Back in show business L.A. filmmakers shoot horror movie in Tuolumne County
“LA was pretty much under siege because of the virus, and the numbers were just skyrocketing. We started realizing that if the industry rallied … LA would be slower because it was a hot spot.” — Lydia Cedrone, co-founder, Tidal Wave Entertainment
A pair of filmmakers based in Los Angeles were getting deep into pre-production on their latest movie when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March and forced a change of plans that brought them to Tuolumne County for the first time in their lives.
Lydia Cedrone and Justin Lareau, co-founders of Tidal Wave Entertainment, intended to shoot their new feature film “Lantern’s Lane” entirely in LA until it became clear that they would need to find a healthier place with fewer virus cases if they wanted the production to remain on schedule.
“LA was pretty much under siege because of this virus, and the numbers were just skyrocketing,” said Cedrone, the film’s producer. “We started realizing that if the industry rallied to get back into production, LA would be slower because it was a hot spot.”
The two started scouting potential locations that would be able to resemble the film’s setting of central Illinois, a rural part of the midwest.
Cedrone said they became interested in Tuolumne County when they came across imagery of Chinese Camp and its historic buildings that harken back to the days of the 1850s Gold Rush.
“The photos you could see online looked like a snapshot in history,” Cedrone said. “We thought if we can’t find something up here, this would be crazy.”
The partners reached out to the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau and were connected with county’s film liaison Bethany
Wilkinson, who helped facilitate the shoot.
Cedrone and Lareau visited the county for two scouting trips in May and June to nail down locations for the filming that was set to begin in mid-july, during which they spoke with dozens of Realtors, private homeowners and residents.
They finally found the perfect sets in the form of two private residences in Sonora that were each on multiple acres to accommodate both indoor and outdoor scenes, as well as Steve’s Place on Tuolumne Road for a scene in a bar.
Filming began on July 24 and featured a cast of four and crew of 22 people, all of whom had to test negative for COVID-19 before leaving LA. The entire team was also tested three times weekly during filming, which was facilitated in conjunction with Adventist Health Sonora.
Union rules and COVID-19 restrictions also forced them to take precautions on set with regard to wearing masks and gloves, social distancing, twice daily temperature checks, and frequently sanitizing surfaces.
“It was extraordinarily rigid, and that will be the new way of making films from now on,” Cedrone said. “Everything will be changed.”
The cast and crew kept themselves mostly sequestered during the production that lasted through Aug. 18, with all of the filming taking place at night from about 9 p.m. to about 5 a.m.
No one tested positive throughout the production.
Cedrone and Lareau say they’re project will be one of the first independent films completed during the COVID-19 pandemic. They plan to complete post-production before the end of the year, during which they will also seek distributors for as wide of a release as possible.
“We feel really really pleased that we’re kind of at the forefront of that,” Cedrone said. “We did it. It’s not always easy but it’s doable. Everybody was healthy and has remained healthy, and that was critical to our success.”
Lareau wrote and directed the film that will serve as a new entry in the everpopular horror genre.
The plot of the film is based on an urban legend about a woman who was killed while searching for her husband in the 1800s and whose spirit is said to still haunt the real place called Lantern’s Lane in Illinois near the border of Indiana.
A group of high school friends reconnect after college while on vacation and decide to go see if the legend is true.
“They are trying to make it through the night in this place that’s remote where there is no escape and no outlet, so they have to work together in order to survive and overcome what’s in front of them,” Lareau said.
The film stars Brooke Butler, whose credits include TV shows like “Ozark” and “CSI Crime Scene Investigation,” as well as Andy Cohen, who has appeared in the TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ray Donovan,” and “NCIS.”
Robbie Allen, a Sonora native, is also featured in the film in a supporting role.
Allen, 35, who currently lives in L.A., has split his time during his adult years between Tuolumne County and Southern California while pursuing his career as an actor. He graduated from Sonora High School where he acted in several plays.
“I had never done a horror film before so this was a lot of fun,” he said. “I want to do more of them now.”
Allen said he hopes the film will spark a resurgence in Tuolumne County being used as a location for Hollywood productions, especially due to the limitations in other areas because of the ongoing pandemic.
“It could be a great way to facilitate more filming up there,” he said. “It’s a perfect way to get back in the game, basically.”
Wikipedia lists more than 200 films and TV shows that were shot in Tuolumne County mostly all before the turn of the 21st century, including hits such as “High Noon,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and “Back to the Future Part III.”
Lisa Mayo, executive director of the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau, said bringing film productions back to the county has been one of the organization’s long-term goals.
“It’s part of our history,” she said. “When I was growing up, they were filming ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ and I got to go down and meet Michael Landon, so it’s really great to see people have that renewed interest.”
“Lantern’s Lane” will be one of the first films to be entirely shot in Tuolumne County in recent memory, though Mayo said there has been heightened interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayo said they’ve had several inquiries for some pretty serious productions in recent months and are looking at the possibility of another feature-length film shooting in December.
Such productions give a boost to the local economy because crews spend money in the area for catering, hotels, and other needs, despite staying mostly isolated due to the pandemic, while also providing recognition and serving as a point of pride, Mayo said.
“People are always asking, ‘When are we going to have movies like we used to?’ I think it gives pride to the locals, as well,” she said.