Written and Directed by: Chadwick Pelletier

Transcription

1 Written and Directed by: Chadwick Pelletier Cinematographer, Co-Director: John T. Connor Produced by: Julie Helton, Jeremy Scott Glenn Starring: Chadwick Pelletier, April Scott, Rick Mora, Pete Punito, McKay Stewart Production Company CoffeeRing Entertainment, LLC (310) Executive Producer Chadwick Pelletier (310)

2 SYNOPSIS A group of friends come together for a game of poker, when Slade [Chadwick Pelletier] suggests that a Wild West card game would have much higher stakes, and with a splash of the pot, a new world materializes, and the group finds themselves in another place and time, playing their hands out FOR BLOOD.

3 Q&A WITH WRITER-DIRECTOR CHADWICK PELLETIER What initially inspired you to create the For Blood project? Can you talk about the evolution of the short film from the writing stage through filming? I love this world Western cinema. It s raw, visceral, and honest, and that s the type of filmmaking I m drawn to. I had this vision to write a story about what would happen above and below a rowdy poker table set in the late 1800 s, and tell them as two distinct narratives that would have this natural juxtaposition of character and conflict. But that was only one of the three elements I needed to pull this together [successfully]. I also needed to develop rich characters that were compelling without dialogue, and the third element was shooting style; we wanted to shoot it as one continuous shot, and I remember looking at my DP (John Connor) when he said, Why would we do it any other way? Anyone can film this traditionally Looking back, Connor did just come off the Oscar Winning film Birdman, so I think he was inspired to keep continuous going. I was game. I m drawn to challenges, and this short film had a host of them. After writing the first of many drafts of For Blood, I immediately reached out to my partners in crime Connor and my creative partner at CoffeeRing Entertainment (CRE), Pete Punito. These guys have been with me for a number of projects, and their insight was/is invaluable. So after version 20(ish) we finally came to an agreement on a shooting script, and we were off! Principal photography was scheduled for two full days, and we had an amazing crew come together to help pull it off, including a number of A-listers who were passionate about the project. Honestly, it s the most rewarding part of making these short films at CRE being a part of a group with a common goal. How did you cast for this project? Did you have specific people in mind? Casting was tricky for this particular picture, because of the double character aspect. My good friend and talented actor, Pete Punito had worked with me on a few CRE shorts, and I had only his (Mad Mac) and my (Slade) characters fairly ironed out. Of course he always gets the cool characters in my screenplays, which is an on-going joke of ours. I remember giving him a call early on, telling him I d like to do a Western, and his immediate response was I m sure I ll die, and you ll get the girl Each character is HUGE in this film MAD MAC, LADY BLADE, DEAD CARD DANNY, and PROUD FEATHER. Their names alone speak volumes, and I needed to work backward with my casting. I knew Slade (me/chadwick Pelletier) and Mad Mac (Pete Punito) were inked in, but the others needed to come together, and they didn t until late in the game. I can t tell you how difficult it is to find a Native American who isn t working and available, but with the charge of our fearless producer, Julie Helton, we locked in Rick Mora for the part. Dead Card Danny was written as a meek but deadly force, and McKay Stewart, another good friend of mine who has supported CRE projects since late

4 2004, was on for the ride. Now it was time to find my Evelyn (Lady Blade). This would be the consummate femme fatale role a courtesan turned blade-throwing, poker-playing vixen, and I wanted a name. Surely this role would attract strong talent. I had a few people in mind, including Alecia Moore (Pink) and Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), but to no avail. It wasn t until we scheduled a meeting with April Scott, when we found our perfect fit for Lady Blade. April brought more than just professional acting to the plate, she was a tour de force on set, and we had the cast locked in. But let me say this about all these characters and the Wild West portion of this film, there s no dialogue, and the actors had to convince our viewers of who they were and what they wanted without saying a single word. Like I said, I m always up for a good challenge Where did you shoot the film and how did you select these locations? All we really needed were four walls that we could dress for both present day and Wild West scenes, and somewhere we could control the lighting. Our coproduction partner, XS-Camera gave us their studio in Marina del Rey for the shoot, and it worked out perfectly. With these types of pieces, costumes, production design, and makeup are obviously important. How did you find the people to pull this together? Our producer, Julie Helton put the feelers out early knowing that costuming, production design, and makeup was going to make or break this short film. Amelia Brookins was our costume designer and she delivered above and beyond, helping us bring our characters to life. Tana Roller spearheaded our production design, throwing both cast and crew into another time and place in such a beautiful way. A true professional. Her attention to detail was insane, and with the assistance of Phi Tran, we were completely transformed. Sam Felman

5 and Sam Cortez ( Sams ) made sure our props where on-target, from the gold nuggets to playing cards, every detail mattered. David Baker customized all of our hardware props including knives for Lady Blade, which was a monster undertaking, given my crude drawings (left) and vision for the character. Ken Nolls, our moulage makeup artist, has been with me through a number of other CRE projects, handled all specialty makeup and blood effects for our actors. Sam Abbinanti, who has worn the hat of editor, post-pro supervisor, b-cam, gaffer, colorist, sound designer, etc., through several CRE projects, I couldn t live without. He just happens to be my cousin, so he s kind of stuck with me. But it s these types of people (I could name many) who inspire me to keep writing and making movies. It s hard for me to name names, because we couldn t have done this without the help from many others who aren t mentioned here it was a well-oiled machine, and I can not wait to bring them all back for a bigger project down the line. Oh, I forgot to mention EVERYONE WORKED FOR FREE. What do you hope your audience will take away from the film? WTF was that! would be a good reaction, but look enjoy the film and take the ride. Everything else is gravy. But selfishly, I hope people walk away wanting more from these characters and CoffeeRing in general. (PLUG: A sequel is in the works, For The Bounty at CRE, and can be expected late 2017.) THE CAST Chadwick Pelletier April Scott Rick Mora Pete Punito Mark Hulsey McKay Stewart Sapir Azulay Julian Hart

6 THE FILMMAKERS CRE is a family of filmmakers experienced and like-minded pros who come together to deliver visceral and persuasive motion pictures. We write compelling scripts that attract industry professionals who have fun, work hard, and then ante up again. 90% of each film crew comes back for more. Chadwick Pelletier (Actor/Writer/Director/Executive Producer) Mark Hulsey (Actor/Co-Executive Producer) John T. Connor (Co-Director / Director of Photography) Julie Helton (Producer) Jeremy Scott Glenn (Co-Producer) What can you tell us about CRE and anything new on the horizon? My wife and I launched CRE as an indie arm of Veritas Film & Television, which is our Creative Development Company. I originally came to Hollywood in the late 90 s, when trying to work in showbiz was a totally different animal you simply did not have the access you have today, and an independent filmmaker had to

7 give blood to even think about shooting on film (pre-digital). Casting Directors were untouchable now you can read for virtually anyone of them you want at Actor Workshops. All in all, this industry was simply not as accessible to the independent filmmaker or Creative, and now it is. So after cultivating relationships in this town for nearly seventeen years, I pulled many of them together to produce CRE pictures. Check out our website for upcoming projects! Originally, I had set out to film scenes for my demo reel as a multi-hyphenate talent (Actor-Writer-Director), but it quickly took on a life of its own. The name CoffeeRing came from a crossroad decision I was forced to make years ago, when someone (unnamed Script Doctor) told me that I didn t have a fighting chance in the industry. The decision was to either shelve the idea of being a professional screenwriter, or put more coffee on and learn the trade. So over the years the coffee stains (inevitably branding each one of my scripts) became a powerful sign to keep pushing forward. And so I do. FOR BLOOD WEBSITES: BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO: KEY ART: Stills & Design by Kim Burgarrd / Burgaard Photography Creative Director: Chadwick Pelletier WRITER/DIRECTOR WEBSITES: COFFEERING ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITES: FOR MORE INFORMATION: Veritas Film & Television, Ltd. CoffeeRing Entertainment cpelletier@veritas.tv (310)