CHANDLER, Okla. (KFOR) — A Thursday morning might have been a little early for bowling, but that didn’t mean the Route 66 alley had nothing going on or that this place in Chandler, with its astounding collection of old signs and roadside antiques, wasn’t interesting all by itself.
With a truckload of equipment, a crew, actors, directors, and extras, an empty room lent itself to movie magic courtesy of this project’s star and screenwriter.
“We’ve had good luck with this crew,” remarked Matthew Del Negro, who wrote ‘Mickey Brasch’ 13 years ago.
“Over the next 7 years,” he continued. “I’d put it away for a while and then get it out. I couldn’t get rid of it.”
It took an old friend to flesh out the story.
Blake Robbins also asked to direct and already had a great idea about where to shoot, mostly in Guthrie, some in Edmond, and this place to film.
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He insisted, “You can’t find this anywhere except here. Everything else we found within a 5-mile radius of downtown Guthrie.”
With a budget of just under $150,000, they had a 15-day shooting schedule.
We were there for Day 12.
If actor Kate Alpers looked unhappy, that was just her angst-ridden teenage character talking.
“Yes,” she laughed. “And I’ve had people coming up to me all shot long and ask, ‘Are you okay? Are you mad or something?’ And I’m like, ‘No, this is just the character face. It kind of lingers.”
At any one time, even in Oklahoma, there is always someone trying to turn a story into a motion picture art.
This crew told us they discovered something we’ve known for years.
It is that the people here, along with the pristine locations, are characters in and of themselves.
“That’s my approach to cinema as well,” said Robbins. “I like to take the community and fold the film into it.”
Good times at a bowling alley on Thursday morning took a little work, but the prize at the end might just be way better than a perfect game.
“Why not,” asked Del Negro. “All you can do is dream.”
Del Negro told us he’s pointing to ‘Mickey Brasch’, about a struggling writer trying to reconnect with his family, toward a fall 2026 release.
He raised much of his capital from a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
If you’re interested in following the progress of production, go to the movie’s Instagram page here.
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