Williamston man's movie, 'The Key' to debut at Celebration Cinema

Jack Schaberg's first two films were farcical looks at senior citizens in a retirement home or a man caught up in a half-baked insurance scheme.

His latest movie, "The Key," is decidedly darker.

"It's sort of a family drama suspense mystery," said Schaberg, of Williamston, who wrote, directed and produced the new film, set for a Dec. 8 screening at Celebration Cinema in Lansing.

Show times are 5:15 p.m.. 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

The story line: On her 18th birthday, a girl who grew up without her father takes a call from either him or some other man telling her to get "the key" and to meet him at the airport.

So begins a 12-hour odyssey involving family secrets, treasure, bad guys and blackmail money.

The movie was filmed in Williamston, Mason, Fowlerville, Linden and Fenton with local actors who volunteered their time. Braedyn Miller, a Williamston girl, has a part in the film. Filming was done on weekends and the occasional week night starting in July 2010, Schaberg said. "It took about a year to get everything," he said. "I edited it as I went along."

An Okemos native, Schaberg earned a film degree from the University of Southern California but ended up working in the lumber industry.

He now works for a video production business in Okemos and makes movies in his spare time.

His first film, "We Know Care," (2006) featured a dim-witted couple who inherited a mansion and decided to open it as a bed and breakfast and retirement home, striking a deal with senior citizens to fix the place up.

His second film, "The End of Art," was co-directed by Lansing actor Bruce Bennett. A struggling artist and stay-at-home dad teams up with an insurance salesman in a double-indemnity scheme.

Released in 2009, the movie was shot partly in East Lansing, Williamston and Mason. Local actor Tony Caselli had a role in the film.

Schaberg said he came up with the idea for "The Key" about 15 years ago and decided he could make the film himself.

The movie was made on a shoestring budget with a Canon camera and a digital audio recorder.

"It was basically done for the price of gas money and food money," he said.

Someday, Schaberg said, he'd like to make movies full time. For now, it's a hobby and a passion

"You get to take an idea, turn that into a 110-page script and see the characters develop," he said. "Making a movie is sort of like building a house. When you get to sit in the theater and see it, it's very satisfying."