Cold Play
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Interview With The Co Director Of Cold Play D. David Morin By Chris 2/7/09
Cold Play is one of those Indie movies that really well shot, that looks a million bucks that isn’t, add a great story line and a amazing cast. You have a winner of a movie. So I Interviewed the director of the movie to find out more.
So read on and it’s available to rent from netflix and also available to purchase from amazon and most major retailers in america.
1. How did the film come about?
my creative partner, geno andrews (genoandrews.com) and i just decided it was time to make out first feature. we had both made short films independently of the other and we worked side by side for years producing the weekly Malibu Vineyard Video Announcements. we we’re both hungry wanna-be directors and filmmakers and i guess we just put our mind to it, and the inertia of the two of us behind it somehow got it done. we wrote the film in April, shot it in August, and it was done by december.
2. What was the inspiration behind the story?
well, we knew we had to raise all the money for it so it needed to be low budget and action films aren’t cheap, so, we decided on the whodunnit/thriller genre where we could get away with a small cast, fewer locations, and a smaller film.
3. How long did it take to film the movie?
16 and 1/2 days.
4. How was the process of choosing the actors for the film like?
we put the cast roles out on Breakdown services and we hired casting director liz lang to do the film. she was highly recommended, she was casting The Ghost Whisperer over at Universal Studios, and she liked the script and was within our budget (she also did a wonderful job as the betrayed woman on the bench in the first act). we hardly read/auditioned anyone for the film. she sent us headshots and acting demo reels and we made offers. we did read a few gals for the lead role of Indigo, but we ultimately met with vanessa branch and offered it to her. geno and i both were used to reading everybody for every role, so this was totally different. but under the SAG Ultra Low Budget guidelines, we were only paying our actors $100 a day, so if you had a name that liked the project, you offered the part! the end! we were lucky to get such great actors. but studs like carlo rota jumped at the chance to play Nigel and to do something strong and different. he flew in from Toronto and we shot him out in one day! he was amazing! and kinda steals the film!
5. Was it hard to edit the film to make the story flow?
geno cut the film in our office on our own edit bay with a mac g5 and final cut. he’s a great editor, and we did a couple of test screenings. i highly recommend that. we changed our cut radically after the screenings, much for the better. no one was buying the romantic tryst between indigo and angus so we cut it out. a half dozen scenes we lit and shot gone just like that. they didn’t work. luckily we tested it before our trusted inner circle of family and friends.
6. Has the film had much international sales yet?
Vanguard just released it last quarter, and we haven’t scene the numbers yet.
7. How did vanguard cinema get involved with the film?
we actually hired some producer reps, circus road films, and they found Vanguard for us.
8. Were you happy the way the film turned out?
ecstatic. it looks like a million dollar low budge studio film. and our audiences were really enjoying it.
9. Was it hard to make the film with a very little budget?
finding OPM, Other People’s Money, is always hard. i ended up financing quite a bit of it myself, plus all the overages.
10. What have been the responses so far to the film been like?
we won the Fairhope Film Festival in Alabama, and got into numerous others. people like the film. it’s just letting people know that the film is out there. studios have millions for P&A, prints and advertising, to let folks know the picture is coming out. we don’t have that luxury for publicity, so thanks for interviewing me! (readers: visit www.coldplaythemovie.com)
11. Was it hard to get finance for the film?
geno had a sugar daddy who came in for half, i raised a little and put in a lot.
12. What did you learn from the making of this film that you can use for future features?
wow, chris, so much. you learn by doing, especially when it comes to filmmaking. maybe we could have gotten by with a smaller crew. maybe we should cast “names” instead of ourselves, maybe we should have sold it differently. it’s hard to know.
13. Has the internet played a good part in promoting the film and generating sales?
i wish we were better at it!! hopefully this will help!
14. What was the editing process like for the film?
geno would cut a bunch of scenes together, and then i would watch it and give him my thoughts. we also had to score it, so we hired the amazing michael patti and he did a great job. he and geno really worked well together. and we ended up with a great score. and then even frankfurt did our sound design. so the process was, geno would do a rough cut, i make notes and fixes, then we did temp music and test screenings before we locked picture, did the score, our sound design, and color correction.
15. Is their anything you wouldn’t do next time that you did this time in regards to making of the film?
it’s hard acting and directing in the same movie. and it’s hard co-directing.
16. What next for yourself?
i just shot a co-star for the Showtime show, Dexter, playing an ER doctor. and i’m in the mix to direct a film for Pureflix. i don’t have the job yet. it shoots later this year, relatively soon. they’ll decide soon i’m sure.
17. Did the actors stay pretty much to the script or was improv allowed?
some improv was allowed. but they stayed pretty much on script. editing can be a nightmare if you let people wander too far!
18. Were their any major problems when making the film?
we had a few bugaboo locations that were hard to lock down, but in the end we had some happy accidents, or divine intervention, that actually made the film better. locations are huge. we also lost our Indigo here and there due to meetings and had to shoot around her. again, it ultimately worked to our advantage.
19. Is it hard to make an independent film in this day and age?
depends on your own standards and expectations. geno and i wanted a studio looking film shot on 35mm film. instead, we shot on a panasonic HVX 200 and had a great DP in nick rivera, and with a good DFT package, (Digital Film Tools) we were able to give the film a great look.
20. What advice can you give to some one wanting to make an independent film?
story story story!!!!!!!!!!!! it’s all about the story! after that, surround yourself with the best people you can get, and let them do their job!!!!!!!!!!
all the best,
ddm
you can follow me on twitter at ddmdowntown
