COMMON THREADS a New Production from Team Two Entertainment, Filmed in Tucson, Captures Soul of Southwest

From Team Two Entertainment, the Production Company behind successful films including "Ambush at Dark Canyon," "A Country Christmas" and "Born Wild," music videos with millions of views for country music star Randy Houser ("Like a Cowboy" and "We Went") and the forthcoming feature film "You're Gonna Miss Me" (starring country superstar Kix Brooks and John Schneider), comes "Common Threads," a heartfelt story set in the Old West, filmed at the one-of-a-kind locations of Old Tucson.

The film features an impressive ensemble cast, starring Nancy Stafford (of "Matlock" and "St. Elsewhere" fame), Broadway veteran Thomas Silcott ("The Color of Justice," "Broken Jug" and "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk"), Sydney Scotia ("Some Assembly Required"), and newcomer Sage Tousey.

"Something I always say is, 'Life is a team sport, and if you don't believe me, you're wrong," said director William Shockley. "This certainly was true with the making of "Common Threads." Without the unwavering effort of my film family, and the belief and support of Visit Tucson's Vice President of Marketing Allison [Cooper] Schult, presenting sponsor Visit Tucson, Casino del Sol Resort, and Executive Producer Judith Schoedel, this film would never have been made. In addition, Justin Kreinbrink was one of our producers, and he literally opened up the doors of his company, Monsoon Production Services, Southern Arizona's largest motion picture equipment and production services business. Jenna Miller, our costume designer, was also invaluable. She spent weeks designing and then custom-making the costumes for the four lead characters. Her elegant attention to detail was impeccable."

William Shockley has an extensive filmography as an actor, writer and producer, but "Common Threads" was his project from the start and with the help of his collaborators, a perfect film to kick off his directorial career.

"I pitched the 'Common Threads' idea as a short film to my dear friend and Team Two Entertainment partner, Dustin Rikert," Shockley added. "He was immediately drawn to the concept, and said, you have to direct this, we have to do this film! Eric Brooks, one of my other partners at Team Two, and I spent six weeks writing the script. This is a long time to spend on 19 pages, but we both knew that the story was special and meaningful, and we wanted to give the script the time that it deserved. We then brought on Tiiu Loigu as casting director and one of our producers. The stage was set."

Shockley returned to Old Tucson [Studios] to film "Common Threads," pleased to work again with Rob Jensen, Director of Entertainment, and the opportunity to showcase the set locations where hundreds of western films have been made, including "Rio Bravo," "Tombstone," "The Three Amigos" and Houser's epic country music video, "Like a Cowboy."

Schult, who successfully brought product placement to the table as a part of Visit Tucson's marketing program, was drawn to the script because of its celebration of Tucson's rich cowboy culture - something most visitors to the region make some part of their visit - but also because the film reflects the open, accepting culture of the city today. "While the story surrounds you with the Old West feel that brought filmmakers to Tucson for decades, "Common Threads" isn't your standard "shoot 'em up western full of bravado, booze and bullets. It's a compelling story that will resonate with women and families of all generations - the same people Visit Tucson works to reach in a meaningful way."

Following a standing-room-only screening for friends & family at the Tucson Film Fest, Common Threads is now being submitted to global film festivals, and is being pitched in Hollywood as an adaptation for a television movie and/or pilot for a future series.

To learn more about Visit Tucson's collaboratively successful partnership with Team Two Entertainment, watch this YouTube videohttps://youtu.be/ZjJtIFXbHXo

And visit us at www.visittucson.org/randyhouser.

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