I thought you guys might want to read this from Chad Dubea of The Fallen Lineman Organization. – Rich Bevins
I feel I need to say a few things about “Life on the Line.”
The day has finally arrived. Life on the Line gets released domestically today. It will be shown in a few theaters around the country and is supposed to be on all Video on Demand (VOD) services. This movie is about the industry most of you who are reading this are apart of and love.
In 2007, I talked to someone about doing a movie about our industry but we didn’t get anywhere. In 2012, the idea was sparked again and things started falling in place better than one could expect. I met Primo Brown who wrote the original script. I say original, because what ended up on the screen was nowhere near what was supposed to be. When I met Primo, I told him that this movie had to accomplish these 6 thing in no particular order.
- One. It had to introduce the life we all live to the people not familiar with our industry and who take their power for granted. It needed to stop the general public from asking us what team we play for when we say we’re linemen.
- Two. It had to show our families what kind of dangers are out there because there have been many wives of Fallen Linemen who have said they knew it was dangerous but didn’t know how dangerous. So, by educating them on that, I figured they would help reduce the number of injuries in our industry by encouraging their lineman to be safe and get home to them.
- Three. It had to show linemen ‘themselves’ through the characters in the movie. For instance, there was supposed to be a scene in the movie that showed a lineman making a conscious decision to take a shortcut and not cover properly. Because of his disregard of the safety rules, he is fatally injured. That scene was omitted and nowhere in the movie can I see where this gets accomplished.
- Four. It had to introduce the Fallen Linemen Organization and NSUJL to those in our industry that might see the movie and not know that they exist. Both of these organizations are non-profit organizations that depend on donations from companies and/or people to help them help families of Fallen and/or wounded Linemen. Unfortunately, at that time, the NSUJL didn’t want to be associated with The Fallen Linemen Organization for reasons of their own.
- Five. It had to break the barriers between union and non-union linemen to where everyone is just proud to be apart of the trade and not worried about the affiliation. We should all be thankful for what Henry Miller and the founders of the IBEW stood up for on November 21, 1891. What they did then helped to shape our industry to what it is today.
There were two scenes in the original script that showed this. One where they helped one another in a work situation and another during the bar fight that was supposed to happen. The linemen were supposed to fight together against bikers. And yes, I know that we have a bunch of linemen who are bikers, so they may have fought on the bikers side. LOL.
Everyone has a choice and we make our choices based on what our situations are and what we know.
Today, I am neutral and have many great friends who are union and non-union. We all want the same thing for the most part. Go home safe to be with the families we love. Why should anything separate us when we all ultimately have the same goals & are performing the same jobs.
- Finally, I just wanted to give back to an industry that I love and have been around my whole life. I not only wanted it to be a tribute to all linemen and their families, but to everyone that plays a role in this amazing industry. Everyone’s work is needed to make the most important industry in the world work!
I can say that through this whole process I have learned a lot. Making this movie has gotten me closer to God. There were so many strange coincidences that it made me realize that there is a higher power at work because there just couldn’t have been that many coincidences back to back.
I’d love to do a movie about the experiences, but in all honesty, I think I’ve had enough of the movie industry, and I need to stay with what I know. Being on the set of a movie that’s being made is the most boring thing I’ve ever done, I believe. Knowing how much gets filmed, cut, moved around and changed is sickening.
If you have seen the movie – or if you will see the movie – please know that the disappointment you may feel is being felt as strong, if not stronger right here. Knowing what the movie should have been, what it could’ve been, and to see what it actually is after the countless on-set arguments, broken promises, and not to mention paying to have it done is a complete & total letdown. I am however, grateful and honored to have been able to achieve something that I wanted to for so long, something that hadn’t been done since “Manpower” filmed in 1941.
I know it’s been awhile since we started this project, so I want to thank all of you who have been patient and continued to support it. Most of all, thank you all for what you do to keep America Energized day in and day out. Stay Safe, look out for yourselves and each other because…
YOU ARE YOUR BROTHERS’ KEEPER!!!
Because We Care,
Chad Dubea
Fallen Linemen Organization