Great Meadows Drama: Final Act being staged
The Great Meadows Drama has returned to the front page as a petulant film producer finds a stagnated local political machine. Rather than plot a way to grease the wheel and get it moving in the right direction, the star – expected to spur the local economy and bring big, big Hollywood kind of things this way – disses our national treasure. Sticking to script, it would be expected that the head of a film production company would have a sense of the theatrics and would have a fondness for hyperbole as is found in a statement by Jason Thomas, of Fayette Films LLC. “I’ve lost millions of dollars waiting for these people to make a decision.”
Thomas is steamed because he believes that local lawmakers are standing in the way of his progress. He and his company have already entered into a lease arrangement with the county to use the Great Meadows Amphitheatre and six acres for film production. But the company wants more: The use of 122 surrounding acres that are currently under a deed restricting commercial use. Only the legislature and governor can lift the restriction.
But one would also expect that a company executive who hasn’t yet gotten what he wants would have learned some diplomatic skills along the way and would realize that the little people of Fayette County might not have much, but we have our history. And by gosh, we’re darn proud of it.
Thomas can go ahead and throw all the hissy fits he wants in saying the caretaker of the Fort Necessity National Battlefield is dead set against his plans. And he can throw barbs at one of our local politicians by claiming he’s in her back pocket. (We’ve said worse about our legislative delegation.)
He can be outraged at the pace our state lawmakers move, and say a few nasty things about the lack of cooperation between the state delegation and county leaders. They deserve to be said.
But he better watch the sarcasm when it comes to our historical sites. Saying that “six ravenous termites could destroy it (Fort Necessity) in just a few hours” is out of bounds.
That’s the very kind of thing that has made the battlefield, the lawmakers and some of the little folks in Fayette County nervous in the first place about Fayette Films. If Thomas was hoping to convince everyone that his venture wouldn’t infringe upon or spoil in any way the battlefield’s existence, then he blew it with those remarks.
Surely Thomas must be frustrated that this venture isn’t holding to his script. And if he has submitted site plans and job projections and has jumped through every flaming hoop that state Sen. Rich Kasunic has ignited, then he ought to be upset.
But if he hasn’t done that, and if he isn’t willing to sit down with lawmakers and the National Park’s people and assuage their queasiness by answering a few questions, then his play deserves to fold.