Location, Location, Location

Poor Melvyn. His daily walk, which usually doesn’t amount to much more than waving at or chatting up his neighbors, is today filled with crises and mayhem. Plus, it’s really hot out, since Melvyn lives in Phoenix.

The PG-13 film Melvyn's Clock is the work of Tennessee-based husband-and-wife filmmakers Jon Russell and Tracy Cring, who shot the flick entirely in Arizona earlier this year. The shoot took less than a month, a conceit of the couple’s Extra/Ordinary Film Project, which intends to make 12 feature-length movies in 12 months. Melvyn's Clock is the eighth of the dozen films, and its première here will no doubt be well-attended by the many actors and extras from the location shoots in Sedona, Wickenburg, Apache Junction, Prescott, Queen Creek, Tempe, Sun City, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Scottsdale, and Litchfield Park.

Forget about people. It’s these locations, Cring says, that are the real stars of the film. “Hollywood is mainly concerned about what stars they can place in movies,” Cring insists. “But we make our stories and tales, and the action they weave are the stars of our movies.” Cring’s filmic philosophy appears to be working. The duo’s previous seven flicks have been warmly received at various festivals.