By Michelle Caceres
When you have had a dream of becoming a filmmaker for years and written the perfect script what do you do? For FishHawk resident Scott Vasey, there was only one course of action: just film it.
Vasey moved to FishHawk from Atlanta two years ago. He had been a screenwriter for years but had never produced anything. After meeting fellow screenwriter Jason Gruich at the Austin Film Festival and watching other writers in the group produce short films, he and Gruich decided to take the initiative and produce his own short film. With money from the proceeds from the sale of his Atlanta home, he purchased some of the necessary equipment.
His short film, titled Home for the Holidays, falls into the drama-horror genre and is about an absentee father who is away on business when tragedy strikes. Shooting took place over one weekend in FishHawk Ranch’s Garden District as well as Lithia Springs Park.
This was a non-speaking film so all the emotion in the script had to be conveyed through the actors’ expressions. He hired veteran actor Jeremy Palko for the lead. “We were very blessed to book an actor that has the range and depth Jeremy has,” he said. Palko is known for his work on The Walking Dead. Actress Traci Newman was cast as his wife. “She was just spectacular,” said Vasey. Other actors included two of Vasey’s children, Graham and Cooper. “Their extent of their on-camera work included a 25-second clip,” he joked.
A local business was quick to offer assistance for this project. Firewood Barbeque provided dinner for the cast and crew on Saturday night. “The food was delicious and the owner was very generous,” said Vasey.
Film editing should be completed in a month. He’s hoping FishHawk will allow him to screen the movie at the Osprey Club. He also hopes to enter the film in local film festivals. “After we show it in local film festivals and get the buzz going, we’ll be able to show it in the larger film festivals across the country,” he said.
The experience has given Vasey the determination to create more films. “I’ve dipped my toe in the filmmaking industry,” he said. To keep up on the latest about the film, visit www.scottvasey.com.
