On Location: Combining 2 Locations into 1

Michael Pressman (left) and Carlo Fiorletta

 "Detours" is a road trip movie, and one of the decisions we made early on is that we'd shoot the interior scenes in New York and New Jersey,  then many of the exteriors while on the road to Saint Petersburg, Florida.  The road trip portion of the shoot would include only the 2 lead actors and a skeletal crew (about 1/3 of what we had for the NY/NJ portion).

Jennifer  Giraldi (played by Tara Westwood) is moving from NYC to Florida to make a career change:  she's gotten an MFA in Theater Management, and is giving up her acting career to be the assistant director of a theater company.  The audience has to feel how big this decision is for her when she shows her dad (played by Carlo Fiorletta) the theater she'll help to run and introduces him to her new boss (Michael Pressman)

A year before we started principal photography, Tara (who is also one of the producers) and I traveled to Florida (and Savannah, and Myrtle Beach, and North Carolina...) to check out potential locations.  We found several nice theaters in Saint Petersburg, but our favorite was always The Palladium.  It had exactly the look we wanted, and their exterior decorations were their own - meaning we wouldn't need to get releases from other artists or companies.

While Tara and Carlo would be on location in Florida, the actor playing Jennifer's boss would not be, nor would the crew that would be needed for such a complicated interior scene.  So we had to find a theater in NY or NJ that met these criteria:  (1) could pass as the inside of the Palladium; (2) had a raised stage and a large audience seating area; (3) wasn't in the middle of a production; (4) didn't have artwork or signage around the stage, which would create licensing issues; (4) was willing to let us use their space for a half day shoot; (5) was geographically suitable relative to our other locations; and (6) most importantly - wouldn't cost a fortune.  This was by far the hardest location for us to get.

To say that we were running out of time to shoot the scene inside the theater would be a (very) polite understatement.  Our terrific location manager Audrey Lorea had almost run through the (long) list of possibilities - none of which worked for one reason or another - when she reached out to the terrific people at The Strand Theater in Lakewood, NJ.  Not only was it aesthetically perfect for the scene, it was close to where we were then shooting in south Jersey.

We spent a morning shooting at The Strand, and it went beautifully.  It was another 3 weeks before we got to Saint Petersburg and shot the beginning of the scene, walking up the steps to the Palladium.  But it works!

Casting Name Actors in an Indie Movie

Richard Kind & Tara Westwood in a scene from Detours

I've been asked the same question a lot recently:  how did I get name actors in my movies? Specifically, how did I get Richard Kind and Paul Sorvino for Detours, and Vincent Pastore for Surviving Family?

In some ways, the answer is the usual one:  have a good script with roles that are attractive to actors.  But there are a couple of practical things that you can do to ease the way.
 

Tara Westwood & Paul Sorvino on set in Detours

Director Laura Thies & Vincent Pastore on the set of Surviving Family

First, hire a good casting director.  They know the actors' agents and managers, and have spent their career developing great contacts.  They also have a (very) good idea what Actor X's rate for a low budget project will be, which will tell you who is worth approaching and who isn't.  I've worked with the wonderful Caroline Sinclair on both Surviving Family and Detours - she's been casting indie movies (as well as shorts & commercials) in NYC for 25 years.  She's both very knowledgeable AND a pleasure to work with.  (My husband Carlo Fiorletta had met Caroline several years earlier and recommended her.)  There are plenty of good CD's, but I'd suggest getting recommendations from people whose opinion you value.

Second, get a good entertainment lawyer - mine is the terrific Jonathan Gray - he too has been in the business for 25 years.  He's not only knowledgeable but he also truly loves movies.

We all think of entertainment lawyers as protecting us from getting sued and/or helping us if we do.  But I learned quickly that for a producer who is just starting out in the business, they are an enormous help with negotiating deal memos (i.e., contracts) with actors.  Agents and managers are (understandably) suspicious of committing their clients to work for an unknown producer.  So even if the actor WANTS to do your movie, you've got to convince their representation as well.  The agents and managers ALL knew and respected my attorney, and having him on board facilitated the negotiations tremendously.

It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that in order to hire a reputable casting director  and an entertainment lawyer you'll need to convince them that you know what you're doing.

I'll make one final point on this subject:  the absolute best way to have a star in your movie is to cast one BEFORE they become a star, so you can benefit from their success without paying a high price.  But that's damn hard to do.