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. <strong>LIVE</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>’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?
“Our music is composed by local DJ Alf Alpha, and his Palm Spings pool-party sound vibes fit perfectly...”