"No Time for Cold Feet" Screenings

A lot of people have said they thought it was too long.  I don't think it's a matter of length as much as what's in it.  Some things need to be cut, some rearranged, some added.  We have many weapons.  I have a list of 51 changes we hope to make to the film before the final weekend, and that doesn't include some of the different material we plan to test.

There was plenty of stuff in this cut that was more of a test than a "yes, this is definitely in the film."  The classic example of this is the dead squirrel.  It's not in the real cut, but we threw it in this case to gauge reaction to that type of material (because we have a lot of that).  We also let certain segments run longer to see what we could get away with (I won't mention which ones).  That was a good idea for us because we learned a lot.  This version also includes less of Santa Dave than we will probably end up with.  Also, some of Green's best lines were cut, and her intro and out-tro were cut. Both of which are priceless.  I could go on and on...

I just couldn't imagine sitting thru the entire 3000+ hours of film that you (must have)...but I'd love to give it a run......

OK maybe not....but I dont' think it got too long.....

...i'm sure the people that thought it got too long is because it did get a lillte slow on the humor and "feel" of intensity......

 

but what do i know.....

The other clue 12 2003 hunt edits are much more intense.  I'm not so sure that's the right way to go though.  Purely from an entertainment POV, yes, that's the way to go.

What's tough about a documentary is that at some point you probably should show things more or less the way they are.  But then again, you want things to be interesting.  There's also the philophical debate of whether to show something as it is or to show something not the way it is but in a way that represents the feeling one gets while experiencing it.  The opening shots of the 2004 hunt, the sepia-toned stuff at the beginning of the film would fall in the latter category.  The first category is represented by Jake, Tim and Steve half-heartedly kicking snow around at the West Picnic Grounds.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/01/24_wilcoxenw_medallionmovie/

http://wcco.com/localnews/local_story_023235439.html

Good find Kitch

Winter medallion hunt brings out the most dedicated

by William Wilcoxen, Minnesota Public Radio

January 24, 2005

Medallion hunter David Allison is one of the main people profiled in the new documentary, "No Time for Cold Feet," about the St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion hunt. (Photo by Maureen Farley, courtesy of Not Another Hollywood Film)

By the end of this week, Minnesota's capital city may have more nightlife in its parks than in its bars and restaurants. The St. Paul Winter Carnival's Treasure Hunt is underway, and that means seekers of a little round token worth up to $10,000 are beginning to scour the city's parks. Hunters are guided by clues published each morning in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

St. Paul, Minn. — The most dedicated medallion hunters wait up for the newspaper's earliest edition to put the fresh clue to use long before sunrise. This subculture of rabid medallion seekers has been captured in a documentary movie.

David Allison is one of the principal medallion seekers followed by two New York City filmmakers in the documentary, "No Time For Cold Feet." The movie's footage was taped during the last four Winter Carnivals, and as Allison left a weekend screening, he said it does capture the intensity of the treasure hunt.

Allison Wonderland

But for Allison, nothing beats that moment six winters ago in Conway Park, during his first real hunt for the medallion. He still gets a twinkle in his eye as he remembers the scene late that night, when word came that the new clue had narrowed the medallion's location to the park's hockey rinks.

"People had kind of been scattered all over the park -- there were probably 1,000 or 2,000 people in the park," Allison recalls. "When those (clues) came out -- you started hearing the cell phones ringing here and there -- then all of a sudden you had people from all over the park go "whoosh!" right onto the hockey rinks. Then everybody was digging shoulder to shoulder trying to dig up these hockey rinks. It was a very intense moment."

The treasure hunt clues are issued at about 11:30 each night by the Pioneer Press, which is in its 53rd year of running the event. Just before each Winter Carnival the medallion is hidden on public land in Ramsey County -- usually a St. Paul park.

As the carnival wears on, the clues become more specific. If the 12th and final clue is necessary, it practically directs readers to the hiding place. But the newspaper provides no specifics about who determines the hiding place, how the medallion is concealed, how and by whom the clues are written. Spokeswoman Pat Effenberger deflects all inquiries with a stock answer.

Filmmaker

"All aspects of the Pioneer Press treasure hunt are what many hunters call the best-kept secret in St. Paul," says Effenberger.

As soon as the medallion is found, though, prize money is awarded, all clues are explained, and the successful hunter joins an elite group that's held in great esteem by many of his or her fellow hunters.

In between showings of the movie, Jackie Garry, who co-produced "No Time For Cold Feet," said treasure hunters consistently report they find more motivation in the thrill of the find than in the financial reward.

"I think that they have a sense of accomplishment. Especially people like, for example, Cathi Hogan, who found it in 2001," says Garry. "She'd been looking all her life. And to finally find something like that has got to be an amazing feeling, after looking for 30-something years."

Garry is a Rochester native who was familiar with the hunt for the medallion, but had never seen it up close until beginning work on the documentary with co-producer Trent Tooley.

Garry says she was touched when she saw the friendships that had developed among people whose only contact came during the annual medallion hunt, when they helped each other decipher clues and search through snow. She was also surprised by the commitment and resourcefulness some hunters showed.

Button hat guy

"Some of them create their own unique digging tools. Like a guy who creates something with a great big wooden dowel and a piano wire and a mirror on the end of it -- just crazy digging tools that they're up all night creating," says Garry.

You might expect treasure hunting to be a solitary activity, but, like much of the Winter Carnival, it becomes an excuse for some cold weather comaradarie. Many diehard hunters form groups, or "crews," that get together in person or on line to strategize, search, and socialize.

David Allison is part of the Cooler Crew, and is known online by his handle Allison Wonderland. He says there's a unique dynamic within a crew.

"It's a very interesting paradox, almost, between the competition and the cooperation," says Allison. "Everybody's obviously competing against each other, because only one or two people are going to find and split up the treasure -- we're not going to split it 500 ways. But at the same time, we all realize we are in this together. So we kind of do share information."

"We might not share our very best theory," Allison says. "We might go run out and check it out first and if we don't find it say 'Here's what I'm thinking. What do you think about that?' And it benefits everybody to some degree."

Allison says the communing with fellow medallion hunters also provides an impetus to venture out into the parks in the middle of winter, something folks might not be otherwise inclined to do.

The first category is represented by Jake, Tim and Steve half-heartedly kicking snow around at the West Picnic Grounds.

Well if you wanted to be truely accurate you'd show the fire pit area we dug out then you'd show the interview of jake and I sunday night when we were slurring our words and barely understandable and I know for a fact we pointed down the path and said it was probably not too much off the path. I swear Trent, I swear!

Another fun feature you could is have Jake doing an interview about some senseless crap and somehow get the audience to pay attention to the people behind him actually digging. Sort of poke fun at him that way, I think that'd be great!

Did anyone shovel for you guys while you were out?
Haha, I was wondering the same thing!

Wow! thanks for the MPR link!

hey there is a link on that site requesting "help to cover that story"

thanks for your views Trent!

 

Another fun feature you could is have Jake doing an interview about some senseless crap and somehow get the audience to pay attention to the people behind him actually digging. Sort of poke fun at him that way, I think that'd be great!

I thought the same thing.  There was an interview with Jake and I in CoNo where we were talking about the reasons for checking out the other side of the park, but right in back of us was where the medallion was actually found.  Not more than 10' behind us.  I thought it would have been funny to have a cheesy arrow or even just a quick blurb to point out that we don't know shit at that point even if it's right behind us.  I know you guys were sensitive to the Fargo Factor and it's appreciated big time, but we can laugh at ourselves too.  After all we are Minnesota Nice don't cha know.  I know Green and even the frozen squirrel guy would be fine with the fun poking. 

It's true, we don't know any more than any other hunter and I don't have enough hands to count how many times I've seen a tilted head when I've thrown out a noodle or two.  Heck - it happened tonight as a matter of fact

-but they came around and seen the genius in my thoughts before they left anyway ;-)

Oh, and as I've already pointed out.  MORE BLOOPERS MORE BLOOPERS.  That's coming from a guy who is always the last to leave the theater.  The underware in the tree bit or even me2's ranting after clue 12 in the parking lot would be good for bloopers.

Does anybody remember the first movie to actually address us end-credit seat fillers?  Not just having something after the credits but actually addressing us?

haha genius

I loved the squirrel -we found enough things-dead animals included! hairbrushes, condoms,  barbie dolls ;)

I hear ya lady.

Hey, where were you tonight?  People were asking me where you were like you're my sister or something.

Here are some things I think I would change about the movie based on my thoughts and what I heard from my singles club. But first, you have a point, it's not really about the length. The Lord of the Rings movies and Titanic were both much longer, and yet I don't know of anyone who said they needed to be shorter.

I thought the bit about the Camo Crew as spotters was kind of superfluous. I've never heard that from anyone but you. I'm not sure if anyone but Green thinks that. And being that it's so unlikely to be true, it's kind of a bizarre aside to get into.

I'd cut my line about what I would do with the money if I found it. It's not very interesting and I think conflicts a bit with the image of me you seem to be making.

Fewer references to being a vulture. You have Deb saying that 5 times. It gets a little redundant.

The people in my singles club said they don't need to see quite so much digging. They get the idea after a while and that's what seems to be slowing things down.

I think the two points where I was most aware of the passing of time were towards the end of the 2001 and end of the 2003 hunt. With 2001, it was right before you show Cathi finding it. I do recall it being an unusually low energy day. Still, what I think drives people on that day which was maybe missing a bit, was not the digging they do (which we'd seen plenty of by then) but rather the attempt to line everything up. I think seeing a bit more of "this has to be this, and this has to be that, and this must be referring to that thing, which all leads me to this spot." In the 2003 hunt, I think the slowdown happens while we're still at Harriet and again there are a lot of scenes of people digging through more snow. Once it switches to Como, the pace seemed fine again.

I still think word is starting to spread on this and the excitement over seeing it is growing. Next week will tell us for sure, but I think it's in the future weeks that we need to worry about selling out, not the opening one. Movies only have huge opening weekends when they have big campaigns beforehand to create a buzz. The buzz for this movie is only happening now, after the first weekend. I know a lot of people myself that are saying they want to go see it and want to know when it's playing.

How many seats at the Oak Street Cinema I wonder?

your sister? DOH! -

I told people last night that I didnt want to go out tonight with mark coming home- turns out he fell asleep around 9 anyhow :( -he had been up since 4 am to catch his flight home.

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 12:07am.]

Does anybody remember the first movie to actually address us end-credit seat fillers? Not just having something after the credits but actually addressing us?

I would guess Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

Damn AW, is there anything you don't know?  Good job.

 

Anybody watching Leno talking about Johnny right now?  Pretty good

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 12:09am.]

dressing us? how about un-dressing us? ;) I just dont understand the question.

I watched a lot about Johnny over the past 2 days -where were YOU last night CM!! We drank to Johnny at Great Waters!

I was too distraught about the whole thing to even go out. 

you could have cried on my shoulder :)
and peeked down my blouse

Feel better now?

JOE!

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 12:19am.]

Admittedly I did accuse the Camo Crue of being spotters but I was joking . They serve the purpose of a spotter though if the purpose of a spotter is to protect the safety of whoever rightfully finds it. Hence if I ever find it and someone trys to rough me up, I know the Camo Crue has my back.

I think most of the crew would do that too Timmers.

I've got your back too there Timmers and you already know that I'm a spotter.

and peeked down my blouse

I'll be back after this quick bathroom break

 

Wash your hands please

See now the cooler is recruiting bigger guys like OTiS and ESD, I guess we always had CM but he's such a teddy bear when you get to know him he's not really the protector type even though he's a big guy.

But good to know you got my back anyways!

P.S. now I think I am big enough to have my own back, atleast if I have my spade handy.

I think in the long run.... True crew memebers really have nothing to worry about. A lot of people out there pull silly nonsense and make people worry about things. But for the most part if we stick close and people know where others are, theres no worries.

um, Clue Master? you SHOULD be back by now!
watcha doin'?

Like I said... wash your hands

watcha doin'?

Trent:

Seeing that you love it here in MN, so much, you guys plan on doing any other filming around here, say non-documentary, movie-ish type projects?

My dad's a southpaw so I assume I could beat him with my good arm but not my bad one.

And I thought we were gonna be hush hush about the hugging.

ahhhh group hug!

someone kept calling me late wondering where I was. So I got up and came down - been noodling with Timmers all night.

Damn... Sorry CM. I put it back.

I thought we were gonna be hush hush about the hugging.

my eyes are burning.

You have to wash them out with broken glass. Its the only cure.

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 01:22am.]

*sigh*

Well.... only if I have to, I guess.

what are you doing with the pump soap OTiS?

intruding minds wanna know!

Washing myself.... I was feeling all dirty

Here Nick,

Nice big chunks.

CM, you can do it twice in one night? hmmmmm ;)

now I feel dirty. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

CM will be out in a minute. You can borrow the soap.

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 01:29am.]

YESSSSS!!!!!!  chunks of broken glass!

can I have some of that soap too?

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 01:31am.]

[Edited by on Jan 25, 2005 at 01:31am.]

[Edited 5 times. Most recently by on Jan 25, 2005 at 01:35am.]

DAMN!!  You guys crack me up sooo bad.  Especially because it's in this thread.  Sorry Trent & Jackie but you know how we are. 

If I ever see a frog pump in somebody's house, I'm gonna steal it right after I laugh my ass off.  ;-)

tres quatro Jose

Oh yeah, I just thought of another critique about the movie.  I'm not sure if you did it or not but I felt like the shots for the actual lighted PP sign was over used,  Not that a shot of the sign wasn't needed for that spot, just that it seemed liked it was the same exact shot and not a new shot as implied because it was a new clue.

[Edited 3 times. Most recently by on Jan 25, 2005 at 03:27am.]

and he's gonna run to the bathroom for an hour.