Exclusive: Sure, production has begun on Johnny Depp’s action comedy “Mortdecai” co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor, but we thought we’d give some shine to a polar opposite indie beginning production in Austin, Texas today. La Chima Films has started today on “Two Step,” a fast-paced thriller set in the twangy underside of Austin and directed by Alex R. Johnson.
Starring James Landry Hébert (“Mob City,” “Seven Psychopaths,” “Gangster Squad“), Beth Broderick (“Under the Dome,””Lost“), Ashley Spillers (“Last Vegas,” “Zero Charisma”), Jason Douglas (“Breaking Bad,“”Nashville,” “Revolution“) and relative newcomer Skyy Moore (“Love Land“), the character-heavy indie centers on a quick, anonymous phone scam that turns prolonged, bloody and deeply personal. A lost 20-something student (Moore) returns home after getting kicked out of college to settle the affairs of his now-deceased grandmother. In doing so, he learns she was the victim of a pleading her to wire money, a scheme that slowly bilked her out of thousands. But before the young man can go looking for the criminal (Hébert), he shows up at the front door.
Produced by Paul Biedrzycki, Patrick Cassidy, and Charles Mulford and shot by Andy Lilien (“Roadie“), “Two Step” also includes local music scene fixtures Jesse Dayton, Dale Watson, and Laurie Gallardo. The film will feature an original score by Austin resident Andrew Kenny, the frontman, founder and braintrust of both the seminal ‘90s band the American Analog Set and his more recent effort The Wooden Birds.
Johnson produced Henry Corra‘s “Same Sex America” for Showtime, a feature length documentary about the fight for gay marriage and “I Am Secretly An Important Man,” Pete Sillen’s feature length documentary about one of the most celebrated voices of Seattle’s grunge era, the late poet Steven Jesse Bernstein. Having directed narrative shorts (“Pickup and Return,” “Thanksgiving,”) and music videos (The Wooden Birds and Goldmund), “Two Step” is Johnson’s feature length debut. Some of Johnson’s work below.