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Published on 07/28/1999 All articles from this issue

Hollywood meets Los Altos in longtime residents' back yard

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By Bonnie Chan

Special to the Town Crier

Filming began last month on a Silicon Valley-based movie, tentatively titled "Cathy Morgan."

And some of it's happening in the back yard of a Los Altos home.

Dan and Terri DeBra, longtime local residents who have lived in their home for more than 35 years, have an up-close-and-personal view of the movie making.

"It was a very exciting experience for me," said Terri DeBra, who was active in theater after college. "It was like a mini-Hollywood, in a way. Our back yard lent itself beautifully to a lot of people ... And because it was a poolside night scene, it was probably the most challenging of all the scenes they'll have to shoot. It was a special experience for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

The DeBras' back yard will belong to Cathy Morgan in the movie. It was chosen as a filming site when their daughter, Corinne, suggested it.

"It came to mind as one of the better locations for the script," said Corinne, a marketing consultant who is involved with the project. While no filming is currently being done in Los Altos, Corinne said Los Altos may be used as a filming site several more times before production is finished.

Approximately 30 to 40 people, almost all from Silicon Valley, are involved with the project. The film will be released at local independent and digital film festivals.

The filming of "Cathy Morgan" is a departure from traditional filming methods, using an anamorphic lens on a video camera. "Anamorphic lenses have been used with film cameras, but not digital video cameras until now. With something like (anamorphic) lenses, you can convert the film to TV, etc., without degenerating the quality of the film," Corinne said.

Susan Gard stars as Cathy Morgan, a middle-age career woman struggling with emotions arising from both a haunting past and a relationship with a young man named Duncan (played by Mark Roberts). Linda Nalbandian and Bill Frey are featured as Cathy's mother and boss, respectively. The film is directed by San Jose's Akhtar Sheikh, who has previously directed two other independent films.

The drama-thriller is being produced by Menlo Park's Mark Mervich of the independent production company, M.E. Mervich and Co. Production is projected to last approximately five months.