'Unholy Communion' is the latest film from local writer and director Patrick Coyle being filmed in St. Paul. It's a one month production, and one week into shooting, Coyle couldn't be happier working on a film with mostly Minnesota talent.
"I was absolutely thrilled to get my two first choices and that's Adam Bartley, who has starred in the series 'Longmire' for six years, three seasons on A&E and three seasons on Netflix," says Coyle. And Vincent Kartheiser from the wildly popular Mad Men series. And we went to work with their agents and we got them here."
Both of those stars of the film are from Minnesota, and Coyle says there's nothing like being a local writer and director, and having an opportunity to produce a film in your hometown and state.
"My LA talent is killing it, but I'm really very, very proud of the local talent to step it up with some really beautiful, solid supporting work," says Coyle who is directed his fourth film. "I couldn't be happier."
'The Public Domain' (2015), 'Into Temptation' (2009) and 'Detective Fiction' (2003) were the Minneapolis native's first three films. The Public Domain actually takes on the other Twin City, with a focus on the Polish population of Nordeast Minneapolis.
'Unholy Communion' is a murder mystery based on the book of the same name by Scandia author Thomas Rumreich. The story follows a Washington County, Minnesota investigator who is tracking a serial killer preying on priests.
Coyle explains that making movies is a team effort, and tells WCCO Radio's Ari Bergeron he can't say enough great things about his producer.
"I could not do a project of this size and this quality without a great producer, and I have one in Jasmine Reid," explained Coyle. "She's local, she's produced feature films. She was the line producer on my film "Into Temptation'. She's young and she's smart and she's killing it."
Coyle also gushes about the filming locations in St. Paul.
"It's like a sound stage. It's so visually interesting here," he says.
Overall, there are 12 major locations in St. Paul and a couple in Minneapolis. Filming is expected to last another three weeks, followed by post-production and an expected premier later this year.