Locals Pack Hollywood Theater for Breaking Plans Premiere

It's hard to understand how a few minutes of celluloid and music can evoke such powerful emotions, but that was the case Sunday when four young stars saw their names in lights at the Hollywood premiere of London Houghton's short film Breaking Plans.

After more than a year in the making, the young Londoner's film was screened this week at the TCL Graumans Chinese Theatre complex as part of the Dances with Films festival.

Houghton, a fifth-grader at McGaugh Elementary School, was able to get the school involved in the film, and many parents and administrators were among the audience of 200 that packed the screening room.

The film's teacher, for example, is named Jerry McGaugh (Luc Clopton), and the entire film was shot on location at the school and in other scenes in Seal Beach with the support of the school administration, the city council and others.

In the short film, three best friends, Emma (London Houghton), Sarah (Gracelyn Surtees) and Amelia (Zoe Tran-Wofford), must work together on a school assignment when Emma and Sarah are disappointed when Amelia doesn't show up.

Emma and Amelia get tired of waiting, then walk down the street to get ice cream (McKennas Tea Cottage) where they unexpectedly see Sarah sitting with Emma's older brother, Drake (played by Carter Jude Dau).

Eyewitnesses report that the audience let out a huge gasp of surprise when the two girls saw Sarah sitting next to Drake. Even the young director was surprised, and she was the one who wrote the script.

“I was really surprised to hear everyone in the room react in shock,” London said. “It was a real shock when Emma and Amelia saw Sarah sitting with Drake instead of working with them.”

The girls think they've been betrayed, but it later turns out that Sarah was consulting Drake on the best way to tell her best friend Emma that he overheard their parents talking about divorce.

“It’s a powerful short film,” said Paul James Houghton, London’s father and owner of Dreamotion Studios in Seal Beach, who co-directed the film. “Basically,” he said, “I pointed her in the right direction and let her say what she wanted.”

Houghton said his daughter London wrote, co-directed and starred in Emma. Even though London is only 10, his daughter grew up watching him make movies, so she knew what she wanted.

London has been through this whole process before, so none of this is completely new to her, the father said.

Additionally, he said the story was loosely based on what, in real life, London saw when her parents, Cait and I, divorced.

In the film's twist, Drake eventually confronts Emma and explains that he asked Sarah to meet with him to help him figure out the best way to tell her that their parents were divorcing.

Emma and Amelia now realize why Sarah didn't show up and best friends Sarah and Emma share a tearful reunion.

“My wife and I both cried,” admitted Eric Surtees, the father whose daughter Gracelyn played Sarah in the film. They were part of McGaugh’s large contingent in the audience.

Surtees said he and his wife Miriam were very proud that their daughter Gracelyn had overcome a lot of challenges to star in the film, but they were blown away by the result.

“My wife Miriam and I had no idea how much went into this production and what an honor it was for Gracelyn to be a part of this film,” he said. “We are very proud to be associated with this production,” said the parent, who enjoyed his evening in Hollywood.

Following in the footsteps and hands of Hollywood royalty, the cast and crew arrived by limousine before attending the world premiere and walking the festival's red carpet.

After the premiere, London said that shooting the film had been fun but very challenging. “I thought it would be easier,” she said. “But it was all exciting,” she added.

According to London's father, it all started with six pieces of paper on which she had cobbled together a story.

Although his father Paul is a well-known screenwriter and producer/director, he first had to teach London how to use the special software to write scripts.

“I told her, 'If she finishes the script, we'll make the movie.' I didn't think she would, but she sat down and wrote the whole script that day,” he said.

Although she had spent most of her life in the film industry with her father, this was her first real project. Once the script was ready, London, along with producer Baylee Corona and cinematographer Brooke Mueller, had other fifth-graders test out for the lead roles.

For the soundtrack, Jaya Loo and Justin Busch composed an original song I Got You for the film, and it was performed by Koraloo.

Houghton's father noted that over 90 percent of the cast and crew on the project were women, which is pretty cool. He said that Technicolor, the industry's leading film colorization company, invited London to attend the colorization sessions for his film.

It's really cool, she said in an interview with ENE.

Houghton said the film will soon be placed on the so-called Film Freeway, which will then put it on the official short film festival circuit.

“Making this movie wasn't as easy as I thought it would be,” London said this week, “but it was incredible.” His first screenplay, written when he was 9, has now been adapted into a movie. His father said it didn't take him long to figure out what was coming next.

She's now 10 years old and already working on a new script. Well, her father says, at least she's changed a little.