It’s 5 p.m. on the corner of 111 Avenue and 95 Street in Edmonton. It’s rush hour. But A1 Trading has likely never been this busy.
Big black cables are strewn on the street and wrap around the west side of the building where they connect to a giant light. On the south side, dozens of people are huddled on the sidewalk, sipping coffee from the craft services cart, most of them connected by curly cords in their ears.
A man with his hat pulled low cuts through all the commotion and pulls open the door.
“I’m sorry, you can’t come in today, this is a movie set,” says a man with one of those curly cords, as he stands in the doorway.
“This isn’t a movie set, this is a pawn shop,” says the man with the hat.
READ MORE: ‘Puppy Love’ feature film based in Edmonton
You can hardly blame him, on every other day this is a pawn shop and even now, on this crowded street, it’s hard to tell who is supposed to be here and who is just pretending to be.
It’s exactly what director Michael Maxxis wanted.
Maxxis is from Edmonton. It’s important to him that his first feature film is based in Edmonton.
“Write what you know,” he said.
The pawn shop scene is just a small part Maxxis’ film “Puppy Love.” The movie is based on his cousin, Morgan Williams, and since it takes place in Edmonton, he wanted to shoot it here too.
“It just felt right to do it in my home town,” said Maxxis.
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Though this is his first full-length feature, he has built a solid career making music videos. Most recently, he captured the imagination of Oilers fans, creating a new opening video that the team plays before home games at Rogers Place.
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All of this is a far cry from what he set out to do when he left Edmonton for business school more than 15 years ago. Back then, Maxxis had never even thought about a career in the arts. But, his time in Ontario changed that.
“I dropped out of school and decided to pursue a career in film,” said Maxxis. “I’m addicted to it. If I’m doing anything other than filmmaking or writing or learning I feel like I’m wasting time that could be spent filmmaking.”
It’s that passion that produced the script for “Puppy Love.” After writing for more than a year, he finished last May and started to pitch it to Hollywood casting directors and producers. His hard work attracted top talent. Cinematographer Larry Smith (“Eyes Wide Shut,” “Bronson”) is on board, so is Jory Weitz who cast “Napolean Dynamite” and “Blade.”
“I think if you write a story that people respond to, actors want to be in it and people will want to finance it,” said Maxxis, who has been given a $3 million budget.
“Literally my first choice for like every single part in this film agreed. Even far out choices like Wayne Newton,” said Maxxis.
That’s right, Wayne Newton will be in Edmonton for his part in “Puppy Love.” Rosanna Arquette and Michael Madsen are on board. Paz de la Huerta (“Boardwalk Empire”) has the lead female role and Hopper Penn, son of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, plays the main character.
Penn has been living in Edmonton for more than a month to prepare for the role.
“He’s actually saying he’s going to stay living here after the shoot for a while. He’s transformed that much to where he’s not sure if he wants to leave any time soon,” beamed Maxxis.
This is where his passion really lies. Bringing his craft home. He wants Edmontonians to see him shooting his film on the street. Locals are cast as extras.
“It’s important to me to contribute to sort of a cultural evolution here,” said Maxxis. “Even if it’s in the smallest way. By creating awareness for young people that you can be weird and you can do things outside the box and you can have a career in music or art or dancing or whatever if you commit.”
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It’s not easy or cheap to shoot in Edmonton. According to Maxxis, none of the equipment he needs can be rented here, it all has to be shipped in. There is not an abundance of crew to work the film either.
“It’s more challenging to shoot here, in many ways, than many places I’ve shot in the world,” said Maxxis.
His dream is for Edmonton to develop its own filmmakers who are talented and passionate about staying in the city.
“If we could get the equipment here and develop filmmakers at an early age, then you can start to think about having a real film industry.”
“Puppy Love” is expected to shoot in Edmonton for the next four weeks.
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