'Bones' Star T.J. Thyne Drifts Through Time in 'Shuffle'

Prolific screenwriter and producer Rod Serling set the science fiction and fantasy bar fairly high with "The Twilight Zone," his now-classic television anthology series. "Shuffle," a film scheduled to screen on closing weekend of the St. Louis International Film Festival, embraces the look and feel of the show.

T.J. Thyne from Fox TV's "Bones" plays Lovell, a man who wakes up each day at different points in his life. He may find himself in his childhood bedroom one day and wake up the next morning in his 30-year-old body. Lovell has to figure out what's going on by watching, observing, and putting the pieces together. Photographs play a key role in helping him get a handle on his unusual situation.

In a telephone interview, Thyne and director Kurt Kuenne talked about the origins and challenges of making "Shuffle." Thyne said that he and Kuenne graduated college together. They also used to watch episode after episode of "The Twilight Zone."

"We are both huge fans of Frank Capra," Thyne said. "When I read Kurt's script, it was so perfect. It was experimental and unique and had this quirk to it. The way that he shoots and directs is so perfectly stylized for that time period, it just works."

Revisiting the days in Lovell's life requires Thyne to play the character from age 24 until his early 90s. Academy Award-winner Barney Burman did the prosthetic makeup to make Thyne look age-appropriate.

"When he's 30 years old and very depressed and haggard and whatnot, he had the bigger hair, he had the facial hair," Kuenne said. "In order to do the older stuff, when he had old age makeup on, he couldn't have facial hair. He had to be clean shaven. Anything with facial hair had to be done first."

Kuenne also noted that the scenes were a nightmare for his assistant director to schedule:

"Everything was predicated on the application of his makeup and his look. We didn't have a script supervisor so the props and wardrobe department people were just amazing in keeping track of every little thing. I heard someone say this was the most wardrobe changes they had ever seen before," he said.

As for playing Lovell, Thyne said that it is really excellent to take on a challenging role like this.

"When you have great direction and you have a team of people you have complete confidence in, it's really easy," the actor said. "I had people walking around helping me get from one age to another, especially when we shooting several ages in the same day."

"Shuffle" will screen on Sunday, November 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Tivoli Theatre in University City.

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