Local video company owner hopes to make feature film in Murfreesboro
Allan McCall, owner of Green Hill Motion Picture Company, had wanted to make a feature film ever since his parents bought him a Super 8 camera when he was a kid. With him, he and his buddies made a lot of bad horror and sci-fi movies. His childhood fascination with film led him to a Bachelor of Arts in Film from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. From there, he got into video production. But that childhood longing never went away.
“Narrative cinema, usually expressed through short films, has always been my primary creative interest,” McCall said, “but corporate, legal and event videos pay the bills.”
With the completion of a recent indigogo.com campaign to fund a film called “Jinx and Tracy”, McCall will begin filming a trailer in early March 2023 to raise additional funds to complete the entire film.
The origins of the project can be traced back 20 years to a producer friend of McCall’s named TN Mohan. Mohan originally discovered the book and had discussions with the author, Sabrah Agee, about making a movie out of it. Agee adapted his book into a screenplay, but Mohan never found the financing to get the film off the ground. He later called McCall with the idea of reviving the project, with McCall directing and rewriting Agee’s screenplay.
Originally published in 1999, “Jinx and Tracy” is the story of a single mother, Mia “Jinx” Caldwell, who is dumped with a handsome detective, Ross Tracy, when they are tied together in a locker at meat during the armed robbery. from a convenience store. As they both work to find the thief who is chasing Jinx for putting her brother in jail, they transform each other’s lives. It’s a dramatic romance with a mix of humor and suspense.
“With the exception of Jinx,” McCall said, “all characters will be played by local talent. The casting of Natascha Slasten as Jinx dates back to the beginning of the project. Mohan, a producer best known for his religious documentaries , brought together Natascha, Sabrah and I. Sadly, TN passed away in early 2022. We continue in tribute to TN’s faith and belief in bringing diverse people together to create positive and meaningful films.
It will be shot in Murfreesboro, because that’s where McCall lives. He thinks it’s a cool place to live and he wants to show off the city.
“Locations are one area where we’re hoping for help from the community,” McCall said. For the trailer, [we will need] a grocery store, a real estate agency, a City Cafe, another restaurant and an AirBnB which suits us to use it as a filming location. For the feature film, we will also have to create our own police station from scratch, as the town of Murfreesboro does not allow commercial filming in their facilities.
They are still looking for a main man, their main character’s ex-husband, ex-husband’s younger girlfriend, and the main character’s best friend. Anyone interested in one of these roles can email McCall at [email protected]. The team will be reduced, but they will also need a sound engineer, a gaffer and production assistants. For the feature, there will be around ten additional speaking roles, including the male lead’s detective partner, best friend’s husband, an armed robber and his girlfriend, and a few police officers.
We will shoot the trailer from March 3 to March 7, 2023. If they are able to raise funds for the full feature, it will take three to four weeks. Ideally, they would like to shoot the feature in the fall, as it takes place between Halloween and Christmas.
“The trailer, which is all we have funding for so far, will be part of a presentation package, presented to potential backers to raise funds to make the full feature film,” explained McCall. “The most likely location for the feature would be a streaming service – optimistically, somewhere like Netflix or Hulu. I would also like to screen it at a theater in Murfreesboro, like Premiere 6, so the community has the opportunity to see our city represented on the big screen.
Green Hill Motion Picture Company provides full production services, from script to final delivery, with a focus on Middle Tennessee and in particular Rutherford County. Their portfolio includes event videos, promotional presentations, music videos, crowdfunding pitches, narrative projects, web videos and documentaries.
“I realize this may be the worst economic environment in decades to try something like this,” McCall said, “but opportunities sometimes emerge in difficult times, and your support is even more appreciated. “
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