On the set of Minghags

About twenty years ago, I dated a girl whose younger brothers were best friends with two kids named Jess and Bam. Many years later I heard that Bam and his friends were filming various videos and a movie. One night when I was channel surfing, I found myself laughing so hard I literally fell off my bed while watching Jackass. I was immediately hooked. I was on a quest to watch everything these guys put out. My favorite was a brilliant film named Haggard. I love low budget films that are entertaining by their dialog and don’t rely on expensive actors and special effects to keep my interest. One such film is Clerks. I’ve watched Clerks probably twenty five times and it never gets old. I’ve watched Haggard almost as many times as Clerks. Haggard is truly one of the greatest films of all time.

While working at 1520AM WCHE in West Chester, many times I would get to see Bam and his crew filming scenes for Viva La Bam and Unholy Union along Gay Street. Being the super-fan I am I would tell them how awesome Haggard was and how much I enjoy their MTV shows. One afternoon I saw Brandon Dicamillo walking out of Fairman’s Skate Shop so I asked him if he would record a station I.D. for WCHE. He so graciously did and afterwards I told him how his mother is a fan of our radio show and how she calls in and I tell her how great her son is. Then I asked him if he would come on our show sometime. About a week later, Dico comes walking into the station along with Executive Producer Joseph Frantz. You have to try to understand what a major thrill this is for me. I’m now interviewing two of my favorite people involved in movies. To me it’s like being in the same room with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. The interview goes well and as they’re leaving I said, “If there’s anything you ever need, like a place to film a scene where the setting is a radio station or whatever, I’d love to help out”. A few weeks later they invite me and four of my friends to play the role of cameramen in Minghags and ask if they can use the radio station to hold some casting auditions. Now I’m hangin’ with Kevin and Jason… I mean Joe Frantz and Dico. During the audition, they ask me to read the part of a newscaster just for laughs. I have no trouble talking on the radio but when I speak in front people I suck. I’m holding the script in my hand that is shaking like I have Parkinson’s disease. There was a camera rolling so this may end up on the behind the scenes section of the Minghags DVD. The guys are so nice they tell me what a great job I did for not being an actor. When you see the movie, you’ll see why they choose the man they did for the newscaster. He was excellent.

So the day comes for the Minghags shoot that my four fellow cameramen friends, Mike, David X, Captain Obvious, Dave the Electrician and I are to be part of. We meet the crew at the Chester County Courthouse and it’s very professional. They have tons of great food and beverages on the set and everyone is so cool. The wardrobe department has us wear T-shirts that have various TV station logos on them. Mine said “Channel 8 News: Local, Fast, Gay - All Night All Day.” Dave the Electrician’s says “The Faggy Times.” In the first scene I hold the VHS camera the wrong way. I’ve never owned one so I didn’t realize that you have to look through the viewfinder and hold the camera by a Velcro handle with it on your shoulder. I got all three aspects wrong. When you see Minghags, I’m the one walking on the courthouse wall holding the camera the wrong way and I walk like I have two prosthetic legs. Before we shoot the next scene, David X informs me how to hold a VHS camera like a pro. Then Joe Frantz gave us some great direction and tells us that we’re playing the roles of cameramen from competing stations all trying to get the best shot. Now when we hear “Action!” we start pushing and shoving each other to get the best shot of the newscaster and Tucker (Ryan Dunn’s character). For the next shot, much to my surprise, the guys give me a couple lines. “Hey everybody, it’s Rut Ru!” and “How do you feel about the outcome of the case?” Evidently Dico improvises his lines. That may explain why he’s so funny. He grabs the camera out of my hands and smashes it to pieces. Then a different reporter asks Rut Ru (one of Dico’s many characters) about the case and he punches him in the face. It looked so real! Well, it looked so real because Dico knocked his tooth out. You could tell that he felt awful about it as he apologized numerous times.

Shooting wraps up at the Chester County Courthouse and we ask if they need us for anything else. We’re told that the indoor courtroom scenes are going to be filmed in Kennett Square and we’re welcome to tag along. We’re also informed that lunch will be provided in Kennett as well. When we get there, David X says to me a line Homer Simpson once said, “This so called lunch I hear of, where might that be?” A young lady on the crew overhears David and replies something to the effect of, “It’ll be here in a moment you impatient fat bastard.” We’re not positive if she used the term “impatient fat bastard” but it certainly was implied and rightfully so. Bam arrives in a $250,000 Lamborghini and Dico pulls up in a $2500 Bronco. Lunch is served and it’s probably the best Italian food I’ve ever had in my life. You may think Bam would be hidden away in some plush trailer eating caviar and lobster served by topless Penthouse Pet model waitresses, but he and his beautiful wife hang out and eat with everyone else. After lunch we got to be part of the courtroom scene filming it like it’s the O.J. trial. It was one of the greatest days of my life.

The weekend before the sneak preview I got married and we were on our hillbilly honeymoon down the shore, unable to check our e-mails. During that time Joe Frantz had sent me an e-mail stating there were two shows: One for the general public and one for VIPs. I wasn’t sure which one we should go to. If you have to ask if you’re a VIP are you really a very important person? I made several calls to my fellow cameramen to see what they thought. We had various opinions as to which show we should go to until Mike, who is rather out-going, walked up to April and Phil’s front door and asked. April said she would put us on the VIP list. This wasn’t the first time he had been to their house. Mike’s parents live near April and Phil and several months earlier Mike walked over to see if April would come on our show when she released her cookbook. She did and it was an extremely cool interview.

August 7th is my birthday, and what better way to celebrate than to watch a sneak preview of a film that my friends and I have a small part in. Before the premier, we’re hangin’ outside talking to Joe Frantz, April, Phil and giving and receiving friendly nods from people I’ve been watching on TV for years. Then I see Chad Ginsburg from one of my favorite bands, “CKY” and I get to shake his hand. I give him one of my business cards and inform him that I’m the Program Director for WCHE and I play his music all the time. I explain to him that it’s just a small AM station and he replies, “I’ll have to check it out ‘cause FM sucks!” We go inside and Bam and Joe Frantz say a few things before the film, I believe Joe said it’s 92% done and they need to work on the audio. Without further ado the lights dim and the magic happens. I don’t want to give anything away about the film except to say it was very funny, entertaining, outrageous, and like no other film. I’ve always enjoyed Jackass the TV show, the two Jackass movies, the CKY videos, Viva La Bam and Bam’s Unholy Union, but my favorite thing that Bam, Dico, Joe Frantz, Ryan Dunn, Rake Yohn, Brandon Novak, Dave Battaro, Don Vito, April, Phil, Jess, Raab Himself, Mark Hanna, Dooner, Brian Matthews and the rest of the crew have done is make hilarious movies like Haggard and now Minghags. When’s the next one coming out? I love to read, “FILMED IN WEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA”.

For more information about Minghags the movie go to: www.minghags.com