Back in December, I shared the news that indie genre icon James L. Edwards was set to make his feature directorial debut with a film titled HER NAME WAS CHRISTA, a project that was originally intended to reunite Edwards with Ariauna Albright, his co-star in the '90s films POLYMORPH and BLOODLETTING.
Unfortunately, Albright had to drop out of HER NAME WAS CHRISTA due to "creative differences". The actress later specified that she wasn't interested in doing the nudity required for the role of Christa.
Since Albright's departure, Edwards has found the actress who will be replacing her as the title character: Shianne Daye, who is described as being "a relative newcomer to the indie scene".
While it is disappointing that Albright won't be in HER NAME WAS CHRISTA, her reason for opting out of it is an understandable one, and I remain interested in seeing what Edwards has in store for us with this film. Which sounds like it could be very disturbing.
Edwards stars as Stephen,
a socially awkward, middle aged telemarketer who is desperately alone. At the suggestion of a co-worker, he goes out into the night to find a prostitute for "The Girlfriend Experience". With this, he meets Christa, a streetwise call girl who's happy to fulfill his needs. Yet something unexpected happens. What starts as a business agreement blossoms into true love. But what happens when death enters the picture? How far would you go to keep the one person you've always wanted?
About 33% of HER NAME WAS CHRISTA was shot in my home state of Ohio before the production took a break for the winter. Filming is expected to continue in May or June… or whenever winter finally decides to end.