Covington resident and local actor Travis Breedlove is using his talent for a good cause this holiday season by helping produce a movie to raise awareness and money for the neediest in Newton County.
Best known for his appearance in the popular teen drama "The Vampire Diaries" as a police officer who fought off venomous vampires, Breedlove and Atlanta-based writer and producer Bren Allison are currently filming "I'll be homeless for Christmas," through their IndieGoGo campaign to raise money for Newton County Habitat for Humanity.
The family holiday film follows a cast including a shelter worker (Mandi Kerr), her young son (Landon Breedlove, Travis' son), two con-men (Travis Breedlove and Walter Duckworth) who grew up on the streets, a homeless teenager (Kristin Link) and the town's pastor (Ryan Norton, Newton County resident) who runs a local shelter out of the basement of his church.
In the movie, the shelter worker is working for a way to financially pull off her church's "Give-A-Gift," drive for underprivileged families, when she becomes involved with two con-men who intend to steal the donations she collects.
Breedlove and Allison met about three years ago when he hired her as his acting coach. From there, Breedlove was able to hone his skills and eventually partnered up with Norton and Slade Curtis (a producer for the film and another local) to create their company BCN Production.
The company, along with Allison, is filming its movie throughout the Newton County area thanks in part to donations received through the site IndieGoGo.com/homelessforchristmas and volunteers.
"We came up with the idea of actually giving back, which is the idea of the film itself. All of these people are volunteering their time for a good cause. We are blessed and everybody gets along so well. The first few weeks have been great," Curtis said.
Norton, a youth director for Julia A. Porter United Methodist Church in Porterdale, echoed Curtis' sentiments adding that not only is the crew supportive, but the community as well.
"The first night (of filming) brought me to tears, seeing people come out and doing this for free and volunteering their time for this project," he said.
Breedlove said the goal is to raise at least $20,000, with $10,000 of that covering film expenses and the rest going to Habitat for Humanity. As of Saturday, the movie has raised more than $3,000 and had 48 days left to reach its goal.
"I'll be homeless for Christmas" will premiere Dec. 7 at the Covington Christmas parade and Breedlove said they will also pitch the movie to film festivals.
For more information, visit IndieGoGo.com/homelessforchristmas or homlessforchristmas.com.
