Bucks Businesses Support the Movie-making Dreams of Local

In some cultures, it is believed it takes a village to raise a child. In Bucks County, it took a village to make a movie.

“Jersey Justice” is John Hunt’s first feature film, a contemporary revenge thriller with a twisted edge starring Emmy-winner Blanche Baker and international star Bo Svenson.  Filmed in 25 days in October 2005 and summer 2006, “Jerry Justice” is now selling out to local art-house crowds in the tri-state area. Local businesses offered their time, locations and other important resources in order to support Doylestown’s first independent film.

Hunt, a FedEx driver, made a leap of faith at age 47 to make his lifetime dream come true in the Philadelphia region. After the tragic death of his nephew, Hunt decided he needed a new way to express himself. An homage to the drive-in movies of the 70s, “Jersey Justice” has a rough attitude with a tongue-in-cheek approach to humor. The story revolves around a suburban woman named Polly, who witnesses her husband’s murder and decides to seek revenge during a 24-hour period. Along the way, Polly O’Bannon attracts a variety of colorful characters who share her taste for revenge in the pinelands of South Jersey. Although this middle-class soccer mom is on a killing spree, Baker’s portrayal of the character uses her humanity to maintain the audience’s sense of empathy toward O’Bannon.

The film changed much from Hunt’s initial concept, which based the story on a husband avenging his wife’s death. Not wanting to follow the often-used male revenge thriller plot formula, Hunt decided to twist things up a bit.  

“I thought it would be interesting to see a middle-aged Christian woman as the lead and how she expresses her anger in going after biker thugs who killed her husband,” Hunt said. “I was thinking about how a soccer mom would go through the day plotting out her revenge…going out to get a gun, buying ammunition and dressing up in leather.  It turned out to be rather funny.”

And that’s what attracted Hollywood actress Blanch Baker to the script. Baker is the first of many standout cast members in the film, including Bo Svenson, known for his role of Reverend Harmony in “Kill Bill: Vol 2,” as W.W. Tolliver; Johnny Williams, of “Goodfellas” fame, as Big Bill Romeo; Christopher Mann from HBO’s “The Wire” as Agent Paul Lane; and Gervase Peterson from “Survivor Borneo” as Wright.  

“I went to The Greater Philadelphia Film Office for help in recruiting actors,” said Hunt, which is where he met Joe Bressler and Sharon Pinkenson, who lent their support in finding the right actors needed.  Seventy percent of the cast was from the Philadelphia area, with most of the film shot in Hunt’s hometown of Doylestown, Bucks County.

“I wanted to keep it close to home. We shot at my house, the local park, in front of the courthouse and a lot of other places in Doylestown.  The best part about this town is that you have the support of everybody,” said Hunt. John and his wife Kathlyn Hunt have many friends in the community, some who were more than willing to allow them to film in their establishments at no charge. 

Kathlyn Hunt not only offered emotional support, but as the film’s executive producer, she worked earnestly to get the word out about the film. “I picked up the phone and called the Intelligencer and the Bucks County Herald and told them about the back-story. With all the bad news we hear about, it’s good to hear a positive story,” said Hunt.

The Hunts gained a great amount of community support through word of mouth. “We do all of our shopping locally and people recognize us. We’d go buy a sandwich and then mention that we happened to be making a movie and we asked if it was ok if they would hang a flyer in the shop. A lot of people supported us and believed in what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it. When we started out making this movie we knew that we would have to depend entirely on the local people and we were thrilled with the response we received,” remarked Kathlyn.

According to John Hunt, the people of Doylestown were incredibly generous and happy to be part of something more than the day to day. “Best of all, we did all of our shooting for free. People here weren’t looking for handouts,” remarked Hunt. So when John and Kathlyn Hunt wanted to use the place where they had their wedding as one of the locations for a shot in the movie, Jack Skudris, proprietor of Memorable Affairs’ Occasions in New Hope, was more than happy to oblige.

“The Hunts are really great and giving people. They are a lot of fun to work with,” mentioned Skudris, who he gave the Hunts the run of the house for a few days until they were finished filming. “The people here in the Bucks County Community had the privilege of coming together and being part of a quality movie.”

When it came to catering the set, Wil Mafei, owner of the Uptowne Deli in Doylestown was up to the challenge. The Hunts were long-time customers and when Kathlyn asked him to do the catering for the film, he was thrilled.

“I’m very flexible and located around the corner from them, so it was easy for me to cater to their needs,” remarked Mafei, who picked up additional business from the film’s local success.  “I got a great response from people who saw the film and told me that it was great that I catered for them,” he said. Usually people don’t stick around to check out the credits at the end of a film, but according to Mafei, “People wanted to know the locals who contributed to the film. It’s amazing how many people have actually seen the film and are now going to the local vendors.”

The Hunts also worked with John Hoenstine and Alison Pugh Hoffman of John Hoenstine Photography in Doylestown, where photographers took photos for the premier screening.  Kathlyn Hunt was happily surprised when they gave her the photos at no cost. “It was such a wonderful gesture,” she remarked.

Because the Hunts received an abundance of support from local vendors during production of “Jersey Justice,” they knew they wanted to have the movie’s premier showing in their hometown at the County Theatre on Main Street.

According to Hunt, The County Theater never had an independent film sell-out three shows in a row until the “Jersey Justice” screening.  In addition to having a debut at the County Theater, “Jersey Justice” also appeared at the Ambler Theatre this past September. The next showing is scheduled at 7 p.m., January 16 at the Bryn Mawr Institute.    

John Hunt was able to achieve his dream through the support of his wife and community. When asked if he would ever want to film a movie anywhere else, John Hunt replied, “I work exclusively in Pennsylvania.  I will always work out of my house, and I would love to make every film in this town.”