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Your new film Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace! - in a few words, what
is it about?
Sid! is a man who reflects on the mistakes he’s made with career and
women. He creates an alter ego – Ace! – a younger version of himself,
to retrace his own footsteps, to relive the journey that has been his
life. There’s quite a bit of pain in that journey for Ace!, much of
which from his relationship with Blood! – a dysfunctional broken doll of
a lady, terribly sexy, a siren who represents three women (Catherine,
Charlotte and Lisa) from Sid’s life. And then there’s Sugar! who
represents the positive, the light of day, a sweet soul mate that many of
us wish we have but never find. These are the four and only characters in
the 73 minute movie. To what extent do you identify with your
main characters, and how much of your own story did you work into Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!? To the fullest extent, especially
after casting, rehearsing and filming with the actors. The actors breathed
life into these characters. My own story is pretty much the movie here…
at least a very heavy portion of it. The biggest aspect of my life that is
not in Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!
is my involvement with Professional
Wrestling, as I made a choice to keep wrestling out of this movie, because
it is so heavily a part of my other projects… but still I managed to
slip a Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock reference in Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!, just for fun. (Other) sources of inspiration
when writing Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!?
I had been hitting roadblocks for a few years with a project titled Wrestling
With Sanity. In short, Wrestling With Sanity has
been and still is a passion of mine that has not reached its full potential
as a feature film. There’s been a stageplay, three award winning short
films [see here], and a graphic novel, however, the timing has not been right yet for
the feature film to be produced.
Lawrence O'Leary, Jami Tennille |
Like Sid!, my own untapped talent and wasted potential was starting to
corrode and disgust me. Hitting frustration, a near rock bottom, I
decided, “I will no longer allow myself to be the guy who isn’t making
Wrestling With Sanity,
I will be a movie maker”.
I took a gut check and realized that I had to make a different movie. I
just had to. So, I decided to write within my means, a lesson I probably
picked up from Movie Maker magazine. At the end of Summer 2010, I had an
epiphany for a movie with four actors and one location. I had a file
folder of poetry, short stories, fiction and non-fiction, rough drafts,
napkin scraps, and doodles. I sprawled these unfinished works across an
octagon shaped table in my apartment. I had the World Series 2010 as
background noise for a week, San Francisco over Texas, as I compiled the
story. The screenplay was based on the aforementioned previous works while
held together with the developing new through line of the four characters.
After a week, I had 45 pages written. My
DP/editor/co-producer Tim Labonte
persuaded me to write a bit more. So I did. That resulted in the unique
monologue exchange between Ace! and Sugar! that concludes the film.
With the very spartan set and limited number of actors, Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!
at times does resemble a stageplay. Would you like to
elaborate on that, and what can you tell us about the look and feel of
your movie?
The intensity of acting complimented by close ups and camera movement
by Labonte give the audience a feeling that they are “in” the world
that’s been created and that is, indeed, similar to the experience of a
stage play. I do plan on converting the script to a stageplay in the near
future and submitting the work to playhouses and festivals, but
initially, I wanted to put our “signature” on this movie version
first, before opening it up to other director’s interpretations.
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Lawrence O'Leary |
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Adam Buxbaum |
For the movie’s direction, I was directly influenced by Sidney
Lumet’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, a classic Black and
White film, based on a Eugene O’ Neil play, showcasing Katharine Hepburn
and Jason Robards in a story about a family suffering from alcoholism and
drug use. That movie set the bar for what we were looking for. For the
look, we ended up in the ball park of the early film quality of Metropolis
by Fritz Lang. We did not have that in mind initially, but I’m quite
pleased with the results.
What can you tell us about your cast, and why exactly these people?
Each actor fit perfectly with their roles. In casting, it’s about
what the actor brings to the table, both in technical skills and natural
talents as an actor and their emotional content and life experiences as a
person. When the actor and the written word merge, develop and prosper, a
character is formed.
Lawrence O’ Leary as Sid! - Lawrence knows me very well; we
had a solid friendship going into the project. Larry was one of my first
students, and later an assistant teacher, in my Acting school called
C.O.R.E. A.C.T.I.N.G. Larry and I developed a real brotherhood based on
similar life situations. Larry knew me well enough to be able to fully
inhabit Sid! as I saw him, while adding even more to the mix. Larry’s
life experiences include being a war veteran, a sea captain, a
professional magician and a martial arts instructor. When he got into acting, he just chomped right into it. Lawrence continues to
act and hone
his craft. He’s really perfect for those hard to find, tough guy roles
and I’m sure something big is right around the corner.
Stacey Forbes Iwanicki |
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Jami Tennille |
Adam Buxbaum as Ace! - I did not know Adam before our audition
process. What I like about Adam is his intelligence and his ability to ask
tough questions about the script and where the ideas come from. Ace! was
the toughest role to cast, likely because I wasn’t really sure what I
was looking for. What got Adam the role is that he nailed the emotions and
power of the movie’s final monologue. That was the key. Everything else
fell into place. Adam made a terrific shift in his take on Ace! from
rehearsal to shooting, taking the character much deeper and darker. As an
actor, I’m guessing Adam subconsciously chose to save his rawest
emotions for our actual shooting, which I understand and appreciate. Adam
has since moved to LA and is pursuing his goals. I applaud his courage.
Stacey Forbes Iwanicki as Sugar! - When I put out the casting call
online, Stacey submitted her headshots, resume and a video link to a
commercial she acted in for a local gym. This 30 second commercial really
showcased Stacey’s eyes and facial expressions, and that is something
you can’t teach or direct. Stacey shared with me some of the books she
had been reading, metaphysical type books that I was just getting into at
the time. Stacey has a huge degree of empathy as a person, and again, you
can’t teach or direct that type of thing. It was just a natural fit and
she did very well at the audition. Stacey continues to act in the New
England region, and she is a true find for anyone who works with her.
Jami Tennille as Blood! - This was also a tough role to cast,
because the Blood! character is based on women that I would view as
“dysfunctional” - but I’m sure they have choice words about me as
well! So there had to be a very real humanity to Blood!, but not as a
victim or as a stereotypical “bad girl”. Ironically, I met Jami in one
of my acting classes, and I thought she was “too nice” to even
audition for Blood! Lawrence had worked with her on a class assignment and
convinced me otherwise. It worked out for the best, Jami really nailed her
role. There’s a line where Blood! says “I want to be free”, and it
always hits home for me. Jami is currently in high demand as an actress,
and recently starred in a film out of Maine called Dark Minds.
Overall, the group dynamic had to be just right. Chemistry is the key.
Could you talk about the actual shoot and the on-set
atmosphere for a bit?
We shot over seven days in a black box theater that we constructed with
help from set designer Horacio Lertora. Basically it was large wooden
slabs painted black in a large rented space in a mill building. We shot in
June and July 2011 in Olneyville, Rhode Island. Honestly, it was really
hot and uncomfortable for everybody on a few days. We had an Air
Conditioner and fans, but we couldn’t run them while actually shooting.
It was rough! However, we did have plenty of food and beverages, and with
a small cast and crew there was no room for “drama” behind the scenes.
We had to shoot eight pages a day. Overall, it was a pleasure. To do it
“all over again”, I would have used a different location, more
comfortable. Live and learn. But we all got through it, as a family, a
team. Overall it was a pleasure.
The $64-question of course, when and where will the film be released
onto the general public?
We’re looking for leads for an art-house release. I have my own ideas
for a unique release that would be internet based.
Let's talk about your upcoming Chris and the Coffee Girl for
a bit: Now what's that one about?
It’s a parody of the pick-up artist culture, and the silly, yet
somehow inspiring, advice those books deliver. In our movie, “The
Book” is personified by our actor Pro Wrestling hardcore icon Raven. The
Book meddles in the life of our protagonist Chris as Chris slowly pursues
Penny the Coffee Girl. The Book would rather have Chris chase every girl
in town. While The Book helps make Chris more confident with women and
himself, ultimately, Chris must decide between The Book and The Girl.
To ask quite bluntly: Why a romantic comedy?
It’s time to get funny. Blood! is my attempt to put an
“end” to some of my internal (perhaps eternal) strife. Chris and
the Coffee Girl is an attempt for me to find my smile. And the world
needs a laugh these days, as many as it can get.
What can you tell us about Chris and the Coffee Girl's cast?
This is gonna be fun! We have Raven (theraveneffect.com)
playing the Pick Up Artist Book. Raven is known for a very cryptic and
macabre interview style in wrestling, but he also has a very light and
humorous side. Our leading lady is Maria Kanellis, who is the gorgeous
redhead from WWE Wrestling, Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice and
Playboy.
The 6’9” Big Daddy V, also known as Viscera and Mabel, will be playing
against type as Felix, a fashion store salesmen. We have the legend Ox
Baker and another hardcore wrestler Matt “Spike” Hyson in the movie as
well.
We have cast some great local actors to round out the cast… and oh
yeah, I’m playing Chris myself. I feel it’s best for this movie for me
to act in it. I have the look and can achieve the emotional arc of Chris
that I’m looking for. I wouldn’t act and direct in many movies, but
for this one it will work. It will be a challenge and I’m up for it.
As far as I know, the film is still in pre-production - so what's
the schedule, and any idea when and where the film might be released yet
(and yes, I do know it's probably waaay too early to ask)?
Ox Baker, Mike Messier |
It’s best to say we are in development. We’ll start shooting when
we have our budget in place. I’m working with Creusa Michelazzo of
Macremi Productions and she is just as enthusiastic as I am. The scope of
this project is bigger as far as locations, the amount of actors, etc. We
already have interest from a distributor out of LA. I’d like to say by
2015, early 2016, we’ll all be watching Chris and the Coffee Girl
and having a laugh at all the hijinks. We got a jump start last year by
capturing some voice overs with Raven to solidify the template for the
story and to develop my business relationship with Raven to the personal
relationship between Chris and The Book.
Any future projects beyond Chris and the Coffee Girl?
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Raven wearing Wrestling with Sanity
T-shirt |
Wrestling with Sanity, and my other scripts:
Bad Girls With Good Tattoos is a sexy road trip movie about
three rock and roll girls. There’s a lot of crazy fun and sex in this
one, something John Waters fans will like.
Feel the Bang! is a buddy action movie that
deconstructs into an existential piece that takes place in LA. I wrote it
for wrestler/Yoga instructor Diamond Dallas Page and Raven and they’ve
both agreed to do it.
I wrote an edgy comedy called God is My Best Friend, and later
adapted it to Paz is My Best Friend to feature my friend Vinny
"Paz" Pazienza – a Pro Boxing Hall of Famer. Martin Scorsese
is the executive producer of an upcoming Paz bio-pic and my comedy
script can only benefit from Paz’s success. He’s a great guy and a
good friend.
Fight or Play Basketball is a TV pilot I wrote about a sports
prodigy that I’m very proud of. It’s my only PG type script. I’d
love to get this to network TV, it’s very family friendly.
Finally, I have a few scripts that I co-wrote with friends. Tom Paolino
and I wrote Is George Gay?, a wild character study about manhood,
homophobia and friendship. Court Fisk and I co-wrote CAGE, a really
cool horror script, a thinking man’s zombie film. I wrote a performance
piece called The Actor, about the life story of my acting student
David Graziano, who gave up his acting and his girl in his twenties and
got them both back in his fifties. It’s a pretty deep and inspiring
piece.
Let's go back to the beginnings of your career: What got you into
filmmaking in the first place?
When I was a kid, I took two VCRs and set them up to edit some really
raw music videos. I took footage of this wrestling tag team called The
Road Warriors and put it with their usual theme song “Iron Man” by
Black Sabbath. From there, I wrote a script called World War 3 Part 2
that my high school video production class decided to run with.
But ultimately, I cite the Martin Scorsese movie GoodFellas as
my biggest influence. Just a great movie. I skipped school to go see it,
my friend Chris and I “borrowed” a car to get to the theater. No
regrets on that one.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Blood! Sugar!
Sid! Ace!, and also your growth as a filmmaker?
It really got going working with Jorge Lomastro on an 80 minute piece
called Man in You – A Providence Love Story. Jorge directed and
we both wrote and produced. I acted as the lead of Guy Smith. It
took us a year and a half to make the movie and this was really no budget,
but we did create a story that people could relate to. The movie has some
great rock n roll music. This was a hands on education on how it is to
make a movie, to organize scenes, locations, actors etc.
As mentioned, the Wrestling With Sanity short films were a big
step. Before that, I created a bizarre documentary called Re:Jected by
Reality, about my experiences with reality TV shows. Re:jected is
a funny piece that’s still good for some laughs; we got 4 and ½ stars
from Film Threat which gave me a lot of encouragement. My first
collaboration with the aforementioned Labonte was on a theater/film piece
called Orlandis and his Puppets without Strings, which ultimately
foreshadowed Blood! Sugar! Sid! Ace!
And finally, Wrestling Son – Memories of
my Parents’ Divorce, which was my first time working with wrestlers
like Balls Mahoney, the late “Eliminator” John Kronus and his then
girlfriend Cassy Strayter. Even Killer Kowalski made a cameo!
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As far as growth, that comes with putting the hours in, whether it’s
in screenwriting, acting myself, working with actors etc. I get a lot out
of my C.O.R.E. A.C.T.I.N.G. workshops, my acting class since 2009. The
time I put into it pays off as it teaches me to work with many different
types of actors at different levels of experience. The author Malcolm
Gladwell says that one needs about 10,000 hours of practice to excel at
anything. So put the hours in.
How would you describe yourself as a director?
I’m a work in progress. My strengths are in casting the right people
and creating a good working environment, even without a lot of money. I
like script analysis and rehearsals; I like the actors to work hard on
depths and layers of their characters. I’m an actors' director.
I’ve been accused of not being technically knowledgeable, and
that’s probably true, however, my DP/Editor Tim Labonte handles those
aspects wonderfully. So it works out.
Filmmakers who inspire you?
Spike Lee. He takes chances. Although Spike himself is a household
name, I don’t think his movies get enough credit. His Summer of Sam
was a masterpiece. Richard Linklater. His dialogue in films like Waking
Life and Before Sunrise and Before Sunset carry his
movies, and I respect that. Quentin Tarantino, mostly because Pulp
Fiction struck a chord with me. I even have a tattoo that reads “Zed
is Dead”. Maybe someday Tarantino will be walking around with a “Chris
and the Coffee Girl” tattoo. Or not. Also, when I saw Good Will
Hunting, which takes place in Boston, we were in the middle of Man
In You, our Providence movie. So there was some inspiration there,
from good ol’ Matt and Ben, just because they were relatively local
guys.
Your favourite movies?
Highlander. Goodfellas. The Rocky-series, especially Rocky
III, it’s the most fun. There’s an obscure Cameron Diaz movie
called The Sweetest Thing that is good for a laugh. Citizen
Kane, The Talented Mr. Ripley and many movies with Denzel
Washington and Nicole Kidman. I really like movies that use music well,
whether a score or a soundtrack.
... and of course, films you really deplore?
I don’t know if I deplore any particular movie, however I avoid
movies that I’m “supposed to see” just because everyone else sees
them. Movies that have the term “franchise”
associated with them, or are part of a big three part trilogy, alarm me.
It seems kind of cookie cutter, pre-determined. However, those big box
office movies keep the general audience in the habit of paying their money
to go to the movie theater, so it’s vital that those movies are created
and succeed. On the flip side, backyard stuff with Karo syrup as blood
doesn’t do much for me either. “Not that there’s anything wrong with
that” as Seinfeld would say.
Your/your movies' website, Facebook, whatever else?
www.Chrisandthecoffeegirl.com
www.Wrestlingwithsanity.com
www.Bloodsugarsidace.com
www.Mikemessier.com
and mikemessiershow@yahoo.com
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Anything else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten
to ask?
I encourage people to do what they want with their lives. Many people
do not.
There’s one guy I know in particular named Mark who really has a
brilliant mind for movies, and he has particular love for documentaries.
He’s recommend some great movies for me to see, somewhat obscure stuff,
that I went out and got, and it was all really choice stuff. But Mark’s not
making movies. He’s working in a hardware store, thinking about
making these movies that are just stuck in his head. I’ve led him in
the direction of a good, affordable camera, but he didn’t buy it. He
said if he were to do something, he’d have to do it 100 percent. So
instead, he’s doing it zero percent. It seems like a waste, doesn’t
it?
My friend Bryan Casey and I both make movies on very low budgets.
It’s hard and people ask, “why do you do it?”, “how do you do
it?”, stuff like that. Those are fair questions but for those who are
driven to make movies, they will find a way. Bryan says “if you can
dream it, shoot it!"
I like the word “goal” instead of “dream”. Goals you can work
on, every day if you choose to. Dream is something you do in your sleep.
I’ll quote The Coffee Girl from Chris and the Coffee Girl:
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”
So find a way. Do it. Don’t be denied.
Thanks for the interview!
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