Left: Actor Tony Bottorff. Right: Director Paul Bright.
Paul Bright returns to Austin in December to lens his eighth feature film 'Long Term Parking', adapted from Mike Kearby's novel of the same title. Although the outrageously irreverent comic book story of a bounty hunter morphing between heaven and earth and the girlfriends who are trying to kill him is based in Ft. Worth, Bright chose Austin for filming because of the past support he's received from the Austin Film Commission.
“Everything we need to make this movie is already here. There's no reason to film anywhere else,” Bright says. A few days shooting establishing shots in the Dallas/Fort Worth area enables the film editor to convince film audiences the entire movie was filmed to the north. The crew is currently scouting Austin locations for both interior and exterior shots.
Starring in the leading role, Austin-based actor Tony Bottorff has been preparing for this film for a year. “When we got the greenlight to produce this project I knew immediately Tony was the right man for the part,” director Bright stated. In the very stylized film our hero gets crossed with a dog during his first transformation to heaven, and must be a believably suave romantic for 90 minutes of screen time while his bushy tail is wagging behind his head.
The real challenge may be for his girlfriends, Texas-based actresses Tasha Straley and Lisa Sosa. Many women will agree dating a dog isn't easy. “Tony is such an amazing actor I think he could convince anyone to do anything,” said Bright. “Let's hope I'm right when we get to the romantic scenes.”
'Long Term Parking' is often compared to the cult classic 'Tank Girl' because of its mixture of sarcastic humor, teasing sensuality and comic book characters.
YouTube star Gary Lee Mahmoud is flying in from New York to play the hero's lawyer in heaven. And the plot takes a dramatic twist in a scene driven by Brantley Moate, who is being flown in from Georgia. Other principal cast members include Louis Moncivillas, Joel Hudgens, and Dean Reading.
Filming begins December 2nd and is expected to run till the holidays. To keep up to date on what is new with the film and the people making it, visit the official website.
