Local filmmaker Tyler Ford shoots 'Piccadilly Cowboy' in London

The lead for the film is LDS actor Jaelan Petrie ("Handcart"). Most of the rest of the cast is not LDS but was drawn from London's "incredible pool of talent." James Greene, who plays the grandfather, was in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" and "From Hell" with Johnny Depp, and has a lot of BBC television credits. "He's an excellent actor," said Ford. Gwyneth Powell spent several years in a popular BBC series called "Grange Hill," Tom Butcher has starred in a BBC series much like "ER" and leading lady Sophie Shaw has done some TV and a lot of London theater.

"We worked hard to get good actors," said Ford. "That's always the challenge for indie films, where you can't pay people what they are worth. But we were lucky to bring Lucy Jenkins on board early as the casting director, and she was great."

Another piece of good work, said Ford, was getting Alan Hawkshaw as the music director. Ford said he met Hawkshaw — who has worked with such people as Olivia Newton-John, the Rolling Stones and Bette Midler — at the LDS church he attended in England. "He does this really nice, groovy music that rocks, but also has classical tones. He arranged 'I Honestly Love You' for Olivia Newton-John. We're using that song — not sung by Olivia, of course, because of the cost factor."

Cost is an ever-present concern for an independent production, said Ford. "I was originally going to make this on my credit cards. But I realized if I was going to do it right, I'd need more than that." And then, with the exchange rate, he lamented, "We ended up with half of what we thought we had. So we learned to budget pretty well."

But he's been lucky to work with good people, he said. His executive producer is Daniel Shanthakumar, who owns the Bombay House restaurants in Utah, and who worked with the local production of "Pride and Prejudice." "I'm very happy to be involved," said Shanthakumar. "It's going to be a beautiful film."

In addition to English currency and customs, another thing Ford learned about filming in London is that "you have to get permits for everything. You set a camera down, and there's a bobby asking for the permit."

There's also nowhere to park, he said, but for the most part, at least, the weather cooperated — which is pretty good, considering how much it rains in England. "But there's such rich history in every square mile — not to mention the double-decker buses," Ford said. "It's been a great experience."

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