We have talked about this at quite some length before [click
here], but in a few words, your new film Under
the Dark Wing, what is it about?
Johnny Boy goes
on a routine job, things go awry when he meets a vulnerable young girl.
His boss George sees her as a money making opportunity. Neither one has a
clue of the deep dark secret that lays within the girl. Once revealed it
will change the lives of these thugs forever.
For me it's
about people who try to control others with fear, the unknown, and life
and death.
Under the Dark
Wing is a bit of a mash-up of gangster and horror/fantasy motives
- so did you at all let yourselves be guided by/play with genre rules, and
other influences on your movie?
No I
don't believe in rules. At least not in cinema. There are no rules only
guidelines that you create for yourself but those are more just personal
filmmaking techniques than anything.
I had been
watching a lot of Bergman, Bela Tarr and reading about the philosophy of
death. I kind of wanted to play off of my upcoming feature film A
Life Not To Follow and do something different with the crime/noir
type of setting. Also I really wanted to shoot a film in black and
white.
I also have
been wanting to make films that are more personal to me. One part of this
film is about life and death. That's a personal thing for me because at a
young age it's something that I had been thinking about and been exploring
more as I got older. I have a lot of feelings about it that I can't
express and filmmaking helps with that.
I think Under
the Dark Wing relies quite heavily on style and atmosphere - so
how did you go about achieving this, all storyboards and planning or also
quite a bit of improvisation? There's
always some improvisation when making a film, but me and our
cinematographer Nolan Yee went to every location beforehand and discussed
how to shoot everything and how the lighting should be. We pretty much
tried to cover every base and then tried to execute it all the best we
could. The music plays a big role in the atmosphere as well. I picked
the pieces I wanted to work with and felt would help further tell the
story or give it the feeling we wanted. Pedro Alvarado is another big
contributor to the overall atmosphere. He writes fantastic dialogue as
well. With him on board I can focus more on the smaller things. Everytime
we get together and work on something it's so fun. It becomes a deep
philosophical conversation about characters and life. You produced
Under
the Dark Wing with Skip Shea [Skip
Shea interview - click here], a quite accomplished filmmaker in
his own right. So what was your collaboration like?
David Graziano |
He is
definitely an accomplished filmmaker. His last film Ave Maria
just won a big award at a film festival in Italy! Congratulations again
Skip!
I wanted to
work with Skip for a few reasons. 1, I know he gets things done at a fast
pace and still puts out high quality work. 2, it's a good chance to get to
know him better! Our collaboration for me was to have someone to bounce
ideas off of and just get things done fast and the right way. I knew he
would get the script and if there were any flaws he would be able to point
them out. It's always a good learning experience to work with others whose
work you respect. I also know if something wasn't going right Skip
wouldn't be afraid to let me know. Skip was a big help with getting things
organized and making sure we stayed on track.
Fiore Leo |
Do
talk about your key cast for a bit, and what was it like working with
them?
David
Graziano [David Graziano
interview - click here] is an actor that I just started to work with and we quickly
became friends. On my last film A Life not to Follow
it
was just amazing to watch him completely transform into the character
Tobias Kane. He has a great understanding for the script and acting as a
whole. He really cares about the outcome of the film and he puts so much
energy and effort into his performance. It's a pleasure to watch him work.
Fiore Leo is
someone I have worked with a lot in the past. He's just so professional
and someone I can really trust on set. We have a great working
relationship and I'm always happy with the outcome of his performance
because he just prepares so intensely. He always seems to be asking the
right questions and is always on the same page with me. He's a name that
people need to know.
This is my
first time working with Jessy Rowe. She was absolutely fantastic to work
with and it took me a very long time to find her. Skip and I kept looking
through a bunch of different possibilities and no one was fitting the
bill. Then boom we found Jessy! At such a young age she's very
professional and can adapt to the situations she's in. She takes direction
extremely well and she's one of nicest people you'll ever meet.
Keith Bennett
is just a fun guy who I think if he keeps at it he'll do a fantastic
job! Again he's someone who takes direction well he's great to have on
set. He wants to learn and contribute. He also has a great look for film
and is just an all around solid guy.
What can you tell us about the actual shoot and
the on-set atmosphere? The
shoot was a breeze. It was really easy. The best I have ever had and that
has a lot to do with Nolan Yee's preparation. All the actors came in
prepared and ready to go as well. The crew showed up pumped and it
was as smooth as it could be. I wish I had a good story to tell but it was
just fun!!!
The $64-question of course, when
and where will the film be released onto the general public? As
of right now were just sending it to the press and getting more feedback.
For screenings we want to aim at film festivals so keep a lookout on our
Facebook page to find out more information about upcoming festivals. After
the festival run I'm sure we'll find a way to release it online - but to see
it soon get to those film festivals! Any
future projects you'd like to share? Right
now I'm writing a few things. I'm concentrating more on feature films but
nothing too much to talk about just yet. I'm working with my writing
partner Pedro Alvarado on a script and I'm trying to write, something else
that I can take in a new direction. The big thing I'm waiting for is to
finish up A Life not to Follow, which looks like it should be
done very soon and we'll have it ready for the 2014 festival season. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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My website: http://www.christopherdinunzio.com/
Under the Dark Wing: https://www.facebook.com/UnderTheDarkWing
A Life
Not To Follow: https://www.facebook.com/ALifeNotToFollow
Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
think I covered it all! As
always thank you so much for taking the time to interview me. Thanks
for the interview!
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