LA CONNER PD - THE BIG ELVIS FILE MOVIE / THE STORY + THE PRODUCERS

THE STORY + THE PRODUCERS

 THE STORY

The story of is of two big city cops on the run hiding out in the small town of La Conner, WA.   Tagging along is one of their little brothers – Peter “Big Elvis” who loves to sing his way through anything.    He’s not so little and everyone loves him and his Elvis tunes.

Set in the 1970’s, the two cops arrive and are hired as the new law enforcement.  With the commissioning of the La Conner’s new police car, a Renault LeCar and armed with a few interesting gadgets, their goal is to keep the peace in a small town known for its tulips, tourists, and wild turkeys.  

However, anything can happen when Big Elvis is around…

SCREENPLAY

Guy Vallee (principal writer and co-producer) wrote this  film to honor his brother Peter “Big Elvis” Vallee for his 50th birthday and the receiving of his Las Vegas STAR sometime soon.   Guy Guy Vallee has worked on many a famous film sets and has travelled around a lot.   “He is amazing.  He has used his life experience and sense of humor to architect something brilliant,” says the director, “what makes this film so great is all the extra care and attention to detail that has gone into making it a true and proper period piece, set in 1970’s.”   

Guy references historical events, as well as cleverly incorporating a few cars from his personal, vintage car collection. He includes his brother’s music into the story and pieces touching memories of growing up with his brother into the script.   Peter “Big Elvis” Vallee is an actual star in Las Vegas at Harrah’s. He’s has an amazing talent as a performer.  He drew quite a crowd during the filming.

The script also ingeniously features characters from La Conner that are friends.

“I was surprised how quickly some scenes were done, but I realized in the middle of it that Guy had written their personalities or people’s projected personalities into the script” says director,  “To see a community come together and contribute to a story was amazing.  We had a blast.”

ABOUT FILM-MAKER AND FILM

Kenton MacDonald-Lin has a passion for storytelling and when first approached with the movie idea, he thought it was a documentary about Guy Vallee’s brother Peter.     Upon reading the initial script, he soon learned that this was something much more fun and creative.  He says, “I am from Hawaii originally and I grew up watching Elvis, so I was in when I heard we would be including at least 5 Elvis songs.”

“I got super excited as the ideas began to flow. And with all the resources and props we already had, I thought that together we could really make something beautiful.   It has been a gift to do a full length feature film with Guy.” His team filmed most of the movie in LaConner Washington with a budgeted 3 full days in mind and half day in Vegas.   And as all productions know, there are surprises all along the way.     To complete the film, additional shooting took place in a studio in Las Vegas, as well as a few supplemental scenes in La Conner, and Vancouver, BC.  

“It was a fun learning curve when unexpected events would occur.  We rolled with the punches, and probably could piece together a pretty good documentary of, “the making of…” sometime soon” laughs Kenton.       “I am so thankful to the onsite crew and team throughout this entire process.  They are the heart and soul of the film.  Without them, it could not be possible.    Filmed in LaConner Washington, Las Vegas, and Vancouver BC.