7 MINUTES makes AFF World Premiere
In the robbery-gone-bad film 7 MINUTES, Jay Martin writes and directs a fast paced thriller shown in a series of flashbacks over the course of, you guessed it, seven minutes. The film got its world premiere here at the Austin Film Festival a few days ago.
7 MINUTES tells the story of three friends Sam (Luke Mitchell), Mike (Jason Ritter), and Owen (Zane Holtz) as they take over the small-town bank of Everett, WA. And as soon as we're in the bank, we flashback meeting each character and learning what brought them to the robbery. Each transition deepens the characters and we see how, as Mitchell told us in our interview with him, "These kids don’t know what they’re doing, they’re just kids. I loved the casting of Kevin Gage [actor in HEAT, CON AIR, BLOW] as Tuckey because I think that just perfectly illustrates the difference between the hardened criminal and these kids that are trying to rob a bank but have no idea what they’re doing."
“These kids don’t know what they’re doing, they’re just kids.”
As Mitchell points out, Tuckey (Gage) is the older criminal friend of Owen's dad, Mr. B, played by Kris Kristofferson. Those older guys are the kind of guys that did the "hard time." And they offer cautionary advice and a juxtaposition to the innocence of the three boys. "Don't get caught," says Mr. B to Owen upon picking up his son from prison, advice that drives Owen throughout the rest of the movie. "One of my favorite shots was that scene of me coming out of that prison," Holtz told us.
After getting acquainted with the city of Everett for a few days, one of the first shooting days for Holtz was with Kristofferson. "My first scene up is in that car with Kris Kristofferson and he's driving," he said as director of photography Noah M. Rosenthal laughs. "It was a good thing Kris told me he was wearing his lucky boots," as Rosenthal dives into a story about shooting with Kristofferson. Because the roads were so narrow, with mailboxes and telephone poles lining the pavement, Kristofferson had to drive the car during the shooting of the scene. "He’s driving around, Jay was in the back seat, I’m in a follow vehicle with a monitor and producers and everything and we just start seeing the car drift over." They jumped on the walkie and Kristofferson steered the car right again, but "I think it would have been a fun insurance claim," Rosenthal said.
With AFF known as the "Writers Festival," we asked Martin about the construction of the script. "It started out as a list of bullet points: minute one, minute two, minute three, minute four and it branched out in between and the idea was to use each jump back to tell a different character's backstory as far as I could before the inevitability of plot had to sort of take over," he said.
The story comes from a tale in his family. Generations ago, in 1943, a distant relative robbed his own uncle's bank. Since then, the story has been handed down and handed down, something that plays a large part of the script. "Not only are they the kind of guys that tell these stories they’re actually in one of these stories," Martin said.
Keep an eye out for this movie. We'll keep you updated with information about opportunities to see 7 MINUTES coming up in the future.
Update from the AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL
So we've been rather quiet from the festival. And here's why!
On Wednesday I arrived in the afternoon and attended the Austin Film and Food party to rub elbows with the filmmakers and writers at the festival. There was tons of free food and beer supplied, so I was up late. Thursday I hopped in my little car2go - which is really a great service and we're very proud to have them as a sponsor for Ultraween - and adventured around Austin. I found my way into the opening night screenings of THE HUMBLING, starring Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig, and then saw Richard LaGravenese's THE LAST FIVE YEARS. I enjoyed both films with the former playing along similar lines as BIRDMAN, and the latter as an adventure in music. The movie, sung from beginning to end, is based on the musical written by Jason Robert Brown featuring the talent of Anna Kendrick (PITCH PERFECT) and Jeremy Jordan.
On Friday I went to see an episode of MAD MEN presented by its showrunner and creator Matthew Weiner. Then I went to see 21 YEARS RICHARD LINKLATER, a love-letter to the much beloved Austin filmmaker of such greats as DAZED AND CONFUSED, BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET, and many others including his most recent BOYHOOD - which was fantastic. Then came Saturday which was filled with wonderful panels, interviews with the crew from DAWN PATROL, including director Daniel Petrie Jr., writers Rachel Long and Brian Pittman, and actor Jeff Fahey and then the premiere of their movie that night. (Stay tuned for more about DAWN PATROL coming later this week!)
And since then have seen WILD, 7 MINUTES, 61 BULLETS, THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN, LOOKING FOR LIONS, THE HOMESMAN, PHANTOM HALO, TAKING IT BACK, some great shorts including THIS IS NORMAL, A DAY IN EDEN, and ENTRAIN, and finally tonight THE IMITATION GAME. It's been a whirlwind and my brain might be melting. But it's been amazing to be here with the filmmakers and writers.
Stay tuned - but don't hold your breath - for more stuff heading your way including reviews and my conversations with the crew from 7 MINUTES and director of TAKING IT BACK.
2014 Austin Film Festival Preview - Part 1
LOOKING FOR LIONS
Weaving together multiple stories, LOOKING FOR LIONS, tells the story of the lengths we will go for the people that we love. Unable to hold down a job, Ray (Todd Julian) takes a new position as a driver for a company that deals in the black market organ trade. Emmet, played by Norman Lesperance, who also wrote and produced the film, is a struggling husband dealing with the imminent death of his wife, as she is rejected a place on the donor list. Facing a system that has failed them, Ray and Emmet must make decisions that lead them to things they never imagined.
The film is directed by Bradley W. Ragland and stars Chelsea Gilligan, who was also the executive producer. Three years ago this small crew shot a short film and submitted it to AFF. Though their film was not selected, a note from the festival inspired them to shoot the feature length version of their short. Now, not only have they been accepted, but they have also been asked to speak as panelists during the Screenwriters' Conference.
Be sure to catch LOOKING FOR LIONS during the festival at the Bullock Texas State History Museum either Sunday (10/26) at 6:15pm or Wednesday (10/29) at 7:00pm. And take a look at the trailer here.
THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN
Forced into a night out by their friends, four adults meet at a wine-bar and set off together to prove that they’re still young enough to have a fun night out. Clark and Will, played by Kyle Bornheimer and Demetri Martin, meet Alison (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) and her sister Ida (Eliza Coupe) and soon find that their circumstances are all very similar. Through a series of mishaps and impulsive decisions, this film deals with the ins and outs of navigating relationships when they fail to live up to our expectations.
THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN is directed by Mo Perkins and written by her husband, Hal Haberman. Her first film also dealt with marriage and won the AFF Audience Award in 2008.
You can see the film on Friday (10/24) at 7:00pm at the Bullock Texas State History Museum IMAX Theatre or Monday (10/27) at 10:00pm at Alamo Drafthouse Village.
TERRIBLE LOVE
A veteran comes home from Iraq after suffering an injury to his eye. Rufus, played by Rufus Burns, brings back more than a physical injury to his family and wife Amy (Amy Urbina). As time goes by, the evidence of Rufus’ PTSD becomes clearer to Amy but is shrouded from those around the couple as they figure out how to battle this disorder and repair their marriage.
TERRIBLE LOVE is the debut feature from director Christopher Thomas and producer Luke Helmer. Following in the footsteps of Drake Doremus (LIKE CRAZY), the actors improvised their dialogue after heavy outlining and pre-production work. The grounded nature of this style gives it an immediacy and authenticity that is able to deliver an unflinching look at a devastating disorder.
Don’t miss TERRIBLE LOVE screening at the Bullock Texas State History Museum IMAX Theater Thursday (10/23) at 9:45pm or at the Galaxy Highland 10 Theater on Sunday (10/26) at 7:45pm.
61 BULLETS
In 1935, U.S. Senator Huey Long was fatally wounded by the alleged assassin Dr. Carl Weiss. As the story goes, Weiss attacked Long and Long’s body guards responded, emptying 60 bullets into Weiss’s body. For years, no one has been able to explain why Weiss, a well respected doctor with a wife and baby at home, took it upon himself to kill one of the most controversial political characters in our history. With so much evidence either buried or long gone, both sides still hold on to their version of the truth. Through the surviving family and people close to the Long and Weiss family, 61 BULLETS sheds light on the mystery and also asks us to question where our history comes from.
Directed by David Modigliani and Lucy Kreutz, 61 BULLETS was awarded funding by the Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund which aided in the production of this film. It was produced by Modigliani and Yvonne Bourdreaux, granddaughter of Ida Bourdreaux, one of the subjects of the film and relative of Weiss.
61 BULLETS is showing at the Rollins Theatre Saturday (10/25) at 4:15pm and at the Galaxy Highland 10 Theater on Wednesday (10/29) at 7:00pm.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of our AFF preview.