Florida horror-comedy film to make theatrical debut
A film shot in Florida with cast and crew members from Orlando makes its theatrical debut on March 12. “The Waiting” — produced by Florida director F.C. Rabbath with Sharon Collins, Mark A. Marple and Jared Rush — is a horromedy: a horror-romance-comedy movie.
“I’m really into genre-bending because I really enjoy doing something unique and new because I think it’s a fun thing to do,” Rabbath said.
The movie follows newly single Eric Brady (played by Orlando actor Nick Leali) who’s tired of online dating and gets a job at an old hotel. After discovering one of the rooms is haunted by a ghost (Molly Ratermann), he seeks to get rid of it to impress his boss, but things change along the way.
In addition to Leali, “The Waiting” features Central Florida actors David Raizor, Hayley Haas, Michelle Feliciano and Emalie Noelani as well as Tallahassee actors Bill Kelly and Marple.
“The Waiting” was filmed in north Florida — notably at The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, which is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America program.
“It’s a pretty famous one,” said Rabbath, who is based in Apopka and Tallahassee. “It’s something that’s protected by the state, so we really had to work with the state for filming to happen.”
Rabbath self-financed this “labor of love” and hopes it will be a wake-up call to support Florida filmmaking.
“We didn’t have any help from any incentives,” he said. “There used to be some in the ‘90s and early 2000s, but they cut that out, which has made Florida not so attractive to big studios. We’re trying to do something here to attract more productions, and so the fact that we were able to do that just shows the possibilities … for other films being made in the area.”
This marks his sixth movie shot in Florida. Among his other Sunshine State projects is 2018 horror movie “A Brilliant Monster,” which was shot in Central Florida.
While COVID-19 didn’t affect filming, which was completed at the end of 2019, it did impact the festivals where “The Waiting” was supposed to screen and delayed post-production.
“Getting all the pieces together and everyone on track as soon as the pandemic started was distracting,” he said. “One good news is that it gives indie filmmakers a chance: Because of the theaters having less content, it gives us a chance to fill a slot there.”
“The Waiting” will begin screening March 12 at CMX Cinemas Plaza Café 12 in Orlando, CMX Cinemas Tyrone Luxury 10 in St. Petersburg, CMX Cinemas Dolphin 19 in Miami and CMX Cinemas Fallschase 14 in Tallahassee. A wider release is planned for later this year.
For more information on screenings, go to cmxcinemas.com/movies/ The-Waiting.
Everywhere you look, you see signs of a reopening of the travel world. Airlines are ramping up schedules and destinations are actively seeking customers. Unfortunately, however, the combined major stakeholders — airlines, destinations and governments — have not put together coherent and unified policies and procedures for reopening. If you want to start thinking about spring or summer travel, you still have to navigate a minefield of confusion and uncertainty.
Travel anywhere: What medical evidence I can see suggests not even thinking about extended travel, anywhere, until after you have received a vaccine. Unfortunately, many of you won’t get vaccinated until summer — maybe even late summer. If you can’t wait that long, a domestic road trip is probably your best bet, but even that might face some limitations.
Quarantines and shutdowns:
The various states in our union are not even on the same chapter, let alone same page, on policies about cross-border travel, either for residents or visitors. Currently, at least half of the 50 states still impose some form of quarantine on travelers entering from at least some other states. Most rules ease limits for travelers with COVID-19 tests, but only three so far specifically account for vaccinated travelers. You still need to check for COVID19 requirements for any out-of-state trip, even a road trip. Fortunately, enforcement is feeble everywhere, and more than half of the states assess no penalties for quarantine violations. AARP’s continuously updated website is a good place to keep up with current rules, at https://www.aarp.org/ travel/travel-tips/safety/ info-2020/state-quarantine-guide.html. Except for Mexico and North Macedonia, international travel is still difficult right now. As with domestic travel, rules everywhere are inconsistent, but no matter where you go, CDC currently requires a COVID-19 test for returning travelers on any international flight. IATA (the International Air Transport Association) posts an updated interactive world map detailing COVID-19 restrictions at https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php.
Vaccination and test verification: Just about everyone in the travel business expects that immigration services and airlines will soon start to rely on some form of uniform health “passport” that travelers can carry to verify vaccination and test status. It will most likely be implemented as a digital app, but maybe also a card or paper certificate, as well. IATA has developed a digital “International Travel Pass,” but to date only a few airlines and no governments have signed up for a trial. American Airlines has launched VeriFly. Other proposals floating around call for linking health data electronically to passports. There’s no scarcity of ideas, but “soon” is a pretty nebulous estimate of the time frame for a system that authorities around the world will accept.
Fares and rates: As with COVID-19, the rate outlook remains cloudy. Industry mavens predict leisure travel will rebound faster than business travel. On the one hand, you will see lots of enticing offers; on the other, airlines and hotels need to stop hemorrhaging cash. Thus, I see some great airfare deals to Europe — where I can’t really go — but Allegiant’s latest domestic “promotion” features fares higher than they were before COVID-19. More than ever, that means you need to sign up for a few of the dozens of programs that notify you about deals. Some let you name specific routes or destinations; others show you everything and let you sort out what you want. Although names focus on airfares, most also search hotels as well.
Dealing with it: As I’ve been saying all along, plan as much as you want but avoid nonrefundable prepayments.