A year ago, Morgan Hill was awash with lights, cameras and
action with the filming of the movie First Dog. That action is
returning with the film’s world premiere.
A year ago, Morgan Hill was awash with lights, cameras and action with the filming of the movie First Dog. That action is returning with the film’s world premiere.
The star-studded event will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at CineLux Theaters in Tennant Station. The movie will show on several screens. Tickets cost $5.50. A VIP after-screening party will be held at the Ann Sobrato Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for the party as well, to the tune of $30 per person, which includes admission to the movie screening. Tickets can be purchased at aspac.sobratoarts.org.
The independent movie was made primarily in Morgan Hill with the help of Ann Sobrato High School students last winter.
First Dog stars include Dan Aykroyd, Dolly Parton, Eric Roberts and many Morgan Hill residents. A few dozen locals served as extras one chilly Saturday last December. Many of the film’s stars will be present at Sunday’s events, according to Sobrato teacher Gary Harmon.
The movie, written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, is about a boy who, after finding a dog he’s convinced belongs to the United States president, embarks on a cross-country adventure to Washington D.C. to return it.
Stoller said he thought the film would be a perfect fit to be shot in Morgan Hill with the help of the students. About 50 students, parents and teachers helped in the movie’s production, from acting to staging.
The collaboration between Hollywood and Sobrato was hatched during the 2007-08 school year, when Stoller presented at an awards ceremony for students. Ever the mentor, the “Filmmaking for Dummies” author offered to collaborate with Sobrato film teacher Gary Harmon and his students on the project.
Locations for the movie included the Votaw house at Main and Peak avenues, Laguna and Hale avenues in northwest Morgan Hill and the Aquatics Center. Also, the film shot at Sobrato, where students built a full-scale replica of the Oval Office with props used in the television series ‘The West Wing’.
