The Making of a Movie


I was negotiating to buy the building where I've lived for years, when my partner, writer/director Paul Duran said, "Instead of saying we're trying to make a film, let's just do it. Let's make it here, let the backyard overgrow with weeds, shoot there,shoot upstairs, in our apartment, in the alley." As simple as that,we stopped trying to get a "deal," and started making the movie. Well, it wasn't exactly simple. It all blurs together now, but the next few months went something like this: July: Escrow does not close in 30 days. An old friend introduces us to Terry and Stanton at Bouquet Multimedia, who commit to executive produce and provide equipment and post production. Now all we have to do is raise the money.
August: We maneuver a deal with a powerhouse casting company. Escrow threatens to never close, but we forge ahead. Our motto is "momentum is everything." September: Escrow closes 15 minutes before expiration. Co-producers Stacy and Roderick are on the money trail. Money starts to trickle in. Trickle is the operative word.
October: The all-powerful Screen Actors' Guild demands a large cash bond, though we already posted payroll for the actors. Do other producers cook crew lunches during pre-production? Curiously, everything seems to be getting done. Then the plumber finds a cracked sewer line under the house, ready to blow at any time. "It'll be OK," he says, "as long as nobody uses these toilets." Ah, sure ... just a film crew. Day 1: Wow. We're shooting. We need what? More film stock. More money. Somehow everything is simultaneously on-schedule and out-of-control.

Stepfanie and Paul

Day 3: We shoot a scene with actors cleaning the yard, but the grass looks dead. Into the night, the art department paints the lawn green. Who's idea was it to shoot in our own house, anyway?

Sometime later: I'm cold, where's my bedspread? Oh, I forgot, it's a prop. Little checks keep coming. (How? From where?) Running to the bank, begging for instant credit. We have enough, we don't have enough, what if we can't get enough? The ever-present anxiety.

And then, the other part: The entire crew has tears in their eyes watching a scene with John Randolph and Tony Todd. Suddenly all that matters is, we're making the movie.