Sobrato High School senior and student producer Devon Weightman holds the slate as the crew for 'First Dog' prepares to film with actor Tommy 'Tiny' Lister in a parking lot of the Aquatic Center Friday.
Most residents know Morgan Hill to be a scenic town. Hollywood has seen it, too.
Stars including Dan Aykroyd, Dolly Parton, Eric Roberts, in conjunction with First American Cinema and the Sobrato Conservatory of the Arts, are making the independent film "First Dog" at various locations throughout Morgan Hill. The bulk of the movie has been filmed in Morgan Hill for the past several weeks, Director Bryan Michael Stoller said. Locations include the Votaw House at Main and Peak avenues, Laguna and Hale avenues in northwest Morgan Hill, the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center and Ann Sobrato High School.
The collaboration between Hollywood and Sobrato began last year, when Stoller presented at an awards ceremony for students. Ever the mentor, the "Filmmaking for Dummies" author offered to collaborate with Sobrato film teacher Gary Harmon and his students on a project.
During the past year, Stoller wrote "First Dog" about a boy who, after finding a dog he's convinced belongs to the United States president, embarks on a cross-country adventure to Washington D.C. to return it. He thought the film would be a perfect fit to be shot in Morgan Hill with the help of the students, Stoller said.
Stoller said about 50 Sobrato film students, parents and teachers are involved in the movie's production, from acting to staging. The students are receiving extensive hands-on experience on a movie set.
Devon Weightman, 17, has served as the assistant to the assistant director. His duties have included filling out cue cards to be read by Eric Roberts, known for his roles in the movie "Dark Knight" and television show "Heroes."
"You don't get these chances very often in a small town. I knew not to let it slip by," Weightman said.
Sobrato Junior Doug Bennett, 16, is part of the film crew, too. His duties have included loading raw film stock into its holding spool and operating the "slate." He's the person commonly known to holler the movie title and scene number before snapping the clapper board's top down before and after a scene is shot.
"It's pretty cool, it's exciting. It's way different," Bennett said.
Bennett said he had made movies with his friends for school projects before, but he didn't realize how much work went into a "real" movie.
The rhythm of a film set has intrigued Bennett, too.
"You have to move at a pretty fast pace, and then there's a lot of sitting around," he said. Often, it's a race with the sun as it sets in the afternoon and they're trying to finish a scene, he said.
While they're getting paid only in experience, seniors Jessica Hurtado, 17 and Lauryn Geimer, 17, said the experience is worth much more than any amount of pay.
"We're so lucky," Hurtado, the film's second to the assistant director, said. "They all treat us not just like a bunch of kids, we're part of the crew, which I love. We get the same respect as the adult crew members.
Hurtado and Geimer both intend to pursue a career in show business and look forward to adding their weeks of experience on "First Dog" to their resumes.
Hurtado and Geimer, who are both actively involved in Sobrato's theater program, are especially intrigued with the methods used by many of the film's professional actors.
"Tiny Lister can cry on cue. It takes him a couple of minutes, and then he's crying.
"It's so fast paced, they can just turn on and off when the camera goes on and off" unlike theater where it takes time to be prepared to convey a scene's emotion, the Geimer said.
The young starlets-to-be say the film actors they've worked with have encouraged them to keep trying and not let the industry's harsh ways get them down.
"Every day I learn something. Even if it's just some name of a cord," Hurtado said.
Filming in Morgan Hill should end on Christmas Eve, with a few scenes left to shoot in Los Angeles.
Geimer said the movie ending is bittersweet, since they've met so many "cool contacts."
"First Dog" actor Kerry Wallum was smitten with Morgan Hill.
"Everybody up there in that whole town was real cool," he said. "I do a lot of films everywhere and we usually just get crap."
Morgan Hill residents are invited to be extras in a crowd scene, to be shot at Ann Sobrato High School, 401 Burnett Ave. The scene will be shot from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday and extras are asked to wear clothes with no logos in spring styles and colors. Free catering will be provided.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city hall in Morgan Hill. You can reach her at (408) 779-4106 or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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