Film crew shoots supernatural suspense thriller in the legendary Lawrence mansion | News, sports, jobs

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Actress Kushi Beauchamp of Kansas City films a scene from the film “One Eye Open” in front of Terry and Elaine Riordan’s home at 1613 Tennessee St. on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. The film’s director, Michael D. Coffey , spends three weeks filming the suspense thriller in Lawrence.

Michael Coffey has wanted to do a thriller with Lawrence for seven years – ever since he came up with the script for One Eye Open.

He immediately found the perfect setting: the Ludington-Thacher House—that mid-19th-century brick home that turns everyone’s head as they drive down the 1600 block of Tennessee Street. And he even cast some of the roles. But he simply couldn’t raise the necessary funds at the time.

Now, however, he’s found the way and the cameras are rolling on the historic mansion, which Coffey likens as a “co-star” in the film.

The mansion, currently owned by the Riordan family, is an architectural showpiece with Tiffany glass windows, embossed leather paneling and solid bronze fixtures. And it’s perfect for a scary thriller.

“It’s like a maze with multiple levels and a variety of 17 rooms, so it was ideal for the immersive scenes, chases, hideouts, etc.,” said Coffey, whose most recent film was 2021’s “Triumph,” starring RJ Mitte “Breaking Bad” fame.

Mitte will also appear in One Eye Open, joining Chris Bylsma (2020’s News of the World), Kushi Beauchamp, Kevin Willmott and others in a 13-member cast. Coffey is both producer and director.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Michael D. Coffey looks at the camera footage of a movie scene on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, outside the home at 1613 Tennessee St. Coffey is the writer and director of a suspense thriller filmed in and around the Lawrence home.

The film follows Samantha, played by Beauchamp, a recent college graduate in Lawrence who cares for her ailing grandfather and becomes embroiled in what Coffey describes as a “deadly game of cat and mouse with haunted thieves.” gets entangled.

The title “One Eye Open” is intended to evoke a feeling of human vulnerability, such as when we sleep and our eyes and consciousness are closed to the world. In the film, Samantha is creepily advised to sleep with one eye open.

Coffey has loved scary films and exciting stories since he was a child.

“When I was about 5 and 6 years old, I enjoyed watching a television show called Creature Feature, directed by John Jones as Dr. San Guinary was moderated. That was my first exposure to scary movies,” he said. “In seventh or eighth grade I wrote my first short story, a horror thriller called ‘As the Clock Ticked On’.”

Later he enjoyed watching suspense thrillers such as Alfred Hitchcock films and Stephen King’s “The Shining”. What he doesn’t like, however, are typical horror films that focus on gore.

He prefers a compelling story “with compelling characters that keep you on the edge of your seat with mysteries and twists,” he said.

Coffey’s cinematographer for One Eye Open is Hanuman Brown-Eagle.

“His cinematography is captivating,” Coffey said. “One of my goals is to make my film look like a million-dollar production, and I’m very happy with what I saw on set during filming.”

Coffey hopes to finish filming around October 14th. The film is then professionally edited. He then hopes to organize a theatrical release, including a local screening at Liberty Hall, and then find a streaming platform for the film.

Like most screenwriters, Coffey constantly has several script ideas in mind. At the moment, he expects his next production to be a romantic comedy he created called “The Funny Guy,” about a stand-up comedian with mild cerebral palsy who sets out to find the love of his life. He has already hired comedian Josh Blue for the role, who, like Coffey and Mitte, suffers from cerebral palsy.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

The clapboards for the film “One Eye Open” are ready to open a new scene at 1613 Tennessee St. on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Erika Kjorlie-Geery, production designer, art director and prop master, organizes props for a garden scene on the set of the film “One Eye Open” on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Actress Kushi Beauchamp and director, producer and screenwriter Michael D. Coffey visit the set of “One Eye Open” on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

University of Kansas students jog down Tennessee Street and pass actress Kushi Beauchamp on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, as Beauchamp prepares to film a scene in the suspense thriller “One Eye Open.”

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas City actress Kushi Beauchamp and her crew members take a break on the set of the film “One Eye Open,” Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, 1613 Tennessee St.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence director, producer and screenwriter Michael D. Coffey is currently filming a suspense thriller, “One Eye Open,” in Lawrence. Coffey wrote the screenplay for “Triumph,” the 2021 film based on Coffey’s own teenage years with cerebral palsy. Coffey is photographed near a sculpture at Terry and Elaine Riordan’s home, 1613 Tennessee St., where the film is primarily shot.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

Crew members on the set of the film “One Eye Open” prepare for a shoot Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at 1613 Tennessee St.

Photo by: Mike Yoder

The Ludington-Thacher House, 1613 Tennessee St., owned by Terry and Elaine Riordan, who have poured countless hours and resources into restoring the 19th-century home, is being used for the filming of a suspense thriller directed by Michael D .Coffey was written and directed. by Lawrence.