Mark Story knows a solid destination when he sees it — not only is Kilgore prime tourism territory, it also makes for a picturesque backdrop for filmmakers.
Story’s tour company, Now Journey, specializes in small group tours around the world. He also got bitten by the acting bug a while back and has had a story percolating for years. A previous visit to the City of Stars helped shape that idea into ‘Kilgore,’ a TV series. Local filming is coming up this fall, and a casting call is invitation-only for area actors.
“We want to tap into the local community,” Story said Friday. “We would love to have as many locals involved in the project as possible.”
It’s going to be a busy week for the Arkansas native and his growing team: they’re wrapping up their Kilgore Series Summer Fundraiser with a silent auction Saturday evening in Colorado before they head to the Metroplex for auditions Aug. 21-22, according to kilgoreseries.com
There’s a particular mantra behind their efforts: Tell stories in interesting places.
The series’ concept took shape about four years ago, and a vacation to Kilgore cinched the setting for the project.
“A good buddy of mine, Britt Davis, owns Britt’s Wine & Dine. Out in Colorado, we were in the same young adult ministry back in the day,” Story recalled. “I found out he relocated to Kilgore and heard about his wine and dine restaurant — that was just fantastic.”
Exploring the community, the longtime tourism entrepreneur says he was taken by its ‘Main Street’ appeal.
“We’d been looking for that beautiful ‘small town’ in America,” he said, finding it here, a reflection of his hometown in Arkansas. “I love Kilgore. It’s just a beautiful town,” ready for filming: “It’s like we’re walking around on the backlot studios.”
With a location set, the series quickly came to fruition. Kilgore and East Texas will be characters themselves as the lead character unexpectedly finds himself behind the pine curtain.
Leah Stiver is penning the narrative for protagonist Adam Domenici: “He gets in a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the first episode and gets repositioned,” Story explained. “Instead of going to Paris, he goes to Kilgore, and he stumbles into a mystery.”
In the show, an initial six-episode run directed by Kent Rogers with cinematography by Michele Gentile, Adam works for an LA-based hospitality intelligence company.
“Their job is basically to inspect hotels, restaurants, that kind of thing and report back to their HQ,” Story said. It’s a direct tie-in to the project’s foundation. Through their grassroots production company based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the Tufty Agency wants to blend dramatic storytelling with vibrant destinations: “Our original intent was to marry travel and tourism, destination marketing with original narratives.
“It’s really kind of a unique thing when you talk with production companies – marrying those two aspects from a business perspective. It’s a way for us to find funding and that kind of thing for the production.”
It’s a tool, a vehicle for tourism, but it’s primarily a foundation for the central goal: storytelling.
“We’re really, first and foremost, a production company that creates stories,” Story said. “I think with our eventual distribution of this first season, we think we’ll bring good light to Kilgore town and the area.”
The local setting, supplemented by scenes in Los Angeles and Denver, will encompass a fresh entry in the mystery-crime-murder genre, a twisting narrative with a principle cast of 10 characters ranging from kids to grandparents in addition to a score of supporting actors.
With production getting underway locally Nov. 3, auditions are imminent – this week in Irving. The team behind the Kilgore series has put out their invitation-only casting call for Thursday and Friday at an AirBNB rental at 510 Irby Lane.
Local actors are very welcome, Story said, whether they’re auditioning for a key role or background character. Anyone interested can learn more via kilgoreseries.com/casting-call and apply for an invite via a Google form.
“We have been going through almost a thousand different submissions from people across the country for the roles.”
Advisory team member Lew Miller, a Rotarian and “powerhouse networker” from Denver, will be heading to Kilgore in the next few weeks to prime the community for the upcoming shoot.
“We’re thinking about doing an after-hours event for information purposes,” Story said, “mainly to have the Rotary and city council and chamber come in.
Filming begins right before Election Day and will continue for three weeks in Kilgore.
“It’s a fairly massive undertaking,” and Story’s grateful for the assistance the project has already received, coordinating lodging and other logistics with City of Kilgore Tourism Manager Megan Payne as well as Britt Davis. “So far we’ve had an incredible response from the city and the area.”
The production is already coordinating with various people the film industry out in LA, and they’re eager to plug into the developing filmmaking scene here.
“We’re going to do festivals, of course,” Story said. A key goal is a TVOD-first release on platforms like Prime Video and Apple TV, followed by wider availability on AVOD and potentially physical media. “From the get-go we’ll have a distribution agency that has been successful with independent productions.”
Kilgore is a Film Friendly Texas community, a designation that helps streamline production in the Lone Star State and emphasizes the host community as a partner.
“We will be showing that through our promotions, everything throughout Kilgore, how cooperative it is,” Story said. “That’s all in alignment with everything we’re planning to rollout.”
