Pirates of the north coast
A story by Frank Sollars
Shooting in Ludington, MI this summer!
SUPPORT this local movie!
It’s been a wild ride, but somehow, less than 10 people found a way to pull together an entire feature film in two weeks. Everything has been captured and backed up! Now we will enter the black hole that is post production – editing, sound mixing, soundtrack, and delivery!
We will strive to get this shown not only at the Ludington Center for the Arts but also a few local theaters in metro Detroit. Additionally, we will submit it to a few Film Festivals next year, hoping to spread the Ludington love a little further than the Mitten State 🙂
Story
While struggling to save the cruise ship that is dear to him and his harbor town’s way of life,
a thirty something Jimmy Buffet fan finds his life turned upside down
when a former flame arrives on his doorstep and offers to help him take care of his orphaned niece and nephew.
First Mates
Frank
Psychologist | Writer | Director | overall brain behind the project. Frank has a special appreciation for the city of Ludington, a place he spends much of his free time in his cute little town house.
Ty
Director of Photography and podcast host, giving a look into how a low-budget film like this can be made in his humble home state.
Noah
Lead Actor and friend of Franks. The first cast member aboard, collaborating with casting and story development along the way.
Franny
The mysterious woman literally none of us have yet to physically meet. With a background, like Noah, in Music Theatre she will be the shining light to deliver this movie through the dark tunnel that is principal photography.
Maylisa
Frank’s daughter who was nice enough to jump in and help fill a role. She has a background in the arts so we’re excited to have her performing but also collaborating on this!
Justin
Old friend of Ty who comes from the dance arts world but is always down to help in acting. A hidden talent really. You can find him performing the role of a male, female, and parrot during the table reads.
Jordan
Ty met this guy at some party in Detroit. A week later he was auditioning for a part we needed filled. Jordan is also on his way out to LA for acting and we’re glad we caught him before he ruins his life.
Randy
Ludington’s own! We found Randy during our casting call up there and saw him as the perfect fit for “Barnaby.” Lucky for Frank, since he would have had to play Barnaby otherwise.
Kali
Actress and our connect to the Ludington Arts Center. She helped us organize auditions, reserve the space for shooting, and even played a Brazilian in the movie!
A Love Letter to Ludington
Stationed in Ludington, MI, the S.S. Badger is the last operational coal ship in the country. Writer and Director, Frank Sollars, was in town 2013 when the EPA was looking to shut down the ship because of its coal dumping practices. It was a very stressful time for the community. They did not want to lose a staple of their city. Two years later, the ship was retrofitted with a new system that would capture the coal and off-loaded for cement use, rendering the S.S. Badger cleared for service. To this day it still carries wind turbine components from Wisconsin and other commercial loads.
Inspired, Frank set out to spotlight this interesting time in Ludington history – using the ship’s looming fate as a backdrop for a romantic comedy.
Podcast
“How a Psychologist makes a film”
Hosted by Director of Photography | Ty Besh
Episodes
Ty introduces himself and rambles about life and hopefully where this podcast is going…
A talk with the man himself – Creator, writer, and soon to be Director, Frank Sollars.
Lead actor, Noah, has no choice but to talk with us in the car.
