New Showreel Shot by Chris Stone
In early April, I went up to Staffordshire to shoot three scenes with Chis and Steph Stone for my showreel. I spent the last month or so playing film producer as I hired actors, found locations, and provided some catering while we worked.
Kelley as Anna in Retaliation - a spy thriller scene shot for my reel.
I stayed overnight in a lovely little house all on my own and got a good night’s sleep. We filmed the first scene the following morning - a take on Strangers on a Train, in which Julia (Kelley) and Beth (Megan Relph) have made a deal to get rid of one another’s partners. Because of the heavy rain and wind howling down the chimney the scene became more of a horror story. We even found some lovely props to make the scene a even more creepy which worked quite well, I think.
Kelley Costigan as Julia in The Deal.
Megan Relph as Beth in The Deal.
In the afternoon, we shot a lighter scene (both literally and thematically) called Echoes of Home in which Cate (Kelley) is selling her mother’s house to Estate Agent Mia (Mollie Hindle).
Kelley as Cate and Mollie Hindle as Mia in Echoes of Home.
On Tuesday morning, we moved to the gorgeous Basford Hurst Cottage to film our spy thriller scene - Retaliation. This had a rather Bond-like feel to it and we had fun crafting our own version of the genre.
Kelley as Anna and Luke Jasztal as Tom in Retaliation.
We even had celebratory cupcakes as it was Luke Jasztal’s birthday!
It was a long couple of days but so worth it to get those scenes in those locations. The only downside for me was my car breaking down on my drive home from Staffordshire and having to wait about four hours for the breakdown crew to arrive and get me home. The glamour of show business, eh?