Chance Encounter Brings Lights, Cameras, Action To Cleburne

CLEBURNE (CBSDFW.COM) - It sounds like a movie script. A North Texas woman's chance encounter leads to the opportunity of a lifetime.

But this is real life, and she's now really making her own movie and she's making it in Cleburne of all places.  It's is about as far away from Hollywood as you can get. But Hollywood came knocking at the door.

Victory Angel Films - based in Arizona - and Trumpett Productions in Hico have been in Cleburne the past two weeks making "Sweetwater," a movie about cancer and a theory for why there's no a cure.

William Katt is one of the lead actors. "You wonder, 'hmmm. Is it because there's so much money to be made with cancer and everything that surrounds cancer. Why would they want to find a cure for it?'" Katt suggested.

The plot sounds like it's right out of Hollywood. But, it comes from Kim Hughes, a North Texan, who lost her step-mother to cancer.  "Maybe as a form of anger, cynicism. I'm not sure," Hughes said.

Sweetwater may never have gotten off the ground if it wasn't for what's known in the industry as a 'lucky break.'

Hughes said, "About four months ago, 'I'm sitting, traveling on an airplane."  Director Brian Skiba picks it up from there. "And she looked over and was just like, 'Oh, you do screenplays. I was like, 'Yeah. We just started talking.'"

The film is already a source of pride for Laurie Love one of the few female producers in the industry.  "We're always proving ourselves. And we can do it. We can do it," Love said.

And they did it in the most unlikliest of places, in Cleburne.

After Tuesday, it'll be a wrap. The production company hopes Lifetime or the "O" network picks it up.