Hartselle girl starring in local movie
Maggie Guyse may have had one of her dreams come to life and it’s not that she’s in the lead role of a movie.
The F.E. Burleson Elementary student had the opportunity to see a unicorn, at least on the big screen.
“I love unicorns and I got a chance to ride one in the movie,” Guyse said.
Guyse was actually riding a horse owned by an Eva woman that through the magic of movies became a unicorn in the movie “Little Josephine.”
But that part of the movie was a little scary for her mom, Melea.
“Maggie likes to ride horses, but it was the first time she’d ever ridden a horse bareback,” Melea said. “I was a little worried about it.”
“Little Josephine” is a children’s fantasy movie directed by Decatur director Jessica Lee. It’s about a little girl who goes on an adventure to save the fairies’ home from the evil pirates. On her adventure she also meets a prince, princess, unicorn and a dragon.
“My character has a big imagination,” Maggie said. “What she draws comes to life in the movie . . . I have a big imagination, but it’s not that big.”
Because it is a fantasy movie, Guyse had the opportunity to act on a green screen with characters that will be generated in production.
In fact, Amaya the fairy, which is played by fellow College Street Players actress Keilee Terry, was shot almost entirely on a green screen. She and Maggie’s character interact during the movie.
“It was hard to act when you didn’t see the characters or like the fireballs that the dragon was blowing,” Guyse said. “It was hard, but it was a great experience.”
Guyse said one of the best parts of the film was the interaction between the other actors.
“Everybody was just hilarious to work with,” Guyse said. “The pirates were hilarious. They almost couldn’t stop laughing during their scenes.”
Lee said they filmed the movie mostly in Decatur, as well as locations in Hartselle, Falkville and Montevallo. One in particular was Maggie’s bedroom here.
“I kind of wanted to redo my room before we did the movie, but now I don’t want to change it,” she said. “We filmed a movie there.”
The 40-minute movie will have a premiere Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Princess Theatre in Decatur. Tickets are $5.