“Waking Dreams” Coming to an End
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Filming is wrapping up for the movie that started in October at Jo Jo’s Drive Inn in Odessa. “Waking Dreams” is coming to an end for the crew, which includes several West Texans. Deepika Daggubati, writer and director, said she is already beginning to feel nostalgic, cherishing the last few days of filming. The filming took place exclusively in Odessa and Midland at places such as Pee Wee Dalton’s Boots, Putt Putt Fun Center, Odessa Heart Institute and the homes of several Odessa residents. Friday morning the crew was at Young Life in Midland to film an office scene starring Odessan Sulekha Naidu. Eve Cauley, production designer, transformed the white-walled interior of the nonprofit youth center to a zany, colorful atmosphere. The building serves as the office space for the video gaming company, Alternate Universe, in the film. Kimberly Christopher, whose husband Shane is area director for Midland Young Life, said the organization was happy to let Cauley and the crew transform the space. “A friend was getting ready to paint the day after Eve came in,” Christopher said. Now the wavy lines, giant magnetic wall and colorful cabinets in the Young Life building will be reminders of the film. |
Filming should wrap on Tuesday and the film will then begin post-production, Daggubati said. “Tentatively we’re planning to have it ready in February for screeners,” said Daggubati. Kalyan Vindhya, producer, said that he expects a distributor to pick up the film. Vindhya plans to market the film not only in the United States, but in India, the United Kingdom, and anywhere there is a large Indian presence. “We firmly believe that this film has crossover potential,” Vindhya said. Daggubati said she hopes that the film will make it into theaters at its tentative release date of next fall. “I think we have a good shot,” Daggubati said. “The movie is better than I hoped for.” Now Daggubati, Vindhya, and Naidu will travel to India for several weeks before returning to Los Angeles. Daggubati wrote another film that she will begin to work on in the spring. Daggubati said she would like to have a private screening in Odessa. The two things that surprised her the most during filming are “how friendly everyone has been” and “how much the actors have enjoyed being here.” The crew had a little time to take in West Texas experiences such as the CAF Airshow. However, the crew has been most impressed with West Texans’ kindness. “Neighbors would bring us iced tea,” Daggubati said of residential scenes. “That’s been such a beautiful surprise.” Vindhya said he and his team will be working on finding songs for a soundtrack with Indian and possibly even country sounds. He said he has enjoyed working on the film. “It’s been a great experience…not without its challenges, but nothing insurmountable.” |
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