Let’s start by saying that finding a project in Hollywood that leans to the right is like finding a needle in a haystack. Time is money, so I searched outside Los Angeles; that made things quicker. Since everyone seems to be headed south, I looked in Louisiana. Scouring through websites, I was surprised to find this little gem of a film which had a role open.  Not just a role, the kind of role and actress prays for all her life. Wait, let me rephrase that, the kind of role a Republican actress prays for all her life.

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It’s a rarity to be able to work on a film that portrays soldiers in a good light, especially one in which the hero is a female Captain in the Army. The gem of a film is “Flag of My Father”; a story about how Army Nurse, Captain Judith Rainier, deals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the collateral damage it has on her family. Judith and her veteran father, played by William Devane, share a special bond as they confide in each other over their military experiences. This creates an even greater wedge between her and her half-brothers, the most viscous one being played by John Schneider (which he plays disconcertingly well). “Flag of My Father” addresses PTSD, and is a movie about faith, forgiveness, healing, and family. It is truly patriotic and one of a kind with a great soundtrack, including music from Michael W. Smith and Sarah McLaughlin.

“Flag of My Father” premiere’s at the GI FILM FESTIVAL in DC May 13th, where it is in competition to win Best Feature. After the festival, it may get a small release and will be available on DVD.  (more…)

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening of Millennium Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana.  As some of you know, I have a “first look” deal with Millennium.  I have enjoyed working with Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, and Danny Dimbort in various capacities since 1992.  This week was the culmination of the company’s growth and it came in a small city in Northwestern Louisiana with a Democratic Mayor.

Mayor Cedric Glover may be a Democrat, but he is a great conservative when it comes to business.  He helped us in many ways when we were building the studio including helping us in the land acquisition and facilitating a loan from the city when the economy collapsed and we needed a little extra cash to make sure the project did not fall apart.

This whole project started as an idea when I was in Shreveport shooting “Mad Money” in the Spring of 2007.   During that time I became acquainted with Cedric Glover and his city council.  My colleague and I, Michael Flannigan, spent a good deal of time working with the city during the production of “Mad Money” and Mayor Glover started talking about how he wanted to support the film industry and help it grow in Shreveport.  At that time, Louisiana had a 40% entertainment industry infrastructure tax credit in place.  We decided that if the City had land that was not being used, maybe we could lease it and take advantage of the tax credit to develop and build a movie studio. (more…)

Last Friday I got back from a hike and saw that my Uncle Luciano (we’ve always called him “Tío Chano”) had taken the car. He left me a note saying that he was going to go see “an Army movie.”

Somehow, I knew he was going to be disappointed.