Even in the most frigid weather, the Wisconsin North Woods’ boreal forests and wilderness rivers have production appeal ? at least to the producers of the indie psychological thriller, “Project Solitude,” starring Eric Roberts.
“It will be a challenge,” acknowledges “Solitude” producer, L.A.-based Susan Moses, an Appleton native, of their entire wintery outdoors shoot starting next week and wrapping Dec. 23.
“Project Solitude” is a co-production of Tom Hillery’s Nevada-based Starlight Productions and Jay Schillinger’s Pulse Studios of Green Bay. Hillery’s co-writer, Rustam Branaman, is making his directorial debut.
Roberts plays a college professor who conducts a scary sociological experiment with seven subjects in extreme winter in the North Woods, Moses relates.
The “Project Solitude” story was originally set in a remote place in a warm weather location. The producers had hoped the project would be organized before winter set in. “When it wasn’t, we decided not to put it on hold until spring and go forward.
“We revised the script so we could actually play on the extreme weather and make it a part of the challenges of ?the Island Eight,’ the name for Eric and his seven subjects.”
A few weeks after the decision to go forward was made, the locations were selected and crew secured. “I knew Jay Schillinger and we had an opportunity to put a co-production- joint venture together with Pulse Studios,” says Moses, who specializes in producing low-budget movies.
