Moondance Alexander is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Damian and written by Janeen Damian, Juan Saenz and Martha Lopez. Shot on location in Okotoks, High River and Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1] the film is based on actual events from the life of Janeen Damian. It stars Kay Panabaker and Lori Loughlin, with Don Johnson and Sasha Cohen.
| Moondance Alexander | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Damian |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Brad Krevoy |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Julien Eudes |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Mark Thomas |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Fox Faith |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $37,895 |
Plot
editMoondance (Kay Panabaker) is faced with the difficulties of her father's passing and her overprotective mother (Lori Loughlin). When she finds a lost pinto horse and discovers his jumping abilities, she convinces his owner Dante Longpre (Don Johnson) to train them to compete in a jumping show. There Moondance faces her enemy Fiona Hughes (Sasha Cohen) and her fancy horse Monte Carlo. When they do a surprisingly good job at the show, Dante isn't questioned anymore about his ability to train riders and horses. Everybody is shocked when Moondance ties Fiona, the reigning Bow River Classic champion.
Cast
edit- Kay Panabaker as Moondance Alexander
- Don Johnson as Dante Longpre
- Lori Loughlin as Gelsey Alexander
- James Best as Mr. McClancy
- Sasha Cohen as Fiona Hughes
- Whitney Sloan as Megan Montgomery
- Joe Norman Shaw as Ben Wilson
- Aedan Tomney as Josh Wilson
- Mimi Gianopulos as Bella
- Landon Liboiron as Freddie
Behind the scenes
editMoondance Alexander was not well received by HorseChannel.com for storyline believability reasons.[2] However, the story is closely based upon Janeen Damian's childhood experience of befriending a horse that she had found, receiving help from a trainer, and entering the horse in the Memphis Classic.[3]
Moondance Alexander is a true family film, written by Janeen Damian and husband Michael Damian (born Michael Damian Weir), Damian, a Daytime Emmy Award winner, was also the producer of the film.[4] Much of the music was written by Damian's brother, music producer and New Music Weekly editor, Larry Weir.[5] Emmy Award winning Tom Weir was the mixing engineer at Studio City Sound.
Checkers the horse was played by three horses, a horse for tricks, a horse for jumping and a horse for Kay Panabaker to ride. Michael Damian recalled two of the horses names as Picasso and Trigger.[3] The third horse's name is Spook.[6]
Moondance Alexander received a U.S. General Audiences rating and was filmed in Alberta, Canada.[2]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Picture | Dixie Film Festival [7] | Won |
| 2007 | Best Actress (Kay Panabaker) | Dixie Film Festival [7] | Won |
Soundtrack
editThe Moondance Alexander Original Soundtrack was the second soundtrack released under the Caption Records label.
Featured vocalists
edit- Mimi Gianopulos
- Lea Herman
- Tessa Ludwick
- Buck McCoy
- Monét Monico
- Sara Niemietz
- Ian Walsh
- Laura Wight
- Heather Youmans
Moondance Alexander Original Soundtrack (by various artists)
- Released: 09 October 2007
- Format: LP/CD
- Label: Caption Records / Studio City Sound / INgrooves
- Writer: Larry Weir, Bernie Barlow, Dave Darling, Lea Herman, Ian Walsh
- Producer: Michael Damian, Larry Weir, Tom Weir, Bernie Barlow
- Singles: "I Choose You"
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Choose You" | Bernie Barlow | Laura Wight | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Call It A Day" | Larry Weir | Monét Monico | 4:08 |
| 3. | "If I Could" | Michael Damian | Heather Youmans | 4:26 |
| 4. | "It Only Gets Better" | Larry Weir | Mimi Gianopulos | 3:47 |
| 5. | "Goodbye" | Ian Walsh | Ian Walsh | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Coldest Day Of Summer" | Dave Darling | Laura Wight | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Think For Each Other" | Milo Decruz, Lea Herman | Lea Herman | 3:50 |
| 8. | "You Don't Know" | Larry Weir | Heather Youmans | 4:12 |
| 9. | "It Only Takes One" | Larry Weir | Sara Niemietz | 3:13 |
| 10. | "What Might Have Been" | Larry Weir | Buck McCoy | 3:58 |
| 11. | "Better Kind Of Life" | Larry Weir | Tessa Ludwick / Laura Wight / Heather Youmans | 3:34 |
| 12. | "If I Could" | Larry Weir | (Instrumental) | 4:27 |
Musicians
edit- Bernie Barlow, Vocals
- Paul Bushnel, Bass
- Michael Chaves, Guitar
- Jorge Costa, Vocals (Background)
- Michael Damian, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
- Milo Decruz Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer
- Burleigh Drummond, Percussion
- Blake Ewing, Vocals (Background)
- Josh Freese, Drums
- Joshua Grange, Guitar
- Lea Herman, Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
- Matt Laug, Drums
- Lance Morrison, Bass
- Ginger Murphy, Cello
- Leah Nelson, Viola
- Michael Parnell, Keyboards
- Tim Pierce, Guitar
- Cam Tyler, Drums
- Ian Walsh, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (Background)
- Kevin Walsh, Guitar
- Larry Weir, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Personnel
edit- Jorge Costa, Audio Engineer, Engineer
- James Gaynor, Audio Engineer
- Josh Mosser, Audio Engineer
- Luke Tozour, Audio Engineer, Engineer
- Tom Weir, Audio Engineer, Engineer
References
edit- ^ Don Johnson wraps up 'Moondance'[usurped]
- ^ a b Hale, Candy. "Moondance Alexander Review A Blue Ribbon-Worthy Horse Flick?". HorseChannel.com. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ a b Carpenter, Edwin L. "Michael Damian, writer and director of "Moondance Alexander", hopes to see more Family Films". Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "Michael Damian: Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "Moondance Alexander: Overview". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ Ending credits of the movie names all three horses.
- ^ a b "The Fourth Annual Dixie Film Festival". Athens, Georgia: Dixie Film Festival LLC. 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2012.