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Carole Mikita ReportingA Utah film maker who's found a successful niche with comedies about Mormons is about to debut his third film. On the heels of "The Singles' Ward" and, "The R.M." comes "The Home Teachers."
Calling it the classic buddy story, here comes the latest film in the Latter-day Saint genre. The director says it borrows heavily from 'Tommy Boy' and ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles'. Cast in the lead roles are a couple of guys who have been doing this for a while.
Jeff Birk, "The Home Teachers": "Luckily I'd worked with Michael doing stand-up comedy for years before, and so we were able to really just hit it off on set, and it worked out well.”
Michael Birkeland "The Home Teachers": “The second Jeff walked in, you could see the director and producer just like 'Oh, yeh, that's him'. He didn't even say a word and they just started laughing."
Timing the release of a film is key to its success. HaleStorm Entertainment has done the same thing with this film as it has with others, just after the big blockbuster season.
Kurt Hale, Writer/Director "The Home Teachers": "Hollywood kind of lays off between January and February and it's a good time for an independent film like ours to find real estate to run in theatres. So we're not being squeezed out by these big blockbusters that come around in May and June and Christmas.”
And in what is looking like a cold and snowy winter, cast and crew are also hoping people are just looking for a laugh.
Kurt Hale is planning to shoot his next film in June. It will be titled "Church Ball."
