Alonso Mayo has started principal photography on his feature directorial debut, The Story of Luke, in Ontario, Canada.  Lou Taylor Pucci stars as Luke, "a young man with autism who, after being sheltered his whole life, embarks on a quest for a job and a girl."  Tonight it was revealed Seth Green will co-star alongside Cary Elwes, Kristin Bauer, Kenneth Welsh, Tyler Stentiford, and Mackenzie Munro.

Producers Nina Leidersdorff, Julien Favre, and Fred Roos are doing their best to get the word out on the indie coming-of-age comedy.  The official site and Facebook page are packed with material, including production stills, a lengthy synopsis, and even the first ten pages of the screenplay.  Check it out after the jump.

First, here are a few of the photos from the set.  You can see a lot more on Facebook.

And here is the lengthy official synopsis.  If you want to know even more, the first ten pages of the screenplay are posted here.

Luke, 25, is different. And it’s not just that he dresses like he’s from the 1950′s or that he looks at every object, animal and person as if it were a toddler’s first glance or that he talks with a purpose befitting storybook royalty or that he can cook better than most grandmothers or that his perfect day is made up of watching reruns of “I love Lucy” and absolutely nothing else. Luke is different because if you look deep in his eyes you will see that there is such extreme kindness in him that despite yourself, you will smile. That’s not to say Luke doesn’t have his quirks, everyone does. Luke for example, has autism. Now that’s a pretty big quirk. But unlike most people, Luke does his best to not let his quirks get the best of him. And if you knew him, really knew him, and only a few people have had the pleasure, and you managed to glance over his quirks, you’d realize that he would glance over yours right back. And then Luke would say the darnedest thing. And you would laugh, and want to get to know him some more. That’s Luke.

-The poor thing… He’s all alone now. -Neighbor Susan

-He’s still got his grandfather. And that sorry excuse for an uncle. -Neighbor Theresa

-Like I said… He’s all alone now.

All is not well in Luke’s world. His grandmother’s sudden death has turned everything upside down. She was the glue that held him together since his mother gave him up over 20 years ago, when he was not only a child, but an alien in his own world, trapped in his autism. His grandmother connected to him. She opened his eyes. She taught him to read and write and cook and tutored him all the way to his GED. And even though Luke had been warned this day would come, and emotions are not something he gives much importance to, the urgency of the matter overtakes him: “What am I going to do now?” But it is not a question of where he is going to sleep or eat or do for the near future since everything seems to be taken care of and everybody seems to know what is best for him – especially his uncle, aunt & cousins, a motley bunch who reluctantly & out of guilt agree to take him in. Luke’s question is more existential: “What am I going to do now with my life?” Luckily, Luke isn’t completely without guidance. His grandfather, a no-nonsense man battling Alzheimer’s, and also a prisoner of Luke uncle’s, has just enough moments of clarity to point Luke in the right direction: “First a job. Then you find yourself a nice girl. Preferably that likes to screw a lot.”

“Are you a child or are you a man, boy? Stop whining so damn much. You’re not a complete moron, you know? Your grandma’s not around anymore so you better stop all your childish ways and get your shit together like anybody else. Grow the hell up.” – Grandfather Jonas

Luke is 25 years old and he’s never gone out of the house alone, never ridden a bus without supervision, never stayed up past 10pm, and he’s never, ever even dreamed of approaching a complete stranger in conversation. But Luke has taken his grandfather’s words to heart, because… Well… They make complete logical sense. And now Luke has a plan he must carry out. From now on every single moment of every day will be a challenge. Luke will not only go out of the house, ride a bus, stay up past 10pm and talk to complete strangers, but Luke will have to shake hands with them. And that may very well be the hardest thing Luke has ever done. And he won’t get a moment’s rest, not even at home, where his uncle, aunt and cousins can’t get over the fact that he might not be the complete “retard” they think him to be: “Luke, are you okay? Why can’t you just stay home and watch I love Lucy? Do you want a bigger TV?” But Luke will carry on, pestering every single stranger he meets until he hitches a ride to S.M.I.L.E.S., a job center for “special” people, where they hook him up on his first job training, the first step in his master plan. And Luke will smile while he cooks up a celebratory meal, and slowly, reluctantly, his new family will begin to understand him just a little more.

- What’s wrong with him? -Cousin Brad

– I think he’s on some sort of… Quest. For a meaningful career. And true love. -Cousin Megan

-Damn.

Luke becomes an office assistant at a large marketing firm, where he meets Zack, a smartass I.T. specialist with a pronounced social interaction disorder & extreme anger management issues who hates every single person in this earth, including Luke. But Zack, although he would hate to admit it, deep down, is very similar to Luke. Very similar. And Luke has just committed a grave error. A sin which Zack quickly recognizes: “Luke, you didn’t… You couldn’t… Did you fall in love with an NT? A neurological typical? A normal girl? You?!” With that, Luke and Zack begin a beautiful, although tumultuous, but never dull friendship. Zack understands Luke, he also once fell in love with a “normal girl”. Luke quickly enlists Zack to help him with a key step in his master plan, an ever evolving master plan which now calls for Luke to approach a member of the opposite sex while in disguise. A very elaborate disguise: “Zack, I love Maria. Help me become normal.” Although Zack wants to turn Luke away and spare him from a thousand paper cuts to the heart, Zack can’t say no. Nobody could say no to a personal, and persistent, appeal from Luke. And this is where Luke’s quest really begins. He is about to undergo a transformation. Luke will never be the same.

- You know you’ll never be normal, right? You have less than one in a million chance of not making a fool of yourself. A billion. -Zack

– I will practice a lot. And practice makes perfect. -Luke

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