By Barry Caine For The Oakland Tribune
BARRY STONE calls his company Scrap and Taffy Productions. It’s a dog thing.
And the Oakland-based filmmaker is a dog guy. Scrap and Taffy were the names of his first dogs when he was a kid.
His first film was a 1979 short dubbed “DOG.”
His newest movie, coproduced with his wife, Kim Webster, is “Sniff,” a feature pegging to you know what. The movie, which stars Neil Morrissey (the British voice of Bob the Builder), Richard Huw, Amanda Plummer — and Mikey the guide dog and Gabby the search-and-rescue dog — screens later this week in Oakland and San Rafael.
Why dogs?
“Because to me of all the animals man has tamed and brought to service, they’re the most adaptable and ready to serve us,” he says. “It’s in their genes to adapt and change. A Chihuahua and a Great Dane are the same in that way, (always asking) ‘What do you want us to do, man? What can we do for you?’ I love dogs. They are so amazing.”
San Rafael’s Guide Dogs for the Blind training school plays a prominent role in “Sniff,” a tale (pun resisted) of two unemployed British actors who must don dog suits and giant dog masks to work as concierges at Infinite Paws, a fictional high-end hotel in San Francisco. An dada-esque Emeryville building at 6400 Hollis St., at 64th Street, stands in for the hotel.
After work, the Brits decide to make a documentary about dogs, which takes them to the San Rafael facility as well as other Bay Area locations.
Music is provided by a host of area artists, including Laurie Lewis, Kitka, Zydeco Flames, Ken Kearney, Sarah Wilson, the Edlen Brothers and Bobby McFerrin Jr.
Stone and Webster made the movie over three years with a budget of around $660,000. Stone, who also works as a cinematographer, carpenter and joiner, and Webster, a glass blower, haven’t received a penny in profits thus far, according to Stone, a native of England. They want to pay back investors first, he says.
To that end they’ll hold screenings around the country in, “places where they like dogs,” Stone says. They also plan to work with dog-related Web sites to market the 87-minute DVD. ($19.99, plus shipping, via their Web site sniffthemovie.com) Ten percent of the net profits from sales will go to various dog charities, he notes.
Interesting enough, the two don’t currently own a dog.
“We’re too busy,” Stone says. “We’re not even nice to the cats.” (It’s a joke, cat lovers.)
“Sniff” screens at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday at the Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. Laurie Lewis performs at the 6 p.m. show,
Kitka at the 9 p.m. “Sniff” also plays at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 7 and Dec. 12 at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. For more info, visit www.sniffthemovie.com.