Allan McCall, owner of Green Hill Motion Picture Company, has been wanting to make a feature-length film since his parents bought him a Super 8 camera when he was a kid. With it, he and his buddies made lots of bad horror and sci-fi movies. His childhood fascination with film led him to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film from University of Central Florida in Orlando. From there, he got into video production. But that childhood desire has never gone away.
“Narrative filmmaking, usually expressed through short films, has been my chief creative interest all along,” said McCall, “but corporate, legal, and event videos pay the bills.”
With the completion of a recent indigogo.com campaign to fund a movie called “Jinx and Tracy,” McCall will begin filming a trailer in early March 2023 as a means to raise additional funds to complete the entire film.
The origins of the project go back 20 years, back to a producer friend of McCall’s named T.N. Mohan. Mohan originally discovered the book and had discussions with the author, Sabrah Agee, about turning it into a film. Agee adapted her book into a screenplay, but Mohan never found the financing to get the film off the ground. Later, he called McCall with the idea of reviving the project, with McCall directing and rewriting Agee’s script.
Originally published in 1999, “Jinx and Tracy” is the story of a single mom, Mia “Jinx” Caldwell, who is thrown together with a handsome detective, Ross Tracy, when they get tied up together in a meat locker during the armed robbery of a convenience store. As the two of them work to find the robber who is going after Jinx for putting his brother into jail, they transform each other’s lives. It is a dramatic romance with a blend of humor and suspense.
“With the exception of Jinx,” said McCall, “all of the characters will be played by local talent. The casting of Natascha Slasten as Jinx goes back to the beginning of the project. Mohan, a producer best known for religious documentaries, brought Natascha, Sabrah and me together. Sadly, T.N. passed away in early 2022. We carry on in tribute to T.N.’s faith and belief in bringing diverse people together to create positive, meaningful films.”
It will be filmed in Murfreesboro, as that is where McCall lives. He thinks it is a cool place to live, and he wants to show off the city.
“Locations are an area where we’re hoping for help from the community,” said McCall. For the trailer, [we will need] a grocery store, real estate office, City Cafe, another restaurant, and an AirBnB that’s okay with us using it as a shooting location. For the feature, we’ll also have to create our own police station from scratch, since the City of Murfreesboro does not allow commercial filming at their facilities.”
They are still seeking a leading man, their lead character’s ex-husband, the ex-husband’s younger girlfriend, and the lead’s best friend. Anyone interested in one of these roles can email McCall at [email protected]. Crew will be lean, but they will need a sound recordist, gaffer, and production assistants as well. For the feature, there will be about ten more speaking roles, including the male lead’s detective partner, the best friend’s husband, an armed robber and his girlfriend, and a couple of police officers.
We’ll be shooting the trailer from March 3 until March 7, 2023. If they are able to raise the money for the full feature, it will take three to four weeks. Ideally, they’d like to be shooting the feature in the Autumn, since it takes place between Halloween and Christmas.
“The trailer, which is all we have funding for so far, will be part of a pitch package, shown to potential backers to raise money to do the full feature,” explained McCall. “The feature’s most likely venue would be a streaming service – optimistically someplace like Netflix or Hulu. I’d also like to get it screened in a Murfreesboro theater, like Premiere 6, so the community would have the opportunity to see our town portrayed on the big screen.”
Green Hill Motion Picture Company provides complete production services from script to final delivery, focused on Middle Tennessee and especially Rutherford County. Their portfolio includes event videos, promotional presentations, music videos, crowdfunding pitches, narrative projects, web videos, and documentaries.
“I realize that this is possibly the worst economic environment in decades for trying something like this,” said McCall, “but opportunities sometimes emerge in challenging times, and your support is even more appreciated.”
