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Even more rare is securing a national distribution deal that could take that film to cineplexes around the country.

Bisbee native and former Tucson television anchor Sally Shamrell did both.

She cast a veteran Hollywood character actor to appear in her just-wrapped debut feature film 鈥淐hoir Practice鈥� and landed a handshake deal from a major film distributor.

Shamrell hopes her success will help change the narrative around Tucson filmmakers and Tucson as a movie-making destination.

鈥淚 hope this is a game-changer,鈥� she said days after Flat Dog Films, her Tucson-based film company with husband Glenn Murphy, finished 16 days of filming at locations throughout the greater Tucson area.

These included a private barn in Catalina, Glover Ranch event center in Marana鈥檚 Picture Rocks area, St. Philip鈥檚 in the Hills Episcopal Church, Grand Avenue at the Nogales Port of Entry and King鈥檚 Anvil Ranch west of Tucson in Alter Valley.

鈥淚 think Tucson has such amazing, diverse landscapes that more filmmakers need to see and understand that they can shoot barren desert and 9,000 feet in the pines,鈥� she added. 鈥淭his community and all of Southern 蜜聊直播, even my hometown of Bisbee, has so much diversity to offer in terms of sets and locations that I feel like other filmmakers need to see it and realize that this is a great location, and give Tucson a chance.鈥�

鈥淭his is probably one of the largest local projects that we鈥檝e seen in a while,鈥� said Peter Catalanotte, director of Film Tucson, which helps filmmakers scout locations and services from makeup artists to caterers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really proud of Sally and her team. They worked a long time on getting that script in front of everyone and raising the money.鈥�

Shamrell, who spent 10 years living and working as an actor in Los Angeles, made up her mind when she was writing the screenplay that she would film in Tucson. Her acting and filmmaking friends suggested she look at New Mexico, with its generous tax incentives of up to 40%; 蜜聊直播 has a sliding scale depending on production costs, ranging from 15% to 20%.

鈥淓ven though the tax credits aren鈥檛 as high as other states,鈥� she said, filming in Tucson is less expensive in the end because the costs of labor, hotel rates, services, food and other expenses are lower.

New Mexico also didn鈥檛 have the lush desert landscape Shamrell needed to tell her action-crime thriller about an unconventional Catholic priest trying to help a young lost migrant find his American father as an international drug cartel is close on their trail.

Shamrell started writing the screenplay not long after she and Murphy came home to Tucson from Los Angeles in late 2019, just in time for the COVID pandemic lockdowns months later in March 2020. But she had been working on the story for years as she waited for audition callbacks.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e acting and you have free time waiting for the phone to ring, if you are like me, having been a journalist, you鈥檙e writing,鈥� she said, including dabbling with an idea for a TV news pilot, which made her think about doing her own projects.

That鈥檚 when her friend Jim Driscoll, a retired Tucson Police Department sergeant, suggested a good character would be an unconventional Tucson Catholic priest named Mike Martinez who played bass in a band, was a retired Air Force chaplain and occasionally did ride-alongs with the police. (Martinez is now serving in .)

鈥淚 was like, yeah, that is a really interesting character, but you know, what鈥檚 the story?鈥� said Shamrell. She grew up Catholic and admits she was enamored by the sacrament of confession. 鈥淵ou could say anything you want and the priest can鈥檛 tell anybody. It鈥檚 between you two and God.鈥�

She mulled over the priest character for a few years and struck on an idea when she heard about migrants kidnapped by drug cartels in Agua Prieta.

鈥淚 sort of took aspects of that story and put it together with the Father Mike story, 鈥� Shamrell said, adding that she changed the priest鈥檚 name since the movie is not about Father Mike.

Shamrell wrote the screenplay during the pandemic, then she and Murphy, who own the twin East Tanque Verde Road restaurants The Cork Tucson and UnCork鈥檇 Kitchen & Bar, spent several years raising the money to produce it.

鈥淲e did the hard yards for like more than four years of literally raising money, pitching and raising money locally. And all the money raised came from Tucson and Tucson residents,鈥� she said.

The film stars (鈥淥zark,鈥� 鈥淢odern Family,鈥� 鈥淪tation 19鈥�) as the priest who finds a migrant teen, played by newcomer J.J. Urquidez, who is being hunted by the cartel鈥檚 boss, played by (鈥淒esperado,鈥� 鈥淐on Air,鈥� 鈥淪py Kids鈥�).

鈥�(Urquidez) just graduated from Tucson High and he is amazing,鈥� Shamrell said, adding that Urquidez will attend the University of 蜜聊直播 in the fall. 鈥淗e鈥檚 so shy, I thought I was really worried about getting on set, but as soon as the cameras rolled, he knows exactly what to do.鈥�

Also in the film, which is co-produced by Tucson-based , are Tucson natives Jon Proudstar (鈥淩eservation Dogs,鈥� 鈥淟ast Stop In Yuma County鈥�) and Lou Pimber (鈥淏reaking Bad鈥�) and Catalina native Tanner Sarff (鈥淎nimal Kingdom,鈥� 鈥淟ucifer鈥�).

More than 90% of the Screen Actors Guild cast is Tucson- and 蜜聊直播-based actors, including Tucson native and UA alum Savannah Guthrie (鈥淭oday鈥� show anchor, 鈥淶ero Day,鈥� 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm鈥�) playing a news anchor.

鈥淐hoir Practice鈥� is in the final editing stage before Flat Dog Films submits it to film festivals. Shamrell said she already has a handshake distribution deal with an independent arm of Lionsgate and Magnolia Pictures.

Tucson filmmaker goes for a trilogy

landed his first feature film project by accident.

The veteran filmmaker, who had a half dozen projects on his r茅sum茅 from music videos to award-winning shorts, was hired to direct a pilot of ,鈥� a 鈥淗itchcockian thriller鈥� that the producers hoped to take to Netflix.

Long story short, that didn鈥檛 work out so well.

So Williams, a retired Rural Metro firefighter/EMT and graduate of the University of 蜜聊直播 film school, huddled with the film鈥檚 cast and crew.

鈥淲e said, 鈥極kay, let鈥檚 do a little crowdfunding thing and see what we can raise鈥�,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can do this movie. It鈥檚 a simple movie. We can do this, and let鈥檚 finish a feature film, and let鈥檚 show people what can be made in Tucson for very little money. And so we did. Somehow, I don鈥檛 know how, we pulled it off.鈥�

Soon after it came out on all major streaming platforms in 2022, Williams entered the film 鈥�8000 Ft Up鈥� 鈥� about three strangers, one of them a psychopath, who meet on a mountain camping trip 鈥� in several festivals including the 蜜聊直播 National Film Festival, where it won Best of 蜜聊直播, and the 蜜聊直播 International Film Festival. During a Q&A session with the audience, Williams joked about making a sequel.

鈥淭he audience response was, 鈥楴o, we don鈥檛 want a sequel; we want to know what happened beforehand. We want a prequel鈥�,鈥� Williams recalled.

鈥淎nd then I couldn鈥檛 sleep,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥榃ow. Alright, now we have to do a prequel鈥�.鈥�

Williams got the producer of 鈥�8000 Ft Up,鈥� which he filmed on Mount Lemmon, to sign over the intellectual rights so that he could do the prequel, the psychological thriller

鈥淚 wrote the prequel, and then I was getting ready to start looking for funding,鈥� Williams said, recalling how a fan of 鈥�8000 Ft Up鈥� stepped up and funded the project. The fan looked at what Williams had 鈥渄one with nothing鈥� and thought, 鈥淚magine what we could do with something.鈥�

They filmed 鈥�10Ft Down鈥� in Tucson and released it last year. Like its predecessor, the film snagged the Best of 蜜聊直播 nod at the in April.

And now ... the sequel, 鈥�489 Miles,鈥� a crime caper that puts a period on 鈥�8000 Ft Up.鈥�

Williams, who spent 24 years as a firefighter and now owns and operates the cross-fit gym with his wife, Kare, hopes to film and release 鈥�489 Miles鈥� next year.

鈥淚f I could get this thing shot and released in 鈥�26 wouldn鈥檛 that be something,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat would be my ultimate goal.鈥�

Williams, whose film credits include the 2008 experimental short 鈥淭he Human Condition鈥� and the award-winning 鈥渇eaturette鈥� 鈥淥n a Clear Day鈥� in 2007, earned his first Best of 蜜聊直播 award from the 蜜聊直播 International Film Festival for his 2011 documentary about Tucson鈥檚 venerable North Fourth Avenue.

HBO pilot that was ... then wasn鈥檛

helped the producers of J.J Abrams鈥� HBO Max series scout locations downtown and around Pima County before they arrived to shoot the pilot episode in early September 2021.

The show about a getaway driver for a crime syndicate, co-written by LaToya Morgan, takes place in the 1970s Southwest, which made Tucson鈥檚 saguaro-studded landscape a perfect backdrop.

For three months, there were Tucson sightings of star Josh Holloway (鈥淟ost鈥�) before filming wrapped up in mid-November. The show also stars Rachel Hilson and Keith David.

The producers put the props and costumes and other affects from the project in a south-side storage warehouse, where it sat until Film Tucson Director Peter Catalanotte got a phone call in 2023.

鈥淗BO called to say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e gonna scrap that pilot and redo the whole thing in New Mexico. I鈥檓 so sorry, blah, blah, blah,鈥� which, you know, it鈥檚 business,鈥� Catalanotte said. 鈥淪o none of the footage from Tucson survives, or maybe it does on a hard drive somewhere. I have no idea. But when you tune into the show on HBO, when you watch the first episode, that鈥檚 all New Mexico, and you will see very fake saguaros.鈥�

Catalanotte said there is, however, a silver lining to the story.

鈥淭hey spent $11 million here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still a win for us because the economic impact all those people, all the locals that got hired and made money and were able to make car payments, or (put) some money away for their children鈥檚 college, that鈥檚 because HBO was here. So it was positive in that regard. ... There鈥檚 a lot of positives that came out of it.鈥�

New episodes of 鈥凄耻蝉迟别谤鈥� air Thursdays on HBO Max.