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CHANDLER, Okla. (KFOR<\/a>) \u2014 A Thursday morning might have been a little early for bowling, but that didn\u2019t 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\u2019t interesting all by itself.<\/p>\n With a truckload of equipment, a crew, actors, directors, and extras, an empty room lent itself to movie magic courtesy of this project\u2019s star and screenwriter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had good luck with this crew,\u201d remarked Matthew Del Negro, who wrote \u2018Mickey Brasch\u2019 13 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the next 7 years,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019d put it away for a while and then get it out. I couldn\u2019t get rid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n It took an old friend to flesh out the story.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He insisted, \u201cYou can\u2019t find this anywhere except here. Everything else we found within a 5-mile radius of downtown Guthrie.\u201d<\/p>\n With a budget of just under $150,000, they had a 15-day shooting schedule.<\/p>\n We were there for Day 12.<\/p>\n If actor Kate Alpers looked unhappy, that was just her angst-ridden teenage character talking.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d she laughed. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve had people coming up to me all shot long and ask, \u2018Are you okay? Are you mad or something?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018No, this is just the character face. It kind of lingers.\u201d<\/p>\n At any one time, even in Oklahoma, there is always someone trying to turn a story into a motion picture art.<\/p>\n This crew told us they discovered something we\u2019ve known for years.<\/p>\n It is that the people here, along with the pristine locations, are characters in and of themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my approach to cinema as well,\u201d said Robbins. \u201cI like to take the community and fold the film into it.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not,\u201d asked Del Negro. \u201cAll you can do is dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Del Negro told us he\u2019s pointing to \u2018Mickey Brasch\u2019, about a struggling writer trying to reconnect with his family, toward a fall 2026 release.<\/p>\n He raised much of his capital from a Kickstarter <\/a>crowdfunding campaign.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in following the progress of production, go to the movie\u2019s Instagram page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Great State is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union <\/em><\/p>\nprevious<\/h2>\n
More Great State Stories<\/h2>\n
Movie Dreams: \u2018Mickey Brasch\u2019 producers say Oklahoma is the perfect place to shoot <\/a><\/h3>\n
P Bar Farms corn maze operators call it quits after 25 years of bumper crops <\/a><\/h3>\n
A tornado nearly destroyed Shawnee Hall in \u201923; two years later, OBU leaders are celebrating its resurrection <\/a><\/h3>\n