Last December, INSP Films premiered their first original family movie, ‘Christmas in the Smokies’. Today, as they embark on their second film, I am pleased to share with all of you my interview with Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP.
Doug Butts has excellent insight on their new premiere movie
SAVANNAH SUNRISE, which will be premiering June 26th, 2016 on INSP! I am delighted to have this opportunity to share all the exciting details he shared + some future INSP movie news below!!!
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INTERVIEW
SVP of Programming for INSP
Doug Butts
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Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: First of all, Congratulations on your second new INSP Original Movie ‘Savannah Sunrise’ coming to TV! Please share with us a synopsis of the story.
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: Thank you very much. INSP Films is very proud of this film and excited to keep bringing stories of hope to be featured as a worldwide television exclusive on INSP and beyond. The goal is always to create stories that are emotive, entertaining and relevant for today’s families. SAVANNAH SUNRISE is a story about two very different women, and one painfully long weekend where Joy has to reluctantly drive her mother-in-law Loraine from Louisville, Kentucky to her new retirement home in Savannah, Georgia. Problems happen at every turn, but they both discover that they each may be the best friend they’ve ever had and they never knew they needed.
This film hits all of our brand filters of celebrating the American spirit, creating quality and positive entertainment with inspiring stories that honor timeless traditional values.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: The first INSP Original Movie ‘Christmas in the Smokies’ starred actress Sarah Lancaster (of Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, ‘Tis the Season for Love, Along Came a Nanny, etc…). Please share with us who will star in this new movie ‘Savannah Sunrise’ and what previous projects we may know the actors/actresses from?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: INSP Films is excited about the Savannah Sunrise cast. Shawnee Smith plays Joy and you may remember her from the TV show Becker and the film Grace, Unplugged; and Pamela Reed from Kindergarten Cop plays Lorraine. Clare Carey, from Coach, and Shawn Christian, from Days of our Lives, are also in the cast.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: Some of the story of ‘Savannah Sunrise’ takes place on a road trip. Where was this movie filmed? Were the actresses actually filmed while driving, or are the car scenes movie-magic?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: You got it. Like most movies, there are common methods used to create the illusion for such parts. We actually did the whole drive from Louisville to Savannah with the car and stand-ins but not with the actual actresses. It just wasn’t necessary to have them actually do the drive. Segments shot for “stops along their route”, and the rest of the film, were shot in beautiful Augusta, Georgia. The people of Augusta were absolutely wonderful to work with.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: Were you on-set during filming? If so, could you share any interesting or comical filming moments?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: I was on set for some of the shooting and since this film has lots of comedic moments there were a lot of great stories. One of the best moments happened the day we shot with live baby gators! There were three baby gators used to portray the one gator in the movie. In one scene one of the little gators went after our cinematographer. It was a lot of fun working with these little guys and their owner/trainers.
One interesting item to mention was how into this story our lead cast members got into it. They both helped rewrite scenes and the scene in the church was so moving on set that you could have heard a pin drop.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: Can you give us any potential hints on future INSP original movies or projects? I see the production company, Imagicomm Films, that created ‘Christmas in the Smokies’ and ‘Savannah Sunrise’, have a third film in post-production, titled ‘Heritage Falls’. Is this something we will see soon on INSP?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: Absolutely. We look forward to premiering “Heritage Falls” on INSP later this year; and we have several more films in development.
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| on the set image of 'Heritage Falls' via Instagram |
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: Also, here at “It’s a Wonderful Movie”, my readers enjoy Family Movies and they absolutely LOVE Christmas movies! Could we possibly expect to see another new Christmas movie this year or in the future, on INSP?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: We LOVE Christmas movies too! Christmas is the one time a year when families enjoy each other. It’s such a special time. Things went so well with “Christmas in the Smokies” that we are planning more similar themes in the future.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: I find INSP television programs are always full of inspirational stories with a message. Could you please share with us the inspiration behind the movie ‘Savannah Sunrise’? Is there an element of faith in finding the road to friendship?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: A primary goal for us is to tell stories that focus on the common and not so common human dynamics, situational challenges and celebrations that all families experience. These are stories that everyone will relate to. But we want to make certain that these stories are redemptive, heartwarming and real. We want to bring hope and resolve. So our desire from the beginning was that this film would relate to anyone that has ever had to deal with the universal transitions of life. Loraine has lost her spouse and must move into a senior living center or live with her son’s family. Joy’s character models a modern mom and professional career woman with all the demands of business and family. How will she deal with these changes?
The story and characters suggest that their faith is an important part of their lifestyle, and is one way that they will deal with these sharp life transitions.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: What do you hope viewers will take away from watching the new INSP Movie ‘Savannah Sunrise’?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: Although this movie deals with serious, and sometimes, painful issues; we wanted to take a light-hearted approach to communicate our message. As always, we hope that it will be a fun time for the whole family and that viewers will want to hug their kids and give their kids, mom & dad and/or maybe their mother-n-law a call and a second chance! We need our families to help us get through the tough times.
Net, It's A Wonderful Movie: How can viewers learn even more about ‘Savannah Sunrise’?
Doug Butts, SVP of Programming for INSP: They can go to the website
http://savannahsunrisemovie.com/ for everything related to the film.
(More Sources:)
www.insp.com
Facebook:
@SavannahSunriseMovie
Twitter:
@SavSunriseMovie
Thank you so much, Doug Butts, for doing this interview with It's a Wonderful Movie! It sounds like it was truly a great adventure creating 'Savannah Sunrise' and I know many followers here will be most excited to watch another new movie on INSP!
It's wonderful and nice to see cast members I personally recognize from previous projects, including Shawnee Smith from 'Grace Unplugged', as you mentioned, and Shawn Christian from 'Undercover Christmas'!
How fascinating to hear all the aspects and behind the scenes moments of filming 'Savannah Sunrise'. We will look forward to watching this film, 'Savannah Sunrise', and future projects, including 'Heritage Falls' on INSP, where we know we are always "Welcome Home" to family-friendly and faith filled stories, dramas, and movies that always inspire!
Thank you, again, and God Bless!!!
See the premiere of 'Savannah Sunrise'
Sunday June 26, 2016 at 8pm/7c.
