T-Minus 1 Month and Counting

Hello readers,

Exactly one month until the first day of production. Lots to update so lets jump in!

Updates

Last two supporting roles cast

It's with great pleasure that I announce Vince Rodriguez as our last lead role

cast member. Vince will be playing the part of "Alex" the antagonist of the story. Vince is yet another St. Mary's alumni which makes all three of my lead actors former Gaels. I first saw Vince's acting abilities in the St. Mary's production of The Marfa Lights. I knew right away that Vince had incredible acting ability. He then starred in one of the short films my students produced and again I could see he had amazing talent. I had a feeling when I first auditioned Vince that I'd met my Alex, he really grasped the uniqueness of the character very naturally. After bringing him in for a callback audition with Angelina, my lead actress, I was sold that Vince was perfect for the part. I'm really excited to work with Vince and am relieved to have my three leads finally cast. Welcome aboard Vince.

I'm also very excited to introduce out last major supporting actor, Kevin Copps. Kevin will be portraying "Mike" the father of the character Melinda. The back story of how I came to meet Kevin starts with my cinematographer Jon Bowerbank. Jon asked me to help out as a data wrangler on a feature film he was shooting last spring of 2009. Kevin had a small part in the film as a campaign manager. I was able to watch his performance for several scenes and immediately felt he could be perfect for the role of "Mike" in my feature. I approached him for his contact info and mentioned I'd call him in for an audition and about half a year later I finally did. His first audition was great. He far out shined the few other "Mikes" I auditioned. So after a long waiting process for Kevin I brought him in for a callback with Angelina again. Their chemistry as father and daughter really worked for me. So finally after another long waiting process I finally offered him the part and he accepted. I truly look forward to working with and seeing him perform with our leads. Welcome aboard Kevin!

Night of 1000+ Laughs

Last Friday was Love, Concord's 5th fundraiser at the Ninth St. Independent Film Center. My producer Kristin Youell planned and coordinated the event. She brought together seven talented Bay Area comics who had us all laughing in our seats. We had a full capacity crowd of 80 people and managed to raise over $300 for the production budget. Due to the big success of the event we plan to do another one most likely after we wrap principal photography for the feature. So stay tuned. Also on a quick note I once again want to thank all seven comics for their contribution to the event and for their amazing performances. I also want to thank professional photographer Irwan Tran for taking t

he pictures of the event you see here. Check out his gallery at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Irwin.Tran/Concordauthkey=Gv1sRgCImG9b_Th6ye0wE&feat=directlink#

Two Major Locations Locked

On Tuesday I had a meeting with management at the Concord Crowne Plaza to discuss shooting in their ball room. I'm excited to announce that Crowne Plaza has approved Love, Concord to shoot in their beautiful ballroom on June 27th. The scene we'll be shooting is the climatic prom scene (all high school movies have a prom scene, so why break the formula). I want to thank Concord Crowne Plaza catering manager Carol Saas and bartender Matt "Ben" Batiza for their huge help in assisting me with this arrangement.

For those of you who want to be extras mark your calendar now. Times aren't official but we'll most likely begin shooting by mid morning and go until mid to late afternoon. Again that's Sunday June 27th, 2010. Here's the catch, guys you have to wear a black or navy blue suit (as to pass as a tuxedo from a distance) and ladies you need to wear a formal dress and do your hair in such a way as to make sure it doesn't look plain or "non-prom-like." Anyone is welcome that can meet these criteria, a limited amount of prom dresses will be made available to girls who want to participate but don't have a dress but the sizes are also limited.

The second important location we landed on Tuesday is the gas station in which the lead character "Gerry" works. We got this awesome opportunity thanks to my producer Virginia. She approached the owner a few months ago and he seemed interested, so on Tuesday we payed him a visit and he pretty much said yes before we were finished explaining what we wanted.

Well folks that pretty much wraps this week. I've got a lot of things to do in preparation for the big day in 30 days so stay tuned for more exciting news next week.

Until next time....

Forward!

-Gustavo