It's a wrap!

Frontiersman

After nearly two years of writing, planning and filming, a movie project shot in the Valley wrapped on July 9.

Palmer resident Grant Olson wrote &#8220Jack and Jill” in 2004, and has been directing the filming of the movie since last summer. Thursday night, the cast and crew gathered for the first glimpses of the movie at a wrap party, culminating months of work.

&#8220Everything had to fall into place, and it has,” Olson said. &#8220Our last scene we shot needed a really sunny day, and for eight hours, we got nothing but sun. Little things all worked out.”

The movie stars John Hartman and Angela Vice, and is a romantic comedy about a young couple that tries to steal an invention he created on his own time, from the corporation he works for. The couple goes into a tangled web of deceit and romance. Local actors Heather Sheldon, Bill Siedler, Suzanne Hermon, Larry Burton, Cary Bolling, Annie Benson, Ted Carney and Rachel Underwood also have roles in the movie.

&#8220The cast has been great,” Olson said. &#8220They really look good together.”

More than anything, the quality of people is what made the project memorable, said producer Gini King-

Taylor.

&#8220It was a lot of fun. These people are so much fun,” King-Taylor said. &#8220Grant is such a wonderful person, and he gets the very best out of people. All of the actors are very easy-going people to work with.”

The movie - the second for Olson, after &#8220Crossing the Rubicon” - will now be edited by Larry Bottjen. The film was shot in high definition, using the latest technology available, something Bottjen is excited about.

&#8220There is a big learning curve for us because we are on the leading edge of technology with this,” Bottjen said. &#8220It really presses the technological envelope for us. It's never been done before up here, and it's relatively new to filmmakers.

&#8220As an editor, it takes a lot more time, and a lot more storage,” Bottjen said. &#8220For every minute of the finished movie, about two hours of work goes into it.”

In December, the film will be shown at the Palmer Depot, and from there, it's off to film festivals.

&#8220We're going to be sending it off to the festivals and try to get into some of those,” Olson said. &#8220If we do this exactly right, and do all the little things, you never know what will happen.”

Olson said the odds of being accepted into Slamdance is around 1 in 40, while the Sundance Film Festival accepts approximately 1 in 18 films it receives.

&#8220But they love the big names starring in smaller productions,” Olson said. &#8220Some of them accept around 1 in 12.”

The entire cast and crew is comprised of volunteers, something that isn't lost on King-Taylor.

&#8220People have given up a lot of their free time to be a part of the project,” King-Taylor said. &#8220People have put in a lot of long hours to be a part of it.

&#8220But it's very exciting. Who knows where it will go. I know one thing - after watching how movies are made, I won't look at them the same. You see movies in a whole new light,” King-Taylor said. &#8220It takes a lot of work to put it together.”