Those who enjoyed last year’s “Night of Lights” celebration on Nov. 27 may recall a very special emcee, Michael Harrelson. Michael is an award-winning actor known for his trademark voice. He was recently nominated for the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award.

Carlsbad apparently made quite an impression on Michael. This week, he came back to town with a film producer named Shelby Elwood.

Shelby and her husband are the co-founders of Cobrainey Media Partners, a narrative/documentary film company. She’s also the co-founder of Panache Productions, which specializes in performance and event productions.

One of her projects is “Write What You Know,” which is about an author who persuades a petty criminal to join him in researching a manuscript’s background.  It’s being developed into a feature film starring Don Most (Happy Days) and Patrick Cox (Aquaman).

Shelby visited Carlsbad this past week to look at potential film locations for several projects. Michael came with her. She was very impressed by what she saw in the area. Keep your eyes open – there may be a casting call or two coming up soon.

Special thanks to Dianne Joop, Glenn Castleberry and other members of the community who assisted Shelby with their visit.

Additionally, former Carlsbad resident Ricky Garcia is also working on a movie of his own, which may be filmed in the Carlsbad area. His screenplay is based on true live events – he says it was inspired by a blind wrestler he competed against in Roswell.  He knew at that moment he wanted to be involved in teaching or coaching. This later inspired Ricky to coach at the Arizona School for the Blind and Deaf. 

The name of his screenplay is “A Wrestler’s Dance,” and he says it’s a love story through the eyes of a deaf wrestler and choreographer. The main character loses his mother in a tragic accident and has to deal with numerous challenges, included a deadbeat father. Ricky said he and his wife, Bellzora, have already received a lot of interest in the film. They are working with Joop and others on developing this into a film.  We will keep you posted on these exciting opportunities in Carlsbad. 

From the office of Mayor Dale Janway