Director/writer: Scott Smith * Producers: Scott Smith, Connie Dolphin * Director of photography: Bob Aschmann * Cameraman: Michael Wale * Diary by: Louise Leger

suicide, friendship and our desire to escape our most difficult emotions are the themes in Vancouver filmmaker Scott Smith’s debut feature rollercoaster.

Filmed entirely on location at the Pacific National Exhibit Grounds at Hastings Park in Vancouver, the film follows a group of teenagers wandering through a deserted amusement park. Smith spent two years writing and rewriting the script.

‘I am fascinated by the instinct to remove ourselves from the trials of everyday life and find relief from distress and emotions we can’t control,’ he says. ‘Amusement parks and movies were made for escape into vicarious experience. We are all afraid of our own emotions, but I chose to tell the story of teenagers because for them the emotions are intense, closer to the surface, and in some ways the stakes are higher. Friendship seems to be the only respite. Some of them find ways to go on, while others simply let go. That’s what I am exploring.’

August 1996: After finishing his stint as director resident at Toronto’s Canadian Film Centre, Vancouverite Scott Smith finds he has no money to move back home and decides to turn his attention to his ongoing fascination with teen suicide pacts and his desire to work in the metaphoric landscape of an abandoned amusement park.

January 1997: Smith applies for Telefilm Canada and B.C. Film funding and continues to work on the script.

February 1997: Development funding comes through from B.C. Film and Telefilm – Smith is able to move back to b.c.

Fall 1997: Smith brings his script to the Praxis Screenwriters Workshop. Around the same time, he is asked to make a pitch at the Vancouver International Film Festival Trade Forum.

‘I am horrible at pitches and was very nervous,’ he says. ‘I pitched the project miserably to 300 people. It was a horrible pitch, but after that the project rollercoaster existed. People knew about it.’

December 1997: The Pacific National Exhibit Grounds are secured as the main location for the film. Smith spends time on the deserted grounds to do research and get a feel for the desolate atmosphere.

January 1998: The process of showing the script to various broadcasters and distributors is begun. Smith ‘mumbles his way through’ a pitch to cbc. He continues rewriting the script, taking what he would later call, ‘several detours.’

May 1998: Smith is at Cannes and Brian Freeman of cbc calls, saying he has decided to license rollercoaster for broadcast, creating the triggering licence.

June 1998: Smith realizes that the story he wanted to tell isn’t on the page. Inspired with new direction, he rips out part of the script and starts a major rewrite. ‘It took a long time for me to see that a certain twist in the film had anchored me. It didn’t belong and was detrimental. At this point I knew that shooting was going to begin Sept. 14, so the pressure was on.’

Smith credits story editors John Frizzell and Gary Fisher with pointing him in the right direction.

July 1998: Casting takes place. Brendan Fletcher (Little Criminals) is secured through a talent agency, along with other Vancouver talent. An open call for high school students results in 200 teens looking for a break. Brent Glenen is cast in one of the lead roles.

Smith heads off to Winnipeg to work on a tv series. He is still waiting for Telefilm to commit to the project on paper.

August 1998: Smith finishes the script in the second week of preproduction. It becomes clear that Vancouver production is booming and very little experienced crew is available in the city. A largely new crew is assembled.

September 1998: The 22-day shoot begins. ‘The night before we started principal photography, Connie and I sat down in the production office – a Britco trailer on an asphalt lot – and looked at what we were heading into. We both agreed that if we pulled it off for the money we had, and in the time we had, it was going to be a miracle. Meanwhile, a cheque we were expecting from Telefilm was not there and we had bills to pay.’

Smith discovers keeping five teens focused on rehearsals is impossible. So most of the rehearsal time consists of an exchange of ideas with the cast. Then, Smith loses his binder full of notes, diagrams and ideas on directing different scenes. As a result, he has to wing it.

‘I used to be a meticulous storyboard planner, but this experience changed me. It turned out to be a blessing to have lost the binder,’ he says.

Oct. 24, 1998: Principal photography is complete.

November 1998: Allan Lee begins the 11-week editing process. ‘The film was shot in a loose and unstructured way,’ says Smith, ‘and in editing it was cut to emotion rather than to continuity. We wanted it to have the feel of a ride, with that kind of shaken and afraid feeling. There was a freedom in editing that this kind of film allowed.’

January/February 1999: Test screenings are held and the film is edited further.

March 1999: Sound editing begins, with much of the film needing adr. Composer Don MacDonald puts together the score, providing half original music and half music from various artists.

September 1999: rollercoaster debuts at tiff.