Ok, festivals - @thestoryofluke is on its way! Fingers crossed! (Taken with instagram)
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The Story of Luke - Final Sound Mix at Theatre D @ The Royal - Toronto. With Matt Chan & Chris Guglick. Almost there…
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luke on Flickr.
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“The Story of Luke” begins principal photography, stars Lou Taylor Pucci
Producers Nina Leidersdorff (Fluid Film), Julien Favre (DViant Films) and Fred Roos (FR Productions) are pleased to announce the start of principal photography (August 6th - September 2nd) of “The Story of Luke” in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. Written and Directed by Alonso Mayo, and starring Lou Taylor Pucci, “The Story of Luke” is a lighthearted coming-of-age about Luke, a young man with autism who, after being sheltered his whole life, embarks on a quest for a job and a girl.
“The Story of Luke” is Alonso Mayo’s feature directorial debut. It is partly based on his experience in the Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru, a school and research center for people with autism and other developmental disabilities in Lima, Peru, as chronicled in his short documentary “Just Like Anyone”. Alonso Mayo won the Student Academy Award with his American Film Institute thesis film “Wednesday Afternoon”. His recent projects include the Academy shortlisted documentary “Viva La Causa” and the unscripted webseries “Untitled Fiction Project”.
Principal cast includes Lou Taylor Pucci (Thumbsucker, The Go-Getter) as Luke, Seth Green (Austin Powers, The Italian Job) as Zack, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw) as Uncle Paul, Kristin Bauer (True Blood) as Aunt Cindy, Kenneth Welsh (Adoration) as Grandpa Jonas, Tyler Stentiford as Cousin Brad and Mackenzie Munro as Cousin Megan. Supporting cast includes Lisa Ryder, Sabryn Rock, Art Hindle, Zoe Belkin, John Boylan, Ann Holloway, Mike Kinney, Jayne Eastwood and Pam Hyatt, as well as local talent from Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
Principal crew includes Cinematographer David Klein, ASC (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Editor Vikash Patel (Smallville), Production Designer Craig Lathrop (It’s a Boy Girl Thing) and Costume Designer Melissa Stewart (Running Mates). Casting by Monika Mikkelsen (US) and Stephanie Gorin (Canada).
“The Story of Luke” is being funded by Showbox/Mediaplex (South Korea), Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (Canada) and White Stone Associates (USA).
Official Site: http://thestoryofluke.com
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038693/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thestoryofluke
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thestoryofluke
Production Photos: https://www.facebook.com/thestoryofluke?sk=photos
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/thestoryofluke: A research trip becomes a documentary
As part of the development of the screenplay of “The Story of Luke”, I made several research trips to Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru, the school for people with autism and other developmental disabilities that my mother founded, and whose students and parents provided inspiration for The Story of Luke. On one of my trips I decided to document the lives of some of the families I met, resulting in the short documentary Como Cualquier Otro (Just Like Anyone).
“Just like Anyone” gives us a glimpse into the lives of 5 families that are doing their best to help their sons succeed, even though they are faced with severe developmental disabilities. It explores the journey that all these families have been through to accept their sons as who they are, and then begin to work as a family, and in cooperation with their school – Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru – to help them reach ever increasing goals.
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/thestoryofluke: The spark for the film
What is it like to be on the outside? To experience life in a different way? What is it like to see other people living full lives and know that you will never have that yourself? And what happens when you decide that you will not accept your fate but make your own? This is the story of Luke.
Since I was a child, I was surrounded by people with special needs, their parents and the professionals that serve them because my mother runs an educational center for kids and adults with developmental delay in Peru. I started my film career by making training videos about supported employment programs and have always been particularly fascinated with autism and especially those individuals who stand close to the line between the “normal” world and their own.
It’s a tough place to be in, where society has little expectations of you, where you are categorized based on your limitations and are basically regarded as a person of lesser value. But just as I have seen many examples of discrimination and frustration, I have also seen examples of the exact opposite, of what happens when you stop looking at someone’s limitations, when you forget about what a certain person should realistically achieve and just treat them like anybody else. That tough place suddenly becomes a place that, for anybody that cares to look, is filled with surprising achievements, with laughter.
Luke will make you look. And not because he is autistic and so different than you or anybody you’ve ever met, but because he is so similar in the most basic way: Luke wants a job, a girlfriend and to live on his own. What makes Luke so special is that he wants to live, desperately. And it’s a desperation that is contagious. Someone that doesn’t know him could look at Luke and see him as a disabled person that merits pity. But give him a minute of your time and you’ll see that Luke is actually a hero on a quest.
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/thestoryofluke: About
- A coming-of-age/Comedy
Logline:
Sheltered his whole life by his grandparents, Luke, a young man with autism, is suddenly thrust into a world that doesn’t expect anything from him. But Luke is on a quest for a job and true love, and he isn’t taking no for an answer.
Synopsis:
Luke, 23, is autistic and has lived a sheltered life with his grandparents since his mother abandoned him when he was 4. His world is suddenly turned upside down when his grandmother dies and both he and his senile grandfather are forced to go live with Luke’s uncle’s dysfunctional family. They have no patience with Luke or his grandfather and quickly put the old man in a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: “Get out of the house more. Find a girl. Get a life!” For the first time Luke has a mission. He looks at his new family having a life around him and resolves to follow his grandfather’s words. He decides the first thing he needs to do in order to be like everybody else is to get a job.
Luke’s mission brings him in direct conflict with his uncle’s family. But little by little, instead of tearing the family apart, Luke starts to bring out the best in them. He gets his chance at a job through a supported employment program for people with disabilities and ends up as an office assistant at an internet marketing company where he meets Zack, an I.T. specialist with his own social disorder and who truly hates everybody, including Luke. But Zack holds the key that Luke needs to complete his mission: through his research of “neurologically typical” humans, Zack once pretended to be “like everybody else” and once even dated a “normal” girl. This is just what Luke needs since he has just fallen in love and needs Zack’s help to become “normal”. This is easier said than done and Luke’s journey is really about to begin.
*Participant in 2007 Film Independent’s Directors Lab*
