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Melinka Thompson-Godoy tells the story of the Centralian fire with "The Town That Was"
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The Centralia fire has been burning since 1962
Imagine there was a terrible fire in your home town. A terrible fire which burned underneath the town. A terrible fire which burned underneath the town since 1962. Would you still live there? The Town That Was tells the story of Centralia and its inhabitants, both past and present, as told through the eyes of the youngest remaining Centralian, John Lokitis. I had a chance to speak with Melinka Thompson-Godoy, the producer of this fascinating and moving documentary.
JM: How did you first hear about the unique town of Centralia?
MTG: I was first brought on to the project through an email that one of the directors, Chris Perkel, sent me in April of 2004. Chris and I went to Columbia undergraduate together and he is one of my best guy friends. He and his writing partner had been working on this documentary and fleshing out the project for a couple of years and were finally close to filming day. He explained the story of John Lokitis and his plight to keep his town alive and I was immediately intrigued. I knew how talented Chris was from our time together at college and had heard nothing but amazing things about his writing and directing partner so I signed on immediately.
JM: Was it difficult to track down many former residents?
MTG: Amazingly enough, many of the former residents did not move too far from Centralia. We were surprised at how many were in the Pennsylvania area. That certainly helped. Georgie Roland, co-director of the film, still lives in Pennsylvania, so we made his home our base of operations when we traveled to film the interviews. Chris and Georgie were already pretty tied in to the Yahoo! groups and other email chats about Centralia that they started following as soon as they became interested in making the documentary and were able to obtain information about former residents that way as well as through diligent research.
JM: As I understand it, this documentary took five years to complete. How did the length of time become a factor in the final product?
MTG: The most obvious factor was that it dragged out the completion of the film much longer than necessary. The three of us were working full time jobs and living in three different states, Chris in Los Angeles, Georgie in Pennsylvania and me in New York, so the only time we could get together to go on the road and film was when we were all between jobs or could take time off. That's the main reason why it took so long. None of us were getting paid to make this film and we were often paying out of our own pockets for production expenses. We were able to raise the little money we spent on the film by appealing to friends and family. Just the logistics of getting the three of us together was sometimes enough to make us wait a bit until it could work for everyone's schedule. Luckily we were able to schedule our interviews in bulk so we could be very productive when we did go out to Centralia and the surrounding area.
John Lokitis, the youngest remaining Centralian
JM: What was it like producing this film with such a skeleton crew?
MTG: It was both extremely difficult and a great pleasure. Since it was just the three of us during production we had to make sure that we had everything handled between us. That meant that we all had to wear many hats, but at least we could consolidate and only worry about the crucial items. We packed light and brought only the essential equipment. We would often have to improvise whenever possible. Everyone pulled their own weight and we watched out for one another. With only three people it made it really easy to rush in, set up quickly, do the interview and move on to the next place. With our often tight shooting schedule that proved very helpful.
JM: Of all the roles you had to play to make this film, which took you the most out of your element?
MTG: Hmm... That's a good question. All throughout college, I strived to learn about all aspects of filmmaking so I spent a lot of time on sets learning about as many different departments as possible. Through that experience, I felt very comfortable on set, handling all of the equipment, prepping for shooting, helping as needed, etc. The one thing I had never done in my life before was work on a documentary where it was someone’s real life we were documenting and not fiction. I wouldn’t say I was out of my element, but it was wonderful to be experiencing that for the first time and being so affected by it.
JM: What sort of connection do you feel to Centralia after spending so much time trying to tell its story?
MTG: As I mentioned before, I was definitely very affected by this story. We inserted ourselves into John’s life and it mattered to us what happened to him and where he was going next. We try our best to be objective in our film, but we were finding ourselves personally connecting with this man and caring about him. Chris and Georgie would remark on how as time progressed the focus of the story changed and how the entire film had evolved. Instead of being about the fire, it was now a much more personal story about the town and the people who loved it and of course of one man’s story in particular. Meeting all of the people we interviewed and hearing their stories really opened our eyes. I saw how universally people could relate to what they were talking about and to their passion and their struggles. It was quite an awe-inspiring as well as often inspirational time in my life, and I am so happy I had the opportunity to do it.
The Town That Was available now on DVD
JM: Coming off of this movie as producer, how did your career transition into visual effects?
MTG: I was actually already working in visual effects when Chris brought me this documentary. I was working as a freelance VFX Coordinator and any other job I could get my hands on and would work on The Town That Was in between gigs. I fell into VFX randomly when my friend recommended me for a VFX Coordinating position at a NYC company called Amoeba Proteus when she knew I was looking for a job and had previous experience as a coordinator. I met with the company and they hired me. I learned the intricacies of the VFX department while working with them.
JM: Are you still looking to produce?
MTG: I am currently working as a VFX Producer at Look Effects, Inc. in Hollywood, CA. I have had the great fortune to work on some amazing television shows and features during my tenure at the company and look forward to many more. I am also always looking for that fiction or non-fiction project that I will produce next and have several writer friends, Chris and Georgie included, that are currently writing screenplays and planning their next project. As soon as a story truly grabs me and pulls at my core like Centralia's story did, I know I will have found my next producing project. Until then, I will be content to help create amazing visual effects for the entertainment community.
JM: Let's say you have access to a time machine. You get one chance to change something about your career thus far. What do you do?
MTG: All of the choices I have made in my past have led to where I am today. I have had some pretty incredible experiences and tried my hand at many different jobs within the film world and I have loved every moment of it. It’s been an interesting road that hasn’t always been easy, but each and every one of them have been learning and life experiences and I wouldn’t change a thing.
To learn more about The Town That Was and Centralia, visit the film’s website:
http://www.thetownthatwas.com/
The film is also currently available on Netflix.
A special thanks to Melinka Thompson-Godoy for the interview, and good luck to the last remaining residents of Centralia.
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