BY MARGARET A. McGURK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Local cinematographer John Gunselman, gave Jeff Barklage his first job as a camera operator a decade ago.
"He's somebody I always try to pattern myself after. He's an artist, he's a technician, but he also is a guy with a great personality on the set," Mr. Barklage said of the man he considers his mentor. CP:J. Gunselman
Mr. Gunselman, an Anderson Township native, spent the summer on a foray into filmmaking, shooting Perfect Game, a family feature written and directed by his brother, Dan Gunselman. Dan is a veteran director of TV series including WKRP in Cincinnati and Growing Pains.
The film centers on a Little League team, and stars Ed Asner, Patrick Duffy and Cameron Finley, the young star of last year's Leave It to Beaver. The Gunselmans hope to have the independent film in the hands of a distributor and on screens by spring or early summer.
John Gunselman said he worked to capture the kind of rich look in high-quality family films such as The Sandlot and Little Giants, which was shot by Janusz Kaminski, the cinematographer on Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.
"Working around these kids every day and watching what they were coming up with sort of was a spur to be a little better," John said.
Dan Gunselman financed the $5 million production himself -- "An awesome leap of faith on his part," his brother said -- with an eye to establishing himself as a big-screen director.
The aim, John Gunselman said, was "to come up with something that would be successful. And I'm not talking so much from the dollar standpoint -- although the Hollywood mentality suggests that -- but something that will be successful enough to allow the next one to happen."
The next one could be a script that Dan Gunselman wrote several years ago called The Cincinnati Rocket Society, which could be shot in the Tristate.
John Gunselman is back at work at his primary occupation of making commercials.
"I thought, "Wow, I've been out of town for three months, gonna come back and it's gonna be pretty slow for a while.' I came back, and it's just been bam-bam-bam, one project after another. Which is terrific."
And he can't wait to see the finished film.
"I'm very excited about seeing it. I saw all the footage when we were shooting, the dailies, and was thrilled with everything. It has consistently good performances, which is what it's all about. . . . It was really strong stuff. I think we got a movie.
"Shooting this project has certainly whetted my appetite for more."
