MPS Project Profile: A NIGHT IN OLD MEXICO

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Intense heat, weather conditions were factors South Texas project supported by MPS Studios

In the summer of 2012, MPS Studios provided camera department and lighting/grip/electric department for A NIGHT IN OLD MEXICO, a Robert Duvall vehicle set to premiere early in 2013. The film is the first reunion of Duvall, who also has a producer’s credit for the project, with writer Bill Wittliff, who scripted LONESOME DOVE, a film featuring one of Duvall’s signature roles.

At the helm of the project is Spanish television impresario Emilio Aragon, who also directed the post-Spanish Civil War dramedyPAPER BIRDS, a festival darling of 2009.

The film blends action, romance, comedy and tragedy in a story about a grandfather (Duvall) and grandson (Jeremy Irvine of Spielberg’s WAR HORSE) who end up on the wrong side of drug runners following the foreclosure of the grandfather’s ranch. Much of the location work was shot in downtown Brownsville, Texas. The flavor and atmosphere of the Southwest woven throughout the story made it a particularly appropriate project for MPS to support.

“Although we work around the country and even outside the U.S., our ties to the Southwest are strong and deep, since our base of operations is centered here” said Mark Beasley, president of MPS Studios. “Advocacy for filmmaking in and about Texas is very important to us. So we love it when we have the chance to work on a project like this.”

“Knowing the landscape of South Texas in the summer, we anticipated that intense heat, wind, and sand—all of which can impact equipment—would be factors to consider,” added Brad Beasley, MPS Studios vice president. “We sat down and strategized with our client to come up with a plan that would ensure the crew had rain covers and accessories to effectively navigate the tough elements.

“The show went very well, and the crew was outstanding,” he added. “We are proud to have worked on a project that will no doubt be talked about for a long time to come.”

Added project gaffer Thomas Alcala: “Having owned equipment myself, I know that you will have some things that may decide not to work just when you need them to.

“Any company that says their Cstands, grip gear, lights, stingers or generators never break or cause problems on set is not being totally honest with their prospective clients,” he continued. “If the Film Gods decide they don’t want something to work, it won’t work. But the attention and effort a company puts into fixing problems on my distant location set is what I look for.

“Having trained technicians that know the equipment inside and out, taking your call on their personal cell phone, no matter what the time of day or night, walking you through the fix, means I have what I need minutes later—not waiting for replacements to be flown in days later. MPS is always ready and willing to accommodate whatever is needed to make my moment of ‘angst’ a moment of ‘problem solved’.”