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.
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.
My services include feedback on how to improve your existing script,
re-writing it if it's time for a fresh eye, and turning your short story or novel into a screenplay. Check
out my web site at the link below for more information (including pricing) as well as feedback on my work.
I had the pleasure of being interviewed earlier this week by Forris Day Jr. for his podcast Rolling Tape. We had a terrific discussion about working with police on film sets, which I did for both of my features: Surviving Family and DETOURS. We discussed the differing experiences in Jersey City and Ocean County, NJ, shooting with a process trailer (check out some great shots of that), and the police officer who let us use his house as a location.
It was a fun interview to do, and hopefully it will take a little bit of the mystery out of something that many low-budget filmmakers find intimidating.
They had a wonderfully wide-ranging conversation that covered Tara's career with Ford Models her transition to acting, and the many movies and television shows that she has coming out. They also discussed the terrific Golden Door Film Festival in Jersey City, and Michele's role as Executive Director. Check it out below.
I grew up hearing stories about my mother's alcoholic younger brother Hugh. In a family where both parents were alcoholics, it was something of a foregone conclusion that it would hit at least some of the kids. Hugh was next in line age-wise to my mom - 2nd and 3rd respectively out of 5 kids - so she was always trying to help him out. He was a heavy drinker by high school, and was always in trouble - getting in fights, or landing in jail for whatever stupid idea he or his buddies dreamed up.
My mom gave him a place to stay more times than she could - or would - count. Things would start out well, amid promises that it was "different this time." Then the drinking would start. Again.
Inevitably, things would go wrong and the drinking would start again, usually in secret. He sometimes stole from her. He always disappointed her. Sort of like this:
I spent more than a year showing Surviving Family at festivals around the US, as well as in Canada and Germany. I was amazed - although although I probably shouldn't have been - how many people told me that they have a friend or family member just like that. While I certainly wouldn't wish these problems on anyone, I'm damn glad that people can relate to the characters.
If you're wondering about the great restaurant location in the 2nd video - thanks once again to the great folks at Satis Bistro in Jersey City, NJ.
If you like the clips, watch the entire movie on Amazon Prime or iTunes.
