'Tan Lines' - The Movie

A scene being shot at Louisville Boat Club, for the independent film, "Tan Lines."

There’s an independent film that just finished shooting here in town, and while the majority of the world likely will never see it, there’s a slight chance that it could become the darling of Sundance, perhaps the next “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” or “Sideways.” I had hoped to catch a glimpse of some of the shooting, alas it's already wrapped. Josh Hopkins from “Cougar Town,” has the lead (Trivia Factoid: his sister hired me for a job at a local PBS affiliate), and is joined by actors Cameron Monaghan, Alexie Gilmore, Billy Magnussen and Dash Mihok, among others.

Actor Josh Hopkins (right) of ABC's "Cougar Town," talks with director Tim Kirkman during a break from shooting the film "Tan Lines."

The film, “Tan Lines,” was written by Louisville native James Markert, and focuses on a local tennis pro who is fired from an exclusive country club in town for bad behavior. He then gets a job at the local public tennis facility, coaching a diverse group of misfits. He whips the players into shape and challenges players from the country club to a match. Producer Gil Holland, also a Louisvillian, calls it the “Bad News Bears” of tennis.

Holland, a Hollywood producer who married a local gal and set up shop here, is really making a name for himself. In addition to bringing film companies to town, he has helped spearhead the development of Louisville’s NuLu district. Situated on Market Street, this up-and-coming neighborhood features art galleries, dining, retail shops and all-around funkiness, with a strong sustainability focus. The man is on a mission and, of course, it helps that his wife is the daughter of a very old Louisville family, the Browns. As in Brown-Forman Corporation. The folks who own Korbel, Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve, Finladia, just for starters. So, Gil has some backing, that’s all I’m sayin’.

Anyhoo, I think it’s fun when a movie is being filmed in your town and you can catch a glimpse of the actors or the film set. When Cameron Crowe filmed “Elizabethtown” here a few years ago, I saw him in a local restaurant and some of my coworkers saw Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom out and about. The movie was a stinker, but it was fun to see my hometown on film.

So, if you hear about “Tan Lines” next year, remember you got the scoop from me first, who actually heard it from my local newspaper and a Website or two. ;)

And, for those of you who may have heard about the tornadoes that touched down in and around Louisville last night, rest assured that no one was injured. Amazingly, it struck at Churchill Downs and Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, the later of which my daughter had visited during a camp field trip earlier in the day. A couple of barns at Churchill were heavily damaged, a roof torn off of one, but thankfully no horses were hurt. Today's racing is cancelled, though, due to the damage at the track, as well as the surrounding area. We were actually at the pool earlier in the evening, enjoying an after-work swim. The winds started to pick up while we were having dinner, although the sun was still out, so we packed up and headed home. Not too long after that, the tornado sirens went off. Very lucky, weren't we?

It's Thursday, folks. We're almost there!
Images and sources from The Courier-Journal, insiderlouisville.com and indiewire.com