New Cochrane couple to produce $12 M First World War epic
August 24, 2010
By: Jeremy Nolais
Leslie & Steve McMichael
She played Venus De Milo, the lone female member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and he acted in the same TV show across enemy lines as a foot soldier.
Somehow they fell in love.
Now, with their days of pizza-scarfing and crime fighting on the hit entertainment series of the ’90s behind them, the stunt-performing couple, who go by Leslie and Steve McMichael in real life, have moved to Cochrane and are preparing to produce their first film.
“It was actually a trivia question at our wedding ‘How many times has Leslie proverbially kicked my ass,’ ” Steve joked. “I think it was like 21 times.”
The duo’s combined list of film credits certainly features a great deal of variety.
Both worked on James Cameron’s series Dark Angel — Leslie spent more than two years working as Jessica Alba’s stunt double — as well as numerous other blockbusters, including X-Men: The Last Stand, Blade: Trinity and Scary Movie.
Despite this, Leslie said the work of a stunt performer is less than glamourous at times. She believes her behind-the-scenes knowledge will help her a great deal once filming begins on their production Four Saints.
Four Saints producers Leslie and Steve McMichael at their new Cochrane home. Photo Jeremy Broadfield
Set during the First World War, the feature-length movie follows four courageous young nurses during the battle in Flanders, Belgium. Over a period of nearly four years, it is believed they saved hundreds of lives.
“They take it upon themselves,” Leslie said of her film’s characters.
“You don’t commonly hear about women in World War
The script was penned by historian, author, composer and award-winning documentary director Jean-Pierre Isbouts, whom Leslie met in 2004.
Leslie said Isbouts brought up the film years ago in hopes that she would perform stunts if the project ever got off the ground.
As Leslie and Steve began making plans to produce a film through their company, White Wing Enterprises, they realized much of the set for a First World War epic was still available on the Tsuu T’ina Nation grounds after the $20-million Canadian film Passchendaele was filmed there in 2007.
“We came and did a location scout last year,” explained Leslie, who originally hails from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. “(The sets are) pretty much still there.
“There are wild horses and hundreds of acres of untouched land . . . and that’s what we need. We want big, wide-open shots where we can just shoot the world.”
After securing the Tsuu T’ina grounds, and optioning the script from Isbouts, the McMichaels began the daunting task of organizing a film with a $12-million budget.
“It’s been a year of blood, sweat and tears for us to get it altogether,” said Leslie, who holds a PhD in media psychology and has published two children’s books.
The film is set to begin filming in mid-October and will feature a number of what Leslie calls “bankable” actors including Rhona Mitra, Selma Blair and Cary Elwes.
Some of the film’s more notable scenes will include the first use of mustard gas in combat and the creation of Lt.-Col. John McCrae’s world famous poem In Flanders Fields.
Leslie admitted she and Steve are feeling the pressure as they prepare to embark on their first project, one which members of the Alberta film industry hope will work wonders to revive a struggling sector in the province.
“(The Tsuu T’ina people) are going do a little ceremony for us on the first day of filming, like a good luck blessing,” Leslie said. “It’s good, we could use all the blessings we can get.”
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