Cougster

Last weekend WSU alumni Chris Hampel and Doug Cheney and their partners in the Santa Monica based company Big Fantastic shot some of their upcoming web movie “Sorority Forever” in Pullman. Another movie “Cruzando Barreras” will be shot partially in Pullman by LA based Omni Sol Media. If you are interested in being in the film they are accepting applications at www.cruzandobarreras.com.

More on these productions from Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Chris Hampel has come a long way since his days in the Cable 8 studios at Washington State University.

The 2007 WSU graduate returned to Pullman last week to film portions of the online-exclusive movie, “Sorority Forever.”

With permits to close off a portion of Linden Street, Hampel and a cast and crew of about 50 people gathered at the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity on Saturday to film exterior shots for the 40-part series, which will air in 2-minute segments.

The film is being produced by Big Fantastic, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based company started by Hampel and fellow WSU alum Doug Cheney, as well as Chris McCaleb and Ryan Wise. The foursome create, write and direct their own productions.

Much of the interior scenes for “Sorority Forever” were recently shot in Spokane mansions, but Hampel said it wasn’t difficult for him to convince the other directors that Pullman was the right location for outside shots.

The movie is slated for a 2009 release. It follows three young women as they pledge the fictional sorority Phi Chi Kappa. The film is anchored by online movie star Jessica Rose, though nearly 100 locals were used as extras Saturday for party shots on the house’s lawn.

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Pullman is becoming something of a destination for filmmakers, and more extras will be needed for a film scheduled to begin shooting next month. The full-length independent film “Cruzando Barreras” will take place on the WSU campus. It’s produced by Los Angeles-based Omni Sol Media, and is based on a true story about a young Latina woman who fled Mexico to find her American dream through leadership and an education at WSU.

“Pullman was an important part of (the main character’s) life. We wanted to return to the place where she got support … It’s a great community,” said producer Blanca Blanco. “It’s also a great environment for film.”