Hope’s Wish becomes a movie

The most any of us can wish for is to leave this world a better place for our having been in it. Soon the world will know how 12-year-old Hope Stout left this world a better place when she died of cancer in 2003. Her inspirational story is the subject of a feature-length film to be shot in the Charlotte region during December and January.

Before she dies Hope Stout stated her ‘wish’ to the Make a Wish foundation was

for the 155 other children on the waiting list for the foundation would receive their

wish.  Hope’s story and efforts raised over $1.1M to grant those wishes before she

passed.

The cameras will start rolling at Bank of America Stadium during the Panther’s home game Dec. 8. Hundreds of local crew members will be hired, including some who will film Charlotte streetscapes for the movie’s holiday segments. Filming will be on hiatus over the holidays and resume in mid-January when the more dramatic segments will be shot. Pre-production, which has begun, editing and finishing all will be done in Charlotte. Joanne Hock, co-founder of Charlotte-based Emulsion Arts, has written the original script. The cast, including some well-known stars, will be announced in a few weeks.

When Rick Eldridge, president and CEO of The Film Foundry, a Charlotte-based film production company, and head of Independent Producers Alliance (IPA), moved back to Charlotte 13 years ago, he was determined to help build the regional industry and support local film community any way he could.

“Although I can’t shoot every film here, I try to as much as possible,” Eldridge said. His current release “Running the Sahara,” which he co-produced with Matt Damon, was filmed in Africa. “However, this is very much a Charlotte story. The people of Charlotte who rallied around Hope and her wish are the same people who have rallied around the film. And the movie will let the world know how thousands of people were touched by Hope’s wish that Charlotte’s Make-A-Wish Foundation grant the wishes of all 155 of the other terminally ill children on its list.”

Beth Petty, director of the Charlotte Regional Film Commission, said that Charlotte has all the locations and talent needed for this project. Petty leveraged those assets to recruit movies, such as “The Patriot,” “Talladega Nights” and “Leatherheads,” among others.

“We are very appreciative of Rick Eldridge, Bert Hesse, Joanne Hock and all the other film industry professionals who have chosen to call Charlotte home,” Petty said.

Executive producer Bert Hesse of Charlotte-based film production company Synthetic Fur, has been working closely with Hope’s parents, Stuart and Shelby Stout, for the past three years to bring Hope’s story to the big screen. He and Eldridge are committed to using the film as a vehicle to expand Hope’s dream of fulfilling other children’s wishes through the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the family’s non-profit, the March Forth with Hope Foundation.

The producers also are working closely with Carolinas Medical Center to shoot on the floor on which Hope died. Since that floor is being renovated, filming would not disrupt patient care. The Charlotte production companies are partnering with Dean River, a production company based in Los Angeles with which Eldridge worked on “The Ultimate Gift,” to produce the film.

20th Century Fox is handling the theatrical and DVD releases. PorchLight Entertainment will be the international distributor. The producers say they plan to release Hope’s Wish in time for the 2009 holidays.