GILROY
– A local independent film maker is hoping not to be so
independent this time around.
GILROY – A local independent film maker is hoping not to be so independent this time around.
With his first film reaching the final stages of completion, Director Grant Richards already has his eyes on his next film – despite the fact that funding is short.
Richards, who said the first film was one of his life goals, financed “It’ll Happen,” a romantic film using local actors and local businesses for filming, with his own money.
“It was a goal of mine to make a feature-length film,” he said. “I saved for a couple years, and I spent all of it, and now I’m seriously in debt.”
Richards is in the process of editing “It’ll Happen” with Sound Editor A.J. Juncker. He hopes to get the film out to premiere as soon as possible.
“I’m going to do everything but kill myself to get it out by May – before the blockbusters,” he said.
Richards hopes local theaters like Platinum will show the film but knows it’ll be difficult when the summer’s big name movies take up the screens.
The film already missed the deadline for submittion to this year’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival, but Richards is planning to submit the film for Cinequest in San Jose and will shoot for Sundance next year.
“We’re going to send it in and cross our fingers,” he said.
While the making of “It’ll Happen” turned into a costly affair for Richards, the majority of the costs were in equipment, so making his next film will be cheaper, he said. However, Richards still hopes to get enough money to purchase a 35mm camera, a manual follow focus and CGI lighting for night filming – all of which would run between $15,000 and $17,000.
“It’s not cheap to make a film,” he said. “We need $22,000 for the equipment we need. And that’s no food, nothing. We really need more money to do it right.”
With one film under his belt, Richards has large expectations for his next effort, called “Perpetual Motion.”
“With our next film, it can do very well at film festivals,” Richards said.
The script for “Perpetual Motion,” written by Richard’s father, Jack, already has received recognition at Sundance as a finalist.
“With that film, our goal is to win a film festival or two to get some recognition,” he said.
The story of “Perpetual Motion” has a personal angle, according to Patricia Dugan, who will co-produce the new film.
“It’s a character-based story, with the backbone, to me, being homelessness, racism, faith and hope,” she said. “I really feel this film is a really beautiful film. It’s a bittersweet film.”
Filming for “Perpetual Motion” would take place in Gilroy, San Jose and Chicago.
And, according to Dugan, filming part of the movie locally is important, as community support was part of the reason the production team has decided to try and make “Perpetual Motion” a reality.
“When the success was obvious as far as working with the community, about half-way through the production we decided we wanted to go forward with it. The community was super supportive,” she said. “The main thing is fund raising. It’s important to get ‘It’ll Happen’ out there so people can see what we’re doing.”
There is one fund raising effort planned in connection with the release party for the movie. Richards, who hopes to show “It’ll Happen” at the Strand in April, said ticket sales, DVD sales and donations will help pay for some costs. He also will be writing grants in an attempt to secure funding.
“We were all set to start production about now,” he said. “As soon as we have the money, we’ll get started.”
Richards teaches English and the humanities at Gavilan College, including courses in film like intro to cinema, film and fiction, and approaches to modern cinema, which he said has nearly 200 students this year.
“This year, we have had the largest classes we’ve ever had,” he said.
Dugan hopes the increasing interest in cinema, along with a positive response to their first film, will help generate support for the movie.
“As a nonprofit, we’d be happy with anything,” she said.
For more information about the film or to make a donation, contact Co-producer Patricia Dugan at (831) 245-6311.
