Local multi-media production company Groovy Like A Movie has submitted “Love Stories”, a 30-second commercial spot, for a contest sponsored by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to create a television commercial in support of same-sex marriage. All or part of the winning entry will be aired nationally during the election season as part of GLAAD’s “I Do” marriage equality campaign. The winner will be posted on GLAAD’s website by July 31.

“The commercial is about making the point that even though you’re allowed to get married, some people don’t or can’t,” said Kevin Waldrop, Groovy Like A Movie’s director of operations. “It’s kind of sad in a sense, because people who are really in love and want to get married don’t have that opportunity. So it’s an ‘even though you can, you can’t and even though you can’t, you want to’ – trying to make that point that it’s just not fair.”

“Love Stories” depicts two weddings that almost happen but don’t, and two weddings that want to happen but can’t. The commercial opens with a heterosexual bride who is about to get married but decides she can’t go through with it, then switches to a heterosexual groom who also decides he can’t go through with his wedding.

“The voice-over explains about love stories, and wouldn’t you enjoy them more – because we’ve just looked in on some sad issues – if there’s love,” Waldrop explained.

The camera then moves to a lesbian bride, beaming with love, who says, “I do,” to her partner, and then to a gay groom, also beaming, saying, “I do” to his partner. The commercial ends with the phrase, “Could you get married?”

“You’re supposed to be able to read that in two ways,” Waldrop said. “Could you get married – like, even if you’re able, could you go through with it – and also could you, do you even have an opportunity to get married? So it just raises that question and it’s supposed to be thought-provoking about the gay marriage issue.”

When GLAAD announced the contest, Groovy Like A Movie thought they could produce a good commercial if they had a good script. Waldrop took the challenge to write the script. “I just started thinking about it within the parameters of the rules that they set, and tried to think of something that had national appeal – not be too upsetting, but be thought-provoking enough to make a point,” he said.

After Groovy Like A Movie Executive Producer Brent Altomare approved it, production began. “Love Stories” took a week to produce: three to four days of planning, a day to shoot and two days to edit.

Waldrop produced the commercial with 30 volunteer actors and seven crewmembers, most of whom also volunteered their time.

The commercial was shot in high-definition, an expense that was well worth it.

“The original footage really looks amazing shot in high definition,” Waldrop said, adding that, though the submission had to be downgraded from high definition according to contest guidelines, GLAAD may use their high-definition footage for stations that can accommodate it, increasing the commercial’s marketability.

Groovy Like A Movie’s documentary project for San Diego LGBT Pride, entitled 30 Years Proud and set to wrap up by next spring, will finish filming at this year’s Pride celebration. “We may conduct a few of the main character interviews afterwards, but not much longer,” Waldrop said. “I’m hoping to wrap up production by October 1.”

The documentary crew filmed most recently at The Center’s Wall of Honor dedication ceremony, which took place June 25. “That becomes part of our story,” Waldrop said of the ceremony. “Thirty years ago, we didn’t have people to commemorate as heavily. There might have been a few individuals for a brief time, but there’s been such a history now, and there are people that have done great things, and a brief clip of that will be in the documentary.”

The crew also interviewed people at the event for their comments on what they remembered of the atmosphere for gays and lesbians 30 years ago.

Once 30 Years Proud is complete, Groovy Like A Movie will shop it around for distribution and enter it into film festivals.

Waldrop encouraged members of San Diego’s GLBT community to contact Groovy Like A Movie if they have memories and stories they would like to contribute to the documentary.

The company will share a booth at the Pride festival with LGBT Pride and the Lambda Archives, where they will conduct one-on-one interviews with the public about their memories of the last 30 years of GLBT civil rights, and an open mic session called “I Remember When”, which will gather more interviews, anecdotes and opinions. The booth will be called “A Collection of Pride” and will be located near the entrance to the festival, taking place July 31 and Aug. 1 at Marston Point in Balboa Park.

Though they currently have no other GLBT-related projects in the works, Waldrop said Groovy Like A Movie is always open to new ideas. “The way that we operate around here is that we’re open to ideas that have a way to pay for themselves, number one, and if they’re entertaining enough to actually make it, then it’s something we can consider. … We’d be happy to start another project and do what we can to help it along.”

For more information about the 30 Years Proud, call (619) 243-0974. Visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the 30 Years Proud website, and to view “Love Stories” on the GLAAD website.