VB: Milwaukee isn't a film town. Most here don't understand how the film business works. Not to mention there are not many talented people here. Most of our cast is from Chicago, including the three leads. There is no place to go in Milwaukee to buy much of the higher-end equipment, so we had to become creative when we came across some equipment problems.

With Atwater Beach, we ended up getting a parade permit to shoot there. Milwaukee County Parks only wanted us to shoot for eight hours a day -- 14-16 is normal -- while paying a large fee. The woman who allowed us to shoot at the Whitefish Bay Townhomes for free was terrific, but she became worried and confused when we put tin foil over the windows for lighting continuity.

But there were a lot of people who wanted to help, because they find film exciting, since it doesn't happen much in Milwaukee. The owner of (the now-closed) Ardor Pub & Grill on Broadway and Tequila Rita's on Water Street gave us the best food any of the cast and crew had eaten on a film; all for free and throughout filming.

Our high school, Whitefish Bay, loaned us equipment for free. Nikki Folven, one of my sister's past teachers who works for Mary Kay, taught our make-up artists how to apply it and what make-up to buy. I actually became a Mary Kay sales rep to save 50% on the film's make-up costs because of Nikki's advice.

OMC: Tell us a bit about the note at the end of the film thanking MPD for not shutting you down.

KB: It was the last shot of first unit, and we're shooting outside Buckhead Saloon at night, when an undercover car rolls up, turns its lights on, and two rather rough-looking man-bricks -- plainclothes cops -- step out and request an audience with the persons in charge ... us, unfortunately.

Here's the basic conversation:

"Shooting a movie?"
"Yep."
"Got a permit?"
"Nope."
"You need a permit."
"Nope."
"Yep."
"Nope."
(Insert death-glare here)
"But the Film Commission said we didn't."
"That's unfortunate."
"Really?"
"Yep. Have a good night. Don't break anything."
"We're not shut down?"
"Do you want to be?"

At which point we thanked them and turned-tail back to the set. They left and we explained to our crew that they came to arrest everyone, but we shipped those thoughts upriver with our silver tongues.

OMC: The film premieres at the Oriental this week. Is that the first public screening?

VB: Yes. Other than a cast and crew screening held prior.

OMC: Will it screen in theaters or is it going directly to DVD?

KB: The DVD comes out on Aug. 14, as well, but if we have enough success at the Oriental, we're already prepared to take "Jake's How-To" to a few major colleges and cities, and based on that success, we're prepared to go even further.

We're releasing the film ourselves; we've yet to find a fair deal with a traditional distributor. So, it's something of a scaled-down version of a platform release. We've done a lot of research, and we know who, what, where, when, why and how to expand the "Jake's How-To" release theatrically across the nation, but since this is such a Milwaukee film, and this is home, we're starting here. Hopefully we can go bigger with the release, but it's all up to the turnout at the Aug. 14 premiere.

OMC: Are there other projects in the works?

VB: Kind of. We don't want to shoot another feature with less than a quarter million (dollars), because we'd likely kill ourselves. It's all about what we can do to get that kind of money.

KB: We've had a few prospective projects that have fallen through, a couple we've decided to come back to later, and a DJ even asked us to do a reality show on him, but there wasn't enough money. We have material ready to go, but that being said, it's really all a matter of, drumroll please... money, of course. That's the only real determining factor.

VB: True, and the success or failure of "Jake's How-To" will likely have a lot to do with that.