Take two

COEUR d'ALENE - It was going to be a rough day for Michelle Cornelsen.

The owner of the Sunshine Espresso stand in Coeur d'Alene was going to be accosted by an armed robber on Wednesday, just like she had last December.

And once again, she was going to yank out the 9 mm pistol she keeps stowed at the stand for such an occasion, and tell him firmly to forget it.

But first the director had to get the lighting right.

"Action!" director/producer Bryan Albright murmured into a Walkie talkie Wednesday night, signaling Cornelsen to start another take of her walk from the car to her espresso stand.

"One more time," he said after she'd flicked on the business lights.

It was just the beginning of several hours of shooting for Cornelsen, starring in a re-enactment of her heroics last December for the TV show "Crime Stoppers."

An L.A. film crew had flown out to capture the tale on Wednesday of how she stopped a would-be robber with her personal weapon.

"It's not about me. It's about awareness," said Cornelsen, who said she took a few weeks to consider the studio's offer. "I want to do it because people should know it's so important to be prepared and be aware of your Second Amendment rights."

And maybe folks will feel a little more confident, too, Albright said.

"Crime Stoppers" has been in syndication for 10 years, he said, and now his crew from Associated Television International is revamping it with a new theme: Real life stories of ordinary people who refused to be victims in harrowing situations.

The crew, currently shooting the first season, has filmed reenactments of folks across the country who stopped kidnappers, intruders and carjackers.

Always, Albright added, without taking a life.

"We always hear people say, 'Oh man, I could've killed that guy, and I'm so glad I didn't,'" he said. "Maybe it will make people have second thoughts, if they've got a gun, about pulling the trigger."

They knew Cornelsen would be perfect for the show for two reasons, Albright said.

First, he said, she's female.

"We're very passionate about females not being victims. In today's society, Hollywood doesn't take a lot of accountability in its portrayal of violence against women," he said. "This show takes a more positive look of salt of the Earth citizens who use common sense in defending themselves."

The crew also liked her attitude, he said.

She didn't have a cowboy attitude about putting a gun in someone's face, but was relieved she didn't take a shot at the 17-year-old robber, who she hopes will redeem himself and get another try at life.

"There was so much thoughtfulness and sincerity on her part," Albright said. "She and her husband, Kevin, are just following the American dream, owning their own business and trying to protect that business and their employees."

He usually has the central characters play themselves, he added.

"They give the most identifiable tone," he said. "So you can feel what they're feeling."

Cornelsen said she wasn't nervous about her television debut.

"I am nervous about certain things, just because I want the story to be told right," she said before the shoot began Wednesday night. "Everybody has seen reenactments where they say 'Well, that probably didn't happen.'"

She felt confident after talking with Albright about the show's purpose, though, she said.

"I don't feel that in this situation the story will be misrepresented," she said. "We really want people to see it's not an option to be a victim."

The reenactment, shot in one day, will tell the entire story of the incident, right up to when a sheriff's deputy driving nearby arrested the would-be robber.

The parts of the robber and the deputy who catches him are played by actors out of Spokane, Albright said, as the crew tries to hire local actors.

He is in discussions with six networks right now on which will pick up the show, he said, and he hopes it will air this fall.

The show will feature two stories per episode, he said, which are intended to inspire viewers to defend themselves, whether by taking self-defense classes or starting a community watch program.

"We don't want people to necessarily be paranoid, but to watch out for each other," he said. "People coming out the other side of these situations are so much more amazed by what they can do for themselves."