SURF’S UP THIS SUMMER FOR
ERIC ROBERTS (THE DARK KNIGHT) AND
SINGER JASON CASTRO (“AMERICAN IDOL”) IN THE
UP ORIGINAL MOVIE
THE PERFECT SUMMER
AIRING SATURDAY, JULY 13 AND SUNDAY, JULY 14
AT 7, 9 AND 11 P.M. EDT
Ensemble Cast Includes Sydney Penny, Adam Horner,
Katie Garfield, JD Banks, Justin Barnhill and Louis Mandylor
Soundtrack to Feature Music by Jason Castro
SOURCE: Rogers & Cowan
Atlanta, GA – June 25, 2013 – UP, America’s favorite channel for uplifting entertainment, presents the UP Original Movie The Perfect Summer (#PerfectSummer), an inspirational sun-and-surf family drama, starring Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, The Expendables), Daytime Emmy-nominee Sydney Penny (“All My Children,” The New Gidget), Adam Horner (“The Valley,”), Katie Garfield (The Carrington Event, “Under the Dome”), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Life) and singer/songwriter Jason Castro (“American Idol” finalist, season 7) in his TV acting debut. Newcomers JD Banks and Justin Barnhill also star. Gary Wheeler (Somebody’s Child, The Heart of Christmas) directs from a screenplay written by Nathan Scoggins and Wheeler. The movie soundtrack will feature music by Jason Castro. The Perfect Summer will premiere exclusively on UP on Saturday, July 13 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. EDT and Sunday, July 14 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. EDT.
On an early morning in April in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, crew members for “The Perfect Summer” anticipated their first day of shooting. As the sun was rising, they greeted 15 local surf gurus hired to consult for the movie. Standing directly in front of the beach house that serves as the home of Lou, played by Eric Roberts’ character, they noticed 20-foot waves crashing onto the sand. The winds offshore were creating a dangerous rip current that even the film’s surf leader, Shawn O’Donnell, who had surfed there for years, felt was too dangerous for anyone from the cast to be out there that day. Several locals, however, were already in the water. From the dock leading up to the beach house, director Gary Wheeler watched on tensely as he noticed two swimmers being lifted by the wind, launched into the air and driven under water. Production members from Swirl Films put the cameras down to alert the film’s on site water safety patrol. Witnesses speculated the two swimmers may have drowned had it not been for the film crew on site that day. This is how the 14-day shoot for “The Perfect Summer” began.
In The Perfect Summer, fatherless teenager Jake (Adam Horner) was happy living in Chicago, until his mother (Sydney Penny) decided to uproot them to a small surfing town where her estranged father (Eric Roberts), Jake’s grandfather, lives. The transition isn’t easy for anyone and it seems everywhere he goes, Jake manages to make enemies, including the town bully, Tyler (JD Banks), who doesn’t like the new interloper or his interest in young surfing prodigy, Kayla (Katie Garfield). Stuck in the beach town with no friends and no knowledge of surfing, Jake has nowhere to turn until Cody (Jason Castro), the local surf shop owner, reveals that Jake’s grandfather is a surf legend. Tired of feeling like an outcast, Jake asks Lou to teach him about surfing. Jake learns to face his fears, push through inhibitions and realizes that winning the respect of his new peers – and Katie’s heart – might mean facing the biggest challenge of his life.
“While The Perfect Summer beautifully uses surfing as a backdrop, this summer UP film is all about relationships,” says Barbara Fisher, SVP, Original Programming, GMC TV. “This film is about hope. It’s a film about choices. We can all identify with struggles of fitting in and falling in love, even if you don’t live next to a beach and surf.”
The movie features big-wave local surfers and stars non-surfers, including Jason Castro, who grew up in Dallas skateboarding and dreaming about the surf culture in California. “The Perfect Summer” soundtrack will feature original music by Castro.
Eric Roberts (Lou) is an Academy Award nominee and a Golden Globe nominee who got his start originating the role of Ted Bancroft on “Another World.” He earned a ‘best actor’ Golden Globe nomination his role in “King of the Gypsies.” He was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his supporting role in “Runaway Train.” His television work includes three seasons on the comedy “Less than Perfect” and on the hit NBC series “Heroes.” His sisters Julia Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and his daughter Emma Roberts are also actors.
An “American Idol” Season 7 favorite, the blue-eyed, dreadlocked Jason Castro (Cody) honed his music skills playing in bands throughout high school and undergraduate college. While a sophomore at Texas A&M University, Castro decided to take a break from performing and focus on his landscape-architecture studies. He continued to work on his vocal and guitar skills in his free time, and, realizing how much he missed music, decided to pursue a career as a professional musician. Having first experienced reality television in 2006 as the love interest of Cheyenne Kimball on the MTV series “Cheyenne,”, Castro tried out for “American Idol” and quickly became one of the most popular season 7 contestants. Following his fourth-place finish on the show, Jason toured the country. He released a self-titled debut album in 2010.
Sydney Penny (Alyssa) was born in Nashville, Tennessee to Hank Penny, comedian and pioneer of Western Swing music and his wife, Shari, an operatically trained singer. At age 10, Sydney was chosen to portray “Young Meggie” in the ABC mini-series, The Thorn Birds. In 1985, Clint Eastwood cast Sydney in Pale Rider; which earned her a Youth in Film Award. Sydney’s credits include Two Kinds of Love, The Last Leaf, The Fourth Wiseman, News at Eleven, Bernadette, and La Passion de Bernadett. In 1986, Sydney took to the beach as “Danni Collins” in the popular syndicated series, The New Gidget. Penny played Sophia Loren’s daughter, Rosetta in Running Away. Sydney appeared on the soap opera Santa Barbara, for which she earned her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress for her portrayal of ‘BJ Walker.’ Penny moved to New York to appear as “Julia Santos” on the ABC daytime drama, All My Children and reprised the roll in 2005. Recent projects include Largo Winch, Hidden Places, for which she won a CAMIE award, The Wife He Met Online, The Wish List, Little Red Wagon, and Dark Canyon. Sydney co-produced her first feature film in her adopted hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, a romantic drama entitled Heart of the Country, in 2012, in which she also played a supporting role. The film was picked up by 20th Century Fox for release in summer 2013.
Adam Horner (Jake) was born in England. He moved to Australia at age 11. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles. IN 2011, he auditioned for the hit television series “The Glee Project” and out of 43,000 applicants, he made it to the top 40. He was one of only a handful of international contestants to make the top 100.
Born in Orlando, Florida, Katie Garfield (Kayla) moved to North Carolina in 2001. There she studied drama and performed in many plays and musicals. Katie followed her creative passion and in the summer of 2012 moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and music. She is currently writing and recording her own original music. Her television credits include “One Tree Hill,” “Army Wives,” “The Finder,” “Vampire Diaries,” and “Under The Dome,” as well as the feature films Where the Devil Hides and Almanac, produced by Michael Bay.
The Perfect Summer is written by Nathan Scoggins and Gary Wheeler. Gary Wheeler directs. The Perfect Summer is produced by Swirl Films.
Follow our cast at:
- www.UPtv.com/ThePerfectSummer
- Eric Roberts on Twitter @EricRoberts
- Sydney Penny on Twitter @sydney_penny
- Adam Horner on Twitter @Adamhorneractor
- Katie Garfield on Twitter @KatieGarfield
- Jason Castro on Twitter @jasoncastro).
About Swirl Films
Swirl Films (www.swirlfilms.com/) is America’s “number one urban film production company,” focusing on independent features and multi-camera productions. The company regularly supervises and executes a variety of production elements, from casting and budget creation to talent relations and securing distribution for numerous films. Recent films include 2012 ABFF Best Narrative Feature, Best Actress and Best Director winner The Under Shepherd, starring Isaiah Washington, Lamman Rucker, Elise Neal, Keith David, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Malinda Williams, Louis Gossett Jr., Clifton Powell, and Bill Cobbs; and 35 & Ticking, starring Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Keith Robinson, Wendy Raquel-Robinson, Tamala Jones and Nicole Ari Parker. Swirl Films recently finished Percentage, with Flavor Unit Production (Queen Latifah & Shakim Compere) and starring Ving Rhames, Macy Gray and Cam’ron.
Swirl Films is a major content provider for GMC TV. Hit programming includes She’s Still Not Our Sister, starring Kellita Smith and Jackee Harry; Sugar Mommas, starring Vanessa Williams and Terri J. Vaughn; and the Wedding Vow Series, starring Rockmond Dunbar, Letoya Luckett, Eva Marcille, Mel Jackson, Leon, Vanessa Simmons, Angell Conwell, and Clifton Powell.
The company’s original productions include: Love For Sale, starring Jackie Long, Jason Weaver, Mya and Melyssa Ford; Something Like A Business, starring Kevin Hart, Donnell Rawlings, Tasha Smith, Kym Whitley, Keith David and J. Anthony Brown; TV One’s Roast and Toast of John Witherspoon, featuring top comedians, Earthquake, Guy Torry, Sheryl Underwood and Paul Mooney; and Just Another Day, starring Wood Harris, Jamie Hector, Lil’ Scrappy, Esther Baxter and Clifton Powell.
About UP
UP, (www.UPtv.com) based in Atlanta, is America’s favorite network for uplifting family entertainment. The network presents original and acquired movies, series, stage plays and music specials along with gMovies, the first faith-friendly streaming movie service. The UP brand is reflected in “Uplift Someone,” the network’s successful pro-social initiative. UP can be seen in more than 62 million homes on major cable systems including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Charter Communications, as well as DIRECTV on channel 338, DISH Network on channel 188, and Verizon FiOS on channel 224. Follow UP on Facebook & Twitter http://facebook.com/UPtv & @UPtv.