CONCH FILMMAKER BACK IN KEY WEST

Michael Baumgarten Has 3 Projects In The Pipeline

Los Angeles filmmaker Michael Baumgarten is coming home to his Key West roots to make movies in the coming months.

“I’m dying to shoot here in Key West; this is my dream come true,” Baumgarten said on April 17 while in Key West for a few days to scout locations for three feature-length films that are in his pipeline.

“I’m a Conch — born at the Navy medical facility at the end of the island. My dad — Hans Baumgarten — had been stationed here and loved it so much he later moved here to start Charter Boat Cowboy in 1965,” Baumgarten said, adding that his brother Mark and sister-in-law Michelle still live in Key West and run Cowboy Cowgirl Sportfishing.

“As a kid, I used to dive for coins off of Mallory Square and clean the Cowboy at the dock in Garrison Bight after a charter. During my parents’ divorce, my mom’s day job was at Sears and her second job was at the movie theater in Searstown. To save on babysitting, she’d bring me to work at the theater. That was my place to find peace and inspiration during the divorce period. I’d watch everything playing there and built an impressive movie poster collection,” Baumgarten recalled.

And now the accomplished filmmaker who has worked on projects with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Marisa Tomei, Morgan Fairchild, Peter Fonda, Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and more wants to bring his camera, cast and crew back to the place it all started for him.

“As you can imagine, the toughest thing about filming in Key West is the shallow cast and crew depth locally on the island, meaning we put people up in hotels even if they are Florida locals from Miami or another part of the state.”

The cost of hotels on the island is currently Baumgarten’s biggest challenge.

“On May 1, I can get a room at Caesars Palace or the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for under $50 a night before resort fees and taxes,” he said, contrasting that with Key West hotel prices for May. “Key West rates for the Seashell Motel start at $142 a night, Fairfield Inn starts at $237 a night and other big resorts are over $320 a night. Meaning a room for $225 a night including tax, for 16 rooms nightly is $3,600 a night. Times that by 20 nights and it’s $72,000. Ouch. That’s a big chunk of my total budget.”

He said he’d be happy to discuss some group discount rates or trades in return for product placement in the finished films. “I love doing that sort of stuff, especially to feature local Key West businesses.”

“It would obviously save over $100,000 to shoot elsewhere than Key West, but I want the authenticity of the island, where my roots are,” he said.

Baumgarten’s brother’s boat, Sanctuary, docked at Oceans Edge Marina on Stock Island, will play a starring role in one of the upcoming films.

“Key West Christmas” is a family-friendly, Hallmark-esque holiday movie that he describes as “a romantic comedy set in Key West about a Chicago woman getting over being dumped, then finding romance with a European man living on a boat docked in a Key West harbor.”

The second film is “The Last Bridge,” a suspense/action movie following a Key West boat captain and his daughter getting help fighting off an international gang with the help of a former Special Forces soldier. Schedule permitting, the boat captain would likely be played by former Sons of Anarchy actor Andy McPhee.

The third film is a true story of redemption found in Key West.

“Back to the World” follows the roller coaster life of a young Marine in the Vietnam War starting in the late ’60s through his life until 2010. Part of his life included hiding out in Key West in an effort to escape his PTSD from the war and several personal tragedies. While in Key West, he worked on a charter boat and dived for Mel Fisher’s treasurehunting company.

The filmmaker is planning to shoot for a week or two in May and July. Stay tuned for further details. If any local businesses and hotels would like to get involved, contact Michael Baumgarten at javamikey@gmail.com or on Instagram @mbfilmmaker1.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

The Scoreboard

This Week In Keys Sports

Senior, Coral Shores Weightlifting

Julian Juvier

Julian Juvier competes for Coral Shores at the regional weightlifting championships. MIKKEL ROSS/Contributed

Coral Shores senior lifter Julian Juvier made school and Keys history on April 15 when he won dual state championships in Olympic and traditional weightlifting. His monster 375-pound bench press is among the top 10 heaviest lifts of any athlete in Florida’s 1A division, regardless of weight class. All of this is made more impressive by the fact that this was Juvier’s first season participating in the sport. “Since his freshman year, I encouraged him to come out for the team,” said coach Erin Hamilton. “This year he finally did.” Juvier’s strength is matched only by his kind-hearted nature. His sportsmanship and camaraderie captured the attention of other athletes and coaches who praised his character as much as his athletic prowess. For his huge accomplishments and giant heart, Julian Juvier is the Keys Weekly Athlete of the Week.

– Erin Hamilton, Coral Shores weightlifting coach

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald