A comedy movie that was filmed in south Georgia will be premiering in Tifton Oct. 3 at the historic Tift Theatre.

“Grandma’s Blessings” is a PG rated mainstream comedy that was filmed by Doug Sebastian Productions LLC from Valdosta. Filmmaker Roy Kirkland wrote and produced the movie, and filmmaker Doug Sebastian directed it. They had many sponsors from Valdosta, Tifton and other surrounding areas.

Premiere showings of the movie have already been held in Valdosta and Brunswick. The response from viewers was very good, says Kirkland. Tifton’s showing will be held at 7 p.m., and tickets are $10. They can be purchased at the door or at www.dspmovies.com. The DVD can be purchased on the website and will also be available on the day of the premiere. Actors from the film will be on hand to sign autographs on glossy postcards that are given away to ticket buyers.

Kirkland says “Grandma’s Blessings” is a world premiere, which is a first for Tifton. They are showing the film all over the state through local community theaters. He said the movie has little to no cursing, no sex and no graphic scenes. It was filmed at locations throughout south Georgia, including Berrien, Tift, Lanier, Cook and Lowndes counties.

Kirkland said he and Sebastian held an audition at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center in Valdosta. They advertised it on the Georgia Film Commission network.

“We had hundreds of people that showed up in Valdosta to audition,” Kirkland said. However, he actually found some of the main actors himself. “If I’m out and about and there’s a role in a movie that I’m getting ready to film and you fit that description, whether I know you or not, I’ll go to you and say, ‘Have you ever been in a movie?’”

“That’s me,” he added, smiling. “I have that approach where I’ll see someone that I’ve written a character about and that person looks exactly or acts exactly like that character, I go after them. That’s just how I do it.”

“And, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t,” Sebastian said. He advised they were pleasantly surprised by actors Cameron Lent-Shiver who plays the main character, Drayton Taylor, a nerdy local television talk show host; Beth Walters who plays Felicia, a comical talk show producer; and Ben Register who plays the optimistic Joshua Wright.

Other actors include Deborah Hurm who plays Grandma Sadie, Blake Connell who plays the “Bad Conscience” and Tyler Mitchell who plays the “Good Conscience.” Local woman Carrie Ann Perry Turner and her two daughters are in the movie, as well as her father, Ed Perry from Nashville. Horse Creek Winery’s Vineyard is featured in the movie also. In addition, Mitch Rossell plays Billy and sings “Every Part of Me,” which he wrote for the movie. Kirkland said Rossell has provided music throughout the years for almost all of their movies.

Kirkland’s sister, Coline Corbitt, was called two days before filming to play the presidential candidate’s wife, Mrs. Fromley. She lives in Pearson and drove to Adel on a Saturday to film that day. She also does a lot of the vocals in the movie.

According to the Doug Sebastian Productions LLC website, “Grandma’s Blessings” is about the nerdy talk show host Drayton Taylor, who dreams of making it big and finally lands an interview of a lifetime that is sure to gain him national exposure. The combination of his nervousness and some well-meaning co-workers who offer him sedatives, among other things, to calm his nerves get the best of Taylor and this proves disastrous. Needless to say, the interview goes horribly wrong causing Taylor to lose his job and consequently all of his possessions as news of the interview hits the airwaves. To make matters even worse, Taylor receives a phone call from an attorney that his Grandma Sadie, who lived in Austin, Texas, has passed away and left him a special gift. He flies off to Austin to pay his final respects and to claim his inheritance.

The website states that upon arriving at what used to be Grandma Sadie’s home, Taylor discovers an old abandoned Champion RV just sitting there, practically rooted to the ground. Joshua Wright, a trusted friend of Grandma Sadie’s, helps Taylor to get the RV running again, but just barely. During his journey back home to Georgia, the RV breaks down several times, driving Taylor to meet some oddly remarkable characters, such as Billy, a mechanic with a voice for country music who has never had the opportunity to pursue his dream of making it big in Nashville; Savannah and Aaron who are doing all they can to save the Vineyard; the sheriff, all 42-inches tall of him, and his sidekick deputies; and the appearances of the Good Conscience and Bad Conscience.

This movie plays on people’s admiration and appreciation of hope, love and the true meaning of charity. “Grandma’s Blessings” is a funny film with a feel good theme, according to the website.

“It’s an honest to goodness PG movie you can go in and enjoy,” Kirkland said. “This isn’t a stage play or a church movie. It’s a film for everybody.

“It has a little bit of satire in it. The title is even satirical,” Sebastian noted, grinning. He said they also do some digs at local talk shows.

It took about two to three months to make the movie, Kirkland said. Sebastian said it’s a very low budget movie, but a good quality came out.

“We’re happy about that,” says Kirkland. “We got good actors in it and unusual actors.”

The idea to write “Grandma’s Blessings” all began with Kirkland, who used to be in the furniture business. Sebastian has been videoing commercials, weddings and other events for years.

“I decided to write a comedy, and I don’t write,” Kirkland said, lifting his hands in the air. He said he woke up one morning and went to work, and Sebastian came into the store. He told Sebastian that he had written a comedy titled “And, There You Are.” This would become their first movie, which did very well.

“We went on and made a documentary, and it won Best Documentary in New York,” Kirkland said.

While Sebastian was editing “And, There You Are,” Kirkland said he would drive by an RV that was for sale while heading to Sebastian’s place to edit the movie. He said he thought to himself, “Wouldn’t that be fun to have a road trip in?”

The second or third week, he had already written a story. “Grandma’s Blessings” was written in 2007 but completely re-written in 2012. Also, Kirkland and Sebastian made two other movies which have not been released yet, “Crazed” and “Battle of the Cursed: The Two Kings.”

Kirkland said they wanted to go ahead and release “Grandma’s Blessings” because they felt really good about it.

“We pushed this one to the forefront. It’s a good feel good movie,” Kirkland advised, noting they’re happy with the outcome. “It’s definitely a south Georgia movie.”

He said one of the main reasons they wanted to come to Tifton to the show the movie was because he was very impressed with the Tift Theatre.

“I saw Jaws in that theater and the Land Before Time,” Kirkland said, smiling. “We wanted to come here because of the atmosphere of the Tift Theatre, and we want to involve the community. Tifton is full of a lot of good people who want to see things like this grow in this area.”

He added, “We love the Tift Theatre, absolutely beautiful place. Locals here need to realize what they got. They need to appreciate this because that is few and far between. A lot of small towns have destroyed their theaters.”

“When people go in there, they’re going to want to go back,” Sebastian said about the Tift Theatre.

“This was the perfect setting for our film,” Kirkland said.

“That’s a movie house,” Sebastian added.

Kirkland said they’re always searching for another place to film.

“We would like to film a sequel here,” he advised about Tifton, noting they still own the RV.

He and Sebastian also have a couple of more movies planned. They’re looking at doing a movie on Jay Platt’s life. Platt is a former Marine who developed VHL, a form of cancer. Tumors grew on the inside of his body. Instead of letting this stop him, he swam the Mississippi River handcuffed and blindfolded with his feet shackled to show people that he’s unstoppable and will not quit. Platt, who is 47 years old and still living with cancer, is now a motivational speaker. He’s from Albany but currently resides in Valdosta.

Kirkland and Sebastian plan on doing a movie about his life. They called Platt a great person and an inspiration.

To contact reporter Latasha Ford, call 382-4321.