Tourism in and around Niobrara

Lewis and Clark Expedition being filmed near Niobrara

This article was published by Norfolk Daily News
in September 2000 written by Janet Eckmann


	Lewis and Clark expedition being filmed near Niobrara September 2000
	By Janet Eckmann News Correspondent Niobrara - Canoes, pirogues and a keelboat carrying a 13-star flag on the Missouri River are not things residents of North-east Nebraska see every day. But for the past week, people around Niobrara and Running Water, S.D., have watched a day in the lives of Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William
			Lamond Rynolds, a prop assistant from Omaha, hangs a flag on a keelboat before it's launched on the Missouri River near Niobrara. A crew is filming the expedition of Lewis & Clark for release in IMAX theaters.
	Clark, leading their Corps of Discovery, be re-created before their very eyes. Vineyard Productions of West Jordan, Utah, has set up camp high on a bluff on the South Dakota side of the river. Transports, trucks and motor coaches are parked on the scenic lookout of the Standing Bear Bridge near Running Water. The film crews - complete with huge cameras - are here to record segments for an IMAX movie. Working with the National Geographic Society, they are reproducing the historic expedition of the explorers from 1804 - 1806. "Filming will take about 1 1/2 to 2 months over about a nine-month period," said Jeff Miller, one of the producers from Vineyard. All the film shot along the expedition route will be condensed into a 40-minute show expected to be ready for viewing in January 2002. Miller, 38, of Salt Lake City, and Lisa Truitt, a producer with National Geographic from Washington, D.C., are in charge of the 150 cast and crew members who travel with the show. There's also a dog that is portraying the role of Seaman, Lewis' Newfoundland dog. "We just came from a week of filming near Mobridge, S.D., and will be taking a break after this week's filming," Miller said. "We will film again during February or March near a mountain pass in Montana. This will encompass seasonal portions of the explorers' travel." State road workers have closed off one lane of Standing Bear Bridge so film crews can capture the progress of the specially-built keelboat, two pirogues - canoe-shaped boats - and several canoes as they move up river. The 55-foot keelboat, built from descriptions in Lewis & Clark journals, is actually powered by a 200-horsepower motor. Miller said the keelboat may be used in future films by other companies. Several area owners of boats were contacted to help the crew launch the watercrafts at the Running Water landing. Miller said they really appreciated the new bridge. "The bridge will give filming crews great access to some shots along the steep bluff banks on the South Dakota side of the river," he said. "We will also be filming for two days near Verdel, next to some islands and the natural prairie."
	With the Standing Bear Bridge in the background, members of a crew re-creating the expedition of Lewis & Clark load supplies onto a boat on the Missouri River. A film of the expedition is being made for IMAX theaters.
	Miller said months of research and consulting with history professor Gary Moulton from the University of Nebraska, as well as visits with author Stephen Ambrose, were done in preparation for filming. Miller said it was because of the many pictures they had seen of this part of the river that they first made a trip to Niobrara to see actual conditions. "This is a perfect area, a pristine place with some the friendliest people we have met," he said. "We want to show the human struggle of the Corps of Discovery - their traveling up the Missouri River and their meeting with the Indians in this area. This will be a story for all ages to help them learn the value of this great expedition," Miller said. "We aim to make it as accurate and true to detail as possible." The film's working title is "Lewis & Clark: Into the Great Unknown." Destination Cinema of Ogden, Utah, will distribute it for National Geographic, said Ed Capelle, Destination's president of film and distribution. It will be available for showing in large-format theaters across the country starting 2002, he said. Sponsor of the product is the Eddie Bauer company. Destination has produced a number of films for National Geographic, including the large-format "Mysteries of Eqypt" shown in IMAX theaters.

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