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With the assistance of Hollywood magic, mid-June in the Grand Valley will be filled with a hailstorm and tornado on the Redlands, and R.V.-driving prostitutes camping out at Colorado National Monument.
Although not typical of Grand Junction, these two scenes will be part of “The Return,” a major motion picture scheduled to be filmed in various Mesa County locations next week.
“The Return” starring Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Peña, is the story of three Iraq war veterans who come back to the United States and bond while taking an unexpected road trip together.
The film’s script, obtained by The Grand Junction Free Press, points to several interesting scenes expected to be filmed locally. The script, co-written by Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn, features a scene where the character played by McAdams talks to three prostitutes at a rest room on Colorado National Monument.
Another scene involves McAdams and Peña leaving the Monument to drive to a store. The script has the actors driving a minivan on Route 340 (Broadway on the Redlands is Highway 340), where they happen to run into hail and a tornado, and are forced to abandon the vehicle to seek shelter in a culvert.
The constantly changing pace of movie film making has resulted in several production changes, said Payton Dunham, a location scout for the film.
Dunham has previously scouted locations for films including, “Night at the Museum,” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” He said portions of “The Return” originally scheduled to be filmed in Denver have since been moved to the Western Slope.
“We may do a couple of things in Glenwood Springs. Some of the things (scenes) in Denver got moved to there, and one of them got moved to Grand Junction,” said Dunham. “We’ll definitely be shooting somewhere around I-70.”
A scene involving a Western Slope gas station is expected to be included in the movie, and Dunham has been working on finding a film-worthy fill-up station.
“We’ve looked at literally 30 gas stations between here and Glenwood. It might be one here in town, might be the one out by Cameo. That’s a possibility. But nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
In addition to the changes in shooting locales, the casting of extras for the movie has been moved to “..on or around June 10,” said casting director Tina Kerr, of On Location Casting.
Originally scheduled for a casting date of around June 5, changes in production, including the elimination of the Denver scenes, led to the delay, Kerr said.
In a story that did not mention any specific sources, KKCO 11 News told viewers Monday night the casting date was up in the air. However, Kerr, the owner of On Location Casting, and the person responsible for hiring extras for “The Return,” has contacted the Free Press to verify the estimated June 10 date. Kerr also hired extras for “Titanic,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and the current hit release, “Knocked Up.”
The casting process itself will be exclusively based on submissions to the company’s Web site, www.onlocationcasting.net, she said.
Kerr verified there will be no in-person auditions for extras. She also said in an email: “We don’t need a ton of people in Colorado though ... We will probably only need about 30-40 people total.”
Filming in the Grand Valley will take several days, said Adam Merims, executive producer of “The Return.”
“We’ll be there for approximately a week,” said Merims.
Merims, who has produced such films as February’s spy thriller, “Breach,” and the 1992 cult classic, “Honeymoon in Vegas,” discussed the project with The Free Press by phone, informing people the film is “Directed and written by Neil Burger, who wrote The Illusionist and directed The Illusionist.” Released in 2006, “The Illusionist” starred Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti, and grossed over $41 million at the domestic box office, according the film industry Web site, Variety.com.
Although dates and production schedules are subject to change, Merims said he expects the film’s release date to be December, 2007 or spring, 2008.
Reach Steve Beauregard at beauregardsteve@hotmail.com
Although not typical of Grand Junction, these two scenes will be part of “The Return,” a major motion picture scheduled to be filmed in various Mesa County locations next week.
“The Return” starring Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Peña, is the story of three Iraq war veterans who come back to the United States and bond while taking an unexpected road trip together.
The film’s script, obtained by The Grand Junction Free Press, points to several interesting scenes expected to be filmed locally. The script, co-written by Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn, features a scene where the character played by McAdams talks to three prostitutes at a rest room on Colorado National Monument.
Another scene involves McAdams and Peña leaving the Monument to drive to a store. The script has the actors driving a minivan on Route 340 (Broadway on the Redlands is Highway 340), where they happen to run into hail and a tornado, and are forced to abandon the vehicle to seek shelter in a culvert.
The constantly changing pace of movie film making has resulted in several production changes, said Payton Dunham, a location scout for the film.
Dunham has previously scouted locations for films including, “Night at the Museum,” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” He said portions of “The Return” originally scheduled to be filmed in Denver have since been moved to the Western Slope.
“We may do a couple of things in Glenwood Springs. Some of the things (scenes) in Denver got moved to there, and one of them got moved to Grand Junction,” said Dunham. “We’ll definitely be shooting somewhere around I-70.”
A scene involving a Western Slope gas station is expected to be included in the movie, and Dunham has been working on finding a film-worthy fill-up station.
“We’ve looked at literally 30 gas stations between here and Glenwood. It might be one here in town, might be the one out by Cameo. That’s a possibility. But nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
In addition to the changes in shooting locales, the casting of extras for the movie has been moved to “..on or around June 10,” said casting director Tina Kerr, of On Location Casting.
Originally scheduled for a casting date of around June 5, changes in production, including the elimination of the Denver scenes, led to the delay, Kerr said.
In a story that did not mention any specific sources, KKCO 11 News told viewers Monday night the casting date was up in the air. However, Kerr, the owner of On Location Casting, and the person responsible for hiring extras for “The Return,” has contacted the Free Press to verify the estimated June 10 date. Kerr also hired extras for “Titanic,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and the current hit release, “Knocked Up.”
The casting process itself will be exclusively based on submissions to the company’s Web site, www.onlocationcasting.net, she said.
Kerr verified there will be no in-person auditions for extras. She also said in an email: “We don’t need a ton of people in Colorado though ... We will probably only need about 30-40 people total.”
Filming in the Grand Valley will take several days, said Adam Merims, executive producer of “The Return.”
“We’ll be there for approximately a week,” said Merims.
Merims, who has produced such films as February’s spy thriller, “Breach,” and the 1992 cult classic, “Honeymoon in Vegas,” discussed the project with The Free Press by phone, informing people the film is “Directed and written by Neil Burger, who wrote The Illusionist and directed The Illusionist.” Released in 2006, “The Illusionist” starred Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti, and grossed over $41 million at the domestic box office, according the film industry Web site, Variety.com.
Although dates and production schedules are subject to change, Merims said he expects the film’s release date to be December, 2007 or spring, 2008.
Reach Steve Beauregard at beauregardsteve@hotmail.com
