Shubhabrata Dutta
Helmed by Larry A. McLean, Hallmark’s ‘Love in the Clouds’ is a romantic movie that takes love to the skies. The story follows Brooklyn, a reporter who travels to New Mexico for her dream assignment, to cover the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the world’s largest balloon festival. There, she meets hot-air balloon pilot Jared, who offers romantic balloon rides to couples. While he seems to have shut the door on love, meeting Brooklyn changes things for the better and makes way for some much-needed romance. The use of vibrant visuals helps emphasize the lighthearted mood while highlighting the gorgeous aesthetics.
Where Was Hallmark’s Love in the Clouds Filmed?
‘Love in the Clouds’ was filmed entirely in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the very location the story is set. Although the fiesta takes place in October, filming took place in December 2024. While talking to ABQ Journal, screenwriter Lisa Hepner spoke about her urge to film in the city. “I grew up here, and the first thing I thought about was the Balloon Fiesta…I couldn’t think of any other films that featured the event. I decided to take advantage and feature Albuquerque.”
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The production crew made the city of Albuquerque, the seat of Bernalillo County, in central New Mexico, their base for filming. The main location was Balloon Fiesta Park at 4401 Alameda Boulevard, where the festival is held. The crew had to recreate the vibe of the festival. For this, they taped as many shots of the hot air balloons and the invigorating backdrop as the plot enabled them to, including wide shots, establishing shots, and close-up shots. This naturally helped them immensely in adding color and contrast to the film’s visual canvas, which was a crucial requirement. Moreover, live footage was also utilized to add realism, along with fake vendors. Some close-up shots had to be captured on green screen, which were later replaced with the hot-air balloon and the sky in post-production. The New Mexico film incentives and the local crew further aided in the production process.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event. The festival began in 1972, and currently has over 500 balloons that take off from the 80-acre launch site. Visitors roam around the park, speaking to pilots while enjoying the grand vista lying in front of their eyes. There is also the Festival app that provides visitors with important information. Besides the festival, Albuquerque has many other tourist venues, including the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the American International Rattlesnake Museum, the Albuquerque Biological Park, and the Sandia Peak Ski Area, which has the Sandia Peak Tramway, one of the longest passenger aerial tramways in the world.
The crew filmed some indoor scenes at the El Pinto Restaurant & Cantina, located at 10500 4th Street. Considered one of the best New Mexican restaurants in the city, it is a go-to place for trying out authentic Mexican cuisine. The architecture borrows its design from gardens and incorporates small waterfalls, rockscapes, hanging plants, and beautiful art pieces, ensuring the customers have a great time relaxing amidst nature.
A few indoor and outdoor scenes were captured at the Albuquerque International Sunport, AKA Sunport, New Mexico’s main international airport. Located at 2200 Sunport Boulevard, it is known for its semi-urban architecture with Mexican décor, especially the brick floors. It also has an art collection showcasing exhibits made by local artists and those belonging to museums and community organizations.
Additional scenes were filmed at the Sandia Peak Tramway, an aerial tramway which stretches from the northeast edge of Albuquerque to the Sandia Peak, the high point of the Sandia-Manzano Mountains. Located at 30 Tramway Road, it offers a breathtaking view of the city and the hills nearby. Visitors who reach the Sandia Peak can participate in activities like hiking, biking, and skiing, depending on the time of the year. It is also home to the TEN 3 restaurant, where people can dine while enjoying the view of the East Mountains.
Love in the Clouds Cast Details
The cast of ‘Love in the Clouds’ is led by McKenzie Westmore and Paul Greene. McKenzie is the daughter of Oscar-winning makeup artist Michael Westmore. She is a trained opera singer and majored in music at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She is also the founder of Westmore Beauty, a cosmetics company. Paul had an illustrious career as a fashion model before becoming an actor. Some of the brands he represented are Levi’s, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, and the Men’s Journal. Both McKenzie and Paul are fitness freaks.
McKenzie Westmore as Brooklyn
McKenzie Westmore plays Brooklyn in ‘Love in the Clouds,’ her first Hallmark project. She was given her big break by Robert De Niro as the latter’s daughter in ‘Raging Bull.’ She has a lot of ‘Star Trek’ characters to her credit, including Rose in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation,’ Ensign Jenkins in ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ Rhomsew in ‘Star Trek: Picard,’ and the Ba’ku Woman in ‘Star Trek: Insurrection.’ However, she is primarily known for the role of Sheridan Crane in ‘Passions’ and Dr. Riley Sinclair in ‘All My Children.’
Paul Greene as Jared
Paul Greene plays Jared in the movie. In stark contrast to Westmore, he has the most Christmas movies on Hallmark as a male actor, including ‘Christmas CEO,’ ‘Christmas in Angel Falls,’ and ‘A Wish For Christmas.’ ‘Love in the Clouds’ is his 13th Hallmark project. Among his other performances on television, the most notable are Philip McAdams in ‘Bitten,’ Benjamin Gray in ‘Wicked Wicked Games,’ Lex Young in ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,’ and Scott in ‘The Newsroom.’ As far as feature films are concerned, you can also spot him as Saul Edison in ‘Autumn and the Black Jaguar’ and Peter the Punisher in ‘Beautiful Girl.’
Westmore and Greene are joined by a highly talented additional cast. This includes Gail O’Grady as Jane, Lorenzo Lamas as Brad, Alexis Zollicoffer as Elise, and Koppany Pusztai as Carlos. They are joined by Catherine Copplestone as Mary, Christen Hernandez as Amber, Je’maya Jackson as the worker, Josh Horton and Shaquille Mathurin as the young guys, Joanne Marie as the customer at the store, and Justin Peach as the tourist.
Read More: Hats Off to Love: Filming Locations and Cast Details
