Christina: Leland-based film company premiers psychological drama By Erin Crowell Hollywood comes to Northern Michigan a bit early this summer – with the Traverse City Film Festival still three weeks away, the State Theater will offer a special red carpet event on Sunday, July 18, with the premier of “Christina,” the independent film set in Post World War II Berlin. Inspired by a true story, the film is about a young German woman who attempts to escape the war-ravaged city with her G.I. fiancée to start life anew in America. There’s only one thing standing in their way: a police detective, bound and determined to prevent Christina from escaping the country…and her past.
HIGH CALIBER HOLLYWOOD “Christina” is presented by Leland-based 8180 Films and is the production company’s first film since owners Rebecca Reynolds and Jim Carpenter started the company in 2007. There will be two showings for “Christina,” 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.; with the first already sold-out. Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Larry Brand and the cast. With serious connections in the film industry, 8180 has produced a small budget film with Hollywood proportions – using some of the best film equipment in the biz, as well as some high caliber acting talent. The film stars Stephen Lang as the tenacious Inspector Reinhardt. Lang has starred in several films including “The Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009), “Public Enemies” (2009); and is probably most credited for his role in James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster “Avatar” as the muscular, ego-popping Colonel Quaritch. “We needed someone with a monstrous presence. Not a monster, but someone with a presence that commands attention,” explains the film’s executive producer and co-owner of 8180 Films Rebecca Reynolds. “We had people coming up to us asking, ‘Where did you get the German actor?” she says of Lang. “They were stunned when they found out who he was. A guy at one of our earlier screenings told me he spent the entire movie looking for Stephen Lang.” “It’s an absolute testament to his flexibility in various roles,” adds Larry Brand, writer and director. Starring in the title role is Nicki Aycox, who appeared in both sequels of “Jeepers Creepers” (2003) and “Joy Ride” (2008), and who currently stars opposite Dylan McDermott in the TV series “Deep Blue.” “For Christina’s role, we needed someone with a fearless emotional range,” says Reynolds. In the role of Christina’s G.I. boyfriend, Billy Calvert, is actor Jordan Belfi – most commonly known for his regular appearances on the HBO series “Entourage” as sleazy talent agent Adam Davies. Belfi also appeared in the 2009 film “Surrogates,” starring Bruce Willis. “These are the best three actors I’ve ever worked with,” says Brand, who wrote the screenplay for 2009’s “Halloween: Resurrection” (starring Jamie Lee Curtis). “I’ve worked with a couple Academy nominees, some really brilliant actors; but (Lang, Aycox and Belfi) were the absolute highest quality.”
STRENGTH IN THE SCRIPT Reynolds says the strength of the script is what attracted the acting talent. Brand, Reynolds and Carpenter chose the story for their first film after Brand heard about it through a family friend. “The soldier involved in the true story was someone who my friend knew. He came back with this story of falling in love with this German girl who wasn’t who he thought she was,” says Brand. “Christina” tells a different perspective of World War II, mainly that of the individuals whose lives were changed personally. “I wanted to be able to tell a World War II story with all the emotional ups and downs, all the emotional stress, but without externalizing it,” says Brand. “Obviously we don’t have explosions, tank battles or air raids. That’s not what this movie is about. It’s about the personal experience of war through three characters.” Reynolds says that lack of physical action and special effects made the film cheaper to shoot. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. “We only had 12 days to shoot,” she says. “They are extremely intense performances and it’s a complicated psychological drama,” adds Brand. “You have to convey a sense of reality, so you can’t put in a half effort.”
CONNECTIONS Brand and Reynolds have known each other for 30 years, helping one another on projects, offering an outside perspective on certain scripts or even the heads up on certain film ideas. “What frequently happens in this business is you tend to work on your friend’s projects, whether I directed something, (Reynolds) produced something and what-not. There’s a lot of cross-pollination,” says Brand. That’s how many of the connections were made in the filming of “Christina.” Cinematographer/producer Kees Van Oostrum had worked with Reynolds on the HBO series “Ari$$,” while costume designer Jacqueline Saint Anne also worked with Reynolds on a couple HBO projects. Anne had access to all the necessary costumes for the film. “It’s a time period piece, so it was more convenient to shoot it in Burbank, California where (Anne) had access to a warehouse the size of Building 50 (in Traverse City),” says Reynolds. “All the clothing is organized by time period, color, material.” 8180 Films is already in the planning process for their next film, which will be shot closer to home. “It’s a modern piece in a rural setting, so this area is perfect,” says Reynolds. Reynolds and Carpenter have been actively involved in local film. They served as side founders and board members of the By the Bay Film Series in Suttons Bay for 10 years before making the decision to start their own film company. “With By the Bay, our goal was to show independent films with complex characters,” says Reynolds, “which is what we’ve done with ‘Christina.’”
RAKING IT IN While “Christina” is showing in Northern Michigan for the first time, the film has already been screened at several film festivals across the country, taking awards along the way, including Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking at the Buffalo-Niagra and Newport Beach film festivals, as well as Outstanding Achievement in Writing and Outstanding Achievement in Acting – Male Role (Stephen Lang) at New York City’s VISIONFEST 10.
Tickets for the 9 p.m. showing at the Traverse City State Theater are still available, at $10 a piece, and include a Q&A with all three cast members and crew.
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