“Dear Eleanor,” a film primarily shot throughout Boulder County, is finally complete and is set to debut on demand and DVD on July 5.
The film began shooting in May 2013 and wrapped up reshoots about a year later. Niwot, after a few days with the film’s art department, doubled as the 1960s California hometown (Manteca) of the film’s protagonists. Filming also occurred all across the Front Range in Longmont, Lyons, Boulder, Nederland, Hygiene and even in Denver. Outdoor venues in backcountry areas, as well as interior locations in the various communities listed. were used for filming.
One of the film’s producers, Caleb Applegate, said that working in Colorado and with Boulder County residents was “great,” and that the crew “had a blast.”
“It was cool to see how the community came together to work on this film,” Payton Peterson, a location manager and Steadicam operator on the film, said. “We had hundreds of extras. Residents of Niwot, Longmont, Lyons, Hygiene and Boulder County all pitched in and brought out all of the old things for the film, to make it happen.”
According to imdb.com, the film is about “two teenage girls (who) travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.”
Since filming happened over two and a half years ago — before the 2013 flood — some local communities that were involved have undergone dramatic physical changes.
“We shot in Lyons before the flood,” Peterson said. “So, it’ll be interesting when it (the film) comes out to go back and see what’s changed.”
Starring in the coming-of-age film are a pair of Hollywood stars — Jessica Alba and Luke Wilson. Other actors and actresses starring in the film include Isabelle Fuhrman, Liana Liberato, Joel Courtney, Josh Lucas and Patrick Schwarzenegger.
In addition to Alba, Wilson and the other actors, Kevin Connolly, former star of the HBO series “Entourage,” directed the film. According to Applegate, Leonardo DiCaprio’s film production company, Appian Way Productions, “helped get the film off the ground,” though DiCaprio never made an appearance on set. Cecilia Contreras and Amy Garcia wrote the film together and Sony Pictures Entertainment is set to release it.
A 2013 Colorado economic incentive program helped to attract the production to the state. Various communities across the Front Range provided the film’s production team the necessary support.
“If it wasn’t for the communities supporting the film, it might not have ever happened,” Peterson said.
To view the film’s trailer online, visit: http://et.tv/1pClWBX.
