Sons & Daughters of Thunder

Quad City Arts awards “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” Arts Dollars grant

Abolitionists Thomas Alan Taylor (Theodore Weld) and Anthony Stratton (James Thome) in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

Through their fiscal sponsor the Moline Foundation, Emmy® nominated Moline, Illinois filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films have received an Arts Dollars grant for $5,000 from Quad City Arts, provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, and John Deere, in support of their new docudrama film project Sons & Daughters of Thunder. 

The grant award will be used to cover a portion of the cost of engaging key members of the project’s cast to re-record portions of the on-screen dialogue (ADR--additional dialogue recording) for the finished film in a controlled studio setting.

“We are very grateful to Quad City Arts for this grant award,” said Director Kelly Rundle.  “This funding will help with a very important part of the post-production process on the film project.”

Based on a play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the unforgettable true story of the beginning of the end of slavery in America. In 1834, if polite discussions about abolishing slavery were considered inappropriate among Americans in Northern states, then eighteen days of public student-sponsored debates on the divisive subject at Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio (a border community) were scandalous.

Organized by Theodore Weld, one of the architects of the abolitionist movement, the shocking oratory sparked intense controversy and awakened a young Harriet Beecher (Stowe) to the realities of slavery.

Jessica Taylor as Harriet Beecher in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

When school trustees slapped a gag order on the "Lane Rebels," most of the students left the school in collective protest.  Years later, Harriet's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was described by President Abraham Lincoln as the book that started the Civil War. The novel changed the course of American history by turning public sentiment in favor of abolition.

The film was shot in historic sites including the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio, Augustana College's House on the Hill and Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Rock Island, Illinois, the Jenny Lind Chapel in Andover (Henry County), Dillon Home Museum in Sterling (Whiteside County). The majority of the actors and crew are from the Quad Cities area.

A world premiere of the film will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio and a special Quad Cities screening is tentatively planned for late 2018 or early 2019 on the Putnam Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa.

Chris Ryder (Sound) slates a climactic scene in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

Quad City Arts is dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Quad City region through the arts. The organization’s dual role of presenting the arts and humanities, as well as serving as an arts resource, allows Quad City Arts to serve more than 350,000 people annually in the Arts Center in Rock Island and at over 200 community rural and urban community sites.  Support for Arts Dollars is provided by the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, John Deere and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Since 1990, Q-C Arts has awarded more than $1 million for local artists and nonprofit organizations to enrich the quality of life in the region through the arts.

The Moline Foundation serves as a catalyst and leader in encouraging philanthropy and channeling resources to meet the needs of the Quad Cities and the surrounding area.  The Moline Foundation serves the donors, citizens, and non-profit organizations in the counties of Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Warren, Henderson, and McDonough in Illinois, and Scott County in Iowa.

Fourth Wall Films is an award-winning and Regional Emmy® nominated independent film and video production company formerly located in Los Angeles, and now based in Moline, Illinois.

Fourth Wall Films - Making 'Movies That Matter'

Filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of the award-winning Fourth Wall Films celebrated their tenth year in the Midwest producing historic Midwestern documentary film stories.

"Fundraising is the single most challenging part of independent filmmaking," said producer Tammy Rundle.  "And while Fourth Wall Films has received more than a dozen Humanities Media Grant Awards from seven Midwestern states for various documentary projects, we must raise matching funds for each grant awarded to our film projects."

"Each year we reach out to supporters and fans of our film work for contributions to help us continue making Movies that Matter," said director Kelly Rundle.

You can help Fourth Wall Films continue to make "Movies That Matter" through a new GoFundMefundraising campaign.  Supporters can contribute any amount at GoFundMe.com/fourthwallfilms.

Money raised will be used as matching funds for recent grants awarded to two Fourth Wall Films projects (Riding the Rails to Hero Street and Sons & Daughters of Thunder) and specifically used for editing, licensing and production fees.

The campaign is live December 2017 (for year-end-contributions) through the end of 2018.  Sons & Daughters of Thunder will premiere in December 2018 at the Putnam Museum Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa. 

Fourth Wall Films are the producers of the Emmy-nominated Country School: One Room - One Nation, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 and Letters Home to Hero Street (a co-production with WQPT-PBS). To order Fourth Wall Films DVDs visit: http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

Remembering Kent Hawley

Kent & Earlene Hawley (center) during filming of Sons & Daughters of Thunder at Karpeles Museum in Rock Island, Illinois. They participated as extras in a large crowd scene. Here they stand with Daniel Rairdin-Hale (Calvin Stowe), Jessica Denney-Taylor (Harriet Beecher) and Thomas Alan Taylor (Theodore Weld).

We are very sad to share that Sons & Daughters of Thunder co-producer Kent Hawley passed away today. We were truly blessed and honored to have known him, worked with him on Thunder and to have loved him as a trusted and enlightened friend.

Kent was the best of people, and will truly be missed by so many all over the world.  Our deepest sympathy to his lovely wife, Earlene, and to his family who adored him.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder will be dedicated to Kent & Earlene Hawley.

It's Official! "Thunder" is in Post-Production!

Thomas Alan Taylor as Theodore Weld in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

We are pleased to share that we completed the production phase of Sons & Daughters of Thunder and are now officially in post-production (editing) on the film.  

The Thunder project was on hold in 2016 while we turned our attention to a commissioned museum film project, which premiered May 2017 at the new Good Earth at Blood Run State Park Visitors Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

It is good to turn our attention back to this exciting project!  We are very excited about the footage captured for Thunder by award-winning filmmaker Kevin Railsback, our Director of Photography, and we are eager to bring the film ‘to life’ in the editing room.

Jess Denney as a young Harriet Beecher in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

Our first order of business is creating a new trailer for Sons & Daughters of Thunder, and we will share that here when it is completed.

The most challenging part of independent filmmaking is raising the money to complete your project.  Thanks to every one of our contributors, we were able to get through production—filming approximately 15 key actors and dozens of extras in period costume over eight months in beautiful locations in Illinois and at the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tentatively we are working toward finishing Thunder and premiering it in 2018, with additional special showings and a DVD release to follow.  We want to get the docudrama right. That is most important to us.

Remember to LIKE the Sons & Daughters of Thunder Facebook fan page to get all of the updated news! Follow this link and click LIKE: THUNDER!

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Based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the true story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates.  The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld (played by acclaimed stage actor Thomas Alan Taylor), were the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America.  The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and Lane Seminary officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body.  This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus of Lane students to Oberlin College.  A young Harriet Beecher’s (played by acclaimed stage actress Jess Denney) exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her magnum opus Uncle Tom's Cabin.  

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is co-produced by Kent Hawley, and by Fourth Wall Films, owned by Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, a film and video production company specializing in historical documentaries for public television broadcast and DVD home video.  

We greatly acknowledge that the fiscal sponsors for the film project are The Shell Rock Historical Society, and The Moline Foundation.  If you are interested in contributing to the film project and receiving screen credit, please click here: SUPPORT THUNDER!

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is slated for release in late 2018.

Rundles Celebrate Ten Years & Ten Films In Quad Cities

Tammy & Kelly Rundle during filming at the Jenny Lind Chapel in Andover, Illinois for the new docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder, which will premiere at the Putnam Museum Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa late 2017.

March 2017 marks the 10 year anniversary of documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle’s move from Los Angeles to the Quad Cities. Ten films and three Mid-America Emmy® nominations later, their new documentary The Barn Raisers will have its broadcast premiere on WQPT-PBS on Sunday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m.  Their Emmy-nominated River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 will air following The Barn Raisers at 10:00 p.m.  

The Barn Raisers is also an Official Selection By-Invitation at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Southern California, where 50,000+ attendees will view films from all over the world April 20-27, 2017.

“This is a great way to celebrate ten wonderful years in the Quad Cities,” said Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.  “We are always grateful and honored to have our broadcast premieres on WQPT.”

The film will air again on WQPT on Thursday, March 30 at 11:00 p.m.

The Barn Raisers tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture.  The film explores what building methods, barn styles, and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of the Nation.  The Barn Raisers is a companion film to the Rundles’ Emmy® nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation.

"The Barn Raisers feels like a hymn to the solemn beauty and importance of these buildings, and the Rundles treat them with the reverence they deserve...” wrote Jonathan Turner, film reviewer for the Dispatch-Argus.

Linda Cook, film critic for the Quad City Times gave the film 4-out-of-4 Stars and wrote: "Great documentaries, like this one, entertain, teach us about the human condition and help us see the world in a different way."

The Rundles were surprised to hear from the Newport Beach Film Festival.

"A programmer was looking for new films on architecture for a special section of the festival called Architecture, Art + Design.  They previewed the film and we were pleased to receive word that The Barn Raisers was selected for the festival," said Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

“We have come full circle,” Tammy said. “We made our home in Southern California for 18 years.  To have our latest documentary screen there as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary in the Quad Cities seems fitting.”

The Lane Rebels in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

The Rundles see a busy year ahead with production work on their Hero Street documentary series they are developing; editing their first docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder, a co-production with Kent and playwright Earlene Hawley, with a premiere date planned for later this year on the Putnam Museum Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa; and releasing Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (a co-production with partner Garry McGee of McMarr LTD) for broadcast and on DVD early in 2018.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants from Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, the Ohio Humanities Council, the National Barn Alliance, and the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Moline Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Jackson County.

The fiscal sponsors for the film project are Friends of Ohio Barns, the Kansas Barn Alliance, KPTS-PBS, and the Jackson County Historical Society.  

The Rundles are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS).

To PRE-ORDER the DVD of The Barn Raisers, click here:  http://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

"The Barn Raisers" and "Sons & Daughters of Thunder" Rise to Rundles' Release List

Jess Denney (Harriet Beecher) and Thomas Alan Taylor (Theodore Weld) in Sons & Daughters of Thunder, set for release in the fall of 2016.

Two highly anticipated films by award-winning Quad Cities filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films will be released in 2016/2017.

The Barn Raisers, a historical documentary feature film which tells the story of barns in the Upper Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture, will premiere January 2017.  The Rundle's first historical docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder, featuring stage and film actors from the Quad Cities, Chicago and Los Angeles, will premiere in 2018--if final funding is in place. The Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa will host both events, and the films will be featured in the National Geographic Giant Screen Theater.

The Barn Raisers will paint a cinematic portrait of barns and builders, and remind viewers that these remnants from America’s rural past are still here to be interpreted and experienced. Barns were constructed by farmer-craftsmen, professional builders who traveled from job to job, and even architects like Frank Lloyd Wright.  The documentary project received grant awards from Humanities Iowa and Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage area, as well as humanities councils in Kansas, Wisconsin and Ohio, along with a grant from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the National Barn Alliance.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the true story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates.  The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld (played by actor Thomas Alan Taylor), were the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America.  The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and Lane Seminary officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body.  This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus of Lane students to Oberlin College. 

A young Harriet Beecher’s (played by actress Jess Denney) exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her international best-seller Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Shot in Illinois and Ohio, the docudrama is based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley of Waverly, Iowa.  Her husband Kent is one of the project's producers. 

Kimberly Kurtenbach Furness is Thunder's executive producer. A second premiere event will likely take place at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Special screenings of the film will also take place in Waverly, Iowa and Andover and Sterling, Illinois.

To help with the costs of post-production, tax deductible contributions can be made by clicking HERE! Contact us regarding a generous cash match contribution to the project and how you can help!

Both film projects are slated for theatrical and special event showings, a national DVD release and regional PBS broadcasts to follow.

The Rundles have received three Mid-America Emmy® nominations: one for their documentary co-produced with WQPT, Letters Home to Hero Street, River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, and one for Country School: One Room – One Nation.

For more information visit FourthWallFilms.com, BarnMovie.com and LaneRebelsMovie.com.

"Thunder", When?

Most of the cast of Sons & Daughters of Thunder. The film will premiere in 2016.

The question we are receiving daily? "WHEN will Sons & Daughters of Thunder premiere?"

We LOVE that there is this eager anticipation to see Thunder!

So, here is the "simple" answer!  It typically takes us 12-18 months after production has wrapped to complete the post-production phase of a film project (editing, pick-up shooting, rough-cut, fine cutting, looping, music and sound mixing).

Since we are not a Hollywood studio that can crank films out quickly, nor do we have a Hollywood multi-million dollar budget, it takes us longer. We are full-time independent filmmakers working on several projects simultaneously and add to that the constant challenge of fundraising.  

Most importantly, since this is our FIRST narrative film (we are documentary filmmakers by trade), we want to get it right.

So, while we'd hoped to premiere the film in 2015, the short answer is Sons & Daughters of Thunder will premiere in 2018 (if final funding is in place) at the Putnam Giant Screen in Davenport, with wider release to follow.  

In the meantime, a new trailer of the film will be released later in late 2017. And we will be kicking off another fundraising campaign to wrap the project!

If you want to know more about how YOU can help, visit "How to Contribute".  

Tax-deductible contributions toward Sons & Daughters of Thunder can be made via our fiscal sponsor in Shell Rock, Iowa. Make your check payable to: Shell Rock Historical Society-Film, and mail your check to Fourth Wall Films, PO Box 702, Moline, IL 61265.

We have a long list of wonderful sponsors and contributors we gratefully acknowledge at "Contributors List".  Without their help, belief in us and constant cheer leading we would not be where we are on the project!

Thanks, everyone, for the anticipation, the financial contributions, for spreading the word and for all of your support! That is what we need to raise Thunder!

The Much-Anticipated Docudrama

Based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the true story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates.  The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld (played by acclaimed stage actor Thomas Alan Taylor), were the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America.  The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and Lane Seminary officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body.  This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus of Lane students to Oberlin College.  A young Harriet Beecher’s (played by acclaimed stage actress Jess Denney) exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her magnum opus Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Filming for Sons & Daughters of Thunder has taken place at beautiful historic sites like the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio (the only remaining structure on Lane Seminary grounds where the story originally took place), the Dillon Home Museum in Sterling, Illinois, the Jenny Lind Chapel in Andover, Illinois, Karpeles Manuscript Museum and Augustana College's  House on the Hill in Rock Island, Illinois.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is produced by Fourth Wall Films, owned by Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, a film and video production company specializing in historical documentaries for public television broadcast and DVD home video.  

The Rundle's received a regional Emmy® nomination for their documentary Country School: One Room - One Nation, and have received numerous awards for their documentary film series Lost Nation: The Ioway 1, 2&3, Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Garry McGee) and Villisca: Living with a Mystery; and the short documentaries Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT), Any Kid Anywhere: Sex Trafficking Survivor Stories (co-produced with Braking Traffik).  In addition to Sons & Daughters of Thunder, they are currently in production on the documentaries The Barn Raisers and Hero Street ; and post-production on River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 premiering on September 17, 2015.

“Sons & Daughters of Thunder” to Film at Harriet Beecher Stowe House on 180th Anniversary of Historic Cincinnati Event

Harriet Beecher Stowe House Hosts Special Film Reception
for Public on Friday Evening February 21, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harriet Beecher (Jess Denney) and Theodore Weld (Thomas Alan Taylor), with Professor Biggs (Tom Walljasper).

Cincinnati’s historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House will serve as one of the key locations for the new movie Sons & Daughters of Thunder produced by Emmy ® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, and Kent Hawley.  A special reception introducing to the public the filmmakers and the film’s stars Thomas Alan Taylor, Jess Denney and Janos Horvath will be held on the evening of February 21, 2014 at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, 2950 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley (of Waverly, Iowa) and Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the true story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates.  The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld (played by acclaimed stage actor Thomas Alan Taylor), were the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America.  The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and Lane Seminary officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body.  This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus of Lane students to Oberlin College.

A young Harriet Beecher’s (played by acclaimed stage actress Jess Denney) exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her magnum opus Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Filming for Sons & Daughters of Thunder will take place at the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio.  It is the only remaining structure on what was Lane Seminary land where the ground-breaking debates on emancipation took place in 1834. 

“It is exciting to be filming at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in February, exactly 180 years after the actual debates on the abolition of slavery took place at Lane Seminary,” said director Kelly Rundle.  Outstanding stage and film actors from Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Quad Cities area where the Rundles operate their production company Fourth Wall Films, have been cast in the film.

“The Beecher House is the only remaining structure on what was the Lane Theological Seminary grounds,” said producer Tammy Rundle.  “We are grateful to the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the Ohio Historical Society for their kind assistance in making it possible for us to film in the very site where this significant story took place.”

Lyman Beecher (Janos Horvath) with Director of Photography Kevin Railsback above--at the historic Jenny Lind Chapel in Andover, Illinois.

On Friday evening, February 21, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., the public is invited to attend a special film reception to meet the filmmakers and stars of Sons & Daughters of Thunder.  The event will include hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and Q&A with producers Kelly and Tammy Rundle, actors Thomas Alan Taylor (Theodore Weld), Jess Denney (Harriet Beecher) and Janos Horvath (Lyman Beecher).  Reservations are required.  To RSVP, call 513-751-0651.

Principal photography for Sons & Daughters of Thunder continues through July 2014.  In addition to the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio, filming will also take place at historic sites in Connecticut, Illinois and Iowa.  

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is slated for release in 2018 and will screen throughout the U.S. in independent theaters and film festivals.  It will be released nationally on DVD, with broadcasts on PBS stations to follow.  For more information about Sons & Daughters of Thunder, visit www.LaneRebelsMovie.com.

Open Call Movie Extras for February 8 & 9 Scenes in "Sons & Daughters of Thunder"

CASTING MOVIE EXTRAS FOR "SONS & DAUGHTERS OF THUNDER" Men and women ages 18+. The film, produced by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, is set in 1834.  See www.LaneRebelsMovie.com for more information. Filming will take place in Andover, IL (30 min. SE from Moline) on February 8 and 9, 2014. While the “extra” role is non-union and non-paid, we are grateful for your contribution to this project. Extras are responsible for their own transportation to and from the movie site and should plan for a long day shoot (call times TBA)--meal(s) provided if your call time is scheduled during breakfast and/or lunch. Extras will receive screen credit and a copy of the DVD when released. The film will be released in 2015 with screenings at film festivals, art theaters, PBS stations and a national DVD release. More details will be provided. Please email name, phone number, email address and a photo to assistant director [email protected]  February 2014 marks the 180th anniversary of the historic Lane Seminary debates, the first public debates on the topic of the abolition of slavery.  We hope to see you in 1834 on February 8 & 9th!

"Thunder" Topic of Discussion on Radio WVIK-NPR 90.3 FM Sunday, Jan. 26 1pm

Tune in to WVIK-NPR 90.3 FM Sunday, January 26, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. to hear "Sons & Daughters of Thunder" director Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, acclaimed actors Thomas Alan Taylor (Theodore Weld) and Jess Denney (Harriet Beecher) chat with Bruce Carter on "Art Talks" about the exciting new movie. The Thursday evening, January 23 program was pre-empted by a gubanatorial debate.

WVIK also streams online: http://www.wvik.org/about-us.html.