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Your new movie I am a Rain
Dog - in a few words, what is it about?
I'll
give you the synopsis. A man lost while driving, turns into a motel and
calls a specialist to help him get back on track.
How did the project come together in the first place, and what
drew you to it?
Kris Salvi [Kris
Salvi interview - click here]
and I have been talking about working on a project together and I was
looking to get away from writing for a bit and do a little more camera
work and directing. Kris asked me to take a look at a few scripts and I
was just drawn to this story. I like the theme of being lost and felt it
was saying a lot in such a short time. It was simple yet complex.
What can you tell us about I
am a Rain Dog's writer/producer/lead Kris Salvi [Kris
Salvi interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
with him like?
Kris
is a great guy and amazing to work with. It was a lot of fun! He’s
open to new ideas and works hard. He is very professional and always
well prepared. He’s really easy to work with because he absolutely
loves cinema. Talking with him is always fun because he gives off so
much enthusiasm and you can just feed off that energy. I feel if you can
bring that into a project it just gives it that extra layer or whatever
you wanna call it, it’s something you want, I know that. We would go
back and forth with ideas on the script about how we can tighten it up
even more and how we’re going to execute something. We had good
communication and a lot of open conversations about the film which I
feel always leads to something good. It was a very smooth collaboration.
With I
am a Rain Dog being a crime thriller of sorts, is that at all a
genre dear to you, and did you base the look and feel of your movie on any
genre conventions? I
love crime films. I grew up living in the city hearing about real life
crime stories then started watching a ton of films like John Woo’s
Hard Boiled, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, and anything with Al Pacino. I
used to listen to old detective radio shows with my dad. He would find
them re-mastered on CD. All of the stuff he grew up with. I love noir
too. Yeah it’s definitely one of my favorite genres.
I
didn’t really base the look on any of them but I’m sure there’s
something that’s seeped into my subconscious. I was trying to get the
film to feel dreamlike. I used some vintage lenses and a filter at times
to get a very warm dreamlike image. I love that warm film look.
What can you tell us about your
overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
First
it’s working on the script. I like to add little things like
movements, certain looks, and things like that. I feel if I can add
those in the script I’ve already given the actor some directions
before we even start. We can always change them up or change a line if
it doesn’t work but I still like to have it all in place. Then it’s
really just discussing the characters with the actors, making sure they
understand the scenes, where they need to be, and stuff like that. I
like to encourage the actors to take over their character and make sure
they are doing the little things and whatever we can or need to do to
get nice organic performances. I’m always open to hearing new ideas
and going with things on the fly if they feel good.
Do
talk about your cast, and why exactly these people?
Because
Fiore Leo, Kris Salvi, and Justin Thibault are incredible actors
and great to work with. I knew that I wanted to DP and direct this film
so I needed three actors who were going to be professional, well
prepared, and want to deliver their "A" game. These three do
that all the time so it’s fantastic to work with them. Having three
actors that were really skilled and easy to work with allowed me to do
both camera and directing and I knew if I was a little rusty with the
camera that they have the skills to pick the film up or pick me up for
that matter.
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
On
set was a lot of fun! A lot of good laughs and good conversations. We
get a lot of work done pretty fast so it always allows us to have some
time to catch up with one another. I had an amazing time. We had a good
crew too. They worked hard and helped make it a great shoot. Everyone
was just in good spirits and ready to work.
The
$64-question of course, where can your movie be seen?
Right
now it's making the festival run. After that Kris and I still need to
talk about the best path for the film but I’m sure we’ll make it
more widely available one way or another.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of I
am a Rain Dog yet?
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So
far it’s been amazing. It’s a film that can have many interpretations and so far everyone who has reviewed it has really dug
it and understood what we where trying to go for and that’s just
really cool.
Any future projects you'd
like to share?
I
was just the main director of photography on a feature film called Seeds. I'll give you a link below where you can watch the trailer
and look out for any screenings. It was a fun project! I really liked
working with Skip Shea [Skip Shea
interview - click here]. Good set and good material to work with. I just
had a really fun time and enjoyed making a film with the cast and crew.
Website:
https://www.seedsfolkmovie.com/
Your/your movie's website, Facebook,
whatever else?
We
have a Facebook page for I
am a Rain Dog:
https://www.facebook.com/Iamaraindog19/
My website:
https://www.christopherdinunzio.com/
- I
have other short films posted and lots of photography so it's worth
checking out if you have time.
Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask?
Just
thank you for taking the time to interview me.
Thanks for the
interview!
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