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Hunter Brothers team with Lexi Alexander for another movie
The first time Birmingham's Alan and Hugh Hunter hooked up with writer-director Lexi Alexander, the results were pretty good.
Their "Johnny Flynton" was a film festival favorite and earned an Academy Award nomination for best live-action short film in 2003.
Six years later, they're about to do it again.
The feature-length film "Lifted" goes into production at the end of next month in the Birmingham area, marking the second collaboration between Hunter Films and Alexander.
"We figured she'd be off to bigger and better things, and we'd never see her again," says Hugh Hunter. "It was kind of a nice surprise to see that come back on the radar."
Alexander did go on to bigger films -- "Hooligans" with Elijah Wood and last year's "Punisher: War Zone" -- but the LA-based filmmaker was ready to get back down South.
"She's been offered these high-explosion high-action movies like 'Punisher,' and she didn't want to do that again," Alan Hunter says. "About six months ago, she dropped us a note .¤.¤. She wanted to come back to Alabama and try to put the genie back in the bottle again."
"Lifted" tells the story of a young Alabama boy who shares his father's passion for R&B music. Just before he is to sing in a contest in Birmingham, his father is called up for a tour in Afghanistan. Father manages to reunite with son in time for his big performance.
"Think 'Billy Elliott' but in the South, or 'Hustle and Flow' but down in Birmingham," Alan Hunter says.
Already attached to the movie are star Dash Mihok, who also starred in "Johnny Flynton," and hip hop artist Kid Cudi. Casting for principal actors and background extras will take place over the next several weeks. for information on how to audition e-mail liftedmovie_nospam_yahoo.com.
"Lexi wrote the whole thing with Birmingham and Alabama in mind, including everything she took in when she was here last time," Alan Hunter says.
Hunter Films plans to use a largely local and regional crew to make "Lifted," which they hope to have ready to enter into next year's Sundance Film Festival.
"We are committed to making this a truly Southern movie with a Southern group," Alan Hunter says.
And that includes the cast.
"We were trying to help her find this kid to star, and we served up (local musician) Todd Simpson," Alan Hunter says. "It turned out he looked a little old for the part .¤.¤. but she'd still love to use him in some way, as well as other well-known people from the area."
After "Johnny Flynton," both Hunter Films and Lexi Alexander went on to other projects, but they were eager to reunite. Now -- with hopes that they'll be among the first to take advantage of newly approved tax incentives for filmmakers in Alabama -- was the right time.
"It's perfect timing," Alan Hunter says. "The state is primed for some good quality company like ours to take advantage of the incentives," he adds. "And we're all just glad to be working with Lexi again. It's a sweet reunion, I would say."
Source:
blog.al.com/aharvey/2009/07/hunter_brothers_team_with_lexi.html
