Arizona-based comedy is in theaters, streaming
Napoleon Dynamite lead Jon Heder probably never thought he’d play a dad in a film in Arizona, let alone doing these things during a pandemic.
But Arizona-based filmmaker Adam White invited Heder to take part in his newest film. And for 12 days in January of 2021, Heder — along with a 40-person cast and crew — filmed Pitch White Entertainment’s newest holiday romantic comedy, “Funny Thing About Love” in Morrison Ranch in Gilbert.
The independent film is now playing at Harkins Theatres nationwide. The film is also available for purchase on Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, iTunes and YouTube.
Heder’s character in the film doesn’t have much in common with the awkward teenager who yelled at llamas in “Napoleon Dynamite.” Heder plays a role more in line with who he is now: A husband and a dad to four kids.
“I got to be a completely opposite character other than I’m obsessed with Star Wars and GI Joe and Thundercats and that’s about it,” Heder said. This guy’s got a healthy outlook on life and family and I’m not sure Napoleon would be in that same boat.”
What’s ‘Funny Thing About Love?’
“Funny Thing About Love” invites movie-goers into a Hallmark holiday movie-esque Thanksgiving holiday fiasco where fashionista and entrepreneur Samantha Banks (Summer Bellessa) brings her fiance (Studio C’s Jason Gray) home for the holidays. Things get interesting when Samantha’s ex-boyfriend (stand-up comedian Kevan Moezzi) shows up for the holiday festivities too.
The PG-rated, 90-minute romantic comedy is made for the whole family, White said.
“This is my love letter to Thanksgiving,” White said. “A traditional, typical Thanksgiving holiday romantic comedy? That hasn’t been explored. Everything we’re doing, I’m the first one to do it in a rom-com. my hope is that this spreads like wildfire where people say, ‘hey, finally refreshing comedy that’s family-friendly, but also really funny.’”
So who is Adam White?
White, originally from Gilbert, grew up around film. His dad showed him how to use a camcorder when he was just 11.
His older brother died in a car crash right before starting his first year of film school at UCLA, but White followed in those unfinished steps 10 years later. Though he was a college basketball player and had two kids at the time, White enrolled in film school at Brigham Young University.
“I would write scripts all the time, and I thought, ‘you know,’ I’m really going to do this,’ and I quit basketball and went to film school.”
Though White ultimately graduated from Arizona State University with a business degree, he resumed his interest in film soon after. Once he’d volunteered on several film sets, made a few short films and produced his first feature film, “Inspired Guns,” White started his own independent film company, Pitch White Entertainment, in 2014.
His vision was simple: To create entertaining, mainstream movies that were also family-friendly. After moving to Gilbert in 2018, White decided to make his first Arizona-based film.
It was October of 2019. His wife had started another Hallmark movie marathon — and White was tired of the three months of holiday romances.
“One day I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to make one that’s better,” White said. “‘I’m going to make a Hallmarkstyle movie that I’ll want to watch with my wife. And that meant way more comedy.”
Though White started writing the script that fall, he didn’t finish it until the start of the pandemic in March 2020 when he knocked it out in three weeks. That began months of zoom auditions, recruiting a crew and preparing for the shoot. The movie was filmed in Arizona and shot in only 12 days.
“If anyone got COVID, the event would have been shut down per the
Screen Actors Guild,” White said. “The longer you go, the more risk there is to exposure, so we thought, ‘We’ll only risk it for 12 days and hopefully get it all done.”
Familiar faces and names in the cast
The cast and crew came together organically. Produced by twin brothers Adam and Donovan Montierth, White said he recruited an entirely Arizonabased film crew. The cast quickly followed.
Studio C, American Idol and “Napoleon Dynamite” are only a few of these actors’ previous projects.
Bellessa came first. Originally from Chicago, Bellessa has modeled in fashion capitals around the world including Paris, New York and Tokyo. She’s worked with brands like Target, Clairol and Glamour magazine. Bellessa also started the fashion publication, Eliza magazine, in addition to working in film and television.
Her role as Samantha Banks, a fashion entrepreneur in the film, fit her reallife perfectly.
“When I got the script, I was like, ‘Wait, did you add this stuff? Did you do this on purpose?’ And they didn’t,” Bellessa said. “Adam just wrote it.”
Next came her real-life best friend, Brooke White, who plays the character’s best friend, Annie Banks. White, who is also a folk-pop singer, placed fifth on American Idol’s seventh season. Bellessa and Brooke auditioned on zoom together and Adam White immediately cast them.
Heder was next on board. Brooke White had featured Heder in one of her music videos, so soon after, Adam White invited Heder to audition for the film.
“I was ready to get out and do some work,” Heder said. “and Brooke just texted me and just said, ‘hey take a look at this script, do you want to do this? And I was like, ‘sure.’”
Heder stars as Bellassa’s brother in the film, Charlie Banks.
The rest of the cast includes Grey, Moezzi, “Northern Exposure’s” Barry Corbin, and Pat Finn, best known for his Toyota commercials.
The film is for everyone in the family, Bellessa said, from grandparents to kids to the movie-goer just looking for a good laugh.
“With all the heavy stuff going on in the world, I hope it just gives 90 minutes of fun and you can laugh and have fun and enjoy your family.”