An Edmonton-made film will be the last feature-length production starring the late Alan Thicke, who died Dec. 13 at age 69.
Chris Craddock, who directed the feature It’s Not My Fault And I Don’t Care Anyway, fondly recalled working with the prolific Canadian actor, producer, songwriter and father of that guy who wrote that awful song.
“Alan was a force of nature, ya know? He was a lot more energetic than a lot of dudes half his age on the set. He was always peppy, always going,” Craddock said.
“He was a dynamo. He didn’t want to slow down. He wasn’t about to slow down, despite pushing 70.”
The 96-minute film follows Brian (Quinton Aaron), a man with gigantism and a heroin addiction. His dealer, Johnny Three-Fingers (Jesse Lipscombe), presses the “gentle giant” into service as hired muscle. As his life of crime develops, he ends up kidnapping Diana Spencer (Leah Doz), the daughter of Patrick (Thicke), a prominent self-help guru who preaches a gospel of perfect selfishness.
“It’s a real treatise on selfishness and responsibility,” Craddock said, adding that, thematically, this idea extends to the western world and its role in global conflicts and climate change.
“I hope it’s a call to examination of our collective soul, if you will, because I think we could do a bit better for each other.”
Lipscombe, also a producer, managed to sign Thicke while travelling to Los Angeles, seeking to expand Mosaic Entertainment (the company behind the film).
Thicke had previously worked with the group, making a cameo as a judge in the series Tiny Plastic Men.
According to Craddock, Thicke was somewhat less invested in that more comedic role.
“He’s interested in, or was interested in, something he didn’t get enough of, artist that he was, which was gritty features and a chance to stretch himself as an actor a bit,” he said.
“I think our movie gave Alan a chance to do something he wasn’t always doing, feature acting in a more dramatic fashion.”
The film was shot over 18 days last summer in Edmonton. Post-production took until the winter to finish.
It is scheduled to premiere as a video-on-demand offering on Vimeo on New Year’s Day and will receive a broader release in March.
Thicke’s son, Robin, had a huge hit with the song Blurred Lines in 2013. He and co-songwriter Pharrell Williams were later successfully sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye for copyright infringement.
