A heist movie about to shoot in Winnipeg this week was delayed by something even the film’s scriptwriters couldn’t have dreamt up.
All the gear was stolen Monday, before cameras could start rolling.
“The irony is not lost on us that we got heisted before our first day of shooting,” director Stu Stone told Global News Winnipeg Morning on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely a rough start to making a movie. You can’t really shoot a movie without your gear.”
Stone and producer Adam Rodness are in Winnipeg to shoot “Vandits”, a film about a teenage posse trying to “pull off a ridiculous heist,” according to the movie’s IDMb page.
But the truck and trailer with all of their equipment disappeared from where it had been parked on Oakwood Avenue in the Riverview neighbourhood Monday morning.
Rodness pegs the value of the gear at roughly $250,000.
Stone says the story is so ironic that even his own mother wondered whether it wasn’t a stunt when he spoke with her.
“It seems like it’s so made up because it’s a heist movie, but it actually happened,” Rodness said.
Global News reached out to Winnipeg police, who confirmed they are investigating.
Despite the rough start, Rodness and Stone say people have been reaching out with offers of money and donated equipment. And with help from a local supplier, they’ve got enough new gear together to start filming Tuesday.
The experience won’t keep them from finishing their movie in Winnipeg or coming back to shoot other films in the city, they said.
“We do love it here. We’re not going to let this one bad apple spoil the orchard — it’s a lovely orchard here in Winnipeg,” Stone said.
In the meantime they’re hoping anyone who sees their missing truck and trailer, or anyone with information about the theft reaches out to police.
“Maybe it’s parked next to you, maybe it’s under a tarp somewhere, maybe you know something about this,” Stone said. “You can help us out and reach out.”
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