(L-R) Director Michael Givens instructs actors Carlos Bernard and Tessie Santiago; the world-famous Marshall Tucker Band on the set of Angel Camouflaged; singer/songwriter Dilana Robichaux stars in the movie.
determination when doctors told him he might not walk again. “I decided to work my butt off to see if I could get out of my wheelchair and onto a walker,” he said. “When I got onto the walker, I thought, ‘If I could just get on two canes.’ One week later, I wanted to use just one cane. Then I decided I didn’t want to use a cane at all.” Currently, Chastain lives in Wellington, where he has been a manager at Club FitnessWorks since it opened 14 years ago. While Chastain’s story brought Pfeiffer into the movie business, Angel Camouflaged beat Vision to the big screen. Directed by Michael Givens, Angel Camouflaged includes an impressive cast. Aside from Dilana and Brolin, the acting talent includes Warrick Grier (The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior), Carlos Bernard (24) and Terry Serpico (Army Wives). Dilana stars as Scottie, a singer who inherits a rundown bar called Kokonuts and labors to revive the ramshackle tavern and rekindle her passion for music. Dilana composed and performed nine songs for the soundtrack. If Angel Camouflaged is any indication, the making of Vision could take some time. “We started it right after real estate collapsed and then the market collapsed,” Pfeiffer recalled. “And while we were trying to raise money for the football movie, my friend and business partner Ken Dalton found a script written by a friend about a bar in the Keys called Kokonuts.” From there, the movie took on a life of 34 September 2010 • WELLINGTON THE MAGAZINE
its own. “Our original plan was to shoot the ‘Kokonuts’ film and send it straight to DVD and foreign markets as a low-budget film,” Pfeiffer recalled. “But it got bigger, bigger, bigger and bigger and became a whole different animal.” Angel was selected for viewing at the Cannes International Independent Film Festival and the Action On Film International Film Festival (AOF). “It was interesting that Dilana got AOF’s Best Actress and Angel was her first movie,” Pfeiffer said. “And James Brolin got Best Supporting Actor. I give a lot of credit to Michael Givens, the director and the director of photography. He’s a very talented fellow.” So what is Pfeiffer’s favorite part of the movie business? Going on location. “To shoot the opening scenes of Angel Camouflaged, we went out in the Mojave Desert in California, and I was out in the sun every day and have some incredible pictures of that shoot,” he said. His least favorite? “Raising money is the most difficult,” Pfeiffer said. “Especially in this climate. We have some strong leads to finance Visions, but money is all that’s holding us back from doing it. Chris Kane, an A-list director, has agreed to direct.” Right now, Pfeiffer and his partners are working on distribution for Angel Camouflaged. He said Angel could be released as early as this fall, but the ultimate decision will be up to the distribution company. Pfeiffer gets strong support from his wife.
Leslie is in her third year as development chair for the Wellington Art Society and is committed to helping the arts thrive locally. “Randy and I are passionate about the arts and supportive at the local, national and international level,” she said. “Randy is an avid music fan, and I have been a visual arts teacher and worked with all types of mediums for 30 years. Film is an extremely important and powerful medium, with global impact to educate, inspire, entertain and record the human experience.” Like her husband, she has enjoyed the roller-coaster ride that is the movie industry. “The past four years have been an incredible, fast-track learning experience, covering every aspect of film production from creative vision to cinematic reality.” she said. “The talented people we have met have allowed us to share in the creative process and to dream big.” So are the Pfeiffers ultimately headed to Hollywood? “No,” Randy said. “The coast is beautiful, but I spent a month in L.A. when all the fires were going on and hated it. Plus, I like really warm weather and the Pacific Ocean is cold… It’s nice to be in L.A. for post-production because that’s where all the companies are, but you can just send your stuff there.” Cinema Island Productions — another Wellington-based company t0 watch, literally. To learn more, visit www.cinema island.com.