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Lights, camera, dream Photo by Steve Johnson Marvin and Helen Davis ham it up with movie props they keep in a bedroom in their Ashland home. They hope to use some of the props in a movie they're trying to make about Marvin's dream about an Indian maiden. Retired Ashland man wants to make a movie about his recurring dream By BILL VARBLE ASHLAND -- Marvin Davis has a dream. In the dream, a widowed frontiersman tries not to fall in love with a beautiful Indian maiden. And you know how that goes. "I kept dreaming it over and over," Davis says. In the dream Davis isn't the guy. He's a director who's making a movie about the couple. "I don't know where it came from," says Davis, 65, a retired Southern Oregon University maintenance man with no movie experience. "I'll never know." Davis and his wife, Helen, 63, say they're turning Marvin's dream into a real movie. This is not your Hollywood movie, or even your typical small-budget, independent movie. "I think we're going to beat out `The Blair Witch Project' for low budget," Davis says, laughing. What the Davises have is a story, a working title ("Dancing Willow") and a brave band of volunteers. What they lack is experience, professional help, a budget. It didn't occur to them that they'd need a production manager, somebody to keep things running smoothly, or a host of things they're learning about. "This is not my idea of how to spend retirement," Helen Davis says. "But it's Marvin's dream. I want to see him succeed." The Davises once had a commercial photography business. They published books on hobbies such as bottle collecting and metal detectors. And they shot the covers of several national hobby magazines. But they never shot a movie, aside from 8-millimeter home movies and an unnamed short subject filmed last year near Howard Prairie (featuring a dreaming cowboy and a beautiful Indian maiden). They're reading a book on film directing now. The Davises have auditioned about 200 Rogue Valley residents for acting and technical jobs. When Marvin said he'd get people willing to work on speculation, Helen remembers thinking, "Boy, you're not going to get anybody." She underestimated the readiness of people to do anything to be in a movie. Despite Eddie Murphy's famous explanation for demanding a percent of the gross ("there ain't no ... net"), there's no shortage of people signing on for a percent of the profit, should the picture ever be completed, distributed, exhibited or profitable. People have called from Portland asking about work. The Davises expect 50 American Indians from 15 tribes to be in the picture. A few cast members have acting experience. Doug Draine of Ashland had roles in "Paint Your Wagon" and "Hello Dolly." Agnes Baker-Pilgrim, a Siletz tribal elder, appeared in a movie with Johnny Depp. The part of Dancing Willow went to Anna Merritt of Medford. Merritt, 15, is a fancy dancer at pow-wows. Marvin had an image of Dancing Willow. "If she can act at all," he said, "the first one that reminds me of Disney's Pocahontas is it." They're impressed with Merritt. "She'll be fine," Helen says. Cast in the male lead is Brad Boguslawski of Ashland, who's acted before. The doomed first wife, Molly, is Britt Ivy of Ashland, who also has experience. Two writers are toiling on a script. Shooting is scheduled to begin in March with Marvin Davis directing ("It's my movie"). Helen Davis says the couple's grown children opposed the project. "They're afraid we'll wind up in the street," she says. Meanwhile, there are positive signs. One applicant for the camera operator's job has a film school background. A wrangler pal promises access to private land on the flanks of Mount Shasta with gorgeous scenery. Helen Davis now puts the chances of finishing the movie at just about 100 percent. Marvin agrees. "It's a real learning experience," he says. Just don't look for a sequel. "After this one's finished, that's it." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA