Gods And Generals

After months of speculation, movie maker Ronald F. Maxwell said he's ready to announce details about the local filming of "Gods and Generals" next year. Maxwell said he'll reveal the long-awaited financing package for the Civil War movie, as well as a shooting schedule, after he meets behind closed doors with the Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday. "It's really all coming together," Maxwell said. In May, Maxwell said he was within weeks of making an announcement. Nothing came.

Nine years after borrowing $300,000 from Washington County, director Ron Maxwell still owes about $263,000 in principal and interest. Maxwell borrowed the money in 2002, after making the Civil War film “Gods and Generals” in the Tri-State area, including Washington County. The loan agreement gave Maxwell until 2005 to start working on another Civil War film, based on Jeff Shaara's book “The Last Full Measure,” and to produce at least half of it in Washington County. Otherwise, Maxwell would have to repay the money, with interest, by 2010.

scottb@herald-mail.com TRI-STATE - Tickets are selling well for advance screenings of the Civil War movie "Gods and Generals," officials at The Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown and Apollo Civic Theatre in Martinsburg, W.Va., said Monday. Parts of the movie were filmed locally. Tickets went on sale in late November for the Feb. 11 screening in Hagerstown and the Feb. 12 screening in Martinsburg. About 100 people have bought the $65 tickets to see the movie in Hagerstown, said Maryland Theatre Executive Director Pat Wolford.

The director of "Gods and Generals" said Wednesday he would like to make another Civil War movie in Washington County and a financial incentive being considered by the Washington County Board of Commissioners might do the trick. "I have a predilection and preference to working in the county," director Ron Maxwell said. The Washington County Commissioners have been talking to Maxwell in an attempt to convince him to film "Last Full Measure" here, Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook said Wednesday.

laurae@herald-mail.com After a dismal Box Office showing, "Gods and Generals" got a promising reception in retail stores as copies of the DVD and video flew off the shelves this week. The locally filmed Civil War epic was the top-selling DVD at Amazon.com its first two days on the market Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Director Ronald Maxwell and the online retailer's Web site. Both Circuit City in Hagerstown and Wonder Book & Video in Halfway said copies of the movie sold out the first day. "That was pretty much all that was asked for all day," said Wonder Book & Video Assistant Manager Fawnia Souders.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Those who turned out Thursday night at The Maryland Theatre for a 40-minute sneak peek of "Gods and Generals," a Civil War movie filmed mostly in the Tri-state area, were silent as the movie played. Afterward, they were anything but. "I thought it was incredible. A lot better than 'Gettysburg,'" said Rob Taylor, 19. His friend, Richard Moore, agreed. "There's no comparison (to 'Gettysburg'). It's fantastic," he said. "You can't put them in the same category.

Rob Gibson thought he had a short, sweet gig on a movie set. He'd swoop in for a few days, take a handful of pictures and slip out. At least, that was the plan. Instead, he developed a project in lockstep with the "Gods and Generals" 2001 shooting schedule. Of course, Gibson is not an ordinary photographer, forsaking digital gadgetry for 1860s-era authenticity. As such, the "Gods and Generals Photographic Companion" is not an ordinary text. Pairing the photographer's glass plate images with historian Dennis Frye's narration, the result is a ghostly marriage of words and visuals echoing an era silenced by time.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Under an overcast sky, a slight wind growing more fierce as time passes, Austin Flook, his son Dwayne and Dennis Frye pile into an old, dirty blue truck and head for the interior of Flook's farm along Dogstreet Road outside of Keedysville. They follow a gravel road up one side of a hill and down the other, fields littered with the remnants of cornstalks. Spring wheat has been planted in its place. It is quiet, the gentle rhythm of nature interrupted only by the truck's engine as it chugs across the rolling landscape.

ryant@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Despite the box office failure of Ted Turner's "Gods and Generals," director/screenwriter Ron Maxwell said he "fully intends" to adapt "The Last Full Measure," the final book in the series that includes the films "Gettysburg" and its prequel, "Gods and Generals. " "The Last Full Measure" is the third and final book in the series of novels by Michael Shaara and his son Jeff Shaara. It follows the action after Gettysburg to the Battle of the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg and ends with the surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Jeff Shaara likes to tell people things they don't know. And he has found a way to make quite a lucrative living doing so. The author of eight New York Times best-selling historical novels spoke of his passion for sharing unknown stories Saturday at the 150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam. A crowd of about 400 people overflowed a tent at the re-enactment site off Bakersville Road. “I like it when people read my books and say, 'I didn't know that.' They've heard of it, but they don't know the story,” he said.

Film director Ron Maxwell has repaid almost all of the $300,000 he borrowed from Washington County 10 years ago. As part of a settlement, the county agreed to waive at least $80,000 in unpaid interest Maxwell owed. County spokeswoman Sarah Lankford Sprecher wrote in an email that Maxwell made payments of $60,000 apiece on Dec. 15, Feb. 15 and April 15, and the county is considering his loan “paid in full.” Maxwell's overall payments total $298,214.52. As of October 2011, Maxwell owed the county $181,786 on the principal and $81,255 on the interest, which accrued at 4.5 percent annually.

1. It's a frenzy of good fishin' MIHI Fishin' Frenzy will be Saturday, June 16, at Pangborn Park, 530 Pangborn Blvd., Hagerstown. 8 a.m. registration; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. fishing. Awards for largest fish caught and smallest fish caught, largest trout caught and largest five trout caught. Open to ages 12 and younger and 65 and older and those with disabilities. Call 301-745-6444. 2. 'Gods and Generals' -   extended The extended director's cut of the epic Civil War movie "Gods and Generals" will be shown  at 4  p.m. Saturday, June 16, at Bridge of Life church, 14 S. Potomac St., downtown Hagerstown.

Be among the first to view the landmark Civil War exhibition, “Valley of the Shadow,” at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts preview reception on Friday, June 15, from 7-11 p.m. Visitors will be transported in time as the Kaylor Atrium will feature a Civil War ball under the stars. Music for the event will be provided by the 2nd South Carolina String Band, one of the most active and popular Civil War camp bands in America. Performing on authentic 19th-century instruments, the group has released five albums and worked with filmmaker Ken Burns to provide period music for documentaries.

At the end of the red carpet, behind the step-and-repeat banner where celebrities pose for photo-ops, stood the three filmmakers. Hands in pockets, a calmness in their expressions, one of the filmmakers turned to his right and asked who was the man in the jacket who stepped from the limousine earlier, walked the red carpet and posed for pictures before the banner. "That was Ron Maxwell, the director of 'Gods and Generals,'" said Tom Riford, president and chief executive officer of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Limousines, a red carpet, glitz, glamour and movie stars. Hagerstown has gone Hollywood. Those who think the Hub City lacks in big-time events will take one squarely on the chin this week when actors, directors, producers and critics arrive in town for the first Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown. The festival will run from Thursday, Oct. 13, to Sunday, Oct. 16. Hagerstown, you say? Why not? asks Tracie Donahue. "There are small towns across the world that have film festivals," she said.

Nine years after borrowing $300,000 from Washington County, director Ron Maxwell still owes about $263,000 in principal and interest. Maxwell borrowed the money in 2002, after making the Civil War film “Gods and Generals” in the Tri-State area, including Washington County. The loan agreement gave Maxwell until 2005 to start working on another Civil War film, based on Jeff Shaara's book “The Last Full Measure,” and to produce at least half of it in Washington County. Otherwise, Maxwell would have to repay the money, with interest, by 2010.

HALFWAY -- Eight years later, Stephen Lang still remembers Hagerstown for its good restaurants, good bookstores and open arms. The actor who played Gen. Stonewall Jackson in "Gods and Generals" returned to Washington County on Saturday to speak at a Civil War seminar at the Plaza Hotel in Halfway. Pat Falci, a historical coordinator on "Gods and Generals" and actor who played Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill in "Gettysburg," also spoke. The seminar was part of a Civil War program offered by the Greater Chambersburg (Pa.)

Alloway co-sponsoring legislation to make it easier to prosecute child porn cases HARRISBURG, Pa. -- State Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin-Adams-York, is co-sponsoring legislation that would make it easier to prosecute cases of child pornography. Senate Bill 260 would amend the Crimes Code to grant the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction along with the district attorney in child pornography cases. The bill would ensure that local prosecutors have access to assistance and resources from the attorney general's office in prosecuting child predators.

Editor's Note: Each Friday, Herald-Mail reporters and editors will answer some of the questions that are called in by readers to Mail Call. Consider this us returning your call. Did county ever get paid back for Civil War movie? Q: "Can anybody tell me if the county ever got paid back for the movie 'Gods and Generals?' I called in on this once before and never heard anything, and I would appreciate it. The people up in Gettysburg insist we didn't, and if that's the case, what's the story on that?"