{"id":250215,"date":"2016-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/double-take\/"},"modified":"2016-05-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-20T07:00:00","slug":"double-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/double-take\/","title":{"rendered":"Double take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casper Andreas scores two movies at annual FilmOut festival<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ken Williams | Editor<\/p>\n

A FilmOut festival without a movie by Casper Andreas is like a rare day in San Diego without sunshine, so it comes as no surprise that the Swedish-born filmmaker has been tapped for the 18th annual San Diego LGBT Film Festival.<\/p>\n

Fans of Andreas \u2014 known for hits such as \u201cBig Gay Musical\u201d and \u201cGoing Down in La-La Land\u201d \u2014 are in for a double treat when FilmOut\u2019s festival returns June 3 \u2013 5. In an unprecedented honor, Andreas has had two of his films chosen to open and close the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI selected \u2018Kiss Me, Kill Me\u2019 as the Opening Night film and \u2018Flatbush Luck\u2019 as the Closing Night Film because of the marquee\/entertainment value and its accessibility for all audience types,\u201d said Michael McQuiggan, longtime programming director for FilmOut.<\/p>\n

\"Casper<\/a>
Casper Andreas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FilmOut announced about a month ago that the star-studded \u201cKiss Me, Kill Me\u201d was chosen for the festival\u2019s gala opening on Friday, June 3. Shortly after that announcement McQuiggan \u201clucked\u201d into another gem by Andreas, which is still undergoing final production tweaks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was by chance that \u2018Flatbush Luck\u2019 even became available,\u201d McQuiggan said. \u201cIt is technically a \u2018Sneak Preview West Coast Premiere,\u2019 so naturally I jumped at the chance to include the film in our lineup. It just made perfect marketing sense to offer the film as the Closing Night selection so we can spin the two films and its director.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreas admits that he is blown away by McQuiggan\u2019s decision to prominently showcase his two films.<\/p>\n

It is a first for FilmOut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an incredibly huge honor,\u201d the 43-year-old filmmaker said. \u201cI found out about \u2018Kiss Me, Kill Me\u2019 chosen as the Opening Night film a while back, so when I then heard \u2018Flatbush Luck\u2019 was being considered for Closing Night I could hardly believe it. It\u2019s very exciting and definitely a first for me as well!\u201d<\/p>\n

Short films and features by Andreas have been shown at FilmOut for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have screened all of Casper\u2019s short films and feature films \u2014 starting in 2004 with his first endeavor, \u2018Slutty Summer\u2019 \u2014 through \u2018Kiss Me, Kill Me\u2019 and \u2018Flatbush Luck\u2019 in 2016,\u201d McQuiggan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis films are always well-written and directed and perfectly cast,\u201d he continued. \u201c[Andreas] clearly knows what he is doing and has grown tremendously as a filmmaker since 2004. Not to mention that all his feature films [\u2018A Four Letter Word,\u2019 \u2018Between Love and Goodbye,\u2019 \u2018Violet Tendencies,\u2019 \u2018Big Gay Musical,\u2019 \u2018Going Down in La-La Land\u2019] are immensely popular and crowd-pleasing movies. They are LGBT film entertainment at its best!\u201d<\/p>\n

OPENING NIGHT FILM<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cKiss Me, Kill Me\u201d is a murder mystery starring Van Hansis (\u201cAs The World Turns\u201d) as a spurned boyfriend who becomes the prime suspect when his wealthy sweetheart \u2014 played by Gale Harold (\u201cQueer As Folk\u201d) \u2014 ends up dead.<\/p>\n

Andreas calls the film an homage to film noir, those highly-stylized Hollywood crime dramas from the 1940s and 1950s. Even the film\u2019s music evokes that theme.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up reading Agatha Christie novels and always loved a good whodunit, and it was very exciting making a movie like this,\u201d he said. \u201cI watched a lot of Hitchcock movies in preparation and some of our shots were directly inspired by shots in his movies \u2014 we even have a \u2018Vertigo\u2019 shot! The film was also inspired by films like \u2018Basic Instinct\u2019 and \u2018Fatal Attraction.\u2019 Screenwriter David Michael Barrett is a big film buff and there were definitely a lot of references to other films in his screenplay. The score was inspired by \u2018Chinatown.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans will also notice the harsh look at Hollywood life, much like Andreas\u2019 2011 opening night film, \u201cGoing Down in La-La Land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does he have a particular fascination with Hollywood, or is it purely by chance that two of his major movies over the past five years have had Hollywood as the backdrop?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually more happenstance,\u201d Andreas said. \u201c\u2018Going Down in La-La Land\u2019 I wrote based on a novel and I was fascinated by the life of struggling actors in LA \u2014 a life I have lived myself \u2014 and to explore why these characters would do the things they do. \u2018Kiss Me, Kill Me\u2019 is completely set in West Hollywood and is centered around a successful reality TV producer who gets murdered. In this case, the story could probably have been set in other cities but it was a lot of fun making the film with these LA-types that I certainly recognize and that Barrett knew well. And, of course, setting a film noir-inspired murder mystery in Los Angeles was a lot of fun considering the many great classic film noirs and thrillers that took place in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a finished script in hand, Barrett approached Andreas about directing the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally it was called \u2018Blackout,\u2019\u201d Andreas said. \u201cWe worked on developing it together for about a year and it went through quite a bit of rewrites during that time, so I think some of my ideas made it into the final script but mostly it\u2019s all from David\u2019s imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operating with a modest budget, the filmmakers still landed a large cast that included Van Hansis, Gale Harold, Brianna Brown, Jai Rodriguez, Matthew Ludwinski and Jonathan Lisecki.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent a lot of time casting the film and it was all through personal connections that we were able to reach these actors directly rather than having to go through their reps. It\u2019s incredibly hard to get agents and managers excited about their clients making films on this budget level,\u201d Andreas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid and I got a lot of help by Kit Williamson, who in addition to playing a role in the film, came on as an associate producer and put us in touch with several of our cast members, like Van Hansis and Briana Brown, both who worked on his web series \u2018Eastsiders.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

They initially raised money to finance the film through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign that raised well over the $100,000 goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think it\u2019s the future of indie film \u2014 especially with LGBT themes,\u201d Andreas said. \u201cThe LGBT market is, of course, much smaller than the mainstream one to begin with so if you make a film for primarily a gay audience you have to keep the budget low.<\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays with illegal downloads, cheap streaming services and a disappearing DVD market, it\u2019s only getting harder to make money back on these films,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo we knew with \u2018Kiss Me, Kill Me\u2019 that our Kickstarter campaign had to be successful for us to make this film and we worked incredibly hard to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreas said he also raised some of the film\u2019s budget through investors, something the Kickstarter campaign helped with a great deal, since the less money they have to repay investors the more \u201cin the green\u201d the film may eventually be.<\/p>\n

CLOSING NIGHT FILM<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFlatbush Luck\u201d may be the most mainstream movie made by Andreas; the film is about two cousins who work at dead-end jobs as telephone repairmen in their Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\"(l<\/a>
(l to r) Robby Stahl and Tanner Novlan (Courtesy of \u201cFlatbush Luck\u201d)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jimmy (Tanner Novlan), a former hotshot on Wall Street before the recession hit, dreams of hitting it big again. And his cousin Max (Robby Stahl) is getting wet feet about his impending wedding to his longtime girlfriend Donna (Jenna Perez), especially after he finds himself attracted to his hot Latino masseuse (Juahn Cabrera).<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201cFlatbush Luck\u2019 is directed more towards a mainstream audience, but it does have a major gay plotline so I don\u2019t think gay audiences will be disappointed,\u201d Andreas said. \u201cThe film\u2019s executive producer James Balletto wrote the original screenplay and approached me about making it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a passion project for him having grown up in Flatbush and wanting to make a movie that takes place there. The best part is that he self-financed the film so no Kickstarter was needed in this case,\u201d Andreas continued. \u201cI did all the casting myself, something I do enjoy a lot, and I\u2019m very excited about the cast we assembled. For several of our actors, this is their feature film debut and I\u2019m very proud of everyone\u2019s job in the film. We had a lot of fun making it and I hope that shows up on the screen. \u201c<\/p>\n

Writing credits go to James Balletto, Jed Seidel and Andreas, so the screenplay became a collaborative effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames was open to script changes and my friend Jed Seidel came onboard to help in developing the plot and restructuring the story quite a bit. Then I ended up writing the final few drafts of the screenplay,\u201d Andreas said.<\/p>\n

Again, Andreas had great success in finding a great cast. Some reviewers have called the part of Jimmy a breakout role for Novlan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so! I think he is fantastic, and hopefully other directors and casting directors will see him in this role and agree,\u201d Andreas said, adding that he is proud of the performance by Briana Marin as Barbara.<\/p>\n

\u201cBriana I had known for a while \u2014 we actually took acting class together \u2014 and I think she is excellent and so exciting to watch in whatever she does,\u201d he said. \u201cI basically looked at the script to see which one of the female roles I was gonna offer her and then I cast her before casting had even begun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stahl once played the role of \u201cbartender\u201d on an episode of Bravo\u2019s \u201cWatch What Happens: Live\u201d with Andy Cohen, Kristen Johnston and Luke Perry. FilmOut audiences will relate to his character\u2019s coming out process during the move, which is very believable and realistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of what Robby does in the film is thanks to his talent as an actor, and though incredibly handsome, he also has a sweetness about him that I think makes him very endearing on screen,\u201d Andreas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobby initially auditioned for the Jimmy character but I thought his sensitivity worked so much better for Max, and once I read him for that role it was pretty clear to me that he would be great,\u201d he continued. \u201cDuring callbacks I had him read several times with multiple actors auditioning for the roles of Donna and Andres, so that kind of worked out as a rehearsal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Andreas made sure Robby was fully prepared for the crucial role.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce cast, Robby and I met up prior to shooting and looked at all his scenes together to make sure he understood what I needed from him,\u201d Andreas said. \u201cDuring production, I\u2019m pretty hands-on with my actors, building up trust and making sure to give them room to play and have fun. This was Robby\u2019s first time in a leading role in a feature film, so I also think some of the nervousness he had about that and about portraying this character, he was able to use to his advantage in the role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreas, along with many of his actors and film crew, will spend the June 3 \u2013 5 weekend in San Diego. To buy individual tickets or a festival pass, visit filmoutsandiego.com. To watch the official movie trailer for the festival, visit bit.ly\/27vMVB7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Ken Williams es editor de Uptown News y puede ser contactado en <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a> o al 619-961-1952. S\u00edgalo en Twitter en @KenSanDiego, Instagram en @KenSD o Facebook en KenWilliamsSanDiego<\/em>. He also serves a voluntary position as Film & Media Relations Director for FilmOut San Diego.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Casper Andreas scores two movies at annual FilmOut festival Ken Williams | Editor A FilmOut festival without a movie by Casper Andreas is like a rare day in San Diego without sunshine, so it comes as no surprise that the Swedish-born filmmaker has been tapped for the 18th annual San Diego LGBT Film Festival. Fans […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":250216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Double take","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}