ABOUT CRICKET
At the heart of Cricket, written by Tameson Duffy, is the belief that in order to overcome grief, we have to embrace our authentic voice and truly feel the pain. As I write this now I can feel my body fill with emotions, the same emotions that had me walking away from a shooting day and having a good cry, seeking a long hug, or needing space on a long walk where I could connect with nature, with truth. All feelings that I had long shied away from.
This story is as much about embracing my own authentic voice as it is about Cricket embracing hers. And I know many of the cast and crew say they have experienced the same thing working on this project.
I first read this script eighteen years ago when my wife, Amy Janes, optioned it at Parkchester Pictures, a Paramount shingle run by Jerry Offsay. I loved the script, but it was not yet a story for me to tell. I was too young. Life hadn’t thrown its curve balls. I hadn’t faced grief and loss. I hadn’t had to bury pain in the depths of my stomach in the hope that it would disappear.
The film had been on the cusp of being greenlit a number of times but shortly after facing my own mortality, undergoing a life saving surgery and two follow up corrective surgeries, and all the while seeing the fear in my wife and children’s faces, the chance to finally bring this story to the screen emerged.
It was almost as if the world was waiting for this time.
And not just for me to be ready but for other magical pieces to come together such as the discovery of Texas based thirteen year old actress Skye Dakota Turner who wasn’t even born when Amy first found the project. With great dedication and thoughtfulness, we started to build Cricket’s family and an amazing cast was born. Three weeks prior to securing Blythe Howard as Fran (Cricket's mom battling cancer) her sister rang the bell herself. Blythe had spent over two years observing her sister live the role she was about to play. I will always remember our first zoom audition where she began to feel and process the fear and sadness that she had yet had time to put a voice to.
I knew that we needed to shoot this film as ‘real’ as possible, allowing the actors to feel, allowing the crew the courage to make bold statements in their work, and my goal was to foster an environment where all this could come together.
Please, enjoy this cathartic film and be the light that radiates hope in our world.
Richard Janes
Director
FILLMMAKERS RANCH
Green Pastures Studio sits on a 12-acre campus located 18 minutes east of downtown Oklahoma City and 22 minutes from Will Rogers Airport with direct flights to Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.
Our campus includes a 5,500 sqft soundstage with acoustically constructed walls and ceiling complete with a 16x16ft elephant door and 27ft ceilings, a 3,000 sqft VFX soundstage with greenscreen, and a 20,000 sq ft standing sets stage which includes a police station, hospital, school, an interior house, and a bar. We have full production suites that can accommodate multiple large film and TV production office needs, all the way down to 2-person offices. For art departments, our facility is home to a 2,000 sqft drive-in construction room, props and art department stores, together with a full grip and electric package and full catering on site.
Outside, our facility boasts fields, forests, and a small lake that can be used by productions. With plenty of locations within 15 minutes from the studio the only limit to what you can shoot is your imagination.