Filmmaker accesses Hollywood
Lauren Masters
Four years ago, Bryan Goldsworthy took a look at his life as an
assistant at “Access Hollywood” and decided to change it.
The La Crescenta native wanted to make a movie -- not a
revolutionary idea in Hollywood, he knows -- but unlike so many
others, the freshman director and producer finished his project. It
wasn’t easy, though. He had to take almost a year off between
filming the first and second halves of the movie.
“Searching for Wooden Watermelons,” a story set in rural Texas
about a woman torn between a commitment to herself versus her family,
hit Blockbuster stores last week in Glendale.
“It’s been four years of ups and downs, just a roller coaster,”
Goldsworthy said. “This movie is a follow-your-dreams movie and
that’s what we did. We followed our dreams and now we hope it pays
off.”
His journey started when he met Wendy English at “Access
Hollywood.”
He and the Texas native also happened to live at the same
apartment complex in Burbank, and one night they sat outside
together, discussing their careers and comparing them to people they
admired.
“We were discussing careers we aspire to, people who really made a
name for themselves by following their own dreams and making their
own fate,” Goldsworthy said. “Hollywood doesn’t give you a job unless
you prove yourself. Wendy had a script so we said, ‘Why don’t we go
out and shoot it? Let’s give it a try and do it.’ We set a date, and
we just did it.”
English’s script told the story of Jude Farnie, a 25-year-old
woman who embodies many of English’s own characteristics. Part
personal, part fiction, the story follows Jude as she tries to leave
her hometown while keeping those ties intact.
“I wanted to write a story to inspire people to follow their
dreams and not be afraid,” English said. “It’s based on my struggle
to leave my hometown. I took a leap of faith and it worked out fine.
I want to inspire people to follow whatever they want to do.”
After cashing in two savings bonds, taking out a loan for $20,000,
maxing out credit cards and selling English’s wedding ring,
Goldsworthy and English had $40,000 and began filming in Texas.
Taking two weeks of vacation from “Access Hollywood,” Goldsworthy
shot the first half of the movie. Vacation days gone, he waited
another year before rounding up the cast in La Crescenta and
finishing the film.
A year later, after editing, Goldsworthy sent the film off to film
festivals before selling the home-video rights.
At the 2003 Method Fest film festival in Burbank, “Searching for
Wooden Watermelons” took the Audience Award for Best Feature.
“We did a movie that does well in middle America,” Goldsworthy
said. “A lot of outlets have tried to show independent films with
edgy stuff, but we wanted to prove there was a place for family
fare.”
The success of the film has left Goldsworthy ready for more.
“Wendy’s writing a script right now, and the next one we hope is
more Sundance [Film Festival] material,” he said. “This was our first
film. Then you go out and shoot the second film better and the second
film opens the door. Hopefully, next year we’ll have a film, and if
not, maybe the year after that.”