It’s not the most overtly artsy area in the world, but two
recent San Benito County transplants are betting there’s enough
talent and culture in Hollister and the surrounding areas to
cultivate an active cadre of future film stars, celebrated
cinematographers and successful screenwriters.
Hollister – It’s not the most overtly artsy area in the world, but two recent San Benito County transplants are betting there’s enough talent and culture in Hollister and the surrounding areas to cultivate an active cadre of future film stars, celebrated cinematographers and successful screenwriters.
But the chances of them busting out on their own aren’t very good without mentors, colleagues or a way of getting their material out into the world. So, John Chadwell and John Maio, both sometime-screenwriters, thought they’d foster a community and a creative outlet for the would-be Oscar winners.
Together, the two Johns are setting up C&M Productions, a small “no-budget” production company looking for scripts, actors and technicians from the local community who want to get their work seen.
“We’re (Chadwell and Maio) both members of CMAP, so we’ve arranged it through CMAP,” Chadwell said. “So these films are going to be shown, which is kind of a rarity when you’re working on no-budget films.”
Chadwell and Maio are in pre-production right now on a movie called “Warriors,” a short film about the Civil War, from a screenplay Chadwell wrote himself about two teenage boys fighting in the Confederate and Union armies. In the future, Chadwell said, they’re hoping to rely on local talent. They’re always looking for authors of 15-20 minute, one-act plays with few characters and no special effects that they can film either at the CMAP studios or around Hollister.
“We want to pull all of the talent out of the woodwork. We know we can pull out tremendous talent; it’s there. It’s just a question of getting the word out,” Maio said.
“It’d be nice to have a little repertoire company, but we’ll always be looking for new faces,” Chadwell added. “It’s for anybody who’s interested.”
Chadwell and Maio said there are a number of people in Hollister, Gilroy, Santa Cruz and even San Francisco who have acted before and are members of the Screen Actors Guild, but just gave acting up when reality came knocking.
“There are people right here in Hollister who were actors 20 years ago and have been in a bunch of movies, but now they’re selling real estate because the real world says you have to get a job,” Maio said.
Maio and Chadwell are hoping that with their new production company, they’ll be able to find these former actors.
“You just have to throw out a line and you’ll reel in an actor,” Chadwell said.
Once the duo has assembled a “database” of actors and technicians, they’ll begin work on a feature-length family film to be aired on CMAP. It will probably be a coming-of-age story about two high-school-aged brothers, although it will all depend on what actors they can find and whether or not they’ll be able to find a high school willing to let them shoot the film there.
“By doing these smaller pieces, we’re hoping to find people we can work with in the future,” said Maio, whose full-length comedy “Harrington’s Notes” has recently been in several film festivals.
The pair hopes the productions from their small, no-budget cottage industry will one day also be up to film festival snuff in a few years, but there’s always a chance it could go beyond that.
“Everyone’s dream is to sell a screenplay to Miramax,” Chadwell said.
Anyone interested in joining C&M’s repertoire of actors, writers and technicians can call John Chadwell at 831-638-1201, or e-mail him at [email protected].
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
