Birmingham-born filmmaker captures thrilling Iditarod tale
The Iditarod is a grueling 1000-plus-mile dog sled race between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska that takes about nine days. Lance Mackey won four consecutive races between 2007-2010. His dad Dick, one of the race’s founders, had won the first-ever event by a second in 1978.
A new documentary called "The Great Alone,” directed by Birmingham-born Greg Kohs, follows Mackey on the 2013 race. You can look on the Internet to see how he placed, but it is much more fun to watch his story (one filled with success but also struggles with cancer and substance abuse) unfold when it screens in one-night-only events at some local theaters.
Writer-director Kohs, 49, graduated from Birmingham Seaholm High School. He spent much of the 1990s working for NFL Films before moving to TV commercials. His desire to “tell stories about people without football helmets on” led him to make documentaries, including “Song Sung Blue,” about a husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute band. It took the grand jury and audience prizes for best documentary at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2008.
“The Great Alone" has already won several awards on the festival circuit. Now it arrives at theaters in a collaboration between Tugg.com and Theatricast. Theaters presell tickets a certain number of tickets – maybe 100 – before a screening can be set, then others can buy at the door. Kohs hopes to play in as many as 200 theaters with this strategy. You can see which one are playing it through the movie’s website, www.thegreatalone.com.
The best place to see it locally will certainly be the Mariner Theater in Marine City, which is owned by the filmmaker’s father, Gary Kohs. The premiere on Tuesday is sold out, but there are several performances through the end of the month. Kohs, who now lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey, plans to appear with the film during next weekend’s performances.
Q: How did you meet Lance Mackey and what attracts you to him as an interview subject?
A: I met Lance while directing a series of award-winning short films for Nike/Livestrong in 2008. Something about Lance’s authentic, real-as-dirt personality connected with me, and I vowed to one day tell his life story on film. He is an eternal optimist, even when he faces the most daunting situations; whether on the trail or in his personal life, he always seemed to pass through them. I took inspiration from that, I suppose. I also felt that he seems to be motivated most when he’s got a chip on his shoulder, whether that chip is about proving something to his dad or the other competitors or anyone else in his life. I picture him as kind of an Alaskan version of Kid Rock.
Q: Were you prepared for the physical challenges that faced you while filming in Alaska?
A: Cold and the unknown were the biggest challenges. Fortunately my years as a youth skating on Quarton Lake from sun up to sun down prepared me for the frozen eye lids and nostrils that were common while filming Lance on the Iditarod trail.
Q: The release strategy requires people to buy tickets before a screening is even scheduled? How is it going? Is Mackey involved?
A: The film is like one of my children. You care for it the best you can as you prepare it for the real world. Once the film is exposed to the public, it has to take care of itself. Fortunately for “The Great Alone," it has been a go-getter, gathering awards at most of the festivals it has screened at as it continues to win over audiences and festival jurors. … Mackey traveled to many of the festivals with one of his lead dogs, Amp. But he is now focused on training his team for the 2016 Iditarod that starts in Anchorage on March 5.
Q: You have plans to turn this into a narrative feature?
A: It’s not wise for me to share all the details, but that was always the ultimate goal: to make this a Hollywood feature. And there are people interested. There is one actor, an Academy Award-nominated actor, who really likes the idea of playing Mackey, has wanted to play him even before he knew about the film. His agent told us that he never considers a role without a script, but in this case I think we have something better. This was always the strategy: make the documentary first, give anyone interested the feeling for who Lance is and how Mackey lives. I guarantee it will give goosebumps to people more than just reading a script.
Q: What is it like taking this story back home?
A: I made the film because I wanted to share Lance’s story with others. To have the opportunity to share the film in theaters across the country is wonderful, but to have it in my dad’s theater, that is something extra special. I can’t wait to enjoy my morning coffee with an up-close view of a Great Lakes freighter churning up the river at sunrise. Marine City is a magical place, this wonderful combination of Norman Rockwell and Kid Rock. You might call it Kid Rockwellian.
'The Great Alone'
Opens Tuesday, with more screenings through Feb. 28 at the Mariner Theater
430 S. Water St., Marine City
765-5155
www.marinertheater.net
$11