Playing the attempted rape victim in the independent film "A Commentary" hit close to home for Fairfax Station resident Kristine Kelly. After dealing with her share of stalkers and creeps over the years, and particularly an incident with a stalker at Ithaca College in New York, she was reluctant to put herself in that position. But up-and-coming actresses have to be prepared to take risks.
"That was a challenging one," Kelly said. "I saw it as a form of therapy."
Kelly's on the cutting edge of a local trend that paints the D.C. metropolitan area as a new, fertile ground in the film industry. Gone are the days when every movie, commercial or television special was filmed on the back lot of studios in Hollywood, Calif. Filming on location in this area is cheaper, and with all the advancements in video equipment, almost anyone can make a movie.
As a 21-year-old who grew up in Fairfax Station and first honed her stage presence at Hayfield Secondary School, Kelly has found suburban Washington, D.C., to be a haven for stardom. She's been in movies, commercials, public service announcements, television shows and modeling spots. "A Commentary" is an independent film that is currently making the rounds at film festivals around the country.
KELLY LEARNED a great deal working on "A Commentary" — including how to handle firearms. The role required her to shoot her attacker. Kelly's father, a former D.C. policeman, gave her a crash course with the pistol.
"My dad took me to West Virginia to practice with a gun," she said. "For the male lead, they ended up casting the guy I was dating. So I felt comfortable shooting him."
Recently, Kelly starred on the local reality show "Elimidate." Channel WB50 first aired the episode on April 14 and will repeat it on April 28. Kelly got a chance to see the show's version of "reality."
"It's completely staged, even though they call it a reality show," she said. "I didn't know it was scripted before this. I even knew who I wasn't going to chose."
The premise of the show was similar to "The Dating Game," popular in the 1960s. It was filmed in Baltimore. Kelly was blindfolded until the men came out and then went through a question-and-answer period before she made the choice.
The camera started rolling at 2 p.m., and work didn't finish until 4 a.m.
"They kept feeding me drink after drink," Kelly said, of her staged date. "I picked the guy who was the most laid-back."
Although the couple didn't have a real date as the show implied, in real life, they seemed to hit it off.
"We are talking about a second date," Kelly said. "We're good friends now." Her idea of a second date will be with mutual friends too, easing the pressure of being alone.
"The producer calls from time to time to see if we went out again," Kelly said.
ALTHOUGH KELLY isn't on first-name basis with the cast of "Friends," Kelly is living the jet-set life, going to California and New York on a regular basis, as well as flying out to Hawaii in the near future for a dietary supplement commercial. She gets paid for all of her appearances. "The Recruit," by Touchtone Pictures, was filmed in Union Station in Washington, D.C., and is in theaters now. She played a traveler alongside Al Pacino and Colin Farrell. Getting the part in "Spider-Man" was a case of being in the right place at the right time. Kelly and some friends from Ithaca were hanging out at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, with her feet in the stars' footprint molds, when they were spotted by a casting agent.
"We knew they were shooting that film there," Kelly said. "I was with some friends from Ithaca." Next thing they knew, they were extras for the movie.
Other screen events Kelly has appeared in include "America's Most Wanted;" the local cable special "Wasted," filmed at the Firehouse Grill in Fairfax; smoking and drinking public service announcements; a Fairfax County Police training film; two episodes of "West Wing"; and a Showtime special "Beard Off."
One star-like attribute she has is an agent, Sandy Kolar, whom she recently signed up with. Kolar owns "Dazzling Stars," a talent agency in Baltimore.
"She's an exceptional woman," Kolar said. "She takes this career seriously. It has to be your passion."
Kolar pointed out the type of films popular in the D.C. area are "industrials," which can be corporate, training or educating films.
"There are major motion pictures filmed in the metropolitan area. In five years, New York is going to have competition. 'Blair Witch' did it," Kolar said. "The Blair Witch Project" was a block buster, independent film set and filmed in Burkittsville, Md.
"BLAIR WITCH" filmmaker Ed Sanchez got his break at the Rosebud Film Festival in Arlington. It's the equivalent of Canne's Film Festival for this area.
"He won a Rosebud in the 1990s," said Rosebud co-director Chris Griffin.
Kelly worked on the set of one film at this year's Rosebud Festival called "Undiscovered," which is about a new writer.
Burke resident Mike Fisher won a Rosebud a few years ago and has a film entered in this year's competition as well called "A City of Flimjees." Fisher is a full-time animator for local news productions and does all his Rosebud films in animation as well.
"All sorts of film editing software is available," Fisher said. "More people are able to do it. It's just loads of fun. I do it at home late at night. I try to stay on a schedule of one a year."
Fisher's sent his films to festivals around the country, and he won an award in a festival in Montana last year. When he won the Rosebud for his film "They Ruled the World," he didn't even think he had a chance and showed up on award night by chance.
"I ended up winning an award, for me it was the same excitement as an Oscar," he said.
Griffin remembered that film.
"These robots ended up invading a bathroom," Griffin said.
The independent film movement, known around the circuit as "indy films," is one venue for the up-and-coming talent in the area, Kolar thinks.
"'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' was supposed to be an indy film," she said.
The Rosebud Festival is a haven for independent films. Kelly's gotten some parts in indy films as well. "Chasing The Rabbit," is an indy being produced by a Lake Braddock Secondary School alumni, Tim Vogel. The story line concerns a guy returning home to find his high-school friends still in the same place as when he left.
Next week, an interview with Tim Vogel and a visit to the set of "Chasing the Rabbit" and a public service announcement filmed in Alexandria.