Director’s Cut Radio: Q&A With Steven Faulkner And Bob Cicchini

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What happens when a father and son decide to recreate 1,000 miles of Marquette and Joliet’s famous expedition from Upper Michigan to St. Louis?

That’s what Steven Faulkner wanted to know. He and his son actually did it, and then he wrote a book about it. Actor and director Bob Cicchini bought the movie rights, and the result is 2012’s “Waterwalk”, shot on location in many parts of Wisconsin.

Terry Bell: I’m watching the movie, and I’m watching the actors on this canoe on Lake Michigan, looking like a bathtub toy in the middle of the ocean. Steven, you don’t have a lot of canoeing experience yourself, so what made you decide to do this? And Bob, you as a filmmaker, with an independent film with a low budget, you’ve got a lot of limitations, yet you take on this incredible technical feat.

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Steven Faulkner: Well, I think it was probably kind of stupid of us. I think I’d accumulated six hours’ experience in a canoe, and then next we knew we were on Lake Michigan. And I wouldn’t recommend that to the average father and son. And it did just about kill us a few times. So yeah, that was probably overly ambitious.

Robert Cicchini: This is a very ambitious project for any filmmaker, even if you have several million dollars to work with. And this was a very low-budget production. And so we had a lot of inherent challenges right there. Everything you see Steven and Justin do in the movie, Chase Maser [Cicchini’s co-star] and I were actually doing. We didn’t have stunt men. I don’t think I’ve ever worked on a project that was as physically arduous as this one.

TB: Not only was it shot in the Midwest, you also drew upon a lot of talent from the Midwest, including Mary McDonald Kerr, who people from Milwaukee would probably recognize.

RC: Yes. It was very imperative for Roger Rapoport, our producer and co-screenwriter, to make this a Midwestern grown and raised project. It was very important to him. So we had to embark on a journey of finding really good actors in the Midwest, and luckily we came upon the Milwaukee [Repertory Theatre] – a whole bunch of terrific actors. So we were grateful for that.

TB: Doing an adaptation also presents its challenges. What got changed, and what sorts of discussions happened as far as making those changes?

SF: I knew that once Hollywood picks up a film, they’re going to make changes. I didn’t have veto power, and I knew that. But I think they kept the heart of the story there. It’s a father-son story, it’s an adventure story, it’s out in the wilderness. All those elements were very much there. So I ended up being very pleased.

You can see more of Steven Faulkner, Robert Cicchini, and “Waterwalk” tomorrow night, April 26 at 10:00 p.m. on “Director’s Cut” on Wisconsin Public Television.

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