Movie puts its faith, hopes in Winter Garden
By Rich McKay |Sentinel Staff Writer
June 19, 2009
Bailee Madison and Tanner Maguire rehearse a scene for the movie "Letters to God," being filmed in Winter Garden. (Ricardo Ramires Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel/ June 16, 2009)
WINTER GARDEN — It's not Hollywood, and there are no big celebrities hanging out downtown, but an Orlando production company is in town shooting a movie that promises to touch people's hearts and spread the Gospel.
Orange County's fastest-growing city is the backdrop for a new faith-based movie,
Letters to God, inspired by the true story of a boy with terminal cancer.
A Nashville construction worker, Pat Doughtie, is both the lead screenwriter and the father of Tyler, whose short life is the basis of the movie.
"He was the type of boy who loved others the way God wanted us to," his father said. "He never wanted anything for himself and was always thinking about others."
oughtie's son suffered from a fast-growing type of brain cancer, known as megaloblastoma, that was discovered as a BB-pellet-size spot near his brain stem and two weeks later was the size of a thumbnail.
He died in early 2005 at age 9 despite the best efforts of doctors at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tenn.
"When I was packing up his things, I found a notebook, and in there were, literally, letters to God," Doughtie said. "He never asked for anything for himself but was asking God to watch out for those who are left behind here on Earth."
Doughtie bought a book that explained the format of a screenplay, and in January 2007 he started writing. The story line involves a down-on-his-luck postal worker who starts reading letters to God written by a dying boy.
"That's a fictional character, but there's a lot of the real Tyler here," said Doughtie, who also serves as co-director. "The mailman thinks his life is on the skids, but he looks at the boy's family and sees how much faith they have, and he yearns for that."
Producer-director Dave Nixon, of the Orlando film company Dave Nixon Productions, was given a copy of the script about a year ago and was floored.
"I knew right away we had something here," Nixon said.
He originally wanted to film the movie in Nashville where the real story took place, but his budget was too small. "It's a $3 million movie," Nixon said.
While scouting for sites, Nixon drove through downtown
Winter Garden, saw its churches and older homes off Plant Street and knew he had found his location.
" Florida has all these wonderful old houses and neighborhoods," he said. "You can shoot any scene here except for the mountains."
For weeks, movie lights have lined a section of North Lakeview Avenue. Power cords crisscross the street, and a camera trolley rolls along aluminum tracks.
It will take about 27 days of shooting to make the 90-minute movie, which stars Tanner Maguire as Tyler and Jeffrey S.S.
Johnson as the postman. Nixon said he and his crew will be in town until mid-July.
Nixon was one of seven credited producers on the Sherwood Pictures production
Fireproof, a faith-based movie that was made on the shoestring budget of $500,000 and went on to gross $35 million.
He and his associates raised the money for the new film from like-minded Christian investors.
Nixon said he expects
Letters to God to be released by March, though he doesn't yet have a major distribution deal.
On Tuesday, the film crew was scouting out scenes at First Baptist Church of Winter Garden, and filming is expected to start there today.
"We're just all having a blast," said the Rev. Tim Grosshans, senior pastor. "A number of our members are extras and gofers and just helping out in any way we can.
"I think this movie is appropriate for our times," he said. "It's about hope, and here's a family whose son was given basically a death sentence, and they had hope in their darkest moments. I think there's a growing hunger in our country for faith."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-movie-winter-garden-061909,0,1651247.story
Letters to God Official Theatrical Trailer will be in 2000 throughout December. It's running in front of "Blind Side" the "Chipmunks," and a few other family films. If you can't catch it in a theaters, come see it on the Official Letters to God website, Facebook or YouTube site 
Behind the Scenes Update 03 featuring Give Kids the World
and Devotional 03 featuring Ryan Kirkland of Between the Trees, and Dr. Steve Brown
Last week of filming back at Stage 25 - Universal Studios
Outside stage 25 - this is the scene where one of the character's is arrested
Font of Doherty house (Stage 25)
Front of Doherty house (Winter Garden, FL)
Remember in The Chronicles of Narnia how the coat closet was the passage into Narnia
Well, the Doherty's coat closet is the passage way to Universal Studios' Sound Stage 25
Doherty house office
Doherty Living Room
Doherty Living Room
Doherty Kitchen
Doherty Kitchen
Doherty Kitchen
Brady's Apt Living Room
Brady's Apt. Kitchen
Ben's Room
Ben's Room
Tyler's Room
Tyler's Room
Patrick Doughtie (Writer/Co-director) & Tanner Maguire (Tyler)
Savanah & Heather Doughtie
Savanah Doughtie - Michael Bolten (Ben) - Bailee Madison (Sam)
Director, David Nixon - D.P., Bob Scott - 1st A.D., Al Minott
Asst. Editor Ryan King & Director of Photography Bob Scott
The class welcomes back Tyler
The class welcomes back Tyler
Doherty House
37 foot camera crane
37 foot camera crane
RedCam mounted to 37 foot camera crane
Animal Actor, Fred, who plays Rooster
Director of Photography, Bob Scott, setting up to shoot one of the
Crowded around the on-set edit suit for review of scene 13 at the Universal Studio's Stage 25.
Fully loaded RedCam on a Chapman Dolly
Finnegan's Bar & Grill - Universal Studios New York St.
The film crew inside Finnigan's Bar, atmosphere made with a smoke machine
From left to right: Patrick Tyler (Editor), Ryan King (Assistant Editor),
B-Marker
My friend, Doug Weiss, serving as production assistant on set
RedCamera (without the lens), Dolly Track, and Champman Camera Dolly
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