CinemATL: What inspired you to write this script?
SS: We were looking to do a film in the horror film genre and we were trying to think of something that hasn’t been done. Since we had access to a lot of Mob-type characters, like some actors from the Sopranos, we tried to write a Mob-based horror film. But since we were filming in Georgia, it had to be based in the south.
CinemATL: Which Soprano’s cast members were you able to secure?
SS: Paul Borghese and Tony Darrow. Tony is best known from his role on Goodfellas as the restaurant owner, but also plays Larry Boy Barese on the Sopranos. Tony’s character on the Sopranos gets arrested next season and becomes a series regular so we happened to get him at just the right time.
We were also able to get Dexter Tucker, Chris Tucker’s brother, to do a cameo for one of the film’s final scenes.
CinemATL: How did you target these two actors?
SS: One of the producers, John Cornetta, has been friends with Paul Borghese since childhood. Paul has done some work on the Sopranos and is a series regular on several NBC shows including Third Watch and Law & Order. From there, Paul contacted Tony.
CinemATL: Did you shoot under a SAG contract?
SS: Yes, we are on the Ultra Low Budget SAG agreement. We have to pay SAG actors a minimum of $100 dollars a day. We were going to go non-SAG until we secured the name talent actors.
CinemATL: How did you go about getting financing?
SS: Part of it is self-financing, but we also have some investors. We had an investor’s reading of the script, but everyone who invested was someone we already knew.
CinemATL: What are you shooting on?
SS: We are using the HVX200 HD camera and running it to the P2 card, which captures true HD.
CinemATL: How long have you been shooting?
SS: We started in late July. We did most of it in two months. We did about 80% during the first month and now, because of the more complex shoots with special effects and working with everyone’s schedule, we have to do one day here and one day there.
We were planning on doing an 18-day shoot, but about halfway through we realized we would either have to lower the quality of what we were shooting or extend the days. So we decided to go for a longer shoot. It went from an 18-day shoot to about a 28-day shoot.
Extending the days brought about new complications when the crew, planning on only shooting for 18 days, signed onto another production. We then had to work around the schedule of the other movie, which became very difficult when the film’s schedule would constantly change at the last minute.
CinemATL: Where have you shot in Georgia?
SS: Rome, Marietta, Lawrenceville, Alpharetta, all over Atlanta and now Douglasville.
Posts
