Draft:The Astrid Experience

The Astrid Experience is a romantic comedy-drama film written & directed by Cal Barnes and starring Cal Barnes, Lucia Xypteras, Rob Conroy, Mena Santos, and John That. The story follows Chase Abbott, a famous young artist in recovery who meets a free spirited-actress named Astrid.

Plot
Chase Abbott is down and out — literally — he has gone from being on the town’s hot-list of successful, young Hollywood talent, to signing books in the back of a dilapidated bookstore in the valley. To top it all off, the only girl he’s ever truly loved just left him due to a lack of future potential. A mere fall from grace would be putting it mildly, his life is literally falling apart around him, and it gets darker everyday. When Chase is at the breaking-point, he meets a free-spirited young actress named Astrid Stevens who shows him he has something more worth living for.

Cast

 * Cal Barnes as Chase Abbott
 * Lucia Xypteras as Astrid Stevens
 * Rob Conroy as Robbie Baker
 * Mena Santos as Chels
 * Lotus Bech as Emma
 * John That as Himself
 * Melissa Riso as Lexi
 * Caitlin O'Connor as Brianna
 * Petrie Willink as Danny
 * Brett Colbeth as Jerry Summers
 * Erica Shaffer as Mrs. Abbott
 * Mariel Suarez as Tina

Development & Production
Barnes wrote a first-draft of the script in 2012, but was shelved until a later date as he worked on other projects. His friend/collaborator, musician John That, contacted him and asked if he had any features that they could produce themselves. Barnes resisted the script and they went into production in 2019.

Filming
Principal photography for the film lasted approximately two weeks in Los Angeles, California in 2019. Barnes edited the film and shot several rounds of pick-ups before completing the film. Barnes mentioned that the process of acting and directing at the same time was a challenging experience.

Post-production
The Astrid Experience entered post-production in 2019 after several week so principle photography where the editing process began. On April 24th, 2020, Barnes and That launched a crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder to complete the film. Barnes also travelled to his home state of Oregon to seek additional investment. The project was successfully funded on November 1st, 2020.

Music
The original soundtrack for the film was created by musician John That and music producer Moss Dub, along with their band ACADEMY.

Premiere
The Astrid Experience had its world-premiere at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Santa Monica, California on March 23rd, 2023.

Release
The Astrid Experience was released on the Official Noblehooks Productions Youtube Channel on March 25th, 2023. The film has subsequently been distributed by both Tubi and Amazon Prime Video.

Reception
William Hemingway of the UK Film Review gave the film two out of five stars, summing up that "The Astrid Experience is one of those typical Hollywood beasts, trying to tell cool LA stories which us normals can idolize and aspire to, just doing what it's doing without really seeing what it's actually up to." He did, however, give praise to the film's music, stating that "The music may be the only positive to The Astrid Experience as the easy beats from John That, Matt Osenton, and Academy fit in nicely with the night lights and LA lifestyle."