Crown Media Love in the Limelight
Inspired by the real-life romance of Willie Aames and Winnie Hung, the Hallmark Channel’s first “Fall into Love” movie, “Love in the Limelight,” premieres on Saturday, August 6, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega and features six new songs, all written by Carlos PenaVega himself.
‘Love in the Limelight’ Was Filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah
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The Utah Film Commission shared details about the filming of the movie. The movie was filmed between May 9 and 27. The principal photography was done from May 9 to 27 as well.
Salt Lake City is no stranger to movie sets. It offers a basic Western urban setting, frequently serving as a stand-in for Los Angeles, Denver, or other locations. Some of the movies filmed in Salt Lake City include “Independence Day,” and all three “High School Musical” films, and more.
Executive producer James Wilberger shared a picture of himself with director Ron Oliver during the first day of shooting the movie.
He also shared a picture of audio mixing and wrote: “We started mixing #loveinthelimelight today! The songs are incredible and the score is beautiful!!”
He explained that actor Carlos PenaVega wrote and sang five original songs for the movie!
Sir Ron Oliver enjoyed taking fun photos with the rest of the crew, and seemed to have a really fun time on set.
He is also quite the comedian, as you can see in this Instagram post below, where he jokes about Alexa PenaVega taking his picture.
In the photo below, he shared that the movie is a “thinly veiled biopic of love, redemption, and music.”
He stayed at the luxurious Grand America Hotel and shared his experience.
Meet the Cast
Crown Media reads the synopsis in their press release as follows: “As a teenager, Summer (Alexa PenaVega) was a devoted fan of the popular boy band the Mendez Boyz, especially Nick (Carlos PenaVega), their lead singer. After receiving a sweet fan letter from Summer, Nick decides to respond with a phone call, sparking the start of a friendship that’s lasted to this day. When Nick’s manager books a gig for him at a small venue in Summer’s hometown of Salt Lake City where she now works in human resources at a local university, the two finally meet face-to-face. It’s clear their friendship has set the stage for romance.”
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Real-life couple Alexa and Carlos PenaVega star in this movie and play Summer and Nick. Alexa is known for her success in the “Spy Kids “movies as well as the TV series “Picture Perfect Mysteries.” Carlos also shared the screen in “Picture Perfect Mysteries,” and is also known for the TV series short “The Loud House,” which ran from 2016 to 2022.
Carlos’ original compositions for the film’s soundtrack are described by Hallmark as “rich Latin sound.”
The playlist includes, “If You Let Me,” “Someday Somewhere,” “BASIC,” “Vamos Pasar La Bien,” “Fall Again,” and “Por Ti,” ET Online shared.
He recently began a U.S./Mexico tour with Big Time Rush, which will conclude at the end of August.
Carlos shared on social media that he’s excited about the movie.
“This movie takes our Hallmark experience to the next level,” said Alexa and Carlos PenaVega in a joint statement, according to ET Online. “They allowed us the freedom to explore and create original music, stylized performances and a fresh take on a modern love story. We couldn’t be happier or more excited!”
The couple is seen with their family in a picture shared on James Wilberger’s Instagram, below.
Carlos and Alexa met at a Bible study. Their married name is PenaVega, and they exchanged vows on January 4, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They share a YouTube channel called La Vida PenaVega. The couple has three children, all of whom were born in 2016, 2019, and 2021.
The cast for the movie also includes Ivonne Coll (“The Godfather Part 2”) and Chase Ramsey (“Falling for Christmas.”)
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