Suspended finishes strong!
Suspended Poster
Trailer is live on the Suspended page here.
The team has been working very hard during these bizarre times to complete post-production on Suspended. I’m amazed at how everything came together in the end, with the score, an original song, and sound design and editing working under a tight deadline to make its first festival submission.
Update: we’re in our first festival, the Art of Recovery Film Festival in Florida. Happy to be part of a festival that does good in the world.
And the latest version of the poster is now done:
Update
We are nearing completion on IRA: Cashing In. Just a few more tweaks this week, and I will call it done. Suspended has a few more hands to go through but is expected to be done by May.
I’m turning my producer’s brain to the development of Trap Doors. We are knee-deep scheduling and budgeting but should be ready to go out for financing this spring. The production is slated for July 2021.
In addition to producing, I’m also writing a couple more scripts at the moment. I apparently don’t enjoy sleep, relaxation, or my family. Just kidding, Charlotte. (My daughter thinks I’m in my study too much.)
I’ll be cutting my director’s reel soon and am looking forward to having some actual video on my production company’s website.
That’s it for now. Stay tuned.
General Update
I’ve been working with my amazing editor, Alli Holland, to get close-to final cut of Suspended. I say close-to final because I’m not sure how a director manages to sit back and call something finished. The temptation to shoot more is almost overpowering. Why didn’t I get the sunset during that night shoot? What the hell was I thinking? I understand why it’s called cutting.
My trip to California for the CineStory retreat went well. I met wonderful writers, both colleagues and mentors, and got helpful feedback on the two feature scripts I sent them for notes: Trap Doors and Les Go! My next push will be to rewrite both based on the notes I got.
I’m also developing a new feature script for a local director. Because with two shorts in post and a feature in development of my own, I have that kind of time. Such is the life of a writer, I suppose!
Gib!
Friday we filmed the intro (under the titles) shot for Suspended. It was my first exterior night shoot.
BTS Suspended
The BTS photos are up on the Suspended page in the menu. Huge thank you to Brandy Fabian, makeup artist. Here’s the one shot I took of Brandy in action.
Suspended
We wrapped principal photography on Suspended this past Sunday. It was both thrilling and exhausting. While filming at the school on Saturday, the AC wasn’t working properly and the principals, 16 extras, and the hardy crew were cooking for hours on end. From that low, came the high of doing my first car scene, which was fraught with the usual difficulty, and then the most emotional scenes of the movie, probably inappropriately saved for last (due to location reasons, not my innate insanity).
Everyone did a fabulous job. I couldn’t have done it without a single one of them. My producer Leslie Ben Hamilton, who was always ready to jump in and tackle any task, my DP, Robert Matthews Wynne, who contributed many great ideas and herculean efforts in tiny spaces, my script supervisor Susan Henson, who saved me more than once, and my amazing actors, who surprised me every scene with their wonderful ideas, ability to turn on a dime, and sheer tenacity in the face of AC issues and overtime.
I was far too busy concentrating on the tasks at hand to take many BTS photos. My fabulous makeup artist, Brandy Fabian, took hundreds, but I don’t yet have access to them. So stay tuned for more!
Indiegogo
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Day 1 of Shoot
I wanted to do one day of shooting while school was in session to get B roll. We also shot two of the scenes that didn’t contain dialogue with a few of the principal actors. It was a fabulous day, and the DP, Robert Wynne, brought so much to the table. Doing a happy dance.
Suspended Cast List
Casting is complete, locations are secured, and the crew is coalescing for my short film. I’m enormously pleased at the calibre of talent slated for it.
The children:
Stacey: Jessica Brynn Cohen. Jessica is a versatile performer with experience in film, TV, theater, and musical theater. She has recently appeared in Ruthless, Kindertransport, Food Dudes, In Hot Water, and the PBS special Cinema: Andrea Bocelli.
Ava: Teagan Jai Boyd. Teagan has been in numerous films, plays, TV shows, and web series, including Promise Me, The Little Prince, Little Superheroes, and Schooled 1 & 2.
Janelle: Ava Dallesandro. Ava has had regular roles on a New Sky Kids’ YouTube show and appeared in commercials.
David: Besher Garcia. Besher is a sought-after actor and tap dancer who recently appeared as the Genie in Aladdin Jr.
The adults:
Mom: Kelly Dealyn. Kelly has had numerous leading roles in film and on TV, including most recently: Iron Orchard, Ivory Seed, Fetish, and Switch.
Mr. Gonzales: Ryan Paul. Ryan appeared recently in Murder Made Me Famous: Bin Laden and had the lead in Ahmed the Philosopher: “The Event,” as well as numerous appearances in theater, commercials, and industrials.
Dr. Mercer: Nichole Abshire. Nichole has appeared in several films, including The Lost Husband, and the Standoff at Sparrow Creek, as well as taking roles in theater, TV, and commercials.