Condition of Return presents modern tale of good vs evil
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
Seven years ago Town of Paradise Valley resident Tommy Stovall encountered a script he says stayed with him because he knew it was a story that ought to be told.
“I found the script online and read it, loved it — I just thought it was a really good story,” Mr. Stovall told the Arizona Digital Free Press Friday, Feb. 17. “It was a different story and idea than a lot of other similar stories with characters that kind of stayed with me.”
The 29th annual Sedona International Film Festival begins today and amid the 150 films on display — from full-length features, documentaries and shorts to foreign and animated films — is Mr. Stovall’s third feature film: “Condition of Return.”
The logline for the film states: “A churchgoing woman makes a heinous deal with the Devil in order to save her soul.”
But for Mr. Stovall — the director of the film showcasing his third film at the Sedona International Film Festival Friday, Feb. 24 — says the concept of the film is simple but enthralling.
“At it’s core, it’s a story about good and evil,” he said. “Writer John Spare created such an amazing story that I found unique and compelling. When I’m asked what makes a good movie, I always say good, interesting characters, and this script was full of them.”
The film stars AnnaLynne McCord as ‘Eve Sullivan’ who is arrested for committing a heinous crime and while in police custody she encounters ‘Dr. Donald Thomas’ who is played by Dean Cain. In a contentious interview, Dr. Thomas persuades Eve to recount her troubling past as she slowly turns the tables, coaxing him into revealing secrets of his own and showing him they may be more alike than he thinks.
The film also stars Natasha Henstridge and James Russo and is produced by Marc Sterling.
This story had “characters that kind of stayed with me”
“I felt like I knew the characters and the dilemmas the characters are dealing with,” Mr. Stovall said of the of story part of “Condition of Return.” “My thing is always, no matter what, I want the audience to be entertained. I hope they enjoy the film and feel genuinely entertained. If the film make them discuss topics even better.”
Mr. Stovall says for him what makes a good character in a film is a frame of authenticity.
“You don’t necessarily need to see yourself as the character as you may just identify with parts of a character,” he explained of how he views characterization from the audience perspective. “We really felt a responsibly to do a good job.”
“Condition of Return” is filmed in and around the Phoenix metropolitan area, Mr. Stovall points out.
“It was fun and it is always nice to shoot close to where you live,” he said. “The locations were a challenge and a lot of locations were hard to find because in Phoenix it can be hard just to find stuff to shoot in. In Los Angeles they have all of these sound stages ready to go.”
But as the Arizona film industry picks up steam, Mr. Stovall says location solutions were found and sets were built.
“Luckily we had a friend who is a judge in Camp Verde so we were able to use that courtroom,” he explained. “It ended up all working out as we had a guy who is very talented in building sets. The office building we found downtown served as our production office and we turned portions of that building into our police station.”
The No. 1 goal for Mr. Stovall’s latest film? Distribution.
“We want to get it out there,” he said pointing out the buzz around the film is building with four offers already made for distribution. “We have our agent working to present the film to all the major distributors in Los Angeles — we may do a theatrical release or not that is up to the distributor. We ultimately want to go to all the major streamers because that is where we make our money nowadays.”
