BROOKINGS – How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm … after they’ve seen L.A.?
Leif Gantvoort grew up on a farm near Clear Lake; but he’s lived in Los Angeles since 1997, where he works both sides of the television and movie cameras: as an actor, producer and director.
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BROOKINGS – How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm … after they’ve seen L.A.?
Leif Gantvoort grew up on a farm near Clear Lake; but he’s lived in Los Angeles since 1997, where he works both sides of the television and movie cameras: as an actor, producer and director.
But he hasn’t forgotten his roots and was back home this weekend and also in Brookings, where “The 60 Yard Line” – which he produced and directed – is playing at Cinema 8.
The IMDB summary of the film says, “Based on a true story, set during the 2009 football season. Ben 'Zagger' Zagowski and Nick 'Polano' Polano, best friends and co-workers, buy a house in the parking lot of Lambeau Field (home of the Packers), and are forced to pick between a football fan lifestyle and a girl. Lives change. There's a cow.”
“It’s about a sports fan who becomes so obsessed with his team that he neglects every other aspect of his life,” Gantvoort said of his production. “It’s something I think all sports fans can relate to.
“It’s a sports film, so we have a lot of sports stars in the film. It’s about the Green Bay Packers; it kind of focuses on Green Bay and Lambau Field.” Several Packers make on-screen appearances.
“We don’t have a lot of big stars,” Gantvoort explained. “We just have working actors. We made this film because we wanted to take a chance on giving audiences something as an alternative to big Hollywood blockbusters.”
As to the size of the production, he said the film has six main cast, 10 secondary characters and some scenes with as many as 150 extras.
Gantvoort, who attended Doane College (now University) in Nebraska and graduated in 1994 with a degree in theater, said he’s in town “hoping to start getting the word out about the film. I’m really hoping that I can get my home state to show some strong support for this project.” The film is also playing in Watertown.
“We are a small independent film,” Gantvoort said. “We don’t have a lot of advertising. None of that stuff. All we have is word of mouth. We’re hoping that we can get the word out a little bit more.”
How long the film will run here depends on ticket sales; but it will play in Brookings at least through Thursday.
The film is rated PG-13. Show times are 7 and 9:15 p.m.
Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.
