Hollywood just isn't what it used to be.
Fortunately, with film-editing software and digital video cameras, a new breed of filmmakers is rising up armed with ideas far riskier than anything Hollywood would ever dream of.
Enter Kids on Coffee, an acting, producing and directing trio hailing from New Mexico with a passion for making films a bit on the bizarre side.
The group's latest film, a dark comedy called "Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix," focuses on two half-sisters and a man they meet in a psychiatrist's office.
"Everything that happens, happens because they're all crazy," said Aaron Hendren, one third of Kids on Coffee. "There is absolutely no secret that they're all crazy."
Omicron, played by Hendren, has a problem with uncompleted tasks. At his psychiatrist's office, he meets two half-sisters, Rho and Iota, played by fellow Kids on Coffee members Eva Blaylock and Danielle Babbitt. Iota tags Omicron.
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"You're it!" she taunts. Omicron is unable to tag her back and, being who he is, must finish what he's started. He hitches a ride with them along the freeway, traveling around New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado as Iota tries to catch up to her estranged father and - unbeknownst to the other two - attempt to kill him.
Hendren said he loves making films in New Mexico.
"Look at any dawn, any sunset," he said. "The lighting is just great. New Mexico's film community is growing by leaps and bounds. The people here are wonderful."
Even with such glowing praise for his home state, Hendren said the team faced some challenges in the making of "Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix."
"We don't pay much attention to the legal side of films, so I wonder about some of our shots," he said. "Part of the movie was filmed at UNM, but we didn't get permission for it. If it's not legal, then I should say that it was filmed at a place that looks a whole lot like UNM."
"Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix," shot on a budget of less than $10,000, brings fourth the talent of three adventurous filmmakers with a unique state of mind.
