High school won't let movie crew in

Some say film's gay content at issue

By Will Bigham, Staff Writer

06/27/2007

CLAREMONT - School district officials have denied a request for a filming permit that was submitted for a film with gay themes, citing a conflict with summer school schedules.

But some people in the community aren't buying the School District's explanation.

School board member Steven Llanusa, the parents of several Claremont High School students and the director of the film believe the permit was denied because of the film's content.

School officials and other board members deny the rejection was discriminatory.

They have also raised concerns about Llanusa's friendship with the writer and director of the film. Llanusa originally suggested Claremont school facilities for filming, and assisted the filmmaker in setting up meetings with district officials.

The main character of the film, titled "True Loved," is a closeted high school football player whose best friend is a straight girl with two lesbian parents. The female character forms the school's first Gay-Straight Alliance club.

The only content in the film that may be perceived as sexual is an off-campus kiss between two male characters that is "kind of a sad farewell kiss," said Stewart Wade, the writer and director of the film. "It's not anything sexual."

Wade asked to use Claremont High School's football field, theater, weight room and two classrooms for 10 days of filming, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Carrie Allen, the school's principal.

Allen said the request was denied because summer programs at the school last all day in different locations.

Wade said he was willing to work around school schedules, even stating on his permit application that the filming dates were negotiable. But, he said, he was not able to negotiate with Allen because she did not contact him before rejecting the permit.

"We could have arranged it so that we were never on campus when there were students on campus," Wade said. "But they never gave us that option."

According to the school district, the decision to deny the permit was made solely by Allen, who left Wade a phone message Tuesday to inform him of the denial.

However, Superintendent David Cash, Allen's supervisor, expressed concern with the production early in the process, and had even initially rejected an early form of the application.

In an e-mail sent June 6 to a parent supportive of the film, Cash identified several legal issues "regarding the denial of the film production."

"It would be very difficult for the district to distance itself both legally and politically from the production," Cash said.

He continued: "No matter what the district says and does to distance itself from the project ... there will be an implicit promotion or (permission) charged if a student gets hurt, is involved in inappropriate activities (e.g., alcohol, drugs, sexual conduct), etc."

Llanusa said he believes that Cash's use of the word "political" and the phrase "sexual conduct" are implied references to the gay themes in the film.

"Why would (the district) need to distance itself politically from a movie with noncontroversial content?" he said.

"There are no sex scenes in the film, so I don't know where he would get that concern" about sexual content, Llanusa added.

Both Cash and Allen received copies of the film script. Allen confirmed that she read the script.

Cash declined repeated requests for an interview, instead issuing a written statement about the film late Wednesday afternoon.

"At no time was any decision made based on the content of the film," he said. "In fact, at the time the film project was originally denied, the content of the film was unknown to me."

Cash's assistant said early Wednesday afternoon that Cash concurred with a statement supportive of the district issued by school board Vice President Jeanne Hamilton.

"I regret that Mr. Llanusa feels that discrimination is the likely explanation for denying the use of the high school campus for a major film activity," Hamilton said.

"The issue is further complicated by the fact that the film's director is a personal friend of Mr. Llanusa, which is an area of concern to some of the board members," she added.

Per Dahlin, a parent of a Claremont High theater student who was supportive of the film, was one of several community members who questioned the district's motives in denying the application at a school board meeting last week.

"We cannot understand why the school district isn't accepting" the film, she added. "We're not being told the whole story. We're not getting the complete picture."

Wade said that because Claremont High didn't work out, he will film instead at Agoura High School in the west San Fernando Valley.

Agoura High needed only to be assured that the film was not pornographic or pyrotechnic, Wade said.

Claremont Unified Staff writer Will Bigham can be reached by e-mail at will.bigham@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-8553.