I'm the writer & producer of the feature movies "DETOURS," which is available exclusively on Amazon Prime, and "Surviving Family," which is available on iTunes & Amazon Prime.
I blog about indie filmmaking, writing, and occasionally something tangentially related.
Showing posts with label Michael Cerveris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Cerveris. Show all posts
It's been a joy to see the delightful reviews of DETOURS, both on Amazon Prime, where we're thrilled to release it, and on our IMDB page. It's now available in both the US and the UK, with additional locations expected soon.
I'm delighted that my new feature, DETOURS, is now available exclusively on Amazon Prime in the US and the UK!
Prime members can watch for free; rental for non-members starts at $2.99.
I hope you'll check it out, and if you like it, please give it a good rating and review - for indie movies like this one, that truly is our advertising.
I'm delighted to announce that my 2nd feature film, DETOURS, will be released on Amazon Prime on Friday November 25! Prime members will be able to watch for free, while rental will start at $2.99 for non-members.
I'll share the Amazon link, as soon as it's available, but it will also be accessible via the IMDB page, as they're owned by Amazon.
DETOURS is a road-trip dramedy about a newly-single New Yorker (played by Tara Westwood ) who re-locates to Florida for a new job. She travels south with her widowed dad (Carlo Fiorletta ) and her mom's ashes in a coffee can.
It's especially complimentary about our two lead actors: "[DETOURS is] a rather quirky yet relatable piece of cinema that benefits greatly from the co-leading performances of Tara Westwood and Carlo Fiorletta who humanize the film's dramatic and humorous moments with emotionally honest yet laid back performances."
And on our terrific DP: "Chris Eadicicco's lensing is clear and intimate despite the challenges of shooting a road picture on a lower budget."
All in all, it's great to see our entire team, including musicians, get such positive feedback.
My new feature, Detours, is a road-trip comedy. A newly single New Yorker must re-locate to Florida for her dream job; she drives south with her widowed dad, her mom's ashes in a coffee can, and a GPS with a mind of its own.
We shot the interiors in New Jersey and NYC, then went on the road to shoot exteriors through Myrtle Beach, SC; Savannah, GA; and Tampa, Florida. It was, to say the least, a daunting undertaking but an exciting one.
When we got a rough cut done, I reached out to a guy for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect - I'll leave him unnamed but he has a great deal of experience in many areas of the indie film world, ranging from micro-budget movies to some that are extremely well known. He graciously agreed to watch the cut with a group of us from the production team and give feedback.
I watched him watch the movie with my heart in my throat - would he love it? Hate it?
When it was done, he gave his verdict: great cast, awesome acting job across the board (yay!).
But the movie went like this
<<<<
While it should go like this
<<<<
I hyperventilated momentarily, then somehow sputtered out that I couldn't re-shoot: there was no budget for that. He assured me that there was no need for that - it was all there. "Think of it like a puzzle, and re-arrange the pieces."
I started to breathe again, as I realized what he meant, and had a flash as to how to do it.
The next morning, we figured out a new approach: front-load the darker segments of the movie, and move the happier ones - pointing toward the eventual resolution - after the mid-point. Fortunately the segmented way that the movie was written - a series of scenes and interactions that CAN be moved around - allowed us to do this.
We chose this scene as the mid-point: it's where Jennifer Giraldi (played by Tara Westwood) begins to find her way to happier times as her dad (Carlo Fiorletta) still struggles to find his footing. And the scenery (Myrtle Beach, SC) is beautiful.
If there's a moral to this story, it's this: a fresh look at your movie can be invaluable. And always be open to a new approach. OK that's 2 morals - sue me :)
One of the joys of casting an indie film in NYC is the opportunity to work with amazing actors who do much of their work on stage rather than on screen.
I was reminded of that this week when Carlo Fiorletta and I saw the terrific new play Love Sex and Death in the Amazon. Debargo Sanyal, who is awesome as the rapping motel clerk Rajiv in my just-completed feature film Detours, is one of the stars so we wanted to see it. He was terrific - no surprise - but it was a great reminder to me that the NYC stage is an amazing source of talent when you're looking to cast an indie movie. Even though there are hundreds of movies every that shoot at least some scenes in NY, that's dwarfed by the number of plays that are produced every year, ranging from Broadway to off-off-Broadway, plus an uncountable number of readings of new works.
While most directors and producers watch a lot of movies, it can be (very) helpful to see as much theater as possible. And while that's wonderful and easy in NY, there's a tremendous amount of very good regional theater all across the country. You'll see some amazing actors who might not otherwise be on your radar, and you may even be inspired to change what you're looking for.
I'll wrap this up with a shout out to a few of the amazing actors from my 2 features Surviving Family and Detours, and some of the great theater work that they've done.
Michael Cerveris received the Tony Award for Fun Homeand Assassins; he was nominated for Sweeney Todd, The Who's Tommy, and LoveMusik and has appeared in many (many) other plays both on and off Broadway.Richard Kind was Tony nominated for his role in The Big Knife, and has starred in (among others) The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Sly Fox. Phyllis Somerville most recently appeared in the experimental all-female production of I Remember Mama. Deirdre O'Connell is a staple of NY's Broadway and off-Broadway theater scene, and received a Drama Desk Award for both Circle Mirror Transformation and In The Wake. Betsy Aidem played Lady Bird Johnson and other roles in the Tony Award Winning All The Way. Marguerite Stimpson was in The Elephant Man. And Carlo Fiorletta recently originated the role of Assbiter (truly one of the best character names ever) in "Is That Danny DeVito?"
So to paraphrase the most famous playwright of all: "Get thee to the theater."
I'm just finishing post-production on my 2nd feature film (I wrote & produced), and I'm thrilled that we're releasing the first trailer today. Detours is a road-trip comedy about a newly single New Yorker (played by Tara Westwood) who has to re-locate to Florida for her dream job. She drives south with her widowed Dad (Carlo Fiorletta), her mom's ashes in a coffee can, and a GPS with a mind of its own.
I learned a lot from making my first feature, Surviving Family. I swore that I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes on my 2nd feature, Detours. I didn't.
I love the cast of Surviving Family (you can see the full list HERE), and there's no one who I would get rid of. But when I wrote the screenplay, I put a lot of actors into many different scenes in many different locations. This created major logistical challenges (working with the actors' schedules, transporting them from place to place, and - not the least of the problems - blocking the scenes). I promised myself that I wouldn't make that mistake in my next feature. I didn't. But I created new production challenges instead.
Detours is a road trip movie: a newly single New Yorker (played by Tara Westwood) must re-locate to Florida for her dream job. She travels south with her widowed dad (Carlo Fiorletta), her mom's ashes in a coffee can, and a GPS with a mind of his own (played by the delightful Craig Wollman).
On the plus side, I DID limit how many scenes each each actor is in. We put together a wonderful cast, including TONY award winners Michael Cerveris and Richard Kind, and iconic Italian-American actor Paul Sorvino. Each one is only in a couple of scenes, and they truly shine in those scenes. But it's a damn ROAD movie. Which means you need to (a) shoot car scenes and (b) move from point to point and show it. There is nothing - and I mean NOTHING - simple about shooting a road movie.
Is Detours good? Absolutely - it's terrific and people will love it. It's a fun story about a father and daughter, starting over, and falling in love. It has great actors and wonderful music (more on that another day). But if you'd like a look inside the challenges of shooting a road movie, here's a behind-the-scenes look:
