Read the Jan. 4, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.
Director Stephen Savage is searching for a bigger theater.
"I have two members of the Black Eyed Peas who want to bring about twenty of their friends and Michael Madsen and his family all coming to Palm Springs," Savage noted. "And the screening sold out in about 18 minutes."
After all, this is the world premiere of his film, Cosmic Radio. Filmed in Idyllwild, the story involves a senator with a personal interest in an Idyllwild logging operation and a radio station that provides a voice for the environmental organization trying to stop him. Think "Northern Exposure."
"We actually talked to John Corbett about playing the lead," said Savage of the actor who played KBHR’s beloved fictional DJ, but he ultimately felt the similarities would be distracting.
Savage was inspired to write the story based on his hours as a late-night DJ in Idaho while earning his film degree at North West Film Institute at Washington State University. Upon graduation, he immediately earned a grant to make his first film. Savage wrote, produced, acted and composed music for the 2003 western, Turquoise. Serendipitously, it was the film that caught Alisa Schulz' eye at an Idyllwild video store.
Savage was working there when Schulz entered seeking a diversion. Picking up the box, she asked him if he knew the film.
"It's my movie," he confessed, and after watching it she returned with more questions.
After discovering he only spent $12,000 on the production, Schulz asked, "If you can do this for $12,000, what can you do with a few million?"
Soon after, she and partner Patrick Gallagher were producing Savage's first feature film directing effort, Cosmic Radio.
With an environmental message thinly veiled behind a romantic drama, it was not hard to gather supportive actors. "Casting for an indie film is a lot easier and cheaper because actors like the message," said Savage.
It also helped to have Shannon Makhanian. "We had a great casting director, who has done a lot of cool movies," Savage said of Makhanian (Mysterious Skin, Wristcutters: A Love Story).
For the role of the sheriff who quietly works to protect Native lands, Makhanian suggested Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans). Savage was thrilled to agree and confessed, "I had written the part with him in mind."
With that part locked, he decided to bring in another Native American actor as the character's niece, and Irene Bedard (Smoke Signals) was sent the script. Within an hour of reading it, she signed on for the part of the lead love interest.
The cast soon included Michael Madsen as the amoral senator, Black Eyed Peas' Taboo as a DJ, Seymour Cassel as Jonathan Sachar's father and Rider Strong ("Boy Meets World") as a young activist.
His favorite childhood vacation spot of Idyllwild filled in as the small town turned on its head, with a tweak in the truth. "Idyllwild has a beetle infestation, but no logging problems," Savage admitted. "The timing just happened to coincide, and the loggers we filmed are actually just trying to save the forest."
Setting and cast came together to create what Savage feels is an entertaining film with a purpose. "I'm not a documentary film maker," he said. "I tried to get a message across without being too heavy."
Cosmic Radio is the first of three films Savage will make for Schulz and Gallagher's Velocity Pictures. The next film will feature an animal rights theme disguised as a romantic comedy. Savage's work can also be seen in five Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism shorts, the Journey Channel's "Sun-Kissed Adventures, Palm Springs."
The director will attend the Jan. 4 world premiere, hopefully with enough seats for the star entourage.