New Year Updates for "Remembering Us"

Lead actors Nev Scharrel and Dani Payne run lines during a tech rehearsal before bringing our infant actor on set.

The champagne bubbles have barely settled, and yet our filmmakers are already turning it attention to a final pickup shoot and post production for the 35-minute autobiographical film “Remembering Us.”

“We actually got a little snow on the ground, so we’re shooting today,” said producer Annie Schlax. “Happy New Year to us! We have our lead actor Mike Ostroski flying in from LA and I’ve done all of our SAG-AFTRA paperwork so we can be doing some exterior pickup shots that we weren’t able to capture in December. After these shots, we are wrapped on principal photography.”

This month, co-directors Lori Kay Allred and Scott Takeda are working with Emmy-winning composer Jerome Gilmer on the original music. Zlatko Makic is working on the audio edit. Takeda is tweaking the final cut and interviewing colorists.

“Our goal is to be ready for entering Oscar-qualifiying festivals by Summer,” said Schlax. “We’ve got a good jump on things, and I’m excited to see the final product.”

CBS-4: "Turning Pain Into Art - Colorado Film Takes On Brain Injury Issues"

This week, CBS-4 reporter Shawn Chitnis interviewed co-directors Lori Kay Allred and Scott Takeda in his coverage of their latest film “Remembering Us.”

Chitnis’ focus was how the husband-wife team willing to reveal a painful part of their life to bring awareness to brain injuries and to help others.

“This is their third major interview in a month,” said producer Annie Schlax. “We are feeling like we have a film that people are going to want to see.”

Click HERE to view the article on CBS-4 Denver.

Wine Dog Winter Updates For "Remembering Us"

Lead actor Dani Payne (Kate Novak) hangs out with infant actor Avery Vandenberg (Chloe Novak) as the crew adjusts for a camera move.

Snow is on the ground as our team gets ready for its fifth and final shoot for the 30-minute film “Remembering Us.”

“This winter shoot brings us to a full year after our main character Steve Novak suffers his traumatic brain injury,” said Wine Dog filmmaker Lori Kay Allred. “Time wise, we’re ending where we started, however this time, the Novak Family is in a very different place. We are exploring the family’s ‘new normal.’”

Joining us is John Sayles who will be filling in as sound mixer for this December shoot. Eight-time Emmy-winner Jerome Gilmer also comes aboard as music composer.

The cast will be our principal leads for the film: Mike Ostroski (who just booked Netflix’ “Euphoria”), Dani Payne (who just booked the indie film “The Short History of the Long Road”) and Nev Scharrel (fresh off her recurring run on FOX’s “9-1-1”). Joining them again will be infant actors Morrigan McLynn and Avery Vandenberg. Both return as the youngest member of the Novak family.

Westword: Filmmaking Couple Touches on Medical Marijuana's Social Stigma

This week, reporter Britt Chester profiled our latest film “Remembering Us” in an article for Westword.

Chester’s focus was on the film’s autobiographical angle and how filmmakers Lori Kay Allred and Scott Takeda struggled to treat Scott’s traumatic brain injury (TBI), ultimately deciding to try medical cannabis.

"We are noticing that our film is starting to generate some buzz," said producer Annie Schlax. "Scott and Lori chose to keep his TBI and treatment a secret because of the social stigma surrounding both of them. But now that we are filming their story, it’s striking a chord.”

“We are especially excited by this coverage because we’re still shooting,” said Allred. “So we’re grateful people are so interested in seeing this film.”

Click HERE to read the article on Westword.

Click HERE to read as a PDF.

Autumn Updates For "Remembering Us"

Nev Scharrel and director Lori Kay Allred go over the script during a recent shoot.

The leaves are changing colors as our filmmaking team preps for the fourth shoot of its autobiographical film "Remembering Us."

"Our autumn shoot is where our characters go outside-the-box to find solutions for the traumatic brain injury," said producer Annie Schlax. "This is where we introduce medical cannabis to the story. It was the only treatment that worked for writer-director Scott Takeda, so he and fellow writer-director Lori Kay Allred have made it a crucial part of the film. Our story explores Scott’s initial resistance to using medical cannabis and the results after he started treatment."

Two actors are joining our cast for the autumn shoot. Adam Odette plays Luke – a child being treated by medical cannabis for seizures. He is represented by Donna Baldwin Agency. Veteran actor Jason Coviello (NBC’s “In Plain Sight”) plays Garth — Luke’s dad and a close friend of the family. He is represented by Big Fish Talent.

Major supporting cast members Denielle Fisher Johnson and Mark Mathews also return for the fall shoot.

Finally, we’re thrilled to announce that Danielle Dascalos is joining our team as the unit publicist.