Cement Suitcase

A private screening for cast, crew, friends and family in Sunnyside, Wash., was held at Grand Cinemas Yakima Valley on Saturday, May 11. Including the movie’s main character actor, Dwayne Bartholomew, the film’s director, Rick Castaneda, and plenty of other cast and crew in attendance, the screening was a big success.

A private screening for Cement Suitcase was held at Grand Cinemas Yakima Valley on May 11. (Photo courtesy of Elaina Bruhn Photography)

“The screening went beyond our expectations,” Castaneda said. “Originally, they were going to put us in the 125-seat theater, so we had to limit our invitations. However, they ended up moving us to the 180-seat theater, and our fans did a good job filling that one out too.”

The theater filled not only with local actors in the film, and local crew members who assisted in the two-week Washington filming, but with several other acquaintances and fans eager to see the movie after nearly two years from when it was shot. From local media members to Castaneda’s childhood teachers and friends, to new fans who discovered the movie via Facebook or this Website, attendees formed a line starting inside and extending well outside the theater.

More pictures after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

The Tri-City Herald newspaper recently ran an article on Cement Suitcase Director Rick Castaneda, interviewing the Los Angeles-based movie maker on his trip to his hometown area last weekend for a private screening for cast and crew in Sunnyside, Wash.

Director Rick Castaneda poses with  father Guillermo at the screening. (Photo courtesy of Elaina Bruhn Photography)

Castaneda shared a few inside stories with reporter Dori O’Neal, including the day on set an ambulance was called for lead actor Dwayne Bartholomew.

When the scene called for the actor to stumble to the ground, someone in a passing car thought he was having a heart attack and called 911.

“We had cops, and an ambulance arrive in minutes rushing to help,” he said. “It was actually kind of funny.”

The article’s focus though was on Castaneda’s attempt to get Cement Suitcase into film festivals.

“When we first got started on this film, I found myself wishing I had worked on a few big movies in L.A. first before starting my own film,” Castaneda said in the article. “But now I’m glad I didn’t.”

Cement Suitcase Director Rick Castaneda is in the Yakima Valley this weekend promoting the film, which is completed and currently being submitted for consideration to multiple film festivals. During his Washington visit, he stopped by the 98.3 The Key studios in Tri-Cities for an interview on the morning radio show.

Director Rick Castaneda took a snapshot of DJ Stacy Lee during his visit to the station.

Interviewed by DJ Stacy Lee and DJ Big Jim, Castaneda spoke about why he chose the Yakima Valley as the main location for the shooting of Cement Suitcase, and how he came to directing in the first place.

“I’m from Granger and I grew up wanting to do movies,” Castaneda said during the interview. He decided to shoot in Washington because “it’s gorgeous here. When you shoot in LA, every movie that you see looks like it came from LA. Whenever anyone makes their first film, they usually make it in LA because that’s where they’re usually at at that time of their life. They all end up looking the same. So I wanted to make something that looked completely different, from a place that nobody has ever really seen before.”
DJ Stacy Lee, who landed a small role in the movie after auditioning, talked about her experience on set.

“I had a tiny little speaking part, like two lines,” DJ Stacy Lee said. “My real husband came to the shoot, who ended up being an extra. And then I had my fake movie husband … we didn’t have to kiss or anything.”

“What I found amazing was that filming that one scene … we had to film over and over and over,” she added. “It took literally hours to do that. That just puts it into perspective what actors actually put in.”

To listen to the full interview, which is broken into two audio clips, visit DJ Stacy Lee’s blog post at keyw.com/stacy-lee-in-cement-suitcase-trailer. Click on the blue play icons below the trailer.

For more about the movie, including information on how to win four tickets to tomorrow’s private screening, visit facebook.com/cementsuitcase.