From Gainesville Sun
By JULIE GARRETT
Sun staff writer
A film starring actress Kelly LeBrock is slated to begin production in Gainesville and Alachua County in July.
The independent film, "The Redeeming Season," is a drama with a budget upward of $10 million, said Jude Hagin, film commissioner with the Film Commission of Real Florida, serving Ocala and Marion County.
Hagin said the budget has "escalated," but declined to give an exact figure. "It will depend on who they recently signed as their lead," she said.
According to Hagin, the project is the culmination of five years' planning and collaboration on the part of producer Patricia Crawford, the Gainesville woman who announced plans in 2003 to build Springtree Studios, a $400 million movie studio in Newberry. In January, The Sun ran a story in which Crawford said she was still on track to submit plans for the studio to the city of Newberry later this year.
"I'm very, very thrilled for everybody concerned," Hagin said. "It's the best project I've ever worked on in terms of quality. No four-letter words, no nudity. It's a great message, a great story."
"The Redeeming Season" is the story of a young woman with developmental disabilities whose estranged father comes back into her life after the death of her mother.
LeBrock will co-produce the film with Crawford, Hagin said. She'll also play the female lead, the principal of a school for special-needs children.
LeBrock starred in "Weird Science" with Anthony Michael Hall in 1985 and "The Woman in Red" in 1984. She was married to Steven Seagal and starred with him in the 1990 film "Hard to Kill." They've since divorced.
"She and Patricia Crawford apparently have become co-producers of this film and at least one more," Hagin said. "They're quite a team. They're both beautiful, intelligent women who really care about special-needs children."
Gail Williamson, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, said she is the special-needs casting director for the film. Rather than have "typical" actors play people with disabilities, they prefer to use actors with disabilities. For the past month, she said, she's been auditioning special-needs actors on tape from around the country.
Williamson calls the film a coming-of-age story about a young woman named Tamara with a developmental disability whose mother suddenly dies and whose estranged father comes back into her life. Her boyfriend, Stan, has Down syndrome.
"She has a boyfriend, she has a life in this community, and the father has a life somewhere else," said Williamson, describing the movie's plot. "And so it's them coming to terms with what their life will be together. It's a lovely story."
Williamson said Randal Kleiser will direct the film. His directorial credits include "Grease" (1978), "The Blue Lagoon" (1980), "White Fang" (1991) and "Honey I Blew up the Kid" (1995).
Hagin said films typically take between three to five years to produce. Things can go wrong and projects are sometimes scrapped once they're started, even with millions already invested, Hagin said. She calls it "the nature of the business."
"You have a script, and then you have to get the funding for it, and then you have to get the casting for it, and then you have to get the locations for it, and sometimes, the whole deal falls apart."
But she said in the case of "The Redeeming Season," the producers have "very, very detailed plans."
Crawford could not be reached for comment.
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suzie
By JULIE GARRETT
Sun staff writer
A film starring actress Kelly LeBrock is slated to begin production in Gainesville and Alachua County in July.
The independent film, "The Redeeming Season," is a drama with a budget upward of $10 million, said Jude Hagin, film commissioner with the Film Commission of Real Florida, serving Ocala and Marion County.
Hagin said the budget has "escalated," but declined to give an exact figure. "It will depend on who they recently signed as their lead," she said.
According to Hagin, the project is the culmination of five years' planning and collaboration on the part of producer Patricia Crawford, the Gainesville woman who announced plans in 2003 to build Springtree Studios, a $400 million movie studio in Newberry. In January, The Sun ran a story in which Crawford said she was still on track to submit plans for the studio to the city of Newberry later this year.
"I'm very, very thrilled for everybody concerned," Hagin said. "It's the best project I've ever worked on in terms of quality. No four-letter words, no nudity. It's a great message, a great story."
"The Redeeming Season" is the story of a young woman with developmental disabilities whose estranged father comes back into her life after the death of her mother.
LeBrock will co-produce the film with Crawford, Hagin said. She'll also play the female lead, the principal of a school for special-needs children.
LeBrock starred in "Weird Science" with Anthony Michael Hall in 1985 and "The Woman in Red" in 1984. She was married to Steven Seagal and starred with him in the 1990 film "Hard to Kill." They've since divorced.
"She and Patricia Crawford apparently have become co-producers of this film and at least one more," Hagin said. "They're quite a team. They're both beautiful, intelligent women who really care about special-needs children."
Gail Williamson, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, said she is the special-needs casting director for the film. Rather than have "typical" actors play people with disabilities, they prefer to use actors with disabilities. For the past month, she said, she's been auditioning special-needs actors on tape from around the country.
Williamson calls the film a coming-of-age story about a young woman named Tamara with a developmental disability whose mother suddenly dies and whose estranged father comes back into her life. Her boyfriend, Stan, has Down syndrome.
"She has a boyfriend, she has a life in this community, and the father has a life somewhere else," said Williamson, describing the movie's plot. "And so it's them coming to terms with what their life will be together. It's a lovely story."
Williamson said Randal Kleiser will direct the film. His directorial credits include "Grease" (1978), "The Blue Lagoon" (1980), "White Fang" (1991) and "Honey I Blew up the Kid" (1995).
Hagin said films typically take between three to five years to produce. Things can go wrong and projects are sometimes scrapped once they're started, even with millions already invested, Hagin said. She calls it "the nature of the business."
"You have a script, and then you have to get the funding for it, and then you have to get the casting for it, and then you have to get the locations for it, and sometimes, the whole deal falls apart."
But she said in the case of "The Redeeming Season," the producers have "very, very detailed plans."
Crawford could not be reached for comment.
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suzie
But I do wish her luck. 
But there's always worse. 