Condensing it...

It's really hard to think of condensing this project into a 2.5 minute trailer. What is the film's essence? How can I convey it in a flash?

If you were in the theater watching trailers before the latest Indie Blockbuster, what could I show you that would make you put this movie on your "definitely to do" list? How could I fan your flame so that you couldn't wait to tell all of your friends about it?

That's where I am right now. I have so much research under my belt, I've talked with and filmed so many people and have such amazing footage from various sources that it's time to seriously think about crafting a trailer for the film. It's always the toughest part for me to do...

I also continue to noodle with a title. "Elephants in Rhode Island" is fine, but other possibilities are "Hunting Elephants in Rhode Island", "The Saga of Elephants in Rhode Island", "Elephants in Rhode Island, a Love Story".

Feel free to make suggestions or comment...

Circus Surprise

OK. I have been avoiding any real confrontation with circus elephants. I, after all, am not a tough activist. I generally melt in the face of adversity. And I collapse in the face of animal misuse. But the Cole Bros. Circus came to town, and they had elephants.

Like a sleepwalker, I drove into the parking lot where the big top was begin set up and asked if they did, indeed, have elephants in their entourage. "Please, god, please," I prayed. "Don't let there be any elephants. Let me leave happy."

"Sure we do, honey," said the lady at the ticket booth.

"I'd love to take pictures of them," I said.

"Go around back and ask for Louie."

My feet were lead. What would I do if there were scars, blood, or fractures? But I headed back to Louie land and suddenly saw three huge black elephants standing in a pen, being fed hay by a hefty guy. They didn't have chains or bracelets on. Breathe. I tapped Louie on the shoulder.

"I know this sounds nuts, " I announced. "But I'm making a documentary about elephants in RI and would love to take some pictures. And..." (I gave my most winning smile.) "I've never even touched an elephant. Would it be possible to pet one of them?" Breathe.

"Sure," he said. Just give me a minute to get this hay under cover."

For the next half hour we talked about elephants- his elephants, circus elephants. It turns out that he's from an elephant handling family and they keep their charges on a 400 acre ranch (The Endangered Ark http://www.endangeredarkfoundation.com/index.html) for the six months a year they're not on the road. They aren't chained there. They roam, swim, and graze and socialize the whole time. As a matter of fact, when they're on the road, he said, the only time they're in a truck is when they are actually moving. Louie takes them swimming and grazing as often as he can. They had spent part of that very AM, as a matter of fact, browsing the hedges on the perimeter of the property where they were.

Could this be true? Could this be a humane circus animal trainer, or had he just learned the right words to assuage my fears? He did get some elephant facts wrong, but... "I wish they could stay on the ranch all year," he confided. "But it's expensive and they do have to earn a living." Breathe.

We made an appointment for Louie to talk on camera and I showed up promptly at 10AM on Sunday. Louie was at the chiropractor's. I talked with his assistant, who had joined the circus a month before. "I'm so happy," he said. "I love these animals the best of any in the circus. I want to do this for the rest of my life."

Louie joined us. We shot about 1/2 hour of him telling about his and the elephants' life. He even has a facebook page called Vanishing Giants. We talked about the fact that more and more places are banning animal circuses and what that means to him and his elephants.

While we were setting up two women arrived. One of them has terminal cancer and had come to help Louie feed and clean his charges. She had told him the night before that it was her one dream- to help care for an elephant before it was too late for her.

I may be a sap, and I may be hoping for too much. But I am also hoping that, in fact, this experience was for real. I have no reason to think it was a setup. Or maybe that where elephants are concerned, it is possible that good things do happen.

Raw Love

After a trip to Spain and several other diversions, I came back full force last week, with my faithful camera guy Ray, to shoot a couple of players in the "Fanny in Pawtucket" story.

Bill Mulholland was the head of the zoo during the Fanny imbroglio. Aaron Wishnevsky was one of Fanny's greatest fans and was active in getting her into the Black Beauty Ranch instead of a theme park/sanctuary in California.

It was obvious that Aaron and his late wife Pat were some of Fanny's greatest supporters. They visited her regularly during her 35 year stay at Slater Park and then a few times once she moved to Texas. Aaron was on her relocation committee. Marine World Africa USA, which was recommended by Loretta Swit was the front runner for her disposition. But no one had seen it. Aaron and Pat flew out to the site and were discouraged by what they saw. "It was like a zoo," he said. "Our Fanny would have to perform and be chained to a bunch of other elephants while she was there. It just wouldn't work." So he flew to TX and drove a couple of hours to Murchison after landing in Dallas for a site visit. What he saw lifted the clouds. "The animals could roam there. They had huge pens for the elephants (There was only one at that point.) and she'd be outside wandering around and swimming and grazing all the time." When he got back to Pawtucket, he convinced the council that there was no contest for her new home.

Bill Mulholland said he was frustrated due to lack of funds and commitment. He had repeatedly proposed plans to upgrade the zoo, but they always became stalled. It didn't help that the city's mayor was under indictment for corruption. "The City was at a standstill," he said. "No matter what we wanted to do, we were stymied. And things were at a crisis point."

While we were at the office, Cindy, the clerk, said that she remembered that when Fanny died in 2003, callers flooded the phones immediately. "They were all devastated," she said. So we shot her, too. And once again, came up with the same conclusions. Pawtucketers loved their elephant. When Aaron referred to her, he always used the term, "Our Sweetheart."

This emotion is raw. It's real. It's unbelievably powerful. People, when they speak of that time, don't focus on their hostility toward their opponents. They focus on their love for Fanny. It can change your life.