"The ELP" movie has plenty of familiar faces, places from Alexandria, Marksville
MARKSVILLE - "The ELP: A Creature of Legend" has it all. Horror. Political satire. Comedy. Mystery. Romance. A "Nasty Woman." A circus. And yes, even a sasquatch-like monster for which the movie is named.
"I think it's kind of a thriller myself. Friends like to say it's a Scooby-Doo for adults," said Chris Veade, writer, filmmaker and director, referring to the animated comedy mystery series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!"
Four investigators who have experience with the supernatural arrive in the fictional Farcical County to solve help solve a murder that might be linked to "The ELP." But could it really be the creature? Or more likely politicians, secret government agents or circus workers?
But he added that it's a movie for everybody.
Veade, who is from Plaucheville, is a retired history teacher who taught in Lafourche and Jefferson Parishes. He loved to teach and watch history shows on cable. But each time he tuned in to one of the channels, all he saw were shows on Bigfoot and aliens. So, that became the concept for "The ELP."
"We wanted for each viewer to take something different from the movie," he explained in an email. "But our aim was to let people laugh at the humor in society as almost everything was taken directly from actual things that people actually have said publicly."
Veade, along with the cast, crew and a host of others were at the movie premiere recently held at the Paragon Casino Resort.
"The cast and crew worked hard and well together," he said. The project was long but all of them stuck with it. "All of them are really excited to see the premiere."
Veade said the plan is to have the movie available on their demand page at elpmovie.com on Thursday, June 30.
Look familiar?
The movie was filmed using several local places in Rapides and Avoyelles Parishes. Notice an Alex WinterFete poster on the wall in that diner? The scene was filmed in Sentry Grill. Does the decor in that bar look familiar? That's A Tasting Room of Louisiana. Both are businesses in downtown Alexandria.
Many locals also appear in the film. Veade said it wasn't planned but he did want to use locals. The other actors in the movie came from New Orleans, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Appearing in one of the more memorable minor roles was Tawanda Ford of Marksville who laughed when she said described her role as one of the women wearing a costume as they protest and dance. If you want to know the full context, you'll have to watch the movie.
How did she get involved? Casting calls were being held at the Hampton Inn where she works. Being rather "nosey," she wanted to know what was going on. That's when it happened.
"I was asked if I wanted to be in it," said Ford. The experience proved to be fun for her.
"Oh, man! It felt different seeing myself up there," said Reddexx Washington, Jr., who was cast as Mayor Major Tom. "It was like an out of body experience - seeing myself, hearing myself."
After watching the movie, he thought it was "pretty cool" the way it all came together.
Veade was looking for an actor to portray the mayor. Since he is an Alexandria City Councilman for District 1, some friends recommended him for the role. He drove to Marksville to audition not really knowing what to expect. He got the role.
Will real life imitate art and see Washington run for mayor in the future?
"We'll see what happens," he laughed.
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This was his first time acting in a movie. His other acting experience includes portraying Pontius Pilate in the Pentecostals of Alexandria's performance of "Messiah."
This was Dale dePerrodil's first lead role in a film. He plays "Serious" one of the four team members who show up in town to solve the ELP mystery.
dePerrodil is an Alexandria actor and member of The Unusual Suspects theatre group who has appeared in commercials and various local productions. It was through another local actor and playwright, Dan Forest, that he got an audition with Veade.
"I was really nervous coming into it because I didn't know what to expect," he said. But he is happy with the result.
He developed good relationships with his co-stars and Veade and that is evident in the movie.
B-horror movie fan approves
Brian Ashley Trotter, formerly of Alexandria but now lives in Atlanta, describes himself as a B-horror movie fan. He sat in the theater until the last of the credits rolled.
"I really enjoyed it. It's not bad," he said. "I liked the parts with my mom."
His mother Becky Hooter of Alexandria is a waitress in the diner scene. But aside from that, he thought it was a great movie.
After the movie, friends who drove to Marksville just to see the movie gathered around another local who was in it - Shelley Jinks Johnson of Alexandria.
"Shelley popped up in so many scenes," said Paula Rawson of Pineville who was with her husband Tony Rawson.
She also looked for all the familiar places that showed up in the movie.
"I thought it was a lot of fun seeing people and scenes that you know," said Susan Bowers of Alexandria. "It was very amusing."
Johnson thought it was fun to see the end result of the process. Her band The Set-Ups also did the soundtrack for the movie.
"It was very satisfying to hear our music being played in surround sound as part of the movie," she said.
Making "The ELP" was a big step and a long road but Veade wants to make an even bigger production.
Three movies that have won awards that Veade has written and directed include "Liberty Waning, a political satire on gun control in which a rifle is arrested and put on trial; "Fort DeRussy - Confederate Gibraltar", a documentary about the historic Civil War site in Marksville; and an animated short called "Snack Attack."
To find out more about these movies, visit conestogafilms.com
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: "The ELP" movie has familiar faces, places from Alexandria, Marksville
