THE CREATORS
Hanging with Hollywood
Micanopy photographer Gene Page knows big-city lights, yet relishes life in small-town North Florida

Web tools Bookmark Forums Print this Email this ZOOM LARA NEEL/The Gainesville Sun Gene Page, with his pony tail, beard and army jacket, is not your typical Hollywood still photographer. But he has more than 30 movie credits to date. In fact, you'll see Page's photographs in ads, movie theaters and Web sites when "Jeepers Creepers 2" hits the theaters Aug. 29. Here, Page peers through the lens of one of his first cameras; he began learning about photography and darkrooms at the age of 9. ABOUT THE ARTIST Profession: Still photographer for the film industry who lives near Micanopy. Family: He and his wife, Kim, have a son Gene, 8, and daughter Carter, 5. Education: St. Petersburg Junior College, University of Florida and Long Island University.

ar from the glitz of Hollywood, you will find Gene Page savoring the quiet life, amid the oak-canopied dirt roads and quaint antique shops of Micanopy.

Page and his family - wife Kim, son Gene, 8, and daughter Carter, 5 - blend well with other residents of this town 15 miles south of Gainesville. A forest hides their house from the dirt road. A tin roof slopes over their oversized, screened-in porch. Antique furniture fills their home, giving it the peaceful resemblance to the dozen antique shops that decorate Micanopy's downtown.

Page's small-town lifestyle is in stark contrast to his professional one. Page is a Hollywood still-film photographer with more than 30 movie credits, including "Basic," "Jeepers Creepers," "Swimfan" and "Bio-Dome," to name a few.

Page photographs the action on movie sets, alongside the movie camera. His photographs are then used to publicize the movies.

"It's not as easy as you think it would be," Page says. "You cannot just take a camera and walk on a film set."

Page must stay keenly alert, dodging other numerous cameras and staying absolutely quiet, so not to distract the actors.

Ray Angelic, production manager for the film "Serving Sara," worked with Page on "Strangeland" and "Down." While Page may not be graceful, says Angelic, he's always mindful of what's going on and stays in the shadows.

Page deviates from the typical Hollywood look with his pony tail, beard and army jacket, Angelic says.

"He's a gun-owning, swamp-dwelling, Land Rover-driving guy who gets to hang out with John Travolta," Angelic says.

Page worked with Travolta on "Basic," filmed in Jacksonville, and is currently working with him in Tampa on "The Punisher," which will be released next summer.

Page's photographs will be in advertisements, movie theaters and Web sites when "Jeepers Creepers 2" hits the theaters Aug. 29.

ZOOM COURTESY OF GENE PAGE This photo showing Gene Page, far right, along with actor Stephen Baldwin and comedian Pauly Shore from the set of the movie "Bio-Dome" was part of a surprise birthday gift to Page's wife, Kim.

Growing up
age began learning about photography and darkrooms at the age of 9. His grandfather owned the Bradenton Herald, and he and brother Roby played on the presses and in the darkrooms after hours.

About that time, Page found a vintage 1930s 8mm movie camera and began taking pictures. He began spending more time at the Herald and even began taking on photo assignments when pictures needed to be reshot.

"They thought I was just taking paperwork back to the darkroom," Page says.

Page also became a movie maker in the fourth grade. While attending the Episcopalian school in Bradenton, he convinced the mayor's son to be in his adaptation of "Dracula."

Page's family later moved overseas to Germany, Italy and Taiwan, but it was in California, that Page spent much of his time sneaking onto film sets at Universal Studios.

"Living in California exposed me to the film industry unlike any other place," Page recalls.

He frequented film sets so often that, once seated on the visitor tour tram, he knew the best locations at which to jump off and get a sneak peek at the action.

At 17, Page remembers sneaking into a prop truck to get out of the rain when actor Steve Martin came in, in hopes of finding a prop golf club.

"He was looking for a weapon that wouldn't be too violent for the time slot he was in," Page says.

A prop man finally had to come and find it for Martin.

"They probably thought I was a legitimate visitor on the set, when in reality I had jumped off the tram," Page says.

Following high school, Page joined the Air Force, and later attended the University of Florida.

It was in Gainesville that Page met his future wife, Kim, in his first photography class. Later, he, Roby and Kim all worked together as photographers at The Independent Florida Alligator.

Life for Gene and Kim was all about classes and the police scanner, Page recalls. "Some of the dates that we went on involved accidents on I-75," Page says.

When Johnson Hall and the old Rathskeller pub caught fire at UF, Gene recalls he and Kim hiring a plane at $60 per hour to get the first aerial shot of the damage.

In 1989, Gene and Kim applied for graduate school at Long Island University, aiming for master's degrees in fine arts and photography. At the same time, they both interned at Newsday.

Getting started
hree years later, at a motion picture/still-film workshop in Maine, Page got to work on the film "Man Without a Face," starring Mel Gibson, and Page says he fell in love.

Page was first hired to work on the set of "Heading Home" in 1993. He was also working part-time as a newspaper photographer in Syracuse and thus had to commute four to five hours a day.

"When I think back on those days, I'm proud of myself for doing it," Page says.

After that, Page says, things mushroomed. Contacts he made while working on "Heading Home" led to 18 more movie jobs.

"It's who you know and what you can do," Page says.

The couple later moved to Manhattan and freelanced at Newsday. Once again Page listened to police scanners for leads on where to get pictures. He's witnessed fires, accidents and shootings.

One of the most sobering things Page had to shoot was a plane crash on Long Island in which 73 people died. Page said he saw bodies on the ground, in trees. He remembered it was drizzling, the power lines were down and a little girl was crying.

"Being on a film set and having it all be fake - I'll take that any day after a lifetime of seeing the real stuff," Page says.

Page says he savors the creativity and artwork that goes into filmmaking, and he is relieved that when someone gets shot, the director calls cut and the person gets back up.

"The blood on my shoes is fake now," Page says.

In 1996, he worked on "Bio-Dome" with comedian Pauly Shore. He was on the set during his wife's birthday and wanted to surprise her with something special. Kim opened an envelope and pulled out three small pieces of paper that, when put together, read, "Happy" "Birthday" "Kim."

"I thought, 'Well . . . he ran out of time,' " Kim recalls.

It was then that she noticed a Polaroid photograph of her husband, Shore and actor Stephen Baldwin proudly holding the three sheets of paper. Kim still has the three pieces of paper and the photograph.

Micanopy beckons
s life in Manhattan became increasingly chaotic, Page thought back to the small bed and breakfast, located in a sleepy Florida town, where he and Kim had honeymooned years earlier. That sleepy town was Micanopy.

"I told Kim I wanted to live where I couldn't see anybody else," Page recalls, "And that's reasonable after living in Manhattan."

The town of Micanopy has its own Hollywood connections. "Cross Creek" starring Mary Steenburgen, and "Doc Hollywood," starring Michael J. Fox, had been filmed there. While many Micanopy citizens were used as extras in the films, by the time the movies were completed, it was back to its slow pace. When the Pages built their home in 1996, Page says it was if Hollywood had never been there.

Inside Hollywood
or Page, a typical day on a movie set is about 12 hours. He begins work about two hours later than the rest of the crew, which allows the actors to go through costume and makeup and the lights to get set just right for shooting. Page says lighting the set takes the longest.

Page uses a special camera attachment, called a blimp, which absorbs any sounds the camera may make. His job is to get phenomenal pictures to promote the movie, while staying out of the way of the cameras, crew and actors.

Working in a high-stress environment pays well . . . in Page's case about $50 per hour, he says. This allows him to spend all his time away from movie sets back in North Florida with his family.

Page describes the film industry as its own little world. He says each movie set is filled with creative, interesting people. He's had lively discussions with cast members and crew about gun control, birth control, drug use and socialism.

"I got into an in-depth discussion with an L.A. Israeli film producer about Jesus," Page recalls.

One of Page's most memorable conversations was with actor Robert Englund on the set of "Strangeland." Englund played the infamous Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies. Page and Englund spent hours talking about Southern and Civil War history. Englund told Page he enjoys going to South Carolina to watch the Citadel students practice marching on the parade fields.

Page is also excited about working on "The Punisher" with Travolta because it will be shot in Tampa, which means he will be able to see his family more often and hopefully bring them onto the set. He likes to take his wife and children on the set when possible.

While Page loves his life in quiet Micanopy, he doesn't plan on slowing down his career anytime soon.

"I love this job like none other," Page says.