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Bradenton.com: About a week after Oscar-winning director Taylor Hackford and Emmy-winning actor Michael Chiklis were at the Ringling Museum of Art’s Ca’ d’Zan Mansion to shoot part of the crime-thriller “Parker,” starring Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez and Nick Nolte, another promising picture arrives in Sarasota.
The independent film “Free Ride,” starring Anna Paquin and Drea de Matteo, will be shooting on closed sets later this month through the end of November.
The movie takes place in late 1970s Florida. After fleeing an abusive relationship, mom turns to the marijuana trade to support her daughters, ages 15 and 7. It’s based on the real-life story of writer/director Shana Sosin, the youngest of the siblings.
Paquin plays Sosin’s mother, Christina. At age 11, Paquin won the Academy Award in 1994 for Best Supporting Actress for “The Piano.” In 2009, she won a Golden Globe for playing Sookie Stackhouse on the HBO television drama “True Blood.”
“My mother was a very vibrant character and very good at surviving,” Sosin said Sunday afternoon while location scouting in Sarasota. “There’s something very raw and real about Anna’s performances and person; she’s retained that rawness my mother had.”
De Matteo, who won an Emmy Award in 2004 for playing Adriana La Cerva on “The Sopranos,” has been cast as Sandy in “Free Ride.”
“She’s the one who gets my mom into the marijuana trade,” Sosin said.
Liana Liberato, best known for her work in the 2010 Clive Owen movie “Trust,” plays the writer/director’s older sister.
“This movie is about a single mother who’s uneducated and doing the best she can, and she’s not your typical drug dealer,” Sosin said. “It’s also my homage to the end of innocence in America as well as a love letter to my sister and my mother.”
In addition to the stars, the filmmaker wants locals in “Free Ride.”
“We’re looking for people who are rough around the edges with long hair, very tan locals,” she said. “The kind of guys who would work fishing boats and bikers with handlebar mustaches.”
Individuals interested in being cast as extras should email icastingextras@gmail.com.
The crew is also seeking boats, cars and homes to use in the movie.
“As a small budget film we’re so dependent on the kindness of the community,” said Wendy Williams, line producer on the picture. “We’re looking for period boats and cars of the early to late 1970s and period homes from the late 1970s that have not been updated.”
Interested parties can email freeridemovie@gmail.com.
“Free Ride” marks the first full-length movie featuring major stars for Sosin.
She comes out of the acclaimed, Los Angeles-based experimental theater troupe “The Actors’ Gang,” cofounded by Tim Robbins. Her filmmaking credits include the acclaimed 2010 short film “The Convention of Dying.” As an actor she has appeared in numerous films as well as the television series “Cold Case.”
“I come out of the theater and I’m a strong supporter of theater and community theater,” Sosin said. “And the community theater that exists here is great.”
“Free Ride” is being produced by Susan Dynner, whose credits include co-producer on the 2005 Sundance Special Jury Prize winner film “Brick.” British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award winner Cerise Hallam-Larkin is also a producer.
The crew will be using facilities provided by the Sarasota Film Festival.
“Shana and her crew are exactly the kind of talented, creative people we want to work in this area,” said Mark Famiglio, executive director of SFF. “They represent the new wave of independent filmmaking and exceptional storytelling.”
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