You might want to get camera ready before you run your errands around town; you might get captured on the silver screen.

Locations all around Napa are playing a role in an independent feature film shot in town this month -- though locals may be the only ones who will recognize the sites on screen. In the movie, Napa is standing in for Reno, Nev., where "The Village Barbershop" is set.

The script, by writer/director Chris Ford, 37, is a character study based on real people at a 50-year-old barbershop in Reno. George's Barber Shop on Trancas St. is filling in for the Reno shop, which still exists but was too far from San Francisco for the mostly Bay Area cast and crew.

To accommodate the filming, owner George Lee Alvarez closed his shop for a week. "I need a little vacation," he said -- he hasn't taken one in 57 years.

Alvarez can't tear himself away from his shop, though. He was on the scene Thursday, with two of his regular customers and friends, Charlie Brovelli and Joe Watson. All three were drafted as extras for the movie.

Filming wraps up at the barbershop today, and in the next week and a half will move on to Napa homes, a trailer park, a bank, a funeral home, and possibly the courthouse and jail. The crew will then shoot in Reno for a couple days, to pick up locations like casinos that are not available here.

The film stars Shelly Cole, a young actress, and John Ratzenberger, a veteran of 40 films who is probably best known for his role as Cliff Clavin, the know-it-all bar regular in the TV series "Cheers." More recently, Ratzenberger has hosted a series on the Travel Channel and voiced characters in Pixar's hit films, including "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "Cars."

Ratzenberger was attracted to this project's writing. "It seemed like one of the scripts from the golden age of Hollywood, where the person who wrote it lived a life," he said. "I could tell that the (writer) really had rich life experiences Š that translate to the page. Š He's got a good eye for detail, interesting characters."

He plays, barber Art Leroldi, who Ratzenberger found to be "a decent guy." The barber is mourning his long-dead wife. "You can tell that he was very faithful to his wife, and he's even faithful to the memory of his wife Š it's very much a 'greatest generation' sort of character," he said.

Writer Ford grew up in Reno, and frequented the Village Barbershop as a kid and in his college years. He based his main character on "the guy I always went to at the barbershop. He's a super-genius old guy who knows everything about where I went to high school and college and all my friends and he keeps remembering it all the time. He's a steel trap."

He describes his script as "a little bit of comedy, a little bit of drama ... at times poignant and at times kind of funny."

He wrote the original screenplay in 1997, while he was working in advertising in New York. But he thought it had little chance of being filmed.

"I just wanted to write (a screenplay) to write one," he said. "I realized Š it was something I'd never be able to sell, it was just too small a movie -- no one in Hollywood wants to buy a story about an old barber."

The script languished in a drawer until two years ago, when his advertising work brought him in contact with actor/director Ed Burns. "He and his producer were telling me, 'Why don't you just shoot it yourself? Š Just raise a bit of money.'"

With that inspiration, Ford enlisted Jason Newmark as producer, and the two began the long process of fundraising. Newmark, who was working in film and commercial production, also has Reno roots -- he attended the same high school as Ford and the two have stayed in touch.

"It took about two years Š to start (a limited liability corporation), raise the money, hit up all my friends, get my buddy Jason Newmark to produce it and hit up all his friends and family, and call people and e-mail people and beg for money Š and pull it all together," said Ford.

"They're called independent (films) for a reason," Ford noted, "because you've got to do it yourself." He is doing double duty as director, working with the actors, while Newmark, as producer, says his job is to "run around stressing about money." But now that the film is in production, everyone on the busy set seemed calm and purposeful.

The Napa setting has helped keep the stress levels down. First Assistant Director John Bennett -- he's the one calling "Cut!" -- had nothing but praise for their experiences here. "This community is a little gem. It's the attitude, it's the people," he said.

Locations Manager Jesse Gillingham was equally positive, and cited the Chamber of Commerce as a particular ally. "So far, the locations are great and the people are great. Everyone's been really accommodating, and the city's been great to work with as well." He hopes to bring other projects here in the future.

Second Assistant Director Cecily "C.J." Jordan lives in downtown Napa and was delighted to be working close to home. She'd like to see Napa marketed more as a location for film shoots. She pointed out how much film shoots can contribute to the local economy.

"We hire local dry cleaners, local caterers, we buy local groceries, we buy local wardrobe, we hire local people, we rent hotel rooms, we rent locations -- so even on little low-budget films, a significant amount of money is piped in."

According to Terri Duban, who handles the permit requests at City Hall, this is the first film and only the second production (the other was a travel TV show) to film in Napa this year.

The Napa Chamber of Commerce serves as the film liaison office for the city. Lisa Batto, director of marketing for the Chamber said that this is the first big group that has filmed in Napa in three years. "They're exactly the kind of production company you want to have in Napa," she said, calling them "very professional." She said she is looking forward to future groups now that this one has shown her what to expect. She also noted the positive economic impact on local businesses.

The city has no plans to actively market film production here. But Batto notes that some location scouts have recently become members of the Chamber as a result of its liaison role, so she expects word of mouth to bring in other productions.

Ford and Newmark expect to complete "The Village Barbershop" by November, in time to enter it in film festivals in Tribeca, Toronto, and L.A., where they hope to acquire distribution. Once it is finished, they plan to arrange screenings in Reno and Napa.