From NOLA's 'Royal Family of Music.'
KTHV, a CBS-affiliated local news station. “It's all connected. It may not seem that way, but that's kind of where I first got my interest in entertainment and became lifelong friends with Alonzo,” Batiste says.
“We stayed friends over the years; he stayed in broadcast television and is an accomplished actor. He went to school to be an actor and had an understanding of the stories my father told the family, so we decided we could make it a movie.” After years of conversation and planning, they decided to move forward with the project last year. “It was through staying in contact and [Alonzo’s] ability to find other folks that we were able to put this screenplay together,” Batiste says. “We had never produced a film, so we are truly first-time filmmakers. It is truly a blessing for things to line up the way they did. As simple as it may sound, it was just meant to be.” The crew shot the film in Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the Austin suburb of Cedar Park. “Thanks to the hard work of Alonzo and the crew he knew, it all just came together,” Batiste says. “There were a number of minor hiccups, but nothing major that caused production to be delayed.”Courtesy of James Batiste Even though Waller had planned for a week of shooting, the crew’s efficiency and professionalism allowed the shoot to be completed in three days. After working with Waller to edit the film, they did two private film screenings: one in Fort Worth for the cast and crew, and another in New Orleans for the Batiste family. “As you can imagine, in both situations, everyone is on pins and needles waiting to see,” Batiste says. “I'm partial because I'm walking on clouds right now about how happy I am with the film. My father and mother were present in spirit. I still talk to them every day, but they weren't physically present. But I like to imagine they were sitting there and able to see this thing that represents who they are. So all of it is rushing through me, and I'm just joyful.”Following the positive response from the screenings, the team began to send the film out to film festivals."A Stranger’s Story"
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