Actor well qualified for Tampa film role Stump's Supper Club became the Church of Gary on Sunday afternoon, and the congregation was taken on a wild ride. By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist Published March 14, 2005 Gary Busey was the featured star at a press conference to promote Descansos, an upcoming $1.1-million independent film being produced by Gulf+ Atlantic Films in Tampa. But it was clear from the beginning the eccentric Busey would lead folks on an intriguing journey. The word descansos refers to resting places, and the movie centers on the controversy surrounding roadside memorials. In 1988, Busey had a near-death experience after crashing on a motorcycle. Busey says being legally dead for 20 minutes allowed him to see the "existential part of God's existence," and makes him perfect to play the mystical role of the innkeeper in Descansos, which is filming in various locations around Hillsborough County this month. "I've been to the place where God lives," Busey explained. "Going to the other side was a very, very opportunistic thing to have happen to you. I'm bringing the impact of what I've done on the other side and the spiritual meaning of who God really is." A self-described minister of spirituality, the 60-year-old Busey was prone to such philosophical tangents during the hourlong press conference. But every time you thought he would go off the deep end, he would return to Earth with an interjection of humor. "The word faith, F-A-I-T-H, stands for Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him," Busey explained. "The word Bible stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. And this is a good one, sober stands for Son Of A B----, Everything Is Real." Busey reportedly has battled addictions in the past, but says he's sober now. His lifestyle remains so unconventional, however, it made for a short-lived reality series on Comedy Central called I'm With Busey . At times, you could see why the series was concocted and why, according to Busey, it is still popular in Canada. For one, Busey's hearing difficulties yield funny results. He thought the reporter from th e Tampa Tribune said "naked on Tuesday." And the press conference did not start on schedule in part because Busey was getting his hair together. Asked what his last project was before Descansos, Busey said, "looking for a brush to comb my beautiful hair." He later offered to brush the hair of others. And before he left Stump's, the former Willie Nelson band member took a turn on the drum set on the stage. Yet Busey was incredibly thoughtful on other subjects. He spoke with eloquence about working with President Bush and U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris to get motorcycle helmet laws reinstated. He spoke with fondness about how Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 epic Samson and Delilah inspired him to become an actor when he was a child. And he spoke with urgency about how Tampa could become home to more movie projects. "Tampa can ultimately decide if it's serious in its heart about bringing creative industries here and if it wants to have a better track record of movies being made," Busey said. "But you can't do it by sitting and waiting for it to come." In Descansos, the city may have a terrific platform to generate more interest. Granted, it doesn't have the budget of The Punisher , whose producers spent some $6-million in the area while filming here in 2003. But with Busey, veteran Charles Durning and super model Cindy Taylor set to appear, it is not a run-of-the-mill independent production. Decidedly on the high end of the independent industry, Descansos should draw attention to Tampa at a number of film festivals. "When we first got started on this project, we spent 6-7 months working with the community and raising money to try and bring a project worthy of distributors in Hollywood," producer Sean Conigliaro said. "By bringing Gary here, we feel really strongly about the product we're going to put out." Director Joe Kipkash presented his idea for the movie to local screenwriter Mike Matteo, who turned Kipkash's outline into a script with two Twilight Zone twists. Conigliaro and executive producer Eric Polins began shopping the script to investors and the project "exploded." And if the movie is as entertaining as Busey's press conference, it just may blow up in Hollywood. That's all I'm saying.