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Your new movie Steak
Knives - in a few words, what is it about?
It's basically about a
good person, a delightful little homemaker, who is
going through a murderous mid-life crisis. I'm sure many husbands
know exactly what I'm talking about. Well it's her birthday, but now the
party is over and it's time for an intimate moment with her husband to
discuss her present. He gave
her steak knives. How thoughtful, and now she'd like to know the reasoning
behind this gift and what better way than press one against his throat
while asking.
What
were your inspirations when writing Steak
Knives, and is any of the film based on actual experiences? Michelle
Palmer, a good friend and actress from Chicago was here to work on another
comedy I wrote called Dilemma.
The shoot was over and Michelle was going home the following day. But that
night I was perfectly happy watching the food network when she suddenly
hit me and ordered me to write a quick little skit and make what would
basically be a home movie, something she could take home to her kids and
something we could all laugh about years later. So I quickly came up with
a little idea, wrote it on Q-cards and along with my girlfriend Michelle,
yes I get them confused sometimes, made it happen. I met Audrey Noone [Audrey
Noone
interview - click here]
this past year and immediately knew she'd be perfect for a more
professionally produced remake and along with director Chris Esper [Chris
Esper interview - click here],
they made it happen.
So what made Audrey perfect for the project? She's
a talented actress, storyteller, sharp as a steak knife and also insane.
It's a formula for good filmmaking and I hope to work with her again in
the future. What
can you tell us about your director Chris Esper [Chris
Esper interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? And how much creative control did you have on Steak
Knives? I
don't recall how we met, but I've known Chris for a couple years. As far
as my creative control I had little. I moved on to another project and put
my faith in Chris and Audrey, knowing they would do a great job. Chris and
I recently worked together on a drama I wrote called Crossing
Paths. It's almost finished so I'll hold off giving anything away
until it's out there or I do another interview.
Besides being a writer you're also an actor - so
why did you decide not to appear in front of the camera in Steak
Knives?
Well
like I said, I needed to concentrate on another project. I might have
changed my mind if Audrey and Chris were willing to pay me enough. Any future
projects you'd like to share?
I
have three, no four projects I would really, really like to see
made. I'm currently in talks with people in New York for a feature
length film I wrote about five years ago. It's a pretty intense drama
about a jewel heist gone wrong and the police search for the badly wounded
thief who holds a small group of people hostage in the back room of a
tavern. The other three
scripts are shorts. One is a crazy kind of spy vs spy comedy that seems to
crack up those who have read it. That's got to be a good thing, right?
I desperately want to get another drama, the thriller An Accident
made. I also have a trilogy. All trilogies need to have a common bond.
Mine has three distinctly, separate stories performed by the same two
actors who would play totally different roles in each. It would make for a
really good, though somewhat long acting reel.
As far as I know, you
began your writing career as a novelist - so what can you tell us about
your debut novel Treasured Islands, and how did you get into
writing to begin with?
Best way to explain my
novel without making a career out of it is for me to simply read the short
version teaser from the cover. It's a story that in some small respect
mirrors my own experiences, both here in Boston and the islands of the
Caribbean. Having said that, It's about a character, Joey Martin who had
always lived on the edge, sometimes a very dangerous edge. But Diana and
their little girl Natalie had helped show him another way and find, within
himself, a good and more honorable side of his nature. Where once he had
known only cynicism and darkness, his family had become his life and the
light by which he was guided. For a little while, he would know happiness
and a contentment that had for so long eluded him.
In another place and
time, it might have all lasted had not circumstances, beyond his control,
plunged him deep into a dark abyss of smuggling, drugs, the mob and FBI
intrigue. Once again, Joey would find himself within the shadows of his
past and caught up in an extraordinary challenge, away from the love, the
light and the life on his Treasured Islands.
What made you pick up writing
screenplays eventually? And at which point did you get into acting as
well? I
was about to write my second novel when my girlfriend Michelle, not to be
confused with a actress Michelle asked me if I had ever thought of writing
for the screen. I pondered that for a little while and decided to try it.
I soon found I could tell so many more stories in much less time and I've
been doing it ever since. Acting? It was one of the few artistic
expressions I hadn't tried yet. As a teen I was a drummer, later
keyboards, baby maker, then a singer/songwriter, painter, amatuer
photographer, novelist turned screenwriter so what else was there?
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Steak
Knives? I
wrote and helped produce a feature film in New York City called Twists
Of Fate. It won awards in Atlantic City and is now in distribution.
Another feature I wrote was with an extremely talented actress, director,
producer, Cate Carson, titled Capture.
I helped an attorney, now a Dade County Florida Judge, write an intense
true-crime drama about the biggest murder case and trial in Florida's
history that took place during the 80's called Danger
Road. I co-wrote two feature length screenplays for the U.K. market
with a great English writer, Ron Aberdeen. One script is called Stilettos.
I consider The
Lifeboat as my finest work and if you know a producer with roughly 50
million dollars, roughly 40 million Quid, have him call me, okay?
I've written and produced a number of short films. Three have made
the festival circuit. How would you describe yourself as a
writer and as an actor? Aside
from my ability to both blink and breathe at the same time, I know how to
navigate my screenwriting software and read about my Medicare benifits. I
am also drop dead gorgeous for a senior citizen and can still remember to
bathe regularly. I just don't always remember why. Writers, actors, filmmakers,
whoever else who inspire you?
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The
writers, producers, actors and directors of such films as Twelve Angry
Men, Cool Hand Luke, Good Will Hunting, Saving Private
Ryan, Mystic River,
Cinema Paradiso, Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather and I'll leave it at
those for now. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
Final Hours … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Final-Hours/200894943283099?ref=hl
Crossing Paths … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crossing-Paths/350064025138975?ref=hl
Treasured Islands … https://www.facebook.com/pages/Treasured-Islands/159880017413171?ref=hl
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? “I'll
Be Back!”
Thanks
for the interview! My pleasure.
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