A variety of locations in downtown Phoenix serve as the setting for Tim McSpadden’s dream project, a comedy and fantasy movie called “Love a la Carte” that inspired an online community of the same name. The feature-length film tells the story of Phil and Evelyn Anders, a struggling married couple, and how infidelity affects their relationship.
“It is an honest comedy about cheating,” McSpadden said. “It details the painful yet funny predicaments that some couples go through to keep their struggling marriages together.”
He wrote the script in 2004 after being inspired by conversations he had with people about their marital problems. Through his own marriage struggles and what he heard from others, he determined that oftentimes, spouses are not on the same page, an idea that he displays in his movie.
“I understand that all good things might come to an end,” McSpadden said. “I identify mostly with the wife Evelyn because I want to know why.”
McSpadden has always been interested in television and film, and he graduated from California State Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Television. During his twenty years in the industry, he lived in Palm Springs, Calif., Phoenix and New York.
After returning to Phoenix, he decided the time was right to make the movie, and in May 2010, the first frame was shot at the Camelback Garage. Over the next three years, McSpadden continued to piece together the film. Through the process of filming, directing, and producing, McSpadden said he learned a lot and considers this a form of education.
“I encourage anyone to make a movie to tell a story you need to tell,” McSpadden said. “I learned a lot doing this hands on–being the writer, director, and producer. There’s the story you write, the story you film, and the story you edit.”
As a filmmaker, McSpadden recognized the benefits of making the movie in Phoenix.
“I love Phoenix,” McSpadden said. “There is a lot of great talent here and people are very kind and super supportive. Hopefully we get a film tax incentive that comes through because Phoenix is a great place to make movies.”
The film was featured at the Jerome Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival market. In September 2014, it was awarded the “most original screenplay” honor at the Universal Film Festival in Kansas City, Mo. The movie has been released to Amazon, iTunes, and Vimeo.
These achievements encourage McSpadden to continue introducing the movie to new audiences. He has plans for make another movie, called Rage of Nerdwolf, based on comic books that he and a friend created when they were young.
“I learned too much and made too many mistakes not to do this again,” McSpadden said.
The movie gave a local Arizona band, Pete James Denzel Music, an opportunity to have two of their songs included in the film.
“It was a great experience to work with Tim on the film,” Denzel said. “We are very proud that he gave us the opportunity to put a couple of tunes in there, and hopefully the film will blow up huge, and with some luck we will get to work together in the future.”
Kimber Leigh, of Maricopa, Ariz., played Angela Heavens, the “other woman.” She said she had a wonderful experience working with McSpadden, who had her audition on the sidewalk outside of a radio station.
“Tim is the most selfless director I have ever worked with,” Leigh said. “I have never seen anybody so focused and so committed to the end goal. We are really excited about Love a la Carte. It seems to be moving in a direction that’s really successful and it’s gotten some wonderful reviews.”
The film showcases not only downtown locations like city hall, The Clarendon Hotel and Spa and light rail stations, but also the natural landscape of the desert.
“Arizona is a beautiful state and I love that we shot it there,” Sashah Askari, an associate producer on the film, said. “I love the way Tim showed how aesthetically gorgeous of a state it is, I thought that was really cool.”
She said she enjoyed working with McSpadden.
“Tim is quite the character, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like Tim. He’s very vibrant, positive, and cheerful. He is who he is, and I appreciate that,” Askari said. “You know what you’re getting with him. He’s not going to be someone different tomorrow, and there are very few people like that in the world.”
Contact the reporter at rbouley@asu.edu
