An unplanned pit stop opens up filmmaker to new ‘world’

Sears owes a lot to the historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup for his latest bout of inspiration. The hotel inspired him for what is becoming his latest film project, “Bottom of the World.”

“There’s something about the place,” he says during a recent interview. “There’s a strangeness and beauty to the hotel and the area. I just got seduced by it. It is notorious for ghost sightings of the old actors who used to stay there in the 1950s.”

	Online To find out more about “Bottom of the World,” www.facebook.com/bottomoftheworldmovie

Sears made a pit stop in Gallup a couple years back while traveling from his home in Albuquerque to Los Angeles. After a night’s stay in the hotel, he came up with the idea for the film. Since his first stop there, he has been back numerous times.

“There is a strange quality to the area and it’s perfect for our film,” he explains. “It’s taken about eight months to get a script together and we’re continuing to raise funds for the film.”

Sears is quick to explain that his film won’t be a horror flick. He says the movie is about Alex and Scarlett, who are on their way to live in LA. The couple stops over in the sleepy Southwestern town Gallup. Scarlett vanishes and an otherworldly mystery unfolds as Alex tries to find his girlfriend.

While no actors have been confirmed for the roles, Luke Grimes and Gillian Zinser have been rumored for the roles of Alex and Scarlett. Grimes was last seen in “Taken 2″ and appeared in ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters.” Zinser appeared in “Savages” and the Fox series “90210.”

Sears says there is a February start date for production and he wants to film in Gallup and Albuquerque.

He says that most investors who are interested want either more blood and gore added to the film or they want to film outside of New Mexico.

“El Rancho is the key to the entire film and it needs to film in Gallup,” he explains. “That’s one area that I have not budged on. I think the story wouldn’t be as strong if it was filmed at another hotel.”

Sears says Gallup is his muse because of the way it has preserved its buildings. He says most of downtown Gallup was built in the late ’30s through the 1950s.

“It has this old Americana feel to it,” he says. “While that’s beautiful, it has a strange eeriness to it. Being raised in Los Angeles, I find it interesting that the town kind of shuts down early. But there is one constant and that’s the train. There’s a constant hum of the train and after awhile it becomes comfortable. It really creates this atmosphere that can only be found in this area.”

Sears, who is working with producer Jeff Graup and screenwriter Brian Gottlieb on the film, says the script was written in the same vein as David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock movies. It also has elements of what “Twilight Zone” episodes were like.

“It’s more of a mystery thriller,” he says. “It takes a lot of thinking to figure out who did it and what is happening. We understand this isn’t a genre that is popular today, but these types of movies have been successful. It’s an intelligent mystery thriller film.”

Graup, who just wrapped producing “The Hive” with Halle Berry, says the script had him hooked by page 5 and he completely spooked out.

“Once I saw Richard’s pictures and presentation on the locations and vision, I was hooked,” he says. “It reminds me of the ‘Twilight Zone’ and David Lynch colliding in a strange dream. We are so excited about the prospects of this film.

The company is using Kickstarter, an online fundraising website, for the film and Sears says it has been successful so far. He says there is still more to go but expects that the film will continue as planned. The page can be located at www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffgraup/bottom-of-the-world.

“If we don’t reach our goal, it may throw a wrench into the plan,” he says. “But I don’t see us stopping. We’ll still film the movie and go at it with a smaller budget. I’m looking forward to see how this all comes to life and all of this was inspired by a trip to Gallup.”

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