April 2, 2014 at 11:25 a.m.
Local business plays a role in making of 'Noah' film
Local business plays a role in making of 'Noah' film
With high-tech special effects at its disposal, the movie may feel more like a fantasy epic than Christian history. The movie grossed just under $44 million in its opening weekend, making it the biggest debut in Crowe's career.
While Crowe almost surely couldn't pick out Rhinelander on a map, a Northwoods business played a role in the production of the blockbuster film.
Steve Ory of Pioneer Equipment Company in Rhinelander said his company's recent exposure on a popular television series may have opened doors for him in show business.
"I think how they found out about us is because we were on the series "Axe Men" a couple years ago," he said. "We were on that and my son and I were both on the show. Once they found out about us, they flew some of their special effects people here into Rhinelander."
The special effects team was charged with the task of creating an animal that could rip trees out of the ground and throw them high in the air. Ory said he had a piece of equipment that might fit the job.
"We have a piece of equipment called a Timber Pro and it's able to do that," Ory said. "It's big and strong enough to rip them right out of the ground and throw them into the air. Then what they did was animate a creature over the top of the machine."
Ory took the machine behind the store for a demonstration. After the special effects team saw the Timber Pro tear out a few trees and toss them in the air, they were convinced.
"Once the special effects people knew we could do it, we started negotiations with Paramount Pictures, which lasted a very long time," Ory said. "We negotiated for around a month and a half before we had a signed contract. Then we took our $500,000 machine, brand new, and we hauled it all the way out to Long Island, N. Y. It was an expensive trip because you have to get a number of permits to transport a heavy load like that so far."
Once the machine arrived on set, the studio contacted Ory again. They needed someone to operate the machine and thought one of his employees might be interested. That's where Hakan Berg stepped in. He made the trip out to Long Island to operate the machine. He said it was an experience he won't soon forget.
"It was interesting to be behind the scenes and see how they did everything," Berg said. "We were in a state park in Long Island. You can't cut trees in the park, so they had to bring their own trees, drill some holes, stick the trees in there, and then I'd tear them out again. The more destructive you were, the better off it looked. We did that for a few days and then I was in front of a blue screen for a half day so they could get the animation down."
Berg was a part of the crew and ate his meals in the same cafeteria as the film's stars.
"All the celebrities were there except for Anthony Hopkins," he said. "You see them around, but you don't really go up and talk to them or anything. There are hundreds of people working on the set and everyone is very busy. The days are very long."
Berg said he was surprised about what the schedule was really like while filming a movie. In fact, he found it anything but efficient.
"Noah" was directed by Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan," "Requiem for a Dream"), and Berg said he was prone to switching things up on a whim.
"It's lots of hurry up and wait," he said. "You have to be on standby all the time. The director changes his plan a lot. He tells the crew to prepare to shoot a certain scene in a certain place, so everyone rushes over there and prepares for two or three hours. Then the director sends word that he's changed his mind. That could happen two or three times before there's actually a shoot."
When Berg's work with the machine was done, they packed it up and brought it home to Rhinelander. Not long after, Ory sold the Timber Pro. He said participating in the making of a film is an experience he won't soon forget.
"It was unexpected and it was thrilling for a company in a small town like Rhinelander to get a call from Paramount Pictures asking for our help on a movie like 'Noah,' a movie we thought was going to be pretty popular," he said. "It was forecasted to be a blockbuster. It was pretty cool. I'm not going to lie, negotiating with Paramount Pictures was tough. They'll work you really hard. But it was a fun project and it was financially a success for us too."
This may not be the last brush with show business for Ory though. He said the experience was a positive one for all parties involved and could lead to future collaboration.
"Once you get in the system with the special effects people and Paramount Pictures, there's a good chance they'll want to work with you again on something like this," Ory said. "We are part of their database now and we've been told it's likely that they'll ask us to participate in similar projects in the future."
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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