Lights! Camera! Dolphins!
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Cinematographer Angel Barroeta sets up the camera in front of Gulf Breeze Middle School.

Gulf Breeze Middle School (GBMS) is no longer just a place of learning - this week it's also doubling as a movie studio.

"Chatterbox," written and directed by Jane Lawalata from Los Angeles, is being filmed at the middle school through Oct. 21. Lawalata said she chose to film in Gulf Breeze because of the area's unique small town charm.

"There was something different here," Lawalata said. "Not only in the landscape, but the people here have a very unique way. They have tolerance and are helping and caring people. I've never had that experience with other people and it makes this very easy."

Lawalata added that she chose GBMS, which will be renamed Fairfield Middle School for the movie, because the school's administrators were supportive and cooperative. Many GBMS students are appearing in the film as extras, including the members of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association's juniors football team. In addition to GBMS, filming is also taking place at Pensacola Beach and a private residence in Gulf Breeze.

The cast and crew have all been recruited from the Gulf Coast, with the help of IZON Models and Talent in Pensacola, and a handful of Gulf Breeze students are getting to show their acting chops in important roles. Out of 64 main cast members, Gulf Breeze High School sophomore Taylor Johnson is one of a handful of Gulf Breeze residents with a speaking part in the film.

"It's really exciting. I've never been in a movie before," Johnson said. "It's interesting to go out there and see all the stuff involved with making a movie."

Johnson said her acting experience with the Pensacola Little Theatre, BETA, Pensacola Junior College and Gulf Breeze High School helps give her a more professional presence on screen.

"On stage you can't mess up and retake it but in film you can," Johnson said. "[Stage acting] makes you better the first time."

The film, which began as a student project for Lawalata while attending the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, was described as a family friendly story based on a 13- year old girl who wants to be popular. The film's main character, Chelsea Ryan (played by Mary Esther resident Brianna Chomer), enters the school's Chatterbox competition where she learns that honesty, loyalty, family, and being true to herself are more important than being popular. The film has a budget of approximately $160,000 and Lawalata hopes to have her project picked up by a major film distributor and shown in theaters nationwide.

"This on will be, if everything goes as planned, shown at the Pensacola film festival next year," said Rebecca Hamilton Taylor, agency director with IZON Models and Talent.

For more information on the film and to view production pictures, visit www.chatterboxthemovie. com.