Unfortunately, we did not get very far in our summer production. Donald went away to his summer classes, and production practically stopped. I realize the project was very ambitious, but I think it would have been an amazing film had it been finished. Donald and I had a great deal of fun and laughs shooting the scenes that we were able to complete, and I also had a wonderful time working with Michael and Steven in the two scenes we shot together. The possibility of continuing the shoot next summer is slim, but open. "There are always possibilities," someone once said, so right now I'd like to think of the (still untitlted!) film as being on a near-permanent hiatus.
As for future projects, we have a few ideas going. Roy has a great idea for a superhero spoof film that might happen. A collaboration between him, Cait, and myself on a parody of the TV show "House," is another option. I have also always wanted to make my own episode of "The Twilight Zone," complete with the music, in black and white, and with a Rod Serling impersonator. I have a couple ideas floating around in my head, but nothing is certain yet.
What is certain, however, is a film that I'm going to be shooting in about a week and a half with Cait and Steven, who is acting in his first lead role ever in one of my films. The film is called "The Great NJ Wallet Robbery," whose title is a spoof of an old silent film called "The Great K & A Train Robbery." Like that old film, this one will actually be a silent film! It's a project for my Film Sound class. We have to make a short film based on one of the topics we covered in class, and in my case, it's early useage of film music.
Film music, at the time, was made to provide transitions, make direct attention to details, and mood. The early melodramas called for music to mark entrances of characters, to provide interludes, and to give emotional coloring to dramatic climaxes and to scenes with rapid physical action. Early background music was supposed to be simple, so that the piano man or small orchestra playing would not have a hard time. According to Brown, this was done for two reasons – to cover up the noise made by projectors (not soundproofed yet) and to psychologically smooth over natural human fears of dark and silence.
Thus, in my film, you will get an interesting array of music set to comedy, with the faint sound of the projector in the background. The film is about a kind gentleman (Steven Benassi) who has an encounter with the woman he loves (Caitlin Weiss). The fun is interrupted when a thief (played by yours truly) steals the man's wallet, and a hilarious chase ensues. I have a script written, filming locations mostly picked out, a ready and excited cast, and even costumes to match the period! Look for Cait in a flapper-like outfit, Steven in a suit with his hair parted to match the period, and myself in a suit with my signature bowler hat and David Cash-like moustache. This is only my second film without working with Donald Holden, so I guess you could say I feel like Quentin Tarantino without Samuel L. Jackson, or Steven Spielberg without John Williams. However, this promises to be an amazing film, and I am eager to show it to everyone I care for. I'm back in the director's chair!
