FILM MOVIE & Review

By Philip Cable

24 Hours to Midnight UNREALIZED POTENTIAL

In the mid-80s, martial arts star and director Leo Gong approached me about helping him make a movie.

A year or two earlier, action star Cynthia Rothrock had walked off the set of a movie after working on it for only a few days. This created a serious problem for the distributor of that movie.

Presales had been made on the strength of Cynthia’s overseas box office appeal. As such, the movie, titled Key Witness had to be its star.

Given that Fong had to finance the movie he needed a producer who could make KEY WITNESS on its severely limited budget.

After due consideration, I agreed and began by rewriting the script, which was pretty bad. I knew that I had to ensure that the movie needed good production values, so I set off to get great locations and start the casting process. Little did I know what dangers lie ahead!

The new basic premise was that Cynthia Rothrock portrayed a woman on the run from mobsters who had murdered her husband. She dons a ninja outfit, thus allowing another woman to double Cynthia, a necessity since Cynthia did not want to return to the production.

The original script had terrible dialogue, no characterization, and an illogical plot structure. After my rewrite, Key Witness, the script, while not a masterpiece, was considerably better. I was feeling hopeful at least until I met my cameraman and my sound crew.

Sadly, the production crew, along with the director, HAD no interest in whether or not the movie was good, only in making the film for the least amount of effort. Both the cameraman and sound crew were patronizing to the actors… and myself. It took a lot of self-control to put up with the abuse By in large, it was a miserable experience.

To keep costs down, I pulled a lot of favors from friends to make the movie look far more expensive than it was. Luckily, Leo Fong played a small role in the movie and directed it, and veteran actor Stack Pierce portrayed the villain. Working with Stack was one of the few HAPPY experiences I had on the movie due to his thorough professionalism. I also enjoyed working with numerous friends who helped elevate the production with their hard work.

After a 12-day shooting schedule, primary photography was completed, and post-production began. It took nearly two years for it to be finished.

When I finally saw the movie, I was horrified for numerous reasons. First of all, the distributor had renamed it 24 Hours to Midnight, a title that had no connection to the plot. The footage was cut, which explained the plot, and crude nude scenes were inserted. It was a mess!

Believe it or not, 24 Hours to Midnight did extremely well in the direct to video market.

Why?

Interesting question. I assume it was because it did have Cynthia Rothrock, who was a big martial arts star at the time. Plus, it was crammed full of action and its production values belied its tiny budget.

Curiously, the life of the movie was surprisingly long. Every few years, a new video distributor acquires the rights to the movie, and it was a success all over again. You can watch scenes of the movie free on YouTube.

So, there you have it a very successful action film with a miserable back story. 24 HOURS TO Midnight left me with a mixture of emotions. In some respects, the movie hurt me because I was largely blamed for the bad writing and incomprehensible editing. On the other hand, it did help start my feature film career.

Leo Fong loved to repeatedly tell me during production, “There is no such thing as a bad movie. Good and bad is subjective. No, Leo, you were wrong. Quality matters.

All it takes is the dedication to do your best. Fortunately for me, after many years in this Business, I have managed to overcome the stigma of being associated with 24 Hours to Midnight and have developed a reputation for doing good work.

I am reminded of the biblical quote “God can make all things come to good.”

I guess that is even true of 24 Hours to Midnight.

About the Author

Mr. Cable has had a four-decade career as a playwright, movie producer, director, and screenwriter. He currently lives in Central California with his wife Belinda and their two dogs Samson and Mariah. Due in part to his 40 plus years of experience, he became known as an ANSWER MAN to other filmmakers, which resulted in him being well received as a lecturer to countless movie related groups. Such organizations include the Screen Actors Guild Summer Program, (held at the American Film Institute), Women in Film, Comic-Con International, among others.

Mr. Cable is the creator of the popular comic book super-heroine, the MASKER-RAIDER, published by AAA AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT Comics and is also the author of the critically acclaimed book on low-budget filmmaking, MAKE MOVIES THAT MAKE MONEY!