Calendar

Robert Blanton, 80, and Freddie Freeman, 87, have different reactions to โ€œThe Birds.โ€

Thelma and Louise definitely look older and wiser.

The whole experience with an extraterrestrial most definitely aged 10-year-old Elliott.

Maria โ€” from โ€œThe Sound of Musicโ€ โ€” is more great-grandma than the perky, just- kicked-out-of-the-convent governess.

And, thatโ€™s the point.

The iconic film posters in the Casa Classics 2017 Calendar feature 20 senior citizens โ€” ages 69 to 97 โ€” duded up in costumes to recreate oldies like 1939โ€™s โ€œThe Wizard of Ozโ€ to more modern movies such as โ€œIndiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.โ€

Giving E.T. a lift is Vincent Barone, 97, who is a distinct change from the movieโ€™s 10-year-old Elliot.

The $15 calendar is a fundraiser for the Green Valley Senior Lunch Program at the Casa Community Center at La Posada. While the program is federally funded โ€” itโ€™s available to area residents over 60 with a suggested $3 donation โ€” the Casa program is supplemented with parties, day trips and other activities.

โ€œSocialization is every bit as important,โ€ said Casa Community Center Director Ellen March, who added that the program serves 35-45 seniors a day, most of whom live alone and enjoy the chance to get out and visit.

In previous years, Casa held ice cream socials and even a mystery tea party to cover the costs of the extras. But when March heard about a similar calendar done in Europe, she loved the idea. She reached out to Sahuarita film and TV instructor Derek Marshall. It was an easy sell.

Marshallโ€™s students already collaborate with Casa Community Services on a program called Story Keeping at Casa that has students filming seniors sharing stories about their lives. His teaching assistant, Victoria Felix, now a freshman at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, provided the photo-editing expertise and handled the bulk of the photo shoots, which mostly took place over the summer.

โ€œDoing the whole pictures and editing them and hearing the backstories brought me joy,โ€ Felix, 18, said in a phone interview. โ€œThey loved doing it. ... It was great.โ€

Folly McDivitt, 77, and Nini Andrews, 93, get down for a road trip as Thelma and Louise.

When the initial call went out for models, no one volunteered, March said. But after learning a little more about the project, people decided they were ready for their closeups.

โ€œOnce we put wigs on them, it was amazing,โ€ said Casa Community Services development specialist Regina Ford, also an actress and director who styled the models. She dipped into her own extensive costume collection for the photos. โ€œThey really got into it.โ€

Of course, it wasnโ€™t all smooth sailing. A minor wardrobe malfunction plagued July.

โ€œKeeping the coconut shells on was tough,โ€ Ford said of John Platzโ€™s โ€œSouth Pacificโ€ ensemble that included a too-small bra along with a grass skirt and plastic flower leis.

And 77-year-old Siony Villanueva, who played Mary Poppins, was mighty disappointed the penguins dancing along with her were to be edited in later.

Freddie Freemanโ€™s exaggerated scream in Alfred Hitchcockโ€™s โ€œThe Birdsโ€ ranked as Marshallโ€™s favorite, and Freeman reported that her family โ€” seven kids and โ€œabout 70 great-grandchildrenโ€ โ€” thought the photo was hilarious, even though she is not such a fan of the flick.

โ€œI didnโ€™t like the movie,โ€ Freeman, 87, said.

Not the case for the series that Joe Leon, 85, represented. Mr. April likes every one of the Indiana Jones movies, and along with slapping on a fedora and wearing a touch of makeup, he did a little extra prep for his shoot.

โ€œI usually take a bath once a month,โ€ cracked Leon, as he waited for lunch one day at the community center. โ€œI took a shower for this.โ€

Joe Leon, 85, dons a fedora for his appearance as explorer extraordinaire Indiana Jones.

Where to buy it

Casa Classics 2017 Calendar is available at these Green Valley locations:

โ€ข Posada Java, 665 S. Park Centre Ave., Green Valley

โ€ข Community Connect in the Continental Shopping Plaza, 250 W. Continental Road

โ€ข Green Valley Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce, 275 W. Continental Road, #123


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Contact Kristen Cook at kcook@tucson.com or 573-4194. On Twitter: @kcookski