With the 2014 Mets off for a few days, I thought today would be a great day to have a “2 Guys” discussion with filmmaker Heather Quinlan. Heather, known for her excellent documentary on New York accents, If These Knishes Could Talk, has begun work on a full length film about the 1986 New York Mets. Heather and I talked about that movie, the Kickstarter project underway to assist with the production, and the 1986 Mets. Heather is not just a filmmaker, she is a Mets fan, and she is passionate about this project. And she spoke to me patiently for over 30 minutes without once laughing at my New York accent.
Mike:
I recently heard about your project on the Shouts from Shea Podcast, and I immediately became intrigued. I went to about 180 games from 1984 through 1986; it was such an important time of my life, and so I think this is a great project. I think you have a wonderful idea here. That was an unbelievable team, as you know, and it captivated New York City a lot more than many people now understand.
Heather:
Exactly. It all was somewhat unlikely.
Mike:
But why did you pick this project, and why now?
Heather:Mets
A couple of reasons. The thirtieth anniversary is coming in 2016, which is slightly horrifying for some of us to think about, but if I was going to be done by then, these things don’t get produced overnight, so it’s now or never for that. Also, there haven’t been a lot of films done on the topic. One of them, A Year to Remember, came out in 1987.
Mike:
But that’s a whole different thing, that’s a long time ago and a lot has happened since then.
Heather:
Yes. And so I had a couple of insiders poke around to see if anyone else was doing something, and when I heard no one was, I started thinking; “Let’s do this.” Then I did a documentary last year on the New York accent, and when doing that it turns out I became friends with a man named Michael Weithorn, who created the King of Queens. Michael turned out to be a Yankees fan, but he thought it was a great idea, and he wanted to help me out with it. Michael gave me some initial funds to start the film, and that’s how I was able to travel and get the interviews filmed with Lenny, Straw, Doc, Mookie, and all of that, because I wanted to have some interviews under my belt before I approached the Mets, or MLB. I wanted them to know that I was involved in a serious project.
Mike:
I understand. You wanted to make sure they didn’t think you were just another one of those bloggers looking for access.
Now, is this documentary going to primarily look back at those days, or will it also focus on the players’ lives since 1986?
Heather:
It’s going to be a little bit of both. Of course everyone has an idea of what is going on with 
Ron Darling. But, for instance, I had no idea of what is going on with Kevin Mitchell. He spends his time teaching inner-city kids in San Diego, and does it for no money, out of the goodness of his own heart. Overall, you see a maturity with some of these guys now; they were not known for maturity back then.
Mike:
Ha. No, not at all. Jeff Pearlman’s book did a good job of illuminating all of that.
Heather:
Jeff was my first interview, a great guy. Jeff felt that the number one factor in that team’s success was beer. Beer was a binding element for those guys, whether you were Dykstra, or Hernandez, Fernandez, whomever. When things went off the rails was when they took it to the next level.
And we are not just looking at 1986 from the player’s perspective. We are talking to a lot of fans.
Mike:
It was very different then for fans. The cost of going to a game, even relative to inflation was much lower. It was common for people, regular people, to have season tickets, and they would go to 30, 40, or more games. You knew the people around you, it was like a family. I exchanged Christmas cards with other season ticket holders in the ’80s.
Heather:
Exactly. And the access to the team was different. You could hang out with the team. Strawberry told me how if social media were around they would have always been in trouble. I remember my cousins went on a Mets cruise, and Bobby Ojeda was there with his wife, you could go on a cruise with the Mets. Fans saw these guys out on the town, which made them relatable. Nowadays the players are always so aware of their surroundings at all times, everyone has a camera phone and a twitter account.
Mike:
Yep, there is no privacy. I can’t imagine those guys surviving in the modern environment.
Okay, for anyone who doesn’t know how it works, can you explain how Kickstarter works?
Heather:
Sure. Basically, you can donate whatever money you want, and it starts at a dollar, whatever amount you want to donate. I have set a total goal of $50,000 for two reasons.
- To get as many fans as possible behind this project, to show the Mets and MLB that this is a team and this a story that people really want to see on the big screen.
- Baseball footage is extremely expensive; it’s $12,000 a minute. And you also need MLB’s permission to use logos, and all that kind of stuff.
Now, with Kickstarter, unless I have pledges that total at least that $50,000 I don’t get any of the money. I only receive my money when the campaign is over, and only if I meet my goal.
We have perks for higher pledges. You can get raw footage of our interviews with different Mets, you can get a film credit, or even be in the film itself. But I’ve seen plenty of pledge weeks on PBS, and it’s easy to figure, “plenty of people are going to donate, I’m not going to bother,” and that’s not the case. It will mean a lot to the project if we can get people to pledge, and I’m not just talking about high dollar pledges. We have five dollar pledges, we have those one dollar pledges.
Mike:
Right. Those can show how many potential customers are interested in the project.
Jumping back to the movie, as time passes those 108 wins gets glossed over. That is some accomplishment. Is the movie going to be mostly about the postseason, or include the regular season?
Heather:
A lot did happen during that regular season. The biggest focus, of course, will be on Houston and Boston, but we will make sure to include the rally caps, and the curtain calls, and the magic number starting in May.
Mike:
Yes. It was like a coronation. I sweated out 1984 and 1985 and they didn’t win either year. But in 1986, I only got two weeks’ vacation at that time, and in July I was already reserving it all for October.
Heather:
If you recall, they started off 2-3, and Mookie was injured, but once they swept the Cardinals they just took off. And there was no looking back. There was off the field stuff too, brawls, and Cooters, a lot was happening.
Mike:
And I understand the postseason is going to have to be the most important thing. But I have always thought that the passage of time has created a false narrative around that team, that it was a lucky team. That was a fabulous postseason, and the “Buckner play” was wonderful but the story of the 1986 Mets was that it was a dominant team.
Heather:
They won in such a fluke weird way, people forget how much they rallied all year, and what a great team that it was.
Mike:
I have had this fight so many times over the years, where people are convinced that if Buckner fields that ball the Mets lose. And I say, “No, no, no, the team had already tied that game.” When Mookie hit that ball, there was no longer one person in that ballpark who was worried. By then, we knew it was just a matter of time. The Mets were not losing that game, or game seven. The Red Sox were done. Buckner just took them out of their misery that night.
Heather:
Another thing about that team was the swagger. Although the 2000 team went to the World Series they didn’t have that.
Mike:
They also owned New York City. Younger people who weren’t around then, I can’t even explain it, it sounds so unbelievable to them.
Heather:
Yes, and one thing I talk about in the film is what New York was like at that time, it was a different, grittier city, and the Mets were a blue collar team. The Mets fit so well with Koch’s New York, just like the Yankees of the 90s ended up a symbol of Giuliani’s more corporate city, with the no facial hair and all.
In 1986 Shea had already become a little down and dirty, and that Mets team was down and dirty. But so was the City.
Mike:
Yes it was.
I have faith you will get your funding. When the movie is produced, have you ever thought about a Citi Field screening? I saw the Last Play at Shea there; it was a fun way to watch that movie. This seems like a natural for that treatment.
Heather:
What a fantastic idea. I’ve got to be honest, I guess I’m so focused right now, I hadn’t thought of it. And this film will be honest, but it is not another expose of the 1986 Mets. Our film will be celebrating the team, and also celebrating the fans. Mets fans in 1986 were rewarded for a lot of loyalty that came before that season, and hopefully they will be rewarded again someday soon.
Mike:
That would sure be great. Do you have a targeted date yet for release?
Heather:
Of course I want to have it finished in time for the thirtieth anniversary. If I can, I want to be able to take the ’86 Mets to Sundance, I think it’s a good festival candidate.
Mike:
Tribeca is a natural.
Heather:
Yes, and Tribeca and all those places. Sundance’s deadline is September, so I would like to have it completely done by September of next year, or I would like to be pretty darn close.
Mike:
Well, I know the campaign is designed to get you there. For anyone who didn’t notice the link above, here is another easy link to Heather’s Kickstarter page.
Thanks for taking the time today to discuss that great year with me. I look forward to seeing the finished product.
Heather:
Thank you.
