By Lisa M. Onorato

Entertainment writer

It's been a busy four weeks for Golden West Films' owners Ray and Migdalia Etheridge.

The duo began filming "Dying for Dollars" July 28, and the project is expected to wrap up in mid-September.

The film is being shot entirely in Palm Bay in the Etheridge's garage, where Mr. Etheridge constructs the sets for each week's shoot.

"Dying for Dollars" tells the story of Benny, a mentally challenged man who is caught in the middle of a dysfunctional family's quest for money.

Though eight weeks seems like a short time to produce a feature film, the Etheridges aren't having a problem making their mark.

"We are 100 percent on schedule," said Mr. Etheridge. He said the film will be edited and available for purchase on Amazon.com by the end of October.

The Etheridges have produced several films with their company Golden West Films and have been selected to participate in several film festivals.

The couple entered one of their other films, "Bad Spirits," in the Melbourne Film Festival and are waiting to hear whether it will be featured in the 2007 festival.

Bill Carter of Satellite Beach was cast as Dave Larsen, Benny's stepbrother.

"I've only had one day of filming so far," Mr. Carter said. "But it was a very hard day."

Mr. Carter, who has more experience working in theater, said the film process is a bit challenging.

For example, the film is shot out of sequence, which means that actors don't really know what scene they're coming out of.

They are also only given their script and dialogue in bits and pieces in preparation for upcoming scenes.

"I'm primarily a stage actor," Mr. Carter said. "We get the entire script."

Mr. Carter also said that the film process moves much slower than the theater world.

"We can work on a scene for hours that will only turn out to be four minutes of the film" Mr. Carter said.

Los Angeles-based actor Guy D. Wells was cast as the main character Benny.

Mr. Wells is originally from Cincinnati and has been living in Los Angles on and off since 1999.

While staying with his family in Merritt Island, he saw an advertisement casting opportunities for "Dying for Dollars."

"I really wanted to work again," said Mr. Wells, who has appeared in the soap operas "Passions" and "General Hospital."

Mr. Wells said he researched the Etheridges online and contacted them via e-mail.

"I just told them I'd like to be involved with what they were doing," he said.

He originally auditioned for the part of Vinny, the kidnapper.

"I didn't go for Benny because I thought I was out of the age range of what they were looking for."

Mr. Wells said he didn't get the part of Vinny Valpini, but was instead cast as the TV host, Ryan Paul. However, one week before the movie was set to begin filming, there was a problem. The actor who was originally cast as Benny was not going to be available.

"Ray asked that if I would be interested in playing Benny," Mr. Wells said. "Of course, I was happy to."

Mr. Wells said playing the part of a mentally challenged man has been difficult but that he's been able to tap into past acting experiences and personal experiences to fine-tune his part.

"This character is based on real emotion," Mr. Wells said.

Mr. Wells said he was impressed with how well-written the script and the characters are.

"Ray is an incredible director to work for," Mr. Wells said. "He really did his research."

For information on the film, visit http://dyingfordollars.angelfire.com.

Contact Lisa M. Onorato at (321) 751-5963 or thehype@hometownnewsol.com.