Mount Greylock High Grad Uses North County For Film
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Alexis Rosasco (left, and seated on the couch above) is using locations in Williamstown for her film. North Adams is also expected to be a backdrop. Above, director of photography Nicholas Jon Beaubien guides the camera across the dolly. |
"When I was a kid if anyone had told me this would happen, I would have said they were crazy," Rosasco, now 24, said, of "Turning Stones," a film based on a story that she also wrote.
The brunette beauty "stumbled" into acting when she was a fashion model.
"They (the model agency) sent me to be an extra in a movie. Later on, I was given a real part and went through the whole process," said the 2006 Mount Greylock Regional High graduate. "I was captivated! It was the only thing that gave me that feeling kids get when you give them a refrigerator box. It sets the imagination free."
When a short film in which Rosasco appeared won several awards, she decided to make acting her livelihood. "I tried bigger parts, but they were not fulfilling," she said. "I did not like the type roles that were being offered to women. I decided to write one myself."
She studied creative writing in high school and later at Tufts University and The School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
She also has a reputation for achieving her goals. "What Alexis sets her mind to, she gets," said her father, Fran Rosasco.
After writing the story, Rosasco brought it to director-producer Dan Rosario.
"We ended up writing the screenplay for 'Turning Stones,'" said Rosario adding, "Alexis is one of the most creative people I've ever met. She has the ability to see the project as it will evolve."
"Turning Stones" is the story of Rachel Ames, (the character Rosasco portrays), a famed artist preparing for an important exhibit and whose life was shaped by a traumatic event she witnessed as a child.
"It is a psychological thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock's work," said Rosasco, speaking of the legendary director of such classic films as "Psycho" and "The Birds."
Rosario has 24 years experience as a homicide detective, which he said helps in presenting the story. He also introduced Rosasco to a criminologist/psychologist, whom she interviewed seven times with reference to her character.
Rosasco was able to relate with Rachel making ready for an exhibition, as her own artwork has been in solo exhibitions in the Northeast.
"Alexis is a born artist," her mother, Pamela Rosasco, said in a telephone interview. "Even when she was very young and we took walks, she made me see the world in a different way. She pointed out things I had never noticed. She is a blessing!"
While Rosasco is still a working artist, her principal goal now is to do all she can to bring "Turning Stones" to completion and submit it to the festival circuit.
"The quality is far above what is expected from an independent film produced on an extremely low budget," director Rosario said. "Ideally, I would like to have funds like those available to Steven Spielberg, but we are among a large group of talented film makers and actors who are willing to work without much financial compensation for a chance to do what they love to do."
 Filming at Clover Hill Farm; below, a scene from the film. |
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Rosario is providing equipment, such as cameras and lights.
Certain residents of Williamstown have generously allowed their property to be used for location shots. The opening sequence of the movie was filmed at Clover Hill Farm, and the owners put up the cast and crew as well. "Mike Patten gave us an opportunity to shoot a scene in his lovely home," Rosasco said.
Before long, the Public Library and Main Street in North Adams will be sites of filming.
Rosario and director of photography Nicholas Jon Beaubien have become mentors to Rosasco.
"Alexis has grand dreams, but desire is not enough; she also has a work ethic that will take her far, even to Hollywood," Rosario said.
But being a dreamer is not easy, said Rosasco.
"When you decide to take the road less traveled you are bound to meet resistance," she said. "You've got to have the tenacity of a lion, and the skin of a rhinoceros."
Tags: backdrop, film maker, filming, MGRHS, movie,
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