Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126292
road , By Charles Morey " O K Dave, one more time. Send the motorcycles throughl" Film Fair director Gus Jekel signaled production manager Dave Lindeman, and five new Kawasaki dual purpose bikes started down m northern his own mount. Then he stopped. The scene was over . "W e got a bonus that timel" camera operator Cronenweth exclaimed to director Jekel , "I saw a star off the handlebars of one of the bikes." Jekel and Cronenweth, Gus and jordy since everyone on the set worked on a first name basis onl y, compared ob servations as the bikes circled for another take, and the flower girl's mother ran up to put a coat over the shivering youngster's shoulders. The filming of "Mountain Love ," number two in the ' series of three Kawasaki commercials conceived by the J . Walter Thompson ad agency. had begun. "W e had originally thought about' having 'Ab ner' pick the flowers ," Kawasaki's National Advertising Manager Dale Stevenson explained, "bu t we couldn't .. the ecology thing, you know v- .so we had to add the flower girl." It was onl y one of a thousand details that the crew from Film Fair, Kawasaki and J. Walter Thompson had to work out. Chilly weather kept th e actors slip ' ping in and out of jackets and blankets between takes. At one point, Gus and the flower girl playfully hopped up and down . a successful attempt at keeping the ch ild warm and happy under the uncomfortable conditions. Later in the morning, Jekel and Lindeman would carefully tape the " ankles" of several chickens, then . tether them in place with fishline to keep the wayward fowl in the picture instead of scattering off through the woods. In two scenes, a helper was kept busy full time providing exactly the correct amount of smoke. drifting. from log cabin chimneys. And all was accomplished shooting film in between fast moving clouds throughout the changeable fall day. • The commercial is a typically brief and far- fetched TV situation. Joining Abner and the flower girl in the script that's a take- off on AI Capp's "Dogpatch" comicstrip is Lisa Lawalin. The Atlanta actress plays "¥aybelle." a beautiful blonde hillgirl admired from afar by Abner. In fact . that's where the story begins. A four -second scene that opens the commercial is the result of a two-hour filming session on the rims of Tallulah Gorge near th e town of Clayton, Georgia. Abner, standing on the edge of a 600 ·foot cliff in front of his classic mountain cabin. sees Ma ybelle on the opposite side of t he gorge and im mediately makes up his mind that the y must mee t. He lea ves home in his in - Many-faceted director Gus Jekel's job included chicken-tying, hopping to keep a young actress happy and warm, and even directing the scenesI 16