A Producer to Admire, A Day to Remember

Immersing my self in film, watching and critiquing films with The Film Forecast focus group during the day and attending the premiere of “Expecting Mary” in the evening, yesterday was truly a great day in its entirety. But the highlight of the day was having lunch with the producer of “Expecting Mary”, Kim Waltrip. It is truly an awesome experience to have the opportunity to get to know a woman who has done so much, and yet seems so real. At the evening’s premiere, Jim Casey, the executive producer of the film, referred to Kim as the “Wonder Woman” who made it all happen – shooting the film in only eighteen days. It was a thought that had already occurred to me over lunch with Kim. A mother of a sixteen year old son and owner of Wonderstar Productions, Kim stays active in the Women in Film organization she helped to establish in Palm Springs and volunteers her efforts to help abused children with the Olive Crest Foundation. It’s hard to imagine how the former model still has time to read through the scripts she receives daily. She even found time to join WQmag! In addition to this weekend’s premiere of “Expecting Mary”, Kim also produced “Adopt a Sailor”, one of the films critiqued by The Film Forecast group. Both films were truly enjoyable, yet very different. Kim says both of these films are equally dear to her heart.

Kim predicts that the star of “Expecting Mary”, Olesya Rulin, will become a “huge star”. After seeing the film, I have to agree with her. The adorable twenty-four year old, who easily passed for the 16 year-old in the film, was also present for the premiere. Joining Olesya in the film was a cast of actors and actresses that we don’t get to see much of anymore. It was good to see Elliott Gould, Linda Gray, Lainie Kazan, Cloris Leachman, Della Reese, and Cybill Shepherd on screen– fine actors that don’t get a lot of work at their age. Another oldie but goodie in the film, Gene Simmons played a father who still makes music and being on the road his priority. Kim, a former actress who surprisingly doesn’t like the attention of being in the spotlight, also made a cameo appearance in the film when an actor was unavailable.

Everyone I spoke with following the film enjoyed “Expecting Mary.” It was one of those films that make you laugh and make you cry. Yet, in the end it was a feel-good film for any age. Writer and director, Dan Gordon (Oscar nominee for Hurricane) beautifully portrayed the wisdom of a child’s perception as the teenager who became a mother too early teaches her own mother how to become a mother. The messages conveyed by the film are ones we often overlook. It leaves us with the realization that people who seem to have the least to offer may just have the most to offer – and that life’s most important lessons may be learned in the darnedest of places.

The film previously opened for the California Film Festival and will be released nationally in September. If you didn’t jump at the chance to see the premiere, be sure and see it when it hits the theatres.

The other one of Kim’s films that I saw Saturday, “Adopt a Sailor”, will be released straight to DVD -- a less costly and increasingly common practice according to Kim, especially for films without a big name to carry them. The more I think about this film, the more I love it. Likened to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", It’s a film that makes you think long after seeing it. The writing by Charles Evered, who also made his directorial debut with the film, was exceptional. Kim says she hates to read Charles’ scripts because he’s such a good writer that she feels compelled to make all of his scripts into films.

Filming took place with the same camera that was used to film “Slumdog Millionaire” – only Kim’s film used it first.With a cast of only three people that included Bebe Neuwirth, Peter Coyote and Gregory Peck’s grandson, Ethan Peck, the film was shot in Kim’s home in only fifteen days. She survived seeing her own furniture removed and having her house taken over by the rather tragic couple whose lives were hopefully changed by an evening with a sailor. The 200,000 dollars it took to film “Adopt a Sailor” was initially invested by Kim in her desire to see the film come to fruition. On Mother’s Day, her total investment was returned by one investor – a blissful note of irony for a filmmaker making a film that involved adopting a sailor to mother for a day.

I laughed long and hard watching this film which also brought a tear to my eye. With characters that keep you interested with all of their elements of badness and true goodness, I continue to ponder the depths of the film. The DVD of “Adopt a Sailor” will be released on April 20^th. Viewing the film is highly recommended.

And there will be a lot more to come from Kim Waltrip; she’s currently working on a horror film, a funny one at that. And then there’s “Diahanne Caroll—the Lady, the Music, the Legend” to be followed with productions about other legends -- Joan Collins, Crystal Gayle and Loretta Lynn. I wouldn’t be surprised if this warm and friendly “Wonder Woman” becomes a legend herself.

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