Local Talent Productions

NEWS - Updated 10/14/07

SONLIGHT'S FORGIVEN STORYBOARDS COMPLETED

Over at LTP's sister company, Sonlight Pictures has completed the storyboards for their new short film called Forgiven.

The story of Forgiven unfolds as a young woman on the way to join a convent finds herself caught in a hostage situation and must decide whether she can forgive her assailants, no matter how abusive they become.

Below is an example of some of the storyboards...

NEWS - Updated 08/03/07

SONLIGHT'S FORGIVEN SCREENPLAY COMPLETED

Over at LTP's sister company, Sonlight Pictures has completed the screenplay for their new short film called Forgiven.

Sonlight Pictures Forgiven. Sonlight Pictures will begin its entry into edgy Christian fare starting with this intense short film in the hopes of raising awareness and money for a feature film scheduled to shoot in 2008/2009.

The story of Forgiven unfolds as a young woman on the way to join a convent finds herself caught in a hostage situation and must decide whether she can forgive her assailants, no matter how abusive they become.

Next steps include budget, casting, acquiring a crew and the critical locations.

NEWS - Updated 04/04/07

SONLIGHT'S FORGIVEN

Over at LTP's sister company, Sonlight Pictures will begin its entry into edgy Christian fare starting with an intense short film called Forgiven.

The story unfolds as a young woman on the way to join a convent finds herself caught in a hostage situation and must decide whether she can forgive her assailants, no matter how abusive they become.

This script is in development and should be completed by summer 2007. At that point we'll budget, cast and shoot as soon as possible.

NEWS - Updated 01/19/07

WRITERS WRITE!

Local Talent founder, Pete Bauer, has been very busy on the writing side. He completed the fourth and, hopefully, last re-write of the Christian thriller called Severed for LTPs sister company Sonlight Pictures.

He's also recently re-worked three other secular feature screenplays... one is called One View Only and another is his personal ode to Hitchcock called Cold Storage. He's also finishing up converting an old-style seven part serial script he wrote called The Demon Files into a fast-paced sci-fi feature thriller.

Bauer will continue his writing frenzy by working on a comedy script called The Flu, a kids film called The Adventures of Gabby Wells and a vampire flick called Redemption, which will also be produced by Sonlight Pictures.

Bauer plans to shoot Severed in 2007/2008.

NEWS - Updated 09/08/06

SCRIPTING OVER AT SONLIGHT!

Local Talent founder, Pete Bauer, has been working hard over at our sister production company, Sonlight Pictures. Bauer recently finished the action script called Severed and a re-write of a vampire flick called Redemption, both of which will be produced by Sonlight Pictures.

NOTE: The Flu picture was created using clipart and is not intended to represent
any actor committed to the project.

Bauer continues his writing frenzy by working on a comedy script called The Flu and a kids film called The Adventures of Gabby Wells, which will also be produced by Sonlight Pictures.

NEWS - Updated 08/12/06

LTP FOUNDER FINISHES BOOK!

Things have been a little quiet on the Local Talent front these past few months as LTP Founder Pete Bauer recently completed writing a memoir called Goin' Out to Cally, a true story about a memorable and funny road trip he took to California in the summer of 1988. He was on a deadline to complete the memoir and convert it into a book in time for his mother's 80th birthday, which was celebrated in July. His mom was greatly surprised to receive this unique gift.

This book is not currently available to the public.

Because of Bauer's Cally efforts, he is late on getting cast and crew their copy of the new re-edit of The Box and sends his apologies. He'll have it out soon.

Bauer has also in the works on rewriting a feature script called Severed for LTP's sister company Sonlight Pictures. Severed is an action Christian film about of a group of people in an office who find themselves trapped in a basement of the building while terrorists search the complex for critical information. The main characters find themselves severed from the rest of the world as they try to overcome their fear and escape this seemingly impossible situation. You can follow that film's progress over at Sonlight Pictures.

NEWS - Updated 5/30/06

THE BOX RE-EDIT IS COMPLETE!

Writer/Director Pete Bauer finally took on the task of performing a re-edit of The Box in an attempt to tighten the story. Bauer had always been bothered with the length of the original release. He stated:

"At the time when it was completed, I put it together the way I intended, but I felt it was too long. I was too close to the project to view it objectively, so I called it a wrap and moved on.

My mindset with the re-edit was to cut absolutely everything that wasn't 100% critical to the story. No fluff. No excessive character development beyond what is required for the story to move forward. Granted, that was my goal the first time, but my perception of the definition of "required" has changed the farther I got away from the film.

My goal was to cut it down by 30 minutes... I got almost half way there. I was able to remove over 12 minutes from the film, mostly from the first half of the film and reshuffled some scenes around to shorten the time it takes the info to get relayed and for better impact of the character arcs. I will say that this re-edited mix moves much faster and improves it quite a bit. And subsequent screenings have been extremely positive."

Bauer intends to redistribute this tightened version of the film to cast and crew as well as submit it to other film festivals.

NEWS - Updated 4/21/06

LTP FOUNDER GETS THE SPOTLIGHT!

Tampa Film Fan website by Lisa Ciurro spotlighted Sonlight Pictures founder Pete Bauer. You can check out her website or read her spotlight below:

In The Spotlight: Local Filmmaker Pete Bauer
I recently had a chance to learn a little bit about local filmmaker, writer and jack-of-all-trades Pete Bauer. Bauer has written over fourteen screenplays, two of which have won awards. He's written and directed a number of projects on both film and video, including a short called Justice, which won six awards at the Saints and Sinners Film Festival, and the feature The Box, which screened at the TamBay Film Festival.

A UF graduate who has acted professionally in regional theater, film, television and radio, Bauer has a Real Job as a global IT manager for a local multi-billion dollar company, but his passion has always been filmmaking. A self-described "Hitchcock nut" who finds inspiration in DePalma and Spielberg, he admits to "a guilty pleasure appreciation for Michael Bay's style over substance approach."

Bauer had a book published of interviews with ten filmmakers involved in the "microcinema revoluation" when digital filmmaking was starting about five years ago. Originally titled 20 Questions:The Interview Series, his book is at a new publisher and is being re-released as The Microcinema Revolution. He hopes to follow up with more books, depending on the success of the re-release.

His microcinema efforts in the secular realm are produced through his company Local Talent Productions. His faith-based projects are handled at Sonlight Pictures. Bauer thinks that the "Christian film market is very under-utilized, mainly because the products have been low in quality, overly preachy and no one has found the right business model to effectively fill content in that niche market."

Bauer describes his blog Surviving in Safety Harbor as "a pretty effective overview of my personality...a lot of film, a lot of faith, with a dose of sarcasm layered with my opinion." Considering himself a writer first and a director second, Bauer started his blog in August to get back to writing and promised himself he'd post a daily entry for at least a year.

Bauer's current projects include a draft of an action/suspense thriller with Christian themes called Severed and a secular thriller called Mute. He says he is "trying to merge my love of Hitchcock and Spielberg with my faith. Don't know if the mixture will end up tasting like a fine wine or moonshine, but I'm giving it a shot."

NEWS - Updated 1/19/06

THE QUILL'S ON FIRE

Even though the updates have been light, activity has not slowed down here at Local Talent Productions. Founder, Pete Bauer, is nearing the end of a first draft of a action/thriller called Severed for our sister production company Sonlight Pictures. We'll have more info once the draft is complete.

NEWS - Updated 12/03/05

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I was cleaning up some files and came across an old web entry I had made about my first trip to the American Film Market back in 2000.

I was there to help promote the independent feature called Ready, Willing & Able which I wrote with the director, Jenni Gold. Our distributor was able to secure international distribution, but no domestic screenings for the 35mm film.

You can read the humorous trials and tribulations on this old journal entry located in our Archives section by clicking HERE.

You can also watch the Trailer for Ready, Willing & Able by clicking HERE.
Sunset at Santa Monica Pier

NEWS - Updated 10/31/05

HOME THEATER PROJECT FINALLY COMPLETED!

The finished Entertainment Center. 106 inches of
high definition projected goodness.
After 10 months of design and construction, the Home Theater project has finally come to an end. Bauer, along with JUSTICE actor, Bill Church, worked actively for the past four months to convert Bauer's home office into a home theater. The theater includes:
- A mini-concessions stand/candy rack with DVD storage.
- A mosaic tile of the Local Talent logo.
- An entertainment center with a 106 inch pull down movie screen.
- A built-in desk.
- And a riser for two-level seating.
The biggest delay was getting the carpet installed. I still have a lot of organizing to do to put my office back in order, but its nice to have the majority of it completed. The final piece of the puzzle will be getting recliners and other seating in place, but that will be a few months from now. For now, we will just use what is available in our house.

We broke the theater in by watching football over the weekend and the move THE OTHERS as part of Halloween weekend.

You can check out more pics of the completed project on our Home Theater Page.

NEWS - Updated 09/22/05

THE BOX GETS ANOTHER GOOD REVIEW!

The Box has garnered another positive review from one of my favorite review sites at Cold Fusion Reviews. Nathan Shumate's humorous style to reviewing is very refreshing. Check out the review here.

And don't forget that you can purchase the DVD for their critically acclaimed DV feature The Box for as low as $4.99 (+ S&H). The project which one critic called "Some of the best filmmaking I've seen on the micro level" is a drama about a girl who accidentally brings home a box of genetically engineered contagion into her stormy home life.

Don't wait! Order a copy today!

Just click on our Local Talent Store link for more details!

NEWS - Updated 09/21/05

HOME THEATER PROJECT NEARING COMPLETION!

The Entertainment Center.
Bauer, along with friend and JUSTICE actor, Bill Church, near completion of the major construction for Bauer's Home Theater project.
- The mini-concessions stand/candy rack and DVD storage are is complete.
- The mosaic tile is complete.
- The base of the entertainment center is 100% complete.
- The built-in desk is 95% complete.
- And other areas are almost done.
We'll finish up until after the carpet is installed.

You can read more about this ambitious project on the Home Theater Page.

NEWS - Updated 09/08/05

BAUER'S BEEN BLOGGERNOCKERED!

Pete Bauer, founder of Local Talent Productions, has been assimilated into the BLOG collective. Bauer set a goal of writing a daily update to his blog for one full year. If you want to hear the echoed ramblings occurring inside Bauer's vacuous head, feel free to drop by and Blog to your heart's content.

You can access the blog at his blog site titled: Surviving in Safety Harbor.

NEWS - Updated 08/25/05

THE BUSINESS TRIP DVD IS FINALIZED!

The DVD of Local Talent Productions light-hearted suspense short film The Business Trip has been completed. Copies are being sent to cast and crew as we speak. The premiere was originally supposed to occur in Bauer's finalized Home Theater. However, that project is taking longer than anticipated.

The cast is led by Brian Shea and Colleen McDonnell. Shea, who appeared in Local Talent Productions previous project The Box, portrays Scott Markson, the weary traveller. McDonnell, another veteran local actor, plays Nicole Saunders, the blind date with a silencer. You can read more detail about the project at The Business Trip website. Check out the Behind-the-Scenes pics and Screenshots.

We hope to make the DVD available in our Local Talent Store soon.

NEWS - Updated 08/25/05

HOME THEATER PROJECT CONTINUES!

Bauer continues his work on his home theater project. The project includes a built-in entertainment center with 108" movie screen, a built-in mini-concession stand/candy rack and shelving for DVD storage. Also included is a built-in desk with bookshelves. In the back will have a riser with two recliners, a loveseat and a stand for the projector.

The entertainment center section in the early stages
of being assembled. All handmade out of oak.

You can read more about this ambitious project on the Home Theater Page.

NEWS - Updated 07/11/05

HOME THEATER PROJECT CONTINUES!

As we work on completing the pre-distribution phase of The Business Trip, Bauer is filling his time working on this home theater. The project includes a built-in entertainment center with 108" movie screen, a built-in mini-concession stand with DVD storage. A built-in desk with bookshelves. A riser with two recliners, a loveseat and a stand for the projector.

You can read more about this ambitious project on the Home Theater Page.

NEWS - Updated 06/20/05

THE BUSINESS TRIP EDIT IS COMPLETE!

Writer/Director Pete Bauer of Local Talent Productions completed the final edit on the light-hearted suspense short film The Business Trip. Next up Bauer must complete the DVD cover and marketing material as well as start entering the project into festivals. We'll have more on that as the information becomes available.

The cast is led by Brian Shea and Colleen McDonnell. Shea, who appeared in Local Talent Productions previous project The Box, portrays Scott Markson, the weary traveller. McDonnell, another veteran local actor, plays Nicole Saunders, the blind date with a silencer. You can read more detail about the project at The Business Trip website. Check out the Behind-the-Scenes pics and Screenshots.

NEWS - Updated 05/24/05

THE BUSINESS TRIP SHOOTING WRAPS!

The cast and crew of Local Talent Productions next project, the light-hearted suspense short film The Business Trip, completed an exhausting 14 hour shoot day to complete the 23 page project in record time. Editing has already commenced and we hope to complete the project in the next few weeks.

The cast is led by Brian Shea and Colleen McDonnell. Shea, who appeared in Local Talent Productions previous project The Box, will portray Scott Markson, the weary traveller. McDonnell, a veteran local actor, has happily joined the project and will play Nicole Saunders, the blind date with a silencer. You can read more about the project at The Business Trip website. Check out the Behind-the-Scenes pics and Screenshots.

NEWS - Updated 4/26/05
THE BUSINESS TRIP HOLDS READ THRU

The cast of Local Talent Productions next project, the light-hearted suspense short film The Business Trip, met Monday, April 25th at writer/director Pete Bauer's house. The cast and crew read through the script numerous times, discussed shot selection, prop and costume requirements and scheduled the shoot for May 15th-16th, with a backup day of May 22nd.

Brian Shea
Colleen McDonnell

The cast is led by Brian Shea and Colleen McDonnell. Shea, who appeared in Local Talent Productions previous project The Box, will portray Scott Markson, the weary traveller. McDonnell, a veteran local actor, has happily joined the project and will play Nicole Saunders, the blind date with a silencer. You can read more about the project at The Business Trip website.

NEWS - Updated 4/05/05
LOCAL TALENT BASKS IN THE SONLIGHT!

The founders of Local Talent Productions have created a sister company called Sonlight Pictures in an effort to fill the growing void in Christian faith-based entertainment and educational works that enlightens the mind, ignites the soul and inspires the heart.

Sonlight Pictures has an aggressive plan, starting with small commercials and educational material, then moving into television shows and feature films. The foundation of this company is to fulfill a growing passion in founder Pete Bauer's heart to use his creative energies in conjunction with his deep faith. Local Talent Productions will continue to develop microcinema entertainment of a secular nature.

First on the slate this year are two to three commercials for the Roman Catholic Church. These commericials will be available for Catholic Churches to use for advertisement purposes. The commercials will be followed by a variety of educational projects designed to entertain and enlighten people on the great history, rituals and sacrements of the Roman Catholic faith.

NEWS - Updated 3/16/05
THE BUSINESS TRIP ITINERARY ALMOST COMPLETE

Local Talent Productions next project, the light-hearted suspense short film The Business Trip is deep into pre-production. Casting is almost complete and a location has been secured. Now, writer/director Pete Bauer is in the process of storyboarding the short to take advantage of the floorplan of the location.

The story revolves around a bored business traveller who takes the identity of his corporate apartment's previous tenant, only to find himself the target of a beautiful Hitman... errr, Hit Person.

This short is second part of a triology of shorts dealing with Hitmen. The first part of the triology was Local Talent's first project, the short Raw Footage. The last short of the trilogy is an as-of-yet unproduced film called 10 Reasons about a Hitman who offers his target life if they can come up with ten reasons why they should live.

We'll have more details on this new project as they become available.

NEWS - Updated 3/16/05
LOCAL TALENT HOME THEATER PROJECT BEGINS

Pete Bauer, founder of Local Talent Productions, is in the process of converting his once-spacious office into a home theater. The devil is in the details, as they say, and defining exactly how the theater will eventually be designed has been an evolving process. But work has begun in earnest and Bauer can't wait to sit comfortably in his own movie theater watching his favorite films with family and friends.

You can see pics of the progress of the project and other info on our Home Theater Page.

NEWS - Updated 2/23/05
LIVE ALLIGATOR WRESTLING ENDS

Cast and Godwins
Cast (L to R): Michael Wiley, Susan Alexander and Pete Bauer
were joined by Owen Godwin, Jr. and family! The cast and crew, along with Local Talent Productions founder Pete Bauer, who was pulled out of his self-imposed theater acting retirement to perform in a local one-act called Live Alligator Wrestling, ended their run this past weekend. Bauer, who acted professionally for over 5 years before moving behind the camera, was last seen on the Tampa Bay stage 13 years ago in a production of Taming of the Shrew. Bauer received a call from a dear old friend, Wrestling's director Roz Potenza, who convinced him to participate in the one-act.

Live Alligator Wrestling is the semi-autobiographical account of Owen and Pearl Godwin, the husband and wife team that founded the popular Gatorland tourist attraction in Orlando, Florida. Bauer plays Owen in the play and has had a blast during the run of the show.

The cast and crew were surprised and honored to discover that Owen Godwin Jr., the son of the main character of the play, was in attendance for our last performance, along with his beatiful wife and daughter. Everyone was honored to meet Mr. Godwin Jr. We were happy to discover he thoroughly enjoyed the play... even the parts that stretched the truth a bit. He said the play represents the legend of his father more than the reality, but he enjoyed the show and spent quite some time with the cast afterwards, much to everyone's delight.

The reviews have been great for Live Alligator Wrestling. The Weekly Planet calls the play "beautifully written" and calls the acting of Pete Bauer and Susan Alexander "superb." The St. Pete Times calls the play "quietly poignant" and Bauer and Alexander "wonderful."

You can read the complete reviews on the Local Talent Review page.

You can also see more Live Alligator Wrestling Pics pics.

NEWS - Updated 2/16/05
LOCAL TALENT TAKES A BUSINESS TRIP

Local Talent Productions has named The Business Trip as their next project. The short was originally written four years ago and was recently pulled from the script archives. The short is something the crew at LTP hopes to shoot in a single weekend in order to hone their skills in preparation for future, bigger projects.

The story revolves around a bored business traveller who takes the identity of his corporate apartment's previous tenant, only to find himself the target of a beautiful Hitman... errr, Hit Person.

This short is second part of a triology of shorts dealing with Hitmen. The first part of the triology was Local Talent's first project, the short Raw Footage. The last short of the trilogy is an as-of-yet unproduced film called 10 Reasons about a terminally ill Hitman who offers his last target life if they can come up with ten reasons why they should live.

We'll have more details on this new project as they become available.

NEWS - Updated 2/15/05
BUY THE BOX DVD FOR $5!

Local Talent Productions is happy to announce you can now purchase the DVD for their critically acclaimed DV feature The Box for as low as $4.99 (+ S&H). The project which one critic called "Some of the best filmmaking I've seen on the micro level" is a drama about a girl who accidentally brings home a box of genetically engineered contagion into her stormy home life.

Don't wait! Order a copy today!

Just click on our Local Talent Store link for more details!

NEWS - Updated 2/08/05
BAUER PULLED OUT OF RETIREMENT

Local Talent Productions founder Pete Bauer was pulled out of his self-imposed theater acting retirement and will perform in a local one-act called Live Alligator Wrestling. Bauer, who acted professionally for over 5 years before moving behind the camera, was last seen on the Tampa Bay stage 13 years ago in a production of Taming of the Shrew. Bauer received a call from a dear old friend, Wrestling's director Roz Potenza, who convinced him to participate in the one-act.

The reviews are starting to come in and the response has been great for Live Alligator Wrestling. The Weekly Planet calls the play "beautifully written" and calls the acting of Pete Bauer and Susan Alexander "superb." The St. Pete Times calls the play "quietly poignant" and Bauer and Alexander "wonderful."

You can read the complete reviews on the Local Talent Review page.

Live Alligator Wrestling is the semi-autobiographical account of Owen and Pearl Godwin, the husband and wife team that founded the popular Gatorland tourist attraction in Florida. Bauer plays Owen in the play and has had a blast burning off the cobwebs of his acting chops. In the end, he just hopes he doesn't embarrass himself, his wife or his family.

If you're in the area, stop by. You can purchase tickets at the Ruth Eckerd Hall website.

� Pete Bauer 2000-Present