The Small Talker (OFFICIAL THREAD)

WilderWorks

WilderWorks

Well-known member
I've been wanting to start a thread for our next big project for a while now, but we've been too busy getting it off the ground!

BASICS:

ShaunPatrick, Stewbottum, and myself are moving forward with a major short film, which we'll be shooting in Los Angeles in January, using the DVX100A and the M2 35mm adapter. We hope to raise about $5000 for the budget. I wanted to let you guys in on the details, but I have some catching up to do, since we've already cast the two leads, and we've had two rehearsals! Never fear, though, there's plenty left to be determined, and we'll be looking for your feedback every step of the way. Hopefully, everyone can benefit from our struggles and mistakes.


GOALS:

This is a short version (25 pgs) of a feature screenplay (100 pgs) that I intend to be a broadly accessible, mainstream, professional writing sample. Our hope is to use the completed short film to garner attention for the feature script, get the interest of producers, agents, and managers, and perhaps get independent funding for a low-budget production of the feature! Lofty, I know, but crazier things have happened. As I've always said, making it in the movie business is sort of like jumping off the planet: it takes persistance.

With no further adu, the film is:

THE SMALL TALKER
"Imagine if it worked..."​

SYNOPSIS:

Lonely, shy Elliot totally believes in chain mail, in spam messages, in online scams. When the "Small Talker: Date Decoder" website promises to win him the heart of his company's equally shy, equally lonely, very beautiful secretary, Meredith, he doesn't hesitate to enter his credit card number. The shocking part is, the Small Talker works -- it works so well, he has a world of women to choose from, all ready to fall at his feet -- it works so well, it may be the very thing that drives him and Meredith apart.

 
Hey, GREAT NEWS! I am looking forward to hearing more and more about this! You're shooting in LA in Jan. eh? Need any help? Let me know.
 
I'm gonna try and catch everyone up on what we've already done in the next day or so, one little story at a time. And hopefully, pictures! Video! More!

We've just started thinking about the crew, but I'll tell the producers that you're interested. That'll be my roommate Alli Hartley, and her assistant, Zak Kauffman. They're both PAs on the Fox lot right now, so I'm very optimistic that they'll be able to get some good leads from experienced people.
 
Casting MEREDITH

Casting MEREDITH

It was August, and I'd just finished the first full draft of the screenplay. I took a break from worrying about it and went to a performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Company of Angels Theatre.

Jess Temple was playing one of the gentlemen, and halfway through the performance, I realized she'd be perfect for Meredith. She had a quality that was very real, very smart, very right. I believed her as a beautiful but unusual and shy office employee. And if she could make Shakespeare work, she could do this.

Her performance in the play was enough of an audition for me. I've always been very proud of the results I've gotten in casting, and I really prefer doing it this way. If you're interested in finding great actors, I strongly recommend seeking out theatrical shows and other small local films. It's so much better to see the finished work of an actor, instead of some nervous off-the-cuff performance. Traditional auditions are too much of a trial to really evaluate a performance. Like standardized tests, they don't test the ability of the person -- only their ability to pass the test. If you wanna see the real potential of a performer, I say, go see local stuff. It's cheaper than renting an audition room!

So, I approached her and gave her the screenplay. Thank god, she loved it. Talking about it with her, I knew that we could work together; our personalities clicked, and her attitude was enthusiastic. All the same, I refused to accept a "yes" from her right away. An unpaid, highly collaborative project is a HUGE commitment, so I have a policy of giving people a minimum of seven days to think it over. If they say yes after that, fine. If they say no, I tell them to take another seven days. ;)

Anyway, I called her back one week later, and she was on board!

Here's a picture of Jess Temple, a talented and experienced theater actress, who will be playing Meredith.

JESS TEMPLE​

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Casting ELLIOT

Casting ELLIOT

Very exciting news, even today -- every little victory is as exciting as a first kiss --but let me continue getting you all caught up!

There's a sports bar across the street from where I work. Everyday at lunch, a couple of my coworkers and I go over for the daily special. One day, a commercial just happened to be playing on ESPN, and since it was on eight or nine big-screen TVs, it caught our attention.

This was the commercial:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yHfoPl6guE)​

I saw that commercial and thought -- that's what I want my Elliot to look like. One of my co-workers saw that commercial and said -- I went to high-school with that guy! We used to be in a comedy troupe together! And just like that, I had a connection to the Elliot I wanted, and his name was Matt McNutt.

I got his e-mail address, we sent him the script, and we waited. Thankfully, he loved it, and we got along very well. I still told him to take a week, run it by his agent, make sure it was what he wanted to do... but after seven days, he let us know that it certainly was.

Here are some headshots of our star, Matt McNutt, as Elliot.

Matt McNutt


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http://www.misplacedplanet.com/store/dvx
 
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