Film Shoot Coming to Winona Lake
It seems the picturesque town of Winona Lake is destined for the big screen.
At the July meeting of the Winona Lake Town Council, Drew Waters (some may know him as Wade Aikmen from the “Friday Night Lights” television series) came before the council to express his desire to film a movie he has written in Winona Lake.
“In short, I fell in love with the town,” said Waters. “When I wrote this movie, I visualized this, and I never knew this existed.”
“We just don’t find this stuff without building it, it’s a gem,” Waters said. “We simply want to come in and showcase the town.”
“We want to show Grace College,” said Waters. “The movie is a complete redemptive message movie.”
Waters said the film will be a “passion movie that’s wrapped around the loss of a loved one.” It will be a family-friendly flick, set to feature Erin Bethea (“Fireproof) and Glen Moreshower (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “X-Men: First Class”).
As far as the shooting goes, Waters expects to have a crew in town by September. The production is expected to last four weeks. Some temporary street closings and night shoots would be involved.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll have to interrupt anything or shut anything down,” Waters said. “Our crew are very responsible. Safety is first and foremost on these sets. If we move anything, we put it back the way it was.”
“We’re going to put a lot of money back into the community,” said Waters. “We need a lot of extras. We want to make this a very positive experience for everyone involved.”
There are still a few details to iron out. Waters says he and his producers are still looking for a few locations, but they are intent on shooting most of the movie in Winona Lake.
“We’ll be happy to work with you,” said Winona Lake Town Marshal Paul Schmitt. “You have the full support of the council,” added council member Bruce Shaffner.