Hola, Focus fans, welcome back to "Reel Destinations"
where we tour the locations
that make our favorite movies look and feel real.
And in a much needed change of scenery,
I'm traveling across the states, in honor of director,
Luke Greenfield's new road trip comedy, "Half Brothers."
[Renato Voice Over] When I was a kid in Mexico,
my father was like my best friend.
And the day he left us, a part of me left with him.
Luis Gerardo Méndez stars as Renato,
a jaded businessmen who travels from Mexico to America
to visit his sick father, Flavio.
Renato is apprehensive about reuniting with the man
who abandoned him as a boy,
but he is shocked to discover
that he has a half-brother called, Asher.
Is this guy bothering you, Dad?
Dad?
Meet your brother.
What?
In hopes of forging a brotherly bond,
Flavio sends his two sons on an unforgettable scavenger hunt
that will unlock the secrets of his past
and reveal the truth about his disappearance.
Hey, there's another envelope in here.
It's like a clue! Yeah!
Following the clues,
the unlikely duo make their way across several States
in the film, but actually most of the movie
was shot in New Mexico.
Today, we'll learn how a little movie magic
helped turn the land of enchantment
into an All-American backdrop.
Joining us from the set of her next production,
"Half Brothers" locations manager, Puck, is here
to tell us a little bit more
about how they managed to pull this off.
Hi, Puck.
Hi Alicia.
I'm excited to talk to you because you know,
New Mexico has become a very popular destination
for Hollywood films, but why was it perfect
for "Half Brothers?"
Well "Half Brothers" is particularly challenging
in that it's a road trip movie,
so you need a diversity of looks.
But it's a road trip about a road trip
that takes place over several decades.
So you need, kind of what I'm thinking of,
as a double diversity of looks.
And New Mexico, we have all kinds of architecture,
geology and different kinds of ecosystems as well.
So we're uniquely situated for that.
New Mexico in Albuquerque in particular,
has what I call dense diversity,
meaning one morning, for example, we shot Mexico,
and then in the afternoon we were in Chicago.
So because different looks are so close together,
it makes it functional to imagine
that you're crossing the country
when you're really just crossing the city.
Welcome to America.
Your father wanted to come home to you more than anything,
but fate had something else in store for him.
While traveling through the American Heartland,
Renato and Asher visit a roadside attraction
where they pick up an unexpected passenger.
And although they didn't receive
a very warm welcome, in real life
Virgin Farms has quite the opposite atmosphere.
"Half Brothers" was the first production
that we've had shot at the farm.
And it was a great experience to have our farm featured.
It was about a two to three day event.
And I hear the cows are very well treated.
There's something about music and singing to the cows?
Yes, actually there's CDs that run off of the main barn,
and the animals that are close enough to it,
then they start doing cartwheels and things like that.
We know they're a lot happier.
What was it like to see all of those film trucks
descend on your farm?
The prep work and the consideration
for the farm and the animals,
everything went incredibly well.
I think it will be a very nice mark
in what the farm means to us.
It'll be wonderful to watch it on the big screen.
Throughout their adventure,
Renato and Asher find themselves
in all sorts of wacky situations.
And the crew of "Half Brothers" did too.
Four weeks before we were supposed to start filming
at the motel, a friend of mine texted me and said,
"Did you hear what happened downtown?"
"No, what?"
"A motel blew up!" and it was our motel that blew up!
About 20 or 30 rooms blew out of the motel.
This was the one motel that would work for the scene.
So after about four weeks,
we were permitted to be the first tenants
back on the property, and we successfully filmed that scene.
I knew it!
Fortunately, not all of the locations in "Half Brothers"
met a fiery fate.
The historic St. Francis de Sales Inn
hosted the production flawlessly.
Posing as a convent in the film,
this venue hosts weddings, parties and overnight guests
all year round.
Can I help you?
It was built in 1860, and it was a working Catholic church
until it was deconsecrated as a church in 1963.
They were looking for a specific look
for a convent for this movie.
And there was quite the buzz.
The producers and the directors and the actors
and all the various unions and lots of different people
that are involved, that it seems like
really an organizational feat.
Please know, I am always with you.
Our people that grew up in the community,
this was their church that they went to.
Their parents were married here,
or they themselves were baptized here.
We've had people just become overwhelmed by emotion,
just walking in the doors.
We do get a lot of people out
in the paranormal groups that want to explore.
So those kinds of things are very interesting,
have relayed, and hear about.
Nothing brings people together
like a good old fashioned road trip,
and in "Half Brothers," Renato and Asher discover that
even with their clashing personalities and backgrounds,
their differences are no match for the bond of brotherhood.
So grab a loved one and hit the road
and don't forget to make a pit stop to see "Half Brothers"
in theaters December 4th.
Well, I'm off of my own adventure,
but I'll see you at the next "Real Destination," adios.