THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 z
PEOPLE
More online at www.gazette.net
Montgomery County foster parent recognized Gaithersburg resident Rose Restaine received the Maryland Department of Human Resources’ “Place
Matters Foster Parent of the Year Award” for her work as a foster and adoptive parent since 1999, according to a release. Montgomery County foster parents were honored at a reception in May by the Maryland Department of Human Resources and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. According to the release, Restaine
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is a licensed treatment foster and adoptive parent, which means she has specialized training to address the needs of children who may require additional support for their mental, social, emotional, educational and medical needs. More than two dozen additional families were recognized during the reception for their years of foster parenting, according to the release.
Moving on
STONEPARK PRODUCTIONS
(From left) David Melendez and Michael DeVita, owners and operators of StonePark Productions in Gaithersburg, on set for “One Penny” in Olde Towne.
StonePark Productions wants films made in Md. Gaithersburg company wraps up filming in city, surrounding area
n
BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA FOLEY
Edward Dana of Silver Spring was one of 17 students who graduated Thursday from Montgomery County’s Regional Institute for Children & Adolescents in Rockville. The school serves students in grades 4 through 12 with special needs, such as emotional or learning disabilities, autism and other health impairments.
POLICE BLOTTER The following is a summary of incidents in the Gaithersburg area to which Montgomery County police responded recently. The words “arrested” and “charged” do not imply guilt. This information was provided by the county.
Armed robbery • Shadow Land Laser Adventures, 624 Quince Orchard Road in Gaithersburg at 1:48 p.m. on May 19. The subject displayed a handgun and demanded cash. Victim complied, cash was taken. Strong-arm robbery • 100 block of Brookes Avenue in Gaithersburg at 10:44 p.m. on May 13. The victim was approached and assaulted by a female subject and three male subjects who de-
manded money. Took property. • Watkins Mill Elementary, 19001 Watkins Mill Road in Gaithersburg, at 4:50 p.m. on May 14. Juvenile victim was approached and assaulted by three male subjects. No weapons used, took property.
Peeping Tom event • 100 block of Hartley Place in Gaithersburg at 7:30 p.m. on May 17. Victim saw the subject peeping through the bottom corner of her window. He fled as victim called police. Vehicle larceny • Four thefts from vehicles occurred in the early morning hours of May 16. Affected streets included Case Street and Westside
Drive. It is unknown if the incidents are related. No forced entry, took property. • Five thefts from vehicles occurred in the 8100 block of Beechcraft Avenue in Gaithersburg in the early morning hours of May 16. Incidents may be related due to close proximity. Forced entry, took property. • Four thefts from vehicles occurred in the early morning hours of May 18. Affected streets included Dockside Terrace, Locust Point Court, Sailfish Terrace and Hellingly Place. It is unknown if the incidents are related. No forced entry, took property. • Two thefts from vehicles occurred in the 8800 block of Cochrane Court in Montgomery Village in the early morning hours of May 19. No forced entry, took property.
With no formal education in filmmaking, but a lot of dedication to the craft, StonePark Productions in Gaithersburg just wrapped the filming of their first feature, “One Penny.” StonePark Productions is owned and operated by best friends and business partners Michael DeVita, of Gaithersburg, and David Melendez, of Silver Spring. Melendez said he and DeVita worked in real estate for some time, but that career was solely to make money in order to fund their real passion: filmmaking. “We are totally self-taught. We are complete opposites. I’m more of the business guy and he’s more of the creative guy,” Melendez said about DeVita. “We linked up in high school.” Melendez said that the pair made movies together when they were both attending Wootton High School in Rockville, but this is their first professional foray into the film industry. They recently wrapped a 40-day shoot in Baltimore, Gaithersburg, Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas and are editing it for the festival market. StonePark hired a crew to help with the filming process and went to New York City to hold auditions for the cast. Melendez said they went through the Screen Actors Guild to hire professional actors. “That was a pretty cool experience; people looking at you as the boss, they are really eager to impress you,” Melendez said about the auditions. Once the cast and crew were hired and ready for production, Melendez said those involved were blown away by the professionalism of the set and the equipment he and DeVita had at their disposal, especially as new filmmakers. “The people that came on our set,
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they couldn’t believe it,” Melendez said. Though Melendez said he and DeVita did have a very hardworking crew with them throughout the process, they were on their own in their specific roles. “It’s not like I had a line producer, I was the producer. Mike, he was the director, he was the cameraman, the lead grip, so many things,” Melendez said. He explained that once they wrapped after about 40 days, they were exhausted, but satisfied. “OnePenny”isaboutahomelessteen trying to become more, according to Melendez.Hesaidit’sastoryaboutanunderdog as well as a story about redemption. “We are kind of underdogs in a sense, trying to prove ourselves and thinking, ‘Hey we can do that, we just haven’t had the opportunity,’” Melendez said. DeVita and Melendez tried to raise money through crowdfunding for a movie last year, but it didn’t work out. Melendez said they decided to take another one of their ideas, alter it slightly to make it more financially feasible, and go with that idea on their own without raising money through a campaign. “Mike and myself, we’ve had a few ideas and typically when we come up with an idea, we don’t just write, you have to block the story out,” Melendez said. For “One Penny,” they changed the time period from the future to present day, and set the film in Baltimore instead of another country. Melendez said he and DeVita want to continue making their own movies, but also assist others with production and encourage them to shoot in the area. “We have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. We want people in the area to not only use our equipment, but use our expertise,” Melendez said. He explained he wants to make Maryland a place where people want to film and use StonePark to make that possible. “[We want to be] a production company and studio where people can rely on us for their projects.” sschmieder@gazette.net
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