The Importance of Being Ernest_The Life of Actor Jim Varney by Justin Lloyd

Author:Justin Lloyd [Lloyd, Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography
Goodreads: 18759056
Publisher: Createspace
Published: 2013-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ERNEST IN THE MOVIES

In the summer of 1986, Ernest fans around the country rejoiced when it was announced that a movie called “Ernest Goes to Camp” would be released the following spring. Nashville residents were soon reading in the local newspapers about Disney representatives scouting the area for locations.

That fall, the “Camp” movie crew descended on the small town of Dickson, Tenn., to start shooting at the Montgomery Bell State Park, which would serve as Kamp Kikakee in the movie. The crew consisted of many of the same people who had filmed the Ernest commercials, in addition to others recruited from the area.

Jim brought his mother down from Lexington to visit the set. She was impressed with the whole production and enjoyed meeting and getting her picture taken with Iron Eyes Cody, the actor famous for playing Native Americans (although he was actually of Italian descent).

Many of the boys playing campers were acting for the first time. Most were local kids who enjoyed the opportunity to work with someone they had grown up watching on TV commercials. They soon grew comfortable enough with Jim to have a little fun with him on the set.

There were around 26 Ernest outfits in wardrobe, enough to endure the many pratfalls in the script. Early one morning, a bunch of the boys decided to dress up in the costumes and surprise Jim as he walked up the road to the set. Jim admitted that he had to question if he was really awake when he saw the few dozen smiling mini-Ernests.

The plot of “Camp” involves Ernest working as maintenance man at a summer camp. His dream to be a camp counselor is soon answered when the camp director assigns him to look after a group of juvenile delinquents sent from a youth detention center. As one of the few adults who treats the juveniles with respect, Ernest is eventually able to win them over. When an evil mining company manipulates the owner of the camp property to sign away the land, Ernest and the boys team up to help. By constructing clever weapons, including parachuting snapping turtles, they successfully destroy the company’s equipment and save the camp.

One major decision John Cherry had to confront with the film was the way in which Vern’s character would be portrayed. The commercials were always seen through Vern’s point of view, but that shooting style would not be practical for the big screen. This meant that the only way to include Vern would be to reveal him on the other side of the camera. But showing Vern (even partially) after so long could blow the perception of him that Ernest’s fans had built up through the years. Ultimately it was decided not to show Vern, but Ernest did manage to bring his name up on occasion. In a campfire scene, for example, Ernest mentions his friend “Vernon” when recalling a version of the classic “hook killer” story mentioned in another summer camp movie, the Bill Murray hit “Meatballs.

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