Press Release

    Adding to the cast and filmmakers’ own understanding of what cancer patients go through were the extras and technical advisors, who were often one and the same.

   “One of the things we did for authenticity’s sake is make sure that our actors and extras in the hospital were as close as possible to the people who would actually be there,” offers Johnson.  “And we had a number of patients who came and worked with us in various ways and really helped us to better understand so much about the movie we were making.”

  Throughout the production, Ileana Geestman and her organization, The Desi Geestman Foundation, provided information and advice about cancer-stricken children and how the illness affects them and their families, both physically and emotionally.  The foundation’s mission is “to improve the quality of life for children suffering from cancer and their families.  The foundation provides environments of support that alleviate emotional and economic trauma.”  The charity was named in honor of Ileana’s daughter, a brave 12-year-old girl who fought a courageous battle with neuroblastoma at The City of Hope.  Ileana arranged for several of the children affiliated with her foundation to appear as extras and to serve as de facto advisors for the cast and crew.

   “I got a phone call one day from City of Hope,” Geestman recalls, “asking if our foundation wanted to participate in the movie…and maybe I could specifically answer some questions from the perspective of a mom having gone through this with my child.  I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity not only to help but also to bring awareness to the children, their disease and their families.  Having said that, my initial reaction was also one of protection because of what the children and their families go through—I wanted to make sure they were taken care of and that they were not going to be exploited in any way and that they would be treated as regular kids.”

   Geestman was more than pleased with the result.  “All of that happened—tenfold.  Nick told me he wanted to keep the movie as real as possible and asked if some of the children would participate, and completely reassured me that they would be taken care of and respected.  The children loved meeting and working with everyone on the set; Nick was so friendly with them and talked to them on their level.  Sofia was a real sweetheart—they all felt like she was their best friend.  The kids really wanted to be a part of it.  We took some of them out of the hospital and it became an adventure for them.  And these adventures are so important because their journey sometimes gets very lonely at the hospital.  So their involvement in the movie brightened their lives tremendously,” Geestman affirms.

“I guess you could say we’re a little dysfunctional, but everybody loves each other, and we do the best we can.” –Anna

The presence of these young people also brightened the days of the entire cast and crew.