Gifted filmmaker Greg James who grew up in mid-Ohio, is proud to announce the launch of his new Family Drama indie horse film titled ADELINE, coming out soon on AppleTV on July 12, 2022.
“Adeline” is about a mysterious woman who upends a small town when she butts heads with the beloved local pastor by claiming that her horses have the power to heal.
“I didn’t choose to be a creative person. It chose me. I was raised by my father, Heinz, who was constantly painting a major work of art here in Amish Country Ohio. I started in front of the camera as an actor when I was very young & then later in life, discovered that working behind the camera as a photographer for Actors/Models was my calling,” said Greg. “I felt a natural connection in working with actors after being one for many years. I spoke their language & I learned while growing up with some amazing photographers”, he said.
Knowing their language and working on many sets, this natural connection in working with actors morphed into movie directing for Greg. “I studied a lot of movies and paid much attention to how things work on a set in Los Angeles. Many years of this learning on the job took the place of film school for me. Producing comes naturally to me also. I am constantly looking for locations for my still shoots & I love finding great locations as it’s like a treasure hunt to me”, he remarked.
Greg spent 25 years in L.A, but now living in Columbus, OH, made his first movie 20 years ago. It was a college comedy, “RawFish”, which led to a film he created, “Dodgeball” (a long hurtful story), culminating into his third, “Movie Money” which he created & produced.
Like every other profession, Greg had to contend with some bottlenecks in his early days in movie making. “The early challenges I faced was meeting other creatives who didn’t try to steal my film stories & run me over. I was taken advantage of a lot. Finding funding is also very hard. It took me 18 years for Adeline.”
Greg has since come a long way since then, honing his talent, upgrading his skills, and becoming one of the most gifted indie movie makers among his peers. He has also had the privilege to work with Jimmy Pardo from the Conan show, a collaboration he considers his proudest moment in filming. “I had so much fun. He’s a wonderful human”, Greg said of Jimmy. He has also found inspiration from great humble comedians like Sandler, Swardson, and, of course, Pardo.
“Adeline” was co-written, directed and co-produced by Greg James. It is based on True Events about a special healing horse, Adeline, who did amazing energy work with kids that have disabilities and especially Autistic kids. Around 22 years ago, during a healing session at Serendipity Stables in central Ohio, a tornado came through and wiped out the barn. A horse’s instinct is to run, but Adeline stood still and protected 12 people up against the only wall in the barn that remained standing. Adeline was injured, and a special Veterinarian at Ohio State said Adeline had less than a 5% chance of surviving surgery, which would cost $10K. Her owner did not have the money, so the community pitched in, and the surgery was a success. Adeline lived for about 3 more years and continued to work with the kids.
Greg notes that the filming process was very challenging as it was in the fall of 2020 and during Covid. “I cast many of the smaller roles with actors from Ohio that I knew from being a photographer. I followed their work, and it helped to have my background, knowing who could play what role”, he said.
The lead role of Kay was played by an outstanding local Ohio actress and a friend of Greg, Jane Mowder (Foxcatcher). The other lead actors were incredible too. The lead parents of the young Autistic boy (Liam Knapp) were played by David Chokachi (Baywatch) and Erin Bethea (Fireproof). They were a dream couple and got along so well. John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard) played the sheriff and brought along his cheerful personality on set.
“I truly had a dream cast, and I’m so proud of them all. I also had an amazing experienced Director of Photography, Dan Parsons. I chose him because he is incredibly talented and understood this story very well. We were so in-sync and became such good friends. He made this picture look so beautiful, and being a photographer myself, it was easy being on the same page the whole time. We had some other amazing crew members also, and I am so appreciative to all of them who gave so much to this film,” Greg remarked.
Greg is not resting on his laurels yet. Although Adeline is not a comedy, he already has two comedy scripts ready to go, albeit awaiting funding. For this current film, Adeline, Greg spent 45 days before the filming, travelling all around central Ohio non-stop, looking for barns, horses, small towns, etc.
Greg has been working on his films for over two decades and has learned vital lessons about the industry. “Being an Indie filmmaker is a tough road and the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to be careful who you surround yourself with. That’s why the biggies work with the same crew on all their films. I give 100% of myself to filmmaking. I don’t drink or do drugs. Making films is my drug and I’m always grateful”, he declared. I just want to stay connected, put positive energy into the Universe and keep up my charity work I do in NW Cambodia to help poor kids.
Greg James’ Adeline will be coming out soon on AppleTV on July 12, 2022. Link to pre-order on AppleTV Platform.
AFTER July 12, it will be available on all different formats for Rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play and more. Greg can be reached at Adelinemovie@gmail.com
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