Former Neshannock residents embark on new vision with gritty film

March 09, 2006 03:44 pm

— Jim Mercurio subscribes to the Francis Ford Coppola theory that art depends on luck and talent.
He also knows that some career moves are worth the gamble — even if they take place during a hand of poker.
In fact, a game of chance turned into the opportunity of a lifetime for the former Neshannock Township resident.
Mercurio, a Los Angeles-based producer and screenplay consultant, teamed up with industry peers and fellow poker players Dean Morini and Erik Bauer to form a new film company, New Visions Fellowship.
The impetus began during shop talk at their weekly card game.
“We were talking about the latest in digital technology and kind of lamenting why filmmakers don’t take advantage of it,” Mercurio, 38, said. “Then we thought, ‘We should be making low-budget movies with these technologies.’ ... And New Visions was born.”
By taking advantage of emerging digital technologies and their creative possibilities, the company can focus on “smart, character-driven screenplays” set in one or two locations that cost a fraction of the typical big-budget Hollywood movie.
“The company is called New Visions, but it’s old school,” Mercurio noted. “Basically, it’s a mom-and-pop venture of about 20 investors throwing in about twenty-five hundred bucks apiece. But once we got this script and saw the cut from the original 13-day shoot, we knew we were onto something much bigger. It begged to be taken seriously.”

TALENT SEARCH
Before any principal photography began on the film, the first order of business was to launch an international search for screenplays. That started in 2001.
“We were looking for new talent so that we can bring their visions to the screen,” noted Mercurio, who has been ranked fifth among the top 25 script consultants in the country.
Mercurio, along with childhood friend Morini, a screenwriter, and Bauer, who owns and publishes Creative Screenwriting magazine, sifted through about a hundred responses from seven different countries.
It was Chicago playwright David Scott Hay’s poignant script, “Hard Scrambled,” that caught their eye.
According to Mercurio, the script had it all: family, betrayal, love and loyalty.
“It has great characters, quirky and dark,” Mercurio said. “These are gritty, showy roles — and actors love to do great roles.”
Hay’s standout script follows the muddled fumblings of three likable losers whose sincere desire to destroy each other is hindered only by their stupidity and genuine love for one another.
“Hard Scrambled” marks Hay’s debut as a feature film director, as well as New Visions’ first production. The film stars Kurtwood Smith, a character actor best known for his roles as Red in “That ’70s Show” and Clarence Boddicker in “Robocop.” Smith portrays ex-con Benno, who works as the chief cook at Alice’s Diner, where plenty of twists and reversals unfolds.
“Kurtwood Smith is a highly respected character actor in Hollywood,” Mercurio said, explaining that the casting process followed Francis Ford Coppola’s “parade school of moviemaking.” (Coppola once said, “If I walk down Main Street carrying a flag, by the time I get to city hall, I’ll have a parade.”)
“That was what producing ‘Hard Scrambled’ was like,” Mercurio noted. “We had a script, we said we were going to make it and we moved forward and we gradually gained momentum. When Kurtwood said, ‘Yes,’ it really got the ball rolling.”
Rounding out the cast are Richard Edson (“Do the Right Thing” and original drummer for the post-punk band Sonic Youth), Eyal Podell (“The Insider,” “ER” and “The West Wing”), Beth Grant (“Matchstick Men,” “The Rookie,” “Donnie Darko” and “Rock Star”) and Alanna Ubach (“Meet the Fockers” and “Legally Blonde II”).
“I think that says a lot about David’s script,” Mercurio explained. “We’re basically doing this on a dime, using a few locations and we got people who will do it for 5 to 10 percent of their rate because it’s a great script. Their heads and hearts are in the right place.”
Hay added that the actors were “a dream to work with.”
“(They were) very supportive of me, the material and the project, under conditions that were less than ideal,” he said. “They came prepared to play every day.”

WRITE AND REWRITE
While Mercurio scrambled to raise money for the film, secure a location and make offers to actors, Hay worked through about 20 drafts of the screenplay — a process, he said, that was not that painful.
“I think the main plus was that it was a very polished piece,” Hay said. “I’d heard my stage play version out-loud dozens of times. I’ve seen two productions fully realized, so there’s a great advantage to being able to revise, sharpen and polish and nip and tuck and steal ideas from actors.
“So many screenwriters have never heard their scripts out-loud. Getting notes from someone just off the page is based only on theories,” he continued. “There’s a point when you have to get it on its feet and make it practical.”
Hay said he was able to adapt his play to film by dramatizing and bringing onto the screen characters and incidences that were only talked about on the stage.
“(It) gave it an opening to introduce characters and situation, instead of just staring at it knee-deep in trouble,” he said. “Moviegoers seem to need set-up. I also cut about 20 pages of dialogue.”
He added that the producers kept “the train on the tracks” and “pulled a miracle or two out of thin air when I thought we were dead in the water.”
“I’m very happy with the end result, which is the ultimate Novocain.”
Veering from its original plan to keep production costs at a minimum, the team realized it was onto something special after the initial shoot.
“In poker, you hear the term ‘good money after bad’ and what this is, is loyalty,” Mercurio noted in his producer’s statement. “You say that hand’s not worth it. I am not going to go all the way with it.
“After seeing the cut ... we knew we weren’t done. So we took a gamble, pushed all-in. We threw in the entire post-production budget, raised a little more, and with a budget of 50 percent of the original shoot we did a full week of re-shoots this past summer.”
The result was an under $1 million movie — still considered a bargain in Hollywood terms — filmed with a Panavision HiDef camera, the same camera George Lucas used to shoot “Star Wars.”
Their efforts will premiere Saturday at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, Calif. “Hard Scrambled” also will be showcased at the Garden State Film Festival and Phoenix Film Festival.
Hay is looking forward to the exposure.
“This is one of the end goals. Plus, friends and family that had to put up with my mood swings the last five years can see what all the hubbub was about on the big screen,” he said.
For Mercurio, he hopes the festivals will generate enough interest for the film’s release.
“A lot of people did a lot of great work in this movie. I’d like to get it out there.”
Besides, he’s always on the lookout for another smart, character-driven script.

Photos

Kurtwood Smith stars as Benno in 'Hard Scrambled,' a film produced by former Neshannock Township residents Jim Mercurio and Dean Morini.