If you know Schoharie County, most of the scenes in Tony Goss's just-released "Welcome to Happy Valley" will look familiar.
And maybe even some of the horses.
Mr. Goss, who grew up in Middleburgh, is now an independent filmmaker in California--where he's the first to admit, everyone's got a screenplay they're trying to get made.
Frustrated by the process, Mr. Goss, whose done a few shorts and even a crime drama spoof on "Twilight," took matters into his own hands about three years ago.
The result is his first feature, "Welcome to Happy Valley," shot mostly on his parents' Goss's Hosses farm in Middleburgh, at the Cobleskill Fair, and even Locomotions.
"Happy Valley" was released for USA distribution September 22 and is available at Wal-Mart, where his mom, Bonnie, has already picked up a few copies for herself.
"My family and friends are just tickled pink," said Mr. Goss. "It was a lot of fun and it's pretty exciting to have it out there."
Mr. Goss takes his inspiration from filmmaker Ron Rodriguez, who made his "El Mariachi" with a budget of $7,000 using mostly what he had at hand.
"I took a look at what resources I had available, and wrote the script from that," Mr. Goss explained.
Shooting was done locally in just a couple of weeks after he flew in some actors he'd worked with out from LA.
And though the self-financed DVD has just been released in this country at places like Wal-Mart, Kmart, iTunes, Best Buy, and Amazon, it's been for sale in Europe for a while and Asia will be next.
Working on such a small scale is a relatively new trend in independent filmmaking, Mr. Goss said, one that's made possible in part by lower cost digital cameras and high-quality laptop editing programs.
Still, Mr. Goss said, even he was surprised when he got the deal.
"I was very surprised," he said, "but it's proof that something like this can be done. To get shelf space in Wal-Mart is huge, huge, huge."
"Welcome to Happy Valley" is the story of two very different sisters from a divorced family who have to find a way to work together to save the family farm after their father dies.
"And of course, there's a bad guy trying to steal the farm," Mr. Goss said, laughing.
Scenes at the Cobleskill Fair include a tractor pull and the Arts & Crafts Building; three or four scenes from Locomotions were shot both in the backroom and at the main bar.
Most of the farm scenes were filmed at the Goss farm or at neighbors, and there's footage of a well-known waterfalls in Livingstonville.
Mr. Goss's dad's dog, Merle, also has a starring role in the movie-an unexpected one.
A Cairn terrier, Merle was just supposed to be in one shot.
But after he fell in love with one of the main characters, Mr. Goss said, Merle's role expanded.
Mr. Goss's day job is tending bar at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel, featured on the cover of the Eagles' 1976 album "Hotel California,"
and he's now in pre-production for another micro-budget movie that he'll begin shooting in November.