Mission Playhouse Plays Host to Major New HBO Movie

July 12th and 13th saw the Playhouse parking lot full to the brim with Starwagons and wardrobe trucks, generators and all manner of movie-making equipment as the production team for a major new HBO movie rolled into the Mission District.

The film entitled Cinema Verite stars Academy Award and Golden Globe Winners Diane Lane, and Tim Robbins and Golden Globe Winner James Gandolfini, star of The Soprano’s.

Cinema Verite charts the story of the making of An American Family, the Oscar-winning 1973 groundbreaking documentary centered on Santa Barbara couple Pat Loud (Lane) and Bill Loud (Robbins), who split up during the filming, and their children, the eldest of whom, son Lance, became TV's first openly gay character. Gandolfini plays the documentary’s producer.

The cast is joined by Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit and Swingtown star Shanna Collins. Look out for familiar San Gabriel scenes in the film in 2012.