STITTSVILLE - There’s that Hollywood lore about actresses getting discovered in
restaurants! Fairy tales, you say. Well, don’t tell 13 year old Aelah Thomson
of Stittsville. She is now performing one of the major roles in a full length
film being shot in Ottawa,
all because of a chance encounter in a restaurant, right in Stittsville, no
less.
It all happened last May when
Aelah and her mother Sandra were in the “1 for 1 Pizza” shop in the Shops of
Main Street plaza when they were approached by a man who asked if Aelah wanted
to audition for a film. When he noticed her Goulbourn Basketball Association
jacket, he became even more persistent but the answer was no.
But then the man, who they
later came to know to be Jo Marr, followed them to the Rogers Video store in
the plaza where they went to rent a movie. He told them about his movies, some
of which could be rented at the store. They eventually checked out his website
and eventually Aelah agreed to attend an audition. And the rest is history, as
Aelah not only got the part of Sammy, one of the leads in the movie called “Going
Thru A Thing” but her basketball team, the Goulbourn Hornets bantam girls
squad, got a role in the film as well. Indeed, so too did Barrhaven and Russell
teams thanks to contacts which opened up with the Thomson family on board.
And it even became a Thomson
family happening as Aelah’s father, Alan, is playing the role of a basketball
coach while her mother, Sandra, will be in a classroom scene.
Jo Marr, who grew up in the
Bells Corners area of Nepean,
has a cinematic career going back to 1992 in which he has acted, produced and
even written. He performed in the movie “Night Train” in 2009, “Stag Night” in
2008 and “Wrong Number” in 2002. He was co-producer of “Night Train” and “Stag
Night” while he wrote “Blink of an Eye” in 1999.
He was the one who spotted
Aelah in the Stittsville “1 for 1 Pizza” shop. It was her appearance that first
drew him to her. Speaking about Aelah while shooting at Confederation
High School in Nepean on Wednesday, July 7, Jo said that
Aelah had “big beautiful eyes” and looked “like the girl next door.” All in
all, she had the look that he was seeking for the girl to play the role of
Sammy, the daughter of the movie’s lead role which he himself was playing.
Initially rebuffed by Aelah
and her mother, Jo renewed his effort to get them interested when he then
noticed that she was wearing a Goulbourn Basketball Association jacket. It just
so happens that the movie revolves around a basketball setting. Eventually
Aelah agreed to audition and indeed showed up at the audition with all of her
lines memorized.
But this is not what sold Jo
on casting Aelah in the role.
He agrees that Aelah was “so
calm on camera” but it was her calm demeanour both before and after her reading
that caught Jo’s attention. As an actor himself, he knows that staying calm and
doing nothing before and after a reading is about the hardest thing that an
actor has to do.
“She does nothing very well,”
Jo says about Aelah – and he says it as the highest of complements.
While actual preparations for
filming “Going Thru A Thing” only began in May or so, Jo Marr, who is the
film’s writer, director and producer as well as its lead actor, admits that he
had the idea for the film knocking around in his head for a few years. He said
that the story, about a criminal father who has to re-think his ways in order
to maintain his family, is loosely based on circumstances experienced by his
brother and his daughter.
This movie marks the return of
Jo Marr to the city where he grew up. This is partly because of the economic
conditions which have impacted the movie business, making locations elsewhere
in the world less attractive as shooting locales. But he also readily admits
that after being away developing his career, he is now glad to be back home
among family and friends. Among the pluses is the fact that he is now close to
his mom’s kitchen.
Jo makes it clear that he is
not hiding the fact that the movie is being shot in Ottawa as a totally Canadian production, with
all local talent. He wants to showcase this talent.
“I’m so happy to make it in Ottawa,” he says.
Indeed, he thinks that this
will be the start of something.
“I’m hoping there will be
more here,” he says.
But he also admits that this
movie is anything but a high budget operation.
“This is like a two dollar
film,” he says, noting that he begged, borrowed and called in favours wherever
he could to make it happen.
Shooting locations in Ottawa tend to be closer
together, meaning less time is lost in the shooting schedule. There are to be
15 days of shooting, most at locales in the west end such as Confederation High School,
where basketball game shots were done on Wednesday, July 7. There are also a
couple of locations in Stittsville as well as a scene at a local hospital.
While the movie has about six
core roles, there are about 28 actors in the cast. In addition, there are
extras such as those who showed up on Wednesday evening, July 7 to be the crowd
for the basketball game shots. These extras, along with much of the cast, was
recruited through notices on Facebook and other social networking venues. This
is a non-union production.
Parktown Productions, an
Ottawa-based production company owned and operated by Richard Towns
and Sean Parker, is providing the production equipment for the movie.
Sean Parker says that the 90
minute film will be marketed as a totally Canadian production. The marketing
will be focused on film festivals and other outlets, virtually anywhere where
the film can get exposure.
“We’re trying to put Ottawa more on the
(movie) scene,” Mr. Parker says.
The movie itself ranges from
some funny scenes to the very moving scene in the hospital which is tear
inducing.
Another Stittsville
connection in the film is the involvement of John Badger who is the chief
referee for the Goulbourn Basketball Association. He is one of two referees who
were involved in the shooting at Confederation
High School, overseeing
the game action.
Mr. Badger is now looking
forward to seeing the finished product and how the various jump ball situations
and other basketball court action filmed will be used in the movie.