National Exchange by Bruce Bradley | Aria Pictures Weblog

Date: August 4, 2014
Author: Gerald Martin Davenport
Reading Time: 7 minutes

Bruce Bradley and Robert Stuckey’s The National Exchange

Bruce Bradley, winemaker, and writer of Oberon’s Gold wrote The National Exchange with Robert Stuckey, a longtime restaurateur in the hospitality industry, and submitted it to the NCTV Screenplay Contest “Foothill Films.” It was selected to be 1 of the 10 films to be made during the summer then premiered on the big screen at the Del Oro Theater in Grass Valley, California on October 6, 2014.

The National Exchange is about the historic National ‘Exchange’ Hotel in Nevada City, California, the current owner is Tom Coleman, set in 1856, and the characters that visit, or frequent, the establishment. Such characters that may have visited The National Exchange were Henry Plummer {played by Benjamin Fredriech}, Sheriff of the City of Nevada — (the town of Nevada was incorporated on April 19, 1856. In August of 1864, the word “City” was added to the name to relieve confusion with the bordering state of Nevada [some history books say it was a fight that the township of Nevada lost to the powerful state of Nevada, which is why, if you look at a map of NEVADA COUNTY, it looks like an old pistol pointing at the state of Nevada]);

Charles Earl Boles, aka Black Bart, came to the area in the 1870s but he may have visited when he was 27 with his wife Mary from Illinois; Rafael Escobar, a mean bandit may have stopped by for a drink or two and some company.

Bruce Bradley and Robert Stuckey had Gerald Martin Davenport help with the character development and storyline before they jumped into pre-production, acquiring the use of the Historic National ‘Exchange’ Hotel in Nevada City and set up the Rector Room to be a stand-in Saloon for the film.

Aria Pictures and BRECKPORT Media Solutions teamed up to capture the action of the sites and sounds of The National Exchange as actors portrayed characters in 1856.

Filmmaking Challenges

“It was an unexpected fun ride,” Gerald says about The National Exchange. “Doing a movie with inexperienced actors is a challenge, but when you add that the screenplay is 20 pages and we need to do it in two days, you have doubts and wonder why I agreed to do it?” In the end, Gerald states “I cannot believe we did it, everyone was a trooper. In fact, in all of the movies I have directed I have been blessed with being surrounded by amazing, talented people, both actors and crew members, but I have had a few that, well, I won’t work with again.”

Gerald’s list of films he has Directed includes Paint (writer-editor-producer-artwork); Eleven Minutes Late (writer – Editor); THE GOLdEN TREE (writer-editor-producer); the WATERING hole (writer-editor); Petite Chardonnay (writer-editor-producer); The Producer (editor); Oberon’s Gold (screenplay help – editor); and The National Exchange (screenplay help – editor).

“I think doing eight pictures is good enough to see if I am any good at it or if I like doing it. Besides the stress and anxiety, I put myself through just tears me up when the same intensity from others is not matched. I am a passionate person about my creativity and integrity I thought I was getting better, but I do not see it in me anymore. I do have some memories I will cherish, till I die. I thank everyone who has sacrificed their time, money, and talents that went through the journeys with me. I am your humble servant.”

Gerald will not leave the movie or film world, as he loves post-production “the actual making of the movie” as he states is his forte and expertise.

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