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Carrollton husband, wife work together on new film
By Senitra Horbrook, shorbrook@acnpapers.com
Being married to a Hollywood screenwriter has some unique perks for Carrollton resident Sally Helppie.
“When I was reading part of his script I said ‘I want this,’” she said about “The Beacon.” “He ended up writing that for me and giving it to us for a reduced price.”
Helppie’s husband is Michael Stokes, an award-winning writer who currently works as head writer and story editor of the children’s series “Babar.”
“I wanted to see something that was not a slasher movie,” Helppie said. “I was looking for something that was a smart ghost story, and that’s what we got with ‘The Beacon.’”
“The Beacon” is the story of a couple trying to get their life back on track after their 4-year-old son disappears and is presumed dead. The wife starts seeing a little boy at the apartment complex they move to and learns the boy actually died in a fall down the elevator shaft. She becomes obsessed with figuring out how to contact him so he can send a message to her son.
“I liken it to ‘The Sixth Sense’ or ‘The Others,’” Helppie said. “After it ends, you start thinking, ‘I didn’t see that coming.’ Then you start thinking of pieces of the film where you got the clues, but didn’t see where the film was headed.”
Helppie said the significance of the film’s title becomes clear at the end.
“At the beginning, it’s the name of the apartment complex, but it has a greater meaning at the end,” she said.
“The Beacon” stars Teri Polo (“Meet the Parents”), David Rees Snell (“The Shield”), Elaine Hendrix (“Parent Trap”), Michael Ironside (“Top Gun”) and Ken Howard (recent Emmy winner for “Grey Gardens”). The film was shot at The Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie, a well-known “haunted” hotel. Helppie said many of the cast and crew had strange experiences while shooting there.
“I had reports from the cast and crew of things moving in their rooms, hearing a child cry in the room at three in morning, every morning … the dining room and kitchen had things falling off the shelf,” she said.
After the film wrapped shooting last year, there were water problems in the hotel, and the room where the director stayed collapsed into the dining room. The hotel closed permanently after the collapse because of water damage.
“The Beacon” has already picked up a few film festival awards.
“They are obviously a big honor. To be accepted in a festival is an honor. To win is pretty amazing,” Helppie said. “It shows people in the industry recognize this film as a quality movie worth seeing.”
“The Beacon” is the second film from Sabbatical Pictures, which was founded by Helppie, who also works as an entertainment lawyer for Tipton Jones in Dallas. Sabbatical Pictures’ first film, “Exit Speed” was shot locally in Carrollton and Coppell and is available on DVD. Two more films are currently in development.
“We’re focusing on genre movies: action, horror and family friendly,” Helppie said. “So far, we’re doing one a year, which is a lot for an independent film company.”
Helppie said she enjoyed the experience of working with her husband, but it most likely will not become a regular event.
“We love working together, but he earns a very good living as a Hollywood screenwriter,” she said. “With five kids, including some in college, it’s important he does his other work.”
“The Beacon” will preview at local Studio Movie Grill Theatres at 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 25 to 30. The full schedule and tickets are available at sabbaticalpictures.com as well as on the Studio Movie Grill Web site. A question-and-answer session with the director will follow select screenings.
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