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'Strange Meats' [News - Item, The (PA)](News - Item, The (PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Editor's note: Monday Profiles are published on the first Monday of each month. Matt Spade never gave much thought to trying his hand at filmmaking. Growing up on North Seventh Street in Shamokin near "The Razzy," Spade had other ideas. He looked up to The Beatles' producer George Martin, and recorded songs with his own band using a four-track. He also had another hero, famed author Stephen King, and wanted to be a writer himself. He attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia after graduating from Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School in 1991. Expensive, professional film and audio equipment now at his disposal, his love of sound and story meshed with a newfound interest in motion pictures. Now 41 and a tech company professional living in Philadelphia, filmmaking has become a hobby for Spade. He's long worked in post- production on small projects. Last summer, he was struck with an idea of his own, an idea incorporating his love of his hometown and the coal region's ubiquitous meaty snack - the soupie. It was Independence Day Weekend 2013 in Pittsburgh when he was visiting a friend who left coal country for Pittsburgh. "We were sitting around a picnic table, and just like all great ideas there was lots of beer involved. But unlike most ideas that come up when beer's involved, this one actually happened," Spade said Thursday by telephone. And that's how "Strange Meats: The Soupie" was conceived. Spade can't remember when, exactly, he encountered the "strange meat" on his own. Just like he can't recall speaking his first words or taking his first steps, he can't remember chewing on a soupie for the first time. It was simply always around; there was always soupie. It was that way, he said, for his friends who star as the soupie makers in the 30-minute documentary. Advents in digital technology have made filmmaking a more accessible pursuit for virtually anyone. Spade feels the same. A good camera and a bit of cash can make it happen. The soupie story was accessible, too, since he turned to the Shamokin area and his friends who live there. And so Spade wrote, directed and edited "Strange Meats." His wife, Morgan, was producer and grip. Chris Koontz served as director of photography, and area musician Joseph T. Wagner composed all original music for the documentary. Its narrator, appropriately enough, is "The Morning Mayor" himself, Tom Kutza. He got an invite to the "Eagles Nest" cabin where a group of locals showed him the process, from preparing the casing and seasoning the pork, to stuffing and curing and pressing the soupies. Emilio Mignucci, who runs the family owned Di Bruno Bros. gourmet cheese and meat store in Philadelphia, was interviewed to offer further insight on the sopressata - that's the long form for soupie. Other sit-down interviews are included with local soupie makers who talk of learning the trade from their grandfathers who learned it from their grandfathers. They hope to pass it on to their own children and grandchildren. Spade is working with the Northumberland County Council of the Arts and Humanities to host a debut for "Strange Meats: The Soupie" at the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center. He's hopeful for a good turnout. He expects some razzing from the soupie pros not included in the film. He could hardly get them all in the documentary. "There's so many people out there doing this. If you're not in it, it's still your story," Spade said. Read more about the cast and crew and watch a pair of trailers for "Strange Meats: The Soupie" at . Name: Matt Spade Age: 41 Education: Art Institute of Philadelphia, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School Profession: encoding Family: wife, Morgan; parents, Jake and Georgia Spade (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |