weapon enters the United States in Big Bend National Park. When the terrorist encounters a group of campers he murders them. The murder is witnessed by a kayaker from a group upstream. The terrorist later kills several of the kayakers. A park ranger who responds to the scene is also killed.

“The Terrorist now commits himself to an all-out assault on the remaining campers,” wrote Stewart and his borther, who wrote the synopsis. “He marches his hostages into the darkness…. One by one the campers begin to die in a running gun battle they are not equipped for or train to survive.”

The terrorist is carrying a suitcase nuclear weapon whose timer has been set to detonate in several hours, and he does not have the codes to disarm the bomb.

The synopsis does not reveal the film’s ending but leaves off with the terrorist being ordered to return to Mexico after being contacted by his handlers via satellite phone. Due to resistance from citizens, the terrorist is ordered to abort his mission, and receive codes to disarm the bomb upon his return to Mexico. If he is killed before he receives the disarm codes the nuclear bomb will go off.

Far fetched? Maybe not. The respected nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations, for example, believes there are numerous links between Chechen terrorists, and al Qaeda.

But why the Big Bend? Border insecurity, say the filmmakers.

Usually, filmmakers are met with open arms in the Big Bend, but given the darkness of this film’s plot, this is not the case. Some residents are threatening a boycott of services to the film. None of the potential boycotters were willing to be quoted in this article.

In a telephone interview with director Robert Stewart, Stewart rebuffed any controversy surrounding the film, and claimed that when Stephen Spielberg went to Martha’s Vineyard to shoot Jaws, local residents were outraged at the potential negative economic effects would have on the tourism based economy, yet today celebrate the fame the film brought to the island.

“Today Martha’s Vineyard embraces the filming of Jaws. The film put Martha’s Vineyard on the map. Every year they trot out a fake great white shark, and now they have an annual festival celebrating what the filming did in a positive way for the economy,” said Stewart.

Not exactly, according to Gary Cogley, Executive Director of the Martha Vineyard Chamber of Commerce. “Well, yes, the film had a very, very, positive effect on the economy. The production companies filled up the hotels, people bought things, it gave a huge boost to the economy, but you’re talking about different things. Jaws was based on a best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, and was a major studio production. The film did have a positive effect on the economy. But given the nature of the plot involved for you, they are not similar, not at all. I would say do it on a back lot somewhere.” And, Cogley mentioned, the JawsFest is held only every 5 years.

Mike Boren, Executive Director of the Big Bend Natural History Association, commented on Big Bend Movie by saying, “I would hate to see something that would have a negative impact on visitation. I hope he does it in a way that will not negatively impact us. I also vigorously support his rights to free speech and expression, as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

A written statement from Sarah Bourbon, President of the Big Bend Chamber of Commerce, read: “Big Bend is a beautiful place. That’s why people flock here to vacation and why so many movies have been shot here. Some have been major films – Giant, Willie Nelson’s Barbarosa, Kevin Costner’s Fandango, parts of Spy Kids II, and many, many more.  Some have been smaller fare.

‘The production of movies, large and small, benefits the Big Bend business community and many of its citizens. Since we don’t have a movie theater, sometimes we don’t even get to see these films, so we can’t always say if we individually like the finished product or not.

‘Big Bend has always appealed to artists and loners, contrarians and eccentrics. We value our freedoms, particularly freedom of speech, very highly.”

In defending his project, Steward said, “I can understand the fear; I love and respect the beauty of the geography of the Big Bend. We want to be here because of the beauty, and tell a horror story set among the grandeur.

‘I don’t think the film will bring bad [public relations] to the region. The border can’t get any worse press than what’s on CNN and Fox. I think we will expose an audience to the region and bring tourism here for the landscape.

‘I think people will see the film and want to come to the Big Bend. I’m not going to be a D.F. Griffith of the 21st Century and do a Birth of A Nation.” (The 1915 classic is a controversial and explicitly racist, yet critically-acclaimed film that originally was released under the title “The Clansman.”)

Big Bend Movie is produced by Robert Stewart, with Co-Producer Christian Cisneros, and industry veteran Steve Wolf as Director of Special Effects. Stewart said the film has a budget of only about $1 million, but even with low budget techniques, will “look like a $10 million film.”

The film will be hiring extras. The filmmakers can be contacted through their website: www.bigbendmovie.com.

At press time the film had not yet obtained necessary permits for filming from Big Bend National Park.