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.
l to r: Simi Toledano, Penny Jackson, Marina Zaccaria, & me
It was great fun to be on Thursday night's Salon Radio show on City World Radio.
I was interviewed by the wonderful Marcina Zaccaria along with playwright Penny Jackson in an evening curated by Simi Toldenano. The weekly show airs at 8 PM and is re-broadcast at midnight; it's a project of the International Women Artists' Salon.
I followed that up on Saturday night at Dixon Place on NYC's Lower East Side with a presentation for the Salon's monthly performance evening on the theme of Traditions - perfect for the holiday season. It was a terrific prompt to think about DETOURS feature from a different perspective, and I put together this short video. The first scene (with Richard Kind and Tara Westwood) reflects a cultural tradition of lighting candles and praying or meditating before taking on a challenge. The other clips (which feature Carlo Fiorletta, Kim Director, Ashley Lanzoni, and Paul Sorvino ), illustrate traditions of the (fictional) Giraldi family.
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.
We had a great DETOURS screening at the Golden Door Film Festival this past weekend, which culminated in terrific recognition at the awards ceremony.
The Loews Jersey City theater is a beautiful movie palace that opened in 1929; it's only been partially restored so far but the lobby is spectacular, the screen is enormous, and the
Richard Kind - Best Supporting Actor Winner
was very good (stereo not Dolby, alas). Our road-trip comedy looked and sounded amazing. A great aspect of the location is that it's across the street from the Journal Square PATH train, which runs from Manhattan, and that's where much of our (very appreciative) audience came from.
The terrific festival wrapped up on Sunday with the awards ceremony: our wonderful star Tara Westwood won the Best Actress award; Carlo Fiorletta, who is equally good as her dad, was nominated for the Best Actor award; and the always excellent Richard Kind received the Best Supporting Actor award.
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 :)
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.
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:
