Pro skateboarder Doug Brown, a Wooster native, films murder-mystery across Ohio

With a follow-up to a project he made more than 35 years ago as a child, Doug Brown has added filmmaker to his long list of creative pursuits.

Brown, a professional skateboarder, author and motivational speaker from Wooster, drew upon the skills he's developed through his years promoting his career on wheels, along with his passion for writing. He teamed with his brother, Nick Brown of Norwalk, to write, edit and produce a short film called "Reconnected with the Case."

"It's been a big project," Brown said. "No, it's not going to be at Cinemark Theater next week; Tom Cruise wasn't in the budget. However, it will be available on DVD, and 99% of the audience will be able to stream the movie on YouTube and other platforms."

The Brown brothers hosted a red carpet event Oct. 21 at Nick's Norwalk home to celebrate the movie's release.

What is 'Reconnected with the Case'?

The cast includes friends and people close to Brown, including Nick Brown, Doug Brown, Lea Dean, Vivien Starcher, Erin Brown and Tina Tuttle. The main photography was filmed over a two-week period mainly in Wooster, Norwalk and Rittman.

He served as director, producer, editor and writer, just as he had done on the original "Connected to the Case" in 1986. The story is a murder mystery.

The original movie was made with one VCR and a 2-foot cord that attached to the camera.

"When we would mess up, we would rewind the tape, find the spot, and action," Brown said of the 1986 version. "I wrote the script and did the set design, everything. I even convinced the neighborhood kids to be extras. We were very raw and old-school movie-making skills back then. It was mainly me trying to convince my brother to join in as one of the characters in my movie.

"My parents had no clue what we were doing when I transformed our basement on Avalon Drive into a full-blown movie studio," he continued. "In some of the takes, I can hear my mother's high-heel footsteps walking above us."

His mother, Becky Brown, died when he was 16.

Even though Doug Brown and his brother hadn't been close over the years, Brown said, that changed through the making of the movie.

"My mom would love that my brother and I have reconnected through doing this film," he said. "I see him maybe a couple of times a year. During the making of this film we've been on the phone almost daily and I've spent time with him filming."

Better quality movie-making with modern equipment

Brown said age, experience and modern technology have made the release of "Reconnected with the Case: much easier than the original production.

"I've come a long, long way since then, and so has technology," Brown said with a laugh. "The fun in this film is, that from day one in the writing and working with everyone, we took it seriously. This isn't a zombie, chainsaw, made-in-one-day film.

"The biggest surprise is the cult following from our original movie," he continued. "It's on YouTube. People nationally have contacted me about how they would watch the movie with their friends, etc. Making this sequel was a bit easier knowing there was this underground current of people that were wanting to watch it."

Filming was finished in less than three weeks, but post-production took just as long. The story itself and screenplay were developed over several months.

Brown explained that he has been working with film for most of his life, so making a movie isn't anything new for him.

"My father and I used to film plays, weddings and all kinds of things," he said." Tripods, lights and movie-making gear were not foreign in our house. I was an actor as a child, so all my skills in my adulthood have morphed from then."

He was cast as Tom Sawyer for a New York production in 1983, and he worked in theater for several years.

He recalls that his father bought a VCR in the early 1980s, and the family video camera became a tool.

"Today, kids have a movie studio in the palm of their hand — one, two, three, click, you have a movie," Brown said.

The original movie he and his brother produced was done mostly for them and friends to enjoy. He was surprised when the film developed a following on the internet, he said, "However, I wanted to make this (new) movie for my brother."

"We joked through all these years that there should be a sequel," Brown said. "The joke became a reality about four months ago. I was already filming and editing videos for my skateboard sponsors, so it wasn't a stretch to jump in production land to produce a short film."

Brown is in his 20th year as a professional skateboarder.

"I sometimes feel like I confuse my audience, but I know they are never bored as I keep doing projects — from my Christmas CD, books, public speaking, to this latest endeavor," Brown said.

For more information on the movie, visit Brown's website at dougbrown.org.

The movie is on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=vyc05HJPLZU.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Pro skateboarder, author Doug Brown debuts murder-mystery movie