Acclaimed makeup artist brothers filming true-to-life story of mortician-turned-comedian in Alamance County

BURLINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) – A production called “Another Life” is getting another life in the story of a man who helps people get to the afterlife.

If that’s confusing, well, OK. But you may find equally bewildering the story that a couple of makeup artists-turned-producers from Alamance County are working to adapt to film: the life of a deaf mortician who authored a humorous book and became a standup comedian.

For their film, brothers Dean Jones, director, and Starr Jones, executive producer, changed the name of the book by Danny Jefferson of Burlington. While the book’s original title, “From ‘Hear’ to Forever,” sounds (pardon) inspired, even if maybe a tad confusing with “From Here To Eternity” when you ask Google, the brothers chose to call the film they are creating at Atlantic & Pacific Studios in Hopedale “Another Life.”

Just ignore that a series by that name completed a 2-year run on Netflix in 2021. That was science fiction, though, and this version of “Life” is neither of those things.

Jefferson’s book is described on Amazon as a story of “heartfelt tears to joyous laughter,” and it celebrates his rise from the butt of jokes to funnyman.

Starr Jones tells WGHP that the film was initially scheduled to shoot before the pandemic before delays pushed the film back. The team expects to finish filming by the end of April. Release of the movie depends on what studio distributes the film, but they are hoping either fall or early spring of 2024.

This movie is definitely under the radar – there was no ready record of it even receiving state film incentive dollars – except for a Herculean effort by the producers to land a leading man. So let’s just tell you what we know about those involved in this incarnation of “Another Life.”

In the starring role

Kevin Sorbo is a former model who gained cinematic fame in 1995 by playing the chiseled starring role in “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.” He has about 150 acting credits in television and movies that date back to a 1986 debut on the primetime soap opera “Santa Barbara,” a spinoff of “Dynasty.” Sorbo also has won numerous awards for performances in Christian-based films, most recently 2022’s “I Can’t Breathe (God Forgive Them.” He’s also an avid and accomplished golfer.

Producer 1

Dean Jones is an award-winning makeup artist who has been nominated eight times for Primetime Emmy Awards and has won twice (1993 and 1995) for episodes of the acclaimed “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” He also has eight acting credits, with two of them still in preproduction: “Delirium” and “American Patriots.”

Actor Avery Brooks, who played Capt. Benjamin Sisko, signs a poster showing some of the makeup work Dean Jones helped to create on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Producer 2

Like his brother, Starr Jones is a makeup artist, producer and actor. He was part of “Star Trek Generations,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” and “The Abyss” (which was very scary, if you missed it). He has 70 makeup credits, and he and Dean were nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for their makeup work in 2006 for “Toolbox Murders.” Starr Jones also played the Scarecrow in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook” and appeared in the “Masque of Red Death.”

The subject

Danny Jefferson’s story may have started in Burlington, but his business grew in Kernersville, where in 2004 he bought Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Home. In 2017, he was named Funeral Director of the Year by “American Funeral Director” magazine and was featured in a photo gallery in the Winston-Salem Journal. “From ‘Hear’ to Forever” was published in paperback in 2014 and is available in audio, too.