Contributing writer
Marion County now has a movie star in residence.
His name is Rightie and he is a two-year-old border collie owned by Jonas and Kim Frantz of rural Tampa.
Rightie and three litter mates appear in the movie, “All Roads Lead Home,” released in late September. It was filmed in the summer of 2006, when the puppies were eight weeks old. Jonas’ name also appears on the big screen as a “puppy handler.”
The movie is a sort of “coming of age” film about a young girl’s life without her mother, who was killed in an accident. Of course, like most major stars, the puppies were given screen names different from those given by their owners.
The girl in the film named the dogs after characters in the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Scout, Calpurnia, Boo, and Miss Maudie.
The adventure for the pups and their owners began with an advertisement in an area newspaper to sell the puppies. It so happened that Bobby McGee, a production manager for the movie, saw the ad and called. The film had begun with different puppies but they had died.
“They had looked everywhere and could not find border collie pups the right age,” Kim said. “He said we were his last resort.”
McGee is another connection between Marion County and “All Roads Lead Home.” His mother is Tish Vinduska of Lincolnville.
“When we got the call, we thought it was some kind of scam,” Jonas said with a smile.
Kim agreed.
“When he said he wanted to use the puppies in a movie, I thought, ‘Yeah, right’.”
With the help of friend Larry Clark, Jonas took the puppies to Kansas City for filming.
It was a new experience. He received about 60 pages of the American Humane Association guidelines for the treatment of animals used in movie and television productions. For example, the men were not allowed to carry the collies in their arms. They had to be transported in a crate.
Except for actress Vivian Cardone, who played the part of the young girl in the film, no cast or crew member was allowed to play with the dogs.
The filming was an interesting experience but Jonas recalled that there was a lot of “hurry up and wait.”
After the filming, three of the dogs were sold to people in Bennington, Colby, and Abilene. One was stolen shortly after the change in owners.
The Frantzes kept Rightie and his mother, Tessie, whom they had raised as a puppy.
It has been a long two years, waiting for the film to be released. Since it was an independent production, it probably will not be shown in theaters in this area. Kim, Jonas, and friends Vernon and Jennifer Henry, went to Olathe to see the movie when it was released.
There weren’t many dry eyes in the group when the movie ended.
“I thought it was a good family film,” Kim said. “It was a real tear-jerker.”
Familiar “two-legged” actors in the movie included Peter Boyle and Peter Coyote.
“Vivian was excellent,” Kim said.
Rightie is far from being just another pretty face. In the opinion of the famous puppy handle, he is a “darned good cattle dog.”