Lake Stevens native’s ‘Lucky Them’ heads Everett Film Festival lineup

EVERETT — Film producer Lacey Leavitt remembers having a crush on Chris Pratt during her freshman year at Lake Stevens High School.

While Pratt went on to stardom in television and movie roles, Leavitt has garnered attention for her work as well.

Leavitt, 32, will be the star of opening gala Friday during the Everett Film Festival at the Everett Performing Arts Center.

Her film “Lucky Them” will be screened as the main event at the gala and Leavitt will lead a question-and-answer session after the showing.

The Everett Film Festival had its start in 1997, dedicated to highlighting the strength, humor and creativity of women through provocative and entertaining films, said festival director Teresa Henderson. Over the years, the festival broadened its view to embrace films made by women and movies offering insight into the lives of women.

Growing up, Leavitt was one of those quintessential bossy girls — smart, organized and goal-oriented. Her leadership skills blossomed at the University of Washington where she learned while working on her classmates’ films that she was good producer material.

“I studied comparative literature and enjoyed writing. I’d always wanted to be involved in creating or telling stories,” Leavitt said. “I thought about being a journalist and even had a summer internship at The Herald.”

After college, Leavitt was introduced to someone who offered her a job as a producers’ assistant in New York. The movie was the art-house comedy-drama “The Squid and the Whale,” by Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson, starring Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney.

“I was so lucky,” Leavitt said. “I obtained great insight and knowledge on that project, learning a new language that didn’t make sense until we were making the film.”

After returning to Seattle, Leavitt made the documentary “Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls.”

“I fell in love with roller derby and the women in the Seattle area who do that sport,” Leavitt said.

At some point, while working on short films and for the Seattle International Film Festival, Leavitt met the independent film director Megan Griffiths.

“I had seen her debut film, ‘First Aid for Choking,’ from 2003 and remembered that I liked it, and she liked it that I had seen it,” Leavitt said. “We became good friends and collaborators.”

Leavitt served as a producer on Griffiths’ narrative shorts “Moving” and “Eros” along with features “The Off Hours” and “The Catechism Cataclysm,” which were shown at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Griffiths’ “Lucky Them” was filmed in King County and stars Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church and Oliver Platt and debuted at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.

“We knew we could make it well here,” Leavitt said of making the film in Seattle. “The script called for a waterfall. It had to be Snoqualmie Falls. Seattle gets to play Seattle in the movie, and basically it’s a love letter to our area.”

The crew was pleased with the cast, too.

“Toni Collette was amazing. She embodied the character in an amazing way.”

Her character is a music critic sent by her editor to find her rock-icon former boyfriend. She is rough around the edges, sarcastic and, ultimately, deep, Leavitt said.

“And Thom (Haden Church) hasn’t had a role where he’s got to be this good since ‘Sideways.’ It was great to let him improvise.”

Also in the film is a cameo by a real movie star, who “was a real treat. You have to see the movie to know who it is, but I will say I haven’t seen this man play someone so authentic.”

Leavitt also was a producer on “Laggies,” a new romantic comedy starring Keira Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell, and shares the executive producing role with Griffiths for “The Greens Are Gone,” a drama starring Catherine Keener, Anton Yelchin and Kaitlyn Dever, still in post-production.

“I have been fortunate in my career thus far,” Leavitt said. “But it’s also been hard work.”

Leavitt said she would like to stay in Seattle.

“It’s really imperative right now that the state get some film incentive legislation in place,” she said. “Until then, I am happy that Snohomish County and Everett are welcoming to filmmakers.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.

Film festival details

Everett Film Festival is Feb. 20 and 21 at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. The schedule is 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. For more on what is playing during the festival, as well as the gala party and the happy hour, go to www.everettfilmfest.org. Tickets for the full festival, including the gala, are $50, or $40 for seniors, students and military. Call 425-257-8600.

Schedule

Feb. 20 — Gala, 6 p.m.; Welcome, 7:15 p.m.; “Bottle” animated film, 7:20 p.m.; “Trouble with Bread” short film, 7:30 p.m.; Break, 8 p.m.; “Lucky Them,” feature film, 8:05 p.m.; Q &A, 9:45 p.m.

Feb. 21 — Welcome, 1 p.m.; “Bachelorette, 34” short film, 1:05 p.m.; “Flicker in Eternity,” short film, 2 p.m.; “David and Goliath,” starring Billy Burke, formerly of Everett, 2:15 p.m.; Break, 2:35 p.m.; “Fixed” at 2:45 p.m., about human enhancements; Q &A, 3:45 p.m.; Happy hour and food from Everett restaurants, 4:05 p.m.; “1,000 Times Good Night,” feature starring Juliette Binoche as a wartime photojournalist, 5:30 p.m.; Break, 7:30 p.m.; “Lost Luggage,” short film, 7:40 p.m.; “Sweet Dreams,” short film, 7:50 p.m.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.