Filming Frantic in New York City; Journaling Behind the Scenes
/We just finished shooting in New York!!! It was snowy and magical in Manhattan. It reminded me of the most beautiful backdrop ever seen in Central Park…. And then it melted. Apparently, God cares about film continuity too…:0)
‘The Farmer and The Belle’Behind the Scenes Journal No. 4Filming Frantic in New York City
Jenn Gotzon Chandler, ProducerOur editor, Christopher Ridder made a list of Christmas iconic shots needed in New York City. He was a kid in a candy store when he got off the plane, as he never visited the Big Apple before. What a fun gift. Our second unit director and camera owner Reuben Evans flew in late night Saturday after the snow. Our skeleton crew of volunteers Christopher, Reuben, Jim and myself piled camp style in our humble abode for a winter night’s sleep. We filmed four days of pickup shots including Belle’s Manager Conrad (Rich Swingle) getting kicked out of the cab, hilarious moments of The Farmer (Jim’s character) getting lost in NYC, plates for green screen during cab ride scenes and a needed shot to complete last year’s chase scene.Did you see our first Facebook LIVE of the mounting mayhem (below)?For driving sequences in the film, we used a cloud mount suction-cupped to the hood of our car with Reuben as the technician and me, Jenn, as the driver…. Eeeek! No pedestrians or animals were hurt in the making of this movie. Yes. It was I who was behind the helm of the wheel with feet barely able to touch the pedals. With one eye closed… to pray… God literally moved and arranged the traffic that day. 5th Avenue traffic lights would turn green and the proper amount of taxi cabs would pull in front, filling the camera frame for a glorious image. One time we needed Belle’s Cab, the exact style Belle and her manager (Rich Swingle) get into in the beginning the movie... As soon as we prayed, “Jesus, this is your movie, please provide what is needed for this scene,” the cab appeared out of nowhere. This was one example of the many miracles of answered prayers from filming in Manhattan that week. Including having Rich, a local native help with production in Rockefeller Center, The Plaza Hotel, Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge.
Blessed by volunteers
Many of our production team have believed so much in the story of “The Farmer and The Belle,” they have worked for backend pay or volunteered, like Ginger Beggs, writing the exclusive journals for TogetherLA.net. Christopher Ridder created our pitch trailer, which God used to bring success at AFM American Film Market, ie. potential talks with Hallmark. Our writing team, James M. De Vince, Reuben Evans and Billy Falcon, spent months crafting “The Farmer and The Belle” script, professionals are deeming it an “A” studio worthy script. Our costume designers Lisa Murphy from England making the Matching Adult, Kid and Animal Real Love Pink Onesies, Caroline Lauvetz from Savannah, GA making Belle’s Green Supermodel Coat and KC, jeweler from NYC making our movie’s hero Mojo Bracelet, a scripture inscribed charm bracelet sold with the DVD for girls to know what their worth is based on.Would you like to give a Christmas Gift to help compensate our production team? Jim and Jenn explain how in this video. We are praying for fishes and loaves to raise $35,000 to pay for development, trusting God to bring in the $500,000 for our production.
- Impact culture with a Hilarious Christmas Movie with Biblical values about finding Real Love (Jesus).
- Autographed Limited Edition Photograph from THE FARMER AND THE BELLE with Biblical Message.
- Your Family Name in the Credit Scroll of the Movie.
- CHRISTMAS GIFT via PayPal
Christmas Sketch Video
The actors and creators of The Farmer and The Belle, newlyweds Jim E. Chandler (Stranger Things) and Jenn Gotzon Chandler (God’s Country) wish you and your family the merriest Christmas. They created this silly Christmas video exclusively for Together LA to share with you:Silly Christmas Sketch Videohttps://youtu.be/5RTAqQ7RELwOur movie is about helping girls know their value does not come from their beauty, fame or social following, but by treating and loving one another with grace, forgiveness, respect, honor and love exemplified through God's present to us through the Nativity, Jesus, the Real Love of Christmas.Pray for Jim, me and our team to be used by God making this Family, Christmas Comedy Movie THE FARMER AND THE BELLE into a classic wholesome Christmas tradition for families to enjoy for generations to come. We have filmed 15% of the movie (view trailer) including Christmas in NYC and our wedding. The remaining needs to be filmed at Jim's family's farm in GA. We are praying to premiere on Hallmark for Thanksgiving / Christmas 2018.[gallery type="slideshow" link="none" size="large" ids="3663,3664,3665" orderby="rand"]
PRESS RELEASE: All I Want For Christmas
Together LA Exclusive Journal: Making a Movie
Behind the Scenes: Journal Entry No. 1
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Reuben Evans is the head writer for The Farmer and The Belle, and he took a very creative approach to the script. Reuben took not only the two existing scripts to merge into one, but invited over a dozen other people to give their ideas.Reuben is the ideal head writer for this film’s writing team. He is the Executive Producer of Faithlife TV and Faithlife Films. He's an experienced commercial director and documentary filmmaker. His resume includes projects like “Reunion,” “Archaeology + Jesus,” “Aliens & Demons,” and “Fragments of Truth.” Reuben continues to work in film including the role of Script Development Supervisor for this movie. He resides in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife SaraAnn and three children.
One of the magical elements of being able to efficiently and freely share ideas within the creative team is Reuben’s software platform, “Faithlife.” Writers can access the software on their computer, phone or other device, and see what other writers were submitting as well as share comments and ideas of their own. This made for a real-time information stream for all the writers, and most crucially, for Reuben. Check out www.Faithlife.com for a social media platform that is Holy Spirit-breathed to connect, collaborate, pray and live life together.From producers Jim E. Chandler and Jenn Gotzon Chandler to co-writer James M. DeVince, to multiple backgrounds of writers, came the concepts and ideas that Reuben would bring together for the screenplay. The FaithLife platform contributed to the unexplainable spirit of excitement and camaraderie between everyone.As the script was reviewed and ideas shared, everyone communicated with the kind of togetherness normally only known from an in-person story table. It was the biblical “iron sharpening iron” that was so beautiful to experience.The organization of so many ideas from so many people into one cohesive script was not an easy task for Reuben, but by using his platform it was easier to see an idea along with a thread of comments and additions to that particular idea.
In the coming weeks, we’ll share with you the in-depth filming and production of Jim and Jenn's real wedding as part of the film and much more. From equipment crew to how to cast the colorful characters that help bring the joy to this holiday film!The producers wish to give you an early Christmas gift!Go to