LIVE Magazine Issue #250 Jan 4-13, 2017

SH: Yes, making movies is very expensive. There’s never enough money
to do everything you want. In our case it was especially difficult, since we
made the movie on what Hollywood considers a “micro” budget. Considering
our cast, locations, shooting on location in Palm Springs, etc. – we
achieved a lot and all our money is “up on the screen”. The City of Palm
Springs was very supportive and helpful during the making of the movie.
Palm Springs provided us with a grant of $5,000 for shooting in the city,
and considering our extremely low budget, every dollar counted. And
none of this would have been possible without one of our Executive Producers
and Location Manager Richard “Kip” Serafin. We met Kip more
than a year before we started filming, and he helped us find and secure
all our fabulous locations. We shot all over town including the Skylark
Hotel, Trio, the Purple Room, Mitchell’s, the Chase Hotel, Grau Vacation
Rentals, SHAG, downtown Palm Springs, and at several stunning midstars
Diane Farr (Numb3rs),
Jason Lewis (Sex and the City), Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World),
Sugar Lyn Beard (Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates),
Jackson Davis (Lonelygirl15), Chaka Forman (Harsh Times),
and Madison McKinley (The Wolf of Wall Street).
as we produce our graduate thesis film. My AFI thesis film had it’s world
premiere at the 2007 Palm Springs ShortsFest, which was actually our
first trip to Palm Springs. Lindie and I loved Palm Springs so much during
our first visit, we began vacationing here during getaways from Los
Angeles. The inspiration for “Palm Swings” came during an anniversary
trip to Palm Springs.
LC: What projects have you worked on before producing Palm Swings?
SH: I have worked on many movies over the years, mainly on the visual
effects side. I started as a grip/electrician on independent movies in
Detroit, before transitioning to visual effects and going to work at Industrial,
Light, & Magic in San Francisco. Working for George Lucas on “Star
Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace” was certainly a highlight of my
career. I learned an incredible amount about filmmaking while at ILM. It
was a fantastic experience working with so many talented, world-class
artists. It’s become a cliché, but I wanted to become a filmmaker after
seeing the original “Star Wars” on the big screen as a kid. Working on a
“Star Wars” movie was a surreal dream come true. After ILM, I worked
for The Orphanage (started by “orphans” from Lucasfilm) on several very
cool movies including “Sin City”, “The Day After Tomorrow,” and several
“Spy Kids” movies. Even after AFI and while we were developing “Palm
Swings”, I continued to work on other movies including “Gamer”, “Piranha
3D”, “Shrek 3D” and “Yogi Bear 3D.”
LC: What persuaded you to move to Palm Springs?
Lindie: That’s easy – our movie “Palm Swings.” Plus we love it here.
We were ready to leave Los Angeles after ten years, and making the
movie here gave us that opportunity. We’ve been living here over two
years now and have been writing several more movies to shoot here.
Even a television series.
LC: With the influx of millennials and others into the Palm Springs scene
you have managed to show a connection between the new people and
the Palm Springs residents. Tell us about this connection in your film,
‘Palm Swings’?
SH: Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. At the movie’s heart,
“Palm Swings” is a love story about a young, married couple moving to
Palm Springs. When they discover their neighbors are swingers, they
decide to test their marriage and love while experimenting in the lifestyle.
Anyone who’s been married for a while, can certainly identify with that
“7 year itch” and the universal struggles of commitment, trust, honesty,
and fidelity that most couples face at one time or another. We wanted to
show a different and diverse side of Palm Springs, while embracing the
cool mid-century modern style and awesome retro vibe. We like to say
the movie “sweats” Palm Springs. You can feel the city in every frame,
especially since we shot during the summer and it was over a hundred
degrees every day (laughter). Our music is composed by local DJ Alf
Alpha, and his Palm Springs pool-party sound vibes fit perfectly with the
movie. Despite the provocative nature and controversial subject matter,
the movie has a lot of heart and is surprising fun and accessible. American
filmmakers don’t typically make sensual movies about sex, and the
movie feels European at times. We think it will be extremely popular with
millennials and couples looking for something to see on “date night.”
LC: You got some really talented people involved from Camera to Editing
to Soundtrack...I mean every department was done so well. The
Casting was amazing and Lighting was spot on. How did you collect this
great group of talented people?
SH: Many of our crewmembers we had worked with previously on other
AFI projects, so there’s definitely a strong AFI connection to this movie.
Kristin is an amazing DP and friend, and she and Rachel contributed so
much to the look of the movie. Palm Springs provides such a beautiful
backdrop with stunning locations. Our editor Jason Sikora is also a close
friend, who I’ve known and worked with for years. Tineka Becker did our
casting and she assembled a perfect cast of stars and rising stars. LIVE
Magazine’s Juli Ragsdale and Levvy Carriker are great as Associate
Producers. The movie stars Sugar Lyn Beard, Jackson Davis, Diane Farr,
Jason Lewis, Chaka Forman, Madison McKinley, and the fabulous Tia
Carrere. The cast had a fantastic time working in Palm Springs, and they
were all truly committed to the movie and gave everything I asked from
them. I’m very proud of the movie and very happy with the finished result.
LC: The costs of filmmaking can be enormous. The City of Palm Springs
helped out a bit. Tell us about that program and how you got some funding?