The cast, crew and filming locations for the shooting of JC Films’ “A Promise to Astrid” is shaping right up. 

 

“It’s encouraging to see a lot of the community excited about this,” said JC Films co-owner and producer Jason Campbell.

 

About 400 locals have registered through the company’s Web site, indicating interest in appearing in the film.

 

Some have been cast in roles and others will be utilized in scenes as extras, Campbell said. He encourages other individuals interested to visit JCFilms.org. Click on “A Promise to Astrid” in the upper right-corner and submit email address, indicating interest in the film.

 

“We’re making one more big push for people to send their email addresses through the Web site, so we can build a nice data base and communicate to these individuals when we will be shooting scenes involving extras.," Campbell said.

 

JC Films makes inspirational, faith-based movies, some based on true stories. Such is the case with “A Promise to Astrid.”

 

“Astrid is a lady of Norwegian descent, who was extremely wealthy, but no one knew it. She moved into this small community with her husband and they had no children of their own," Campbell said. "She doesn’t really fit into the community, but she has a heart for people and helps everyone she encounters. Through random acts of kindness, she changed the community. Everything she did for people was based on the promise that they would never tell anyone or say anything about her generosity or kindness. It wasn’t just about money, but several things she did to help people. It wasn’t until she passed away that people started talking about the things that happened in their lives because one lady.”

 

In the title role is JoAnn Peterson of Kingwood, known for her portrayal of five “Amazing Women of History.” In the role of Pastor Scott Seabury is Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “Bigfoot Bounty Hunter,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” and hundreds of feature films). Other actors who have been involved in JC Film productions and cast in the movie are Michael Sigler as Russell and Katherine Shaw as Tiffany.

 

But, predominantly, the cast is made up of locals, including Heather (Starkey) Mudrick in the role of Holly (Pastor Seabury’s wife) and her daughters Madison, Grace and Emma as the couple’s children. Mudrick’s young son Maddox has also landed a role in the film.

 

Cindy Timms Pulice, a local preschool teacher who has an extensive background in performing arts, has been cast in “A Promise to Astrid,” as has her daughter Chiara Pulice and sister Sarah Chittar. The women will portray Ruth's Mom, a nurse and Brooke, respectively. 

 

The cast also includes: Mike – Jeremy Gladen; Cindy – Luba Hansen; Tim – Solon Tsangaras; Caroline – Suzanne Neff; Rocco – Stu Starkside; Officer Lantz – A.T. Lantz; Madison: Phuong Kubacki; Lori – Kathy Sanders; Heather - Becky Rosser; Grandmother – Julie Perine; Dominic – Keith Hastman; Billy (Infant) – Carson Campbell; Dan – Barry Dailey; Trucker – Dennis P. Marburger; Mom 1 – Leigha Trippett; Linda Reynolds – Deborah Thompson and Librarian – Donna Elsey.

 

Bridgeport Police Department is one of many locations scheduled for the shoot. Others include Bridgeport United Methodist Church, Ford Funeral Home, T&L Hotdog, Riggs Towing, Dan Cava Toyota and the Clarksburg Mission.

 

Elsey and Mudrick are also helping behind the scenes, as are several other locals.

 

Shooting will take place from mid- to late-September and again in October. All footage involving Cain will be shot in October. Coinciding with his visit to the city will be the premiere of “Megan’s Christmas Miracle,” a portion of which was filmed in Bridgeport earlier this summer and which also stars Cain. That premier is slated for Oct. 10 at Bridgeport United Methodist Church. The first copies of the film, which has been purchased by Walmart, will be available at that time and on store shelves for the holiday season. It’s possible the flick might end up running on a TV network, such as Video on Demand or Netflix.

 

Campbell was inspired to film “A Promise to Astrid” in Bridgeport after reading the book by Michael K. Tourville on which the movie is based. He said the tightknit, friendly community was perfect and reminded him of the town in Massachusetts where the real story took place. He is grateful and encouraged by the community's response. He did say several acting submissions were made on behalf of children and that this particular film just doesn’t have many parts for children. Kids are welcome to be in crowd scenes, including those to be filmed at Bridgeport United Methodist Church and Clarksburg Mission. As long as email addresses have been submitted through the Web site, individuals will be made aware of when those scenes will be filmed and what individuals should wear.

 

The storyline in “A Promise to Astrid” covers each season of the year and Campbell believes he can capture all scenes from September through the first local snowfall. After wrapping up filming, the editing process will take place and Campbell hopes the film to be complete by January 2019. He will once again return to Bridgeport for the premiere.

 

Stay up to date here at Connect-Bridgeport.