"Leap of Faith", was Re: Clouds of "Monarchs"

[Michael Gochfeld]

CHRIS,
I love your account of behind the scenes, and how the hand clapping
worked.  For
all my cynicism, it was a stunning visual appeal with an appealing
consequence
(good guy gets not so good girl).  The transformation of Monarchs to
other species
is the kind of in-joke that in-the-know people like to share.

It's a lot easier to collect such out-of-place species with birds since
there are
often birds on movie sound tracks.  Occasionally one sees birds that are
out of
place, such as the Ringed Turtle Dove in the western fort in DANCES WITH
WOLVES.

It sounds like you had to battle almost supernatural adversities to pull
it off
(perhaps appropriate for a film about evangelism).  I'm glad to hear
that it
supported your butterfly travels.

Regards and thanks for filling us in on this adventure.   MIKE GOCHFELD



"Chris J. Durden" wrote:

> Nature faking? For heavens sake this was just a piece of fiction, like many
> other good stories.
>     I as the person responsible for co-ordinating the capture, sustenance
> and release of the butterflies, in the same county in which they were
> captured, have some comments on how this came to be.
>     In 1991 a call from the Texas Film Commission requested information on
> "when was the best time for butterflies in the area around Amarillo".
> Having found that, in Texas, butterfly diversity and abundance is closely
> correlated with the average rainfall peaks, even in dry regions, I
> consulted the published 1931-1970 records and determined that for Amarillo
> and adjacent Caprock Country the prime time should be late July.
>     In 1992 I was asked to set up a mass release of butterflies for a scene
> in a movie to be shot for Paramount Pictures in the vicinity of Amarillo in
> July. Having had some experience with the stocking from the wild, of
> temporary exhibit tents, I accepted the challenge. I recruited friends and
> relatives to work on the project. Our dealings with the production company
> were through a professional animal handler (famous for his "tortoise" which
> appears in this movie and a number of others). Thorough negotiation I
> obtained a hansom hourly wage for my assistants (students, instructors,
> several PhD's), which ensured their loyalty and dedication far beyond the
> call of duty, later in the project when we were hit by adversity.
>     We were flown into Tulia where we were located in a motel where the
> advance party had set up net tents to house freshly collected butterflies.
> The butterflies were dying. Questions produced a history of insecticide use
> at the motel. Net tents were relocated to the county park (where the scene
> was shot). No more problem with butterfly death.
>     Conference with the location manager and art director produced the
> information that the butterflies were supposed to rise en-mass out of the
> grass when hands were clapped. I had heard of nothing like this but, fine,
> a quaint device of fiction for entertainment - no problem. Years later I
> find out on this list that there is actually a phenomenon where in Rhodes
> in a particular valley, "butterflies" (tiger moths) do rise out of the
> grass when the hands are clapped, and this is a featured attraction on some
> tours.
>     The butterflies were supposed to be monarchs! I suppose the concepts of
> the moths on Rhodes and the winter congregation of Monarchs in Mexico were
> confused in the mind of the script writer.
> Impossible, so it was agreed to use a medly of larger species.
>     We stocked the net tents with an estimated 4,000 butterflies taken by
> net and bated trap in the area, and were eagerly awaiting the shot to be
> filmed the following morning. We retired to the local restaurant for
> steaks. As we emerged from the restaurant at dusk we saw the county
> mosquito control truck trundle by. We guessed just where it was headed -
> the golf course adjacent to our stock tents. A call to the sheriff headed
> them off and we retired for the evening. About 11:30 a call from our
> watchman at the park alerted us to heavy winds and rain. A thunder storm
> was destroying our stock tents and blowing away the butterflies.
>     My crew rushed out to the park where we unbent poles and salvaged an
> un-torn tent to house the stock we were retrieving by the handfulls from
> their refuge between the tussock grasses. We worked much of the night. In
> the morning we had about 2000 butterflies that had not escaped.
>     Special effects had constructed a funnel net, a little larger than the
> scene, with the end open, but closable by dropping a chain weighted net. We
> intended to recapture as much stock as possible for the expected retakes.
>     Cameras roll! The set is dead quiet and everyone seems to have a camera
> or video camera in hand (forbidden on the set, as Paramount owns
> everything). Nothing for a moment! The butterflies just sit in the boxes
> under the end of the stage. My crew members toss them in the air and the
> flock rises out over the field of sunflowers. The scene is complete, "Cut!"
> and the net falls over the end of the funnel. Dead quiet for the longest
> time. Then the whole crew bursts out with applause. No retake needed. A few
> of the larger butterflies were retained for close shots later. These were
> chilled for handling. Then everything was released. My crew had a wonderful
> time. I earned two more fieldtrips to Rondonia, some books, cabinets and
> taxes, and the memories of three weeks of vacation when I ran off with the
> circus.
>     Sure the idea is hokey, but if it stimulates a few more people to
> notice butterflies, it was worth it.
> .................Chris Durden
>
> At 11:57 PM 2/6/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> >The recent talk of "clouds" of butterflies reminded me of a movie I saw
> >recently---
> >
> >LEAP OF FAITH (1992) in which the local sheriff (Liam Neeson) seduces an
> >evangelist conspirator (Debra Winger)
> >away from the road show (led by Steve Martin).
> >
> >He invites her out to his ranch, claps his hands, and she is fascinated
> >by the
> >large numbers of fake butterflies
>
> No - all real and live.
>
> >  that rise from the grass at his hand
> >clap.
> >He calls them Monarchs, but the closeups show Tiger Swallowtailoid
> >creatures.
>
> *P. muticaudatus* - our Tigers are larger than the little ones you have in
> New Jersey.
>
> >But the butterflies apparently convince her that she is better off with
> >the
> >sheriff.   There must be a message in all that nature-faking.
>
> This just shows how sight records cannot always be relied upon! Context
> often biases the observer and the observations suffer. Who would expect
> such a rich fauna in the middle of the Great Plains, but everything was local.
>
> >Mike Gochfeld
> >
> >
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