Local filmmaker Stevie Fernandez is the writer and director of the movie, called “Forgotten Fortune,” which is currently filming in Sapulpa.
The movie stars native Tulsa actor Brian Shoop as Brian, a retired postman with early-onset dementia. After he witnesses a murder, he tries to tell the police, but nobody will believe him except his two lifelong friends, played by the original “Incredible Hulk” Lou Ferrigno, and Jimmie “JJ” Walker, who many will recognize from his days on the CBS sitcom “Good Times,” with his catchphrase, “Dyn-o-mite!”
Shoop plays the lead role, whose name is also Brian. “Which is strange,” he told Sapulpa Times in an on-set interview. “That’s never happened, really. The other actors think they’re making a mistake if they call you Brian.”
Shoop moved to Tulsa from Ohio years ago, and says he was never that interested in acting until he got to Oklahoma.
“I didn’t ever do any of this in high school,” he said. “I was a jock, you know. We didn’t deal with the drama part of the student body. I did some singing with a friend of mine. We did a talent show. That’s about as close as I ever got.”
He said his first taste of acting was doing skits for a church program, and then a random piece of mail changed everything for him.
“In my bank statement, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, there was a thing announcing auditions for the community theater. I thought ‘a real audition, that would be really fun.’ I got cast as the lead role in Plaza Suite, and that was terminal for me. I was hooked.”
After taking some classes, Shoop began booking commercials and movie auditions and began to see some success. “Before I knew it, I was out in LA at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.”
Shoop’s first major motion picture was The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid. He’s since had a 35-year career and been featured in everything from movies like Jesus Revolution, and more recently he appeared in two episodes of Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone.
He says his character in “Forgotten Fortune” hits close to home, and will for many others.
“Everybody has been touched by Alzheimer’s,” he says. “Unfortunately, I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s some years ago, and I remember the difficulty of that disease, and dealing with how best to care for that person. They don’t really remember you anymore, and you’re just trying to provide comfort.
“That was the thing with my mom: she got to a place where she didn’t know family; loved ones were just the same as every other stranger she met during the day, they were just another person. And what that said to me was that she must feel very lonely. My mom also lost her vocabulary and couldn’t communicate how she felt, which was even more isolating in my mind.”
Shoop’s character is also experiencing the beginning effects of dementia, something that plays an important plot point.
“I’m having little moments where (the other characters) can’t really explain, and nor can I. One of the things that causes them concern is every now and then, I’ll dig out my old postman’s uniform and get a bunch of junk mail and walk my old route and deliver pretend mail.”
During one of his trips reliving his days as a postman, he stumbles upon a murder, and though he tries to tell the police, nobody will believe him.
Shoop says the experience has evoked a lot of emotion from his time with his mother in her final months. “There’s a lot to draw on, there,” he said.
The movie is set to release in December, with a special showing in Tulsa. Sapulpa Times will share the details on how to get tickets when that information becomes available.
Look for additional stories featuring interviews with Ferrigno and Walker in the coming days.
