'Sironia' movie with stars Tony Hale and Robyn Lively starts Waco filming

By Carl Hoover

Waco-area shooting on the indie film "Sironia" begins Saturday and continues through May 19 before heading to Los Angeles for the balance of the filming.

The movie doesn't have anything to do with the sprawling Madison Cooper novel "Sironia," but Waco figures prominently in the story's creation. A singer-songwriter gets chewed up by the rat race in big city L.A., but reconnects with himself and his family when he moves to the small(er) Texas town of Sironia.

It's based, in part, on the experience of singer-songwriter Wes Cunningham, who plays in the movie and who performed a pre-shooting concert last Thursday night at Common Grounds coffeehouse. Like Cunningham, director Brandon Dickerson graduated from Baylor and presently lives and works in L.A., where he's directed music videos and footage for the likes of Demi Lovato, Switchfoot, Sixpence None The Richer and more than a dozen more musicians.

Dickerson won a 2000 Dove Award for "This Is Your Time" with Michael W. Smith and a Golden Lion award from the Cannes Lions International Film Festival.

Helping the two shape the screenplay is a third Baylor connection, Baylor theater professor Thomas Ward.

The feature film stars "Arrested Development" actor Tony Hale and "Letters to God" actress Robyn Lively ("30 Rock," "Saving Grace"). Hale spoke to Baylor senior theater majors on Friday.

Co-producer Lauren Schwartz says scenes will be filmed at Common Grounds coffeehouse, the World Hunger Relief farm, Heart O' Texas Coliseum, Skate World, Katy's Custard and local homes.

Presently, there's a need for extras, particularly college-age ones. If you're interested, e-mail a photo and info about yourself to sironiafilmwaco@yahoo.com.

      Email    Print