" Fu Manchu's Weapon Of Evil.."
FILMING HAS BEEN COMPLETED! Wow, what an experience shooting this film. Before I toot my own horn, and I will; I have to give it up to my talented cast for making this the most rewarding creative experience of my career.
First I have to mention the three unsung heroes of the film. Three guys who have either little screen time, or no lines in the film, yet made such a strong impression in the production and on me personally.
Dru Grossberg has one scene in the film as a Dacoit fighting with Nayland Smith on the streets of New York. He's masked so you don't even see him until you venture to to end credits where everyone gets their face and name attached to each other, I wish more films did this old-style scroll of the actors name under their visage instead of the fast moving rolls of white letters against black backgrounds. Dru never had any real training as an actor or fighter before this project, but he came through like a champ, learning the moves quickly and perfectly. If it reads a bit corny on screen, blame it on myself as a director who didn't want actors who had no stunt training, to hurt themselves while pretending to hurt each other.
Timothy Mele is in that same scene. In fact, he is the first person we see in that scene, tumbling down an outdoor staircase before his demise and warning our protagonist to "RUN!" He had a great look and charm that came across even more obvioulsy as he winked to the camera while shooting his credit scene. It was that natural playfullness that made me want to give him something else to do in the film, so you also see him as the male half of the two screamers in the opening credits.
What can I say about our main Dacoit (basically a ninja), Lenair Xavier Toprovo? Lenair is a friend, and since we had no budget on this film, I nervously tapped my friends to help out. He could have said "no." Instead, he showed up every day we needed a disguised servant of Fu Manchu to either attack someone or get "beaten up" or "disintegrated." He has no lines in the film, but provides us with a necessary presence through out most of it. The guy is aces, and a real professional talent that I hope to showcase in another production, and has my eternal gratitude!
Before I get to the rest of the actors, I have to throw in a couple of mentions of thanks to two people, without whom this production could not have looked as good as it did. I'm not even talking about our production designer yet, but I'll get to him soon. My love goes out to an incredible lady by the name of Maxine Beige, an incredibly good-hearted person who provided us with both the Ninja costumes, and the outfit of Vesper, our lead female character. Maxine and her brothers own Rubies Costume Company (free plug) and if you've ever gone costume shopping and saw a little red circle with a little clown in it, on the packaging, then you know this company. Maxine has always been there for me as a person, and has extended her warmth to this film as well. A heartfelt THANK YOU to you, Maxine! Next up is James Darconte of J.D. Auto Body Repair in Mineola, New York, who just happened to own a period specific automobile that is seen when Nayland escapes with Wembley after he is shot. James D. just let us use this classic car to add some "gravitas" to this film, very graciously. So another round of thanks is heaped upon him too!
Well, despite this film being mainly my baby; no, I'm not that much of an egotist to think I could've done this alone, I have to also applaud my co-editor Tony Munoz. Tony is another friend who had worked as an editor on documentary projects and who wanted a challenge of working on a narrative. Well Tony, hope you got what you wished for (insert laughter here). Tony had the ardrous task of having done either clean-ups of my preliminary edits or providing another set of eyes to make this film work visually better. Hey even we Directors know that objective eyes are good for the final product!
Now back to our supporting cast; three actors who had one or two scenes of note that without their talent, we could not have made the story work. Callie Nicole Burk plays Professor Elena Jameson, a part originally written for a man (then named Ian) , but when the original actor could not do the part due to scheduling issues, I decided to recast with a young woman because otherwise the film was turning into too much of a sausage fest. In walks Callie. Lucky me, lucky us! Callie impressed me with a real professional actor's attitude and training that goes way beyond her young years. In her first scenes, she actually blocked herself, which made my job as a Director much easier. Like Tim Mele, I brought her back to film the opening credits as one of the screamers. Next up we have Jacques Mitchell, who plays a recurring role on ALL MY CHILDREN. Wanna know why? Look at him, he's got those model good looks that ladies love and is what I term a "hardcore actor." I say this because he takes a beating in the film, getting slapped by Vesper, knifed in the leg, and then tied up, bound and gagged, and killed. Through it all, his attitude was to make it real. If our lead actress needed to slap him, he was okay with it. If he had to have tape over his mouth and then ripped off, it would give him something to work with. I, however have a protective streak toward people on set and decided to opt for ways of not harming my cast. The weird thing here is that besides the looks, talent, and toughness of Mister Mitchell, he's also one of the kindest people I've met. Speaking of another person who meets their demise on camera we have Richard Dama, who like many of us did double duty in the film. Rich is another friend who I consider something of a mad genius. He builds things... complicated things.. artistic things, so I cautiously asked him to build the three machines needed for the film and their components. Do you like that little Atomic Beam Generator that Wembley invents in the film? How about Fu Manchu's Worldwide Radio transmitter, or better yet, the huge monstrosity that eventually becomes Fu's version of Wembley's little invention? Thank the warped mind of Mister Dama for that. Without his contribution, this film wouldn't have much of its look and story elements. Rich also lent his apartment for a scene, so I decided to let him play the part of the character that inhabits the office where it takes place, and wouldn't you know it, but the guy can act too!
Now for our principal actors. Where to begin? Let's start with Bob Gutowski who plays Doctor Petrie. Bob came in for his audition armed with talent and ideas. Every single reading he threw at me worked and I knew I had someone here who would bring style to his performance. Watch his facial expressions on screen and you can tell he acts with his entire persona and not just by delivering lines. He's also one of the most consistent actors which makes editing his scenes easier because his line reads and physical gestures always match from take to take. He also went over the script with the eye of a hawk and added so many small wonderful touches that increased the believability of a story that stretches the imagination a bit. Any film production company and any director would be lucky to have him on board.
Now what about that guy who plays Fu's henchman, Ching? Eric Michael Espiritu has played Ching before, both in Fu Manchu photo shoots and the film short, "ALCHEMY: THE DIABOLICAL EXPERIMENT OF FU MANCHU," which was a quickly shot (in five hours) 8 minute test film, which you can view at www.youtube.com.DYNAMARCFilms . Eric had a scar painted on his face and no lines in that film, but got much attention because of his scantily clad presence. He was such a trooper, that I decided that Ching needed to be given a big part with plenty of lines, no scar, and clothes! Eric is another professional actor who is always pleasant on set, ready to do his job and just comes across great on camera.
Speaking of the "Alchemy" test film, we also have Jon Michael Johnson returning as Professor Wembley. Jon is great; a scene stealer that is so much fun to watch as he peppers his performance with amusing oddness that adds so much depth to his portrayal of the bumbling scientist. He is also one of those actors who doesn't really need much direction because his instincts about his performance are spot-on!
Now for the main triumverate of the film! Let's start with the ultra-sexy Stephanie Layton who plays Fu's henchwoman/ main squeeze, Vesper. Unlike Fu, Nayland and Petrie, Vesper is not a creation of Sax Rohmer. I created the character to be strong feminine presence, unlike the typical 1930's (the time period the film takes place in) where women's roles were more "damsels in distress." Stephanie brings Vesper to life beautifully, revelling in the character's nastiness. I think Stephanie has the most fun in the film. She gets to pull guns on people, slap people around, stab them with knives, fights with a sword, whips her cohort, and does it with style. I think that Miss Layton will be the breakout new star of the piece. Working with her has been great, as she always came prepared, knew her lines (she holds the film record for least amount of line flubs- just one!), and is the epitome of what a Director needs from an Actor. It is my hope that someone will notice her and cast her in a major production so that her star will rise. She deserves it!
James Sexton doesn't have it easy. He plays Nayland Smith with spit-polish British restraint which is something his Scotland Yard trained character needs to keep his cool while every other character and situation goes over the top. James has classic Hollywood leading man good looks and stature and I discover something new in his performance each time I view it. Watch his facial expressions and where he looks, because you can see the story on his face at key moments. James also wrote the screenplay for FU MANCHU'S WEAPON OF EVIL, and I gotta say, he gave me a great script. When I first read it, I asked him "What are you doing to me?" There were so many things in the script that made me as a producer, director, and cinematographer wonder how I was going to accomplish these things with no budget, but James clearly knew what he was writing because he challenged me, and through luck, ingenuity, and a little help, I pulled it off (I think and hope, but that's for you, the viewer to decide). As I continued shooting the film and assembling its components, I started to really see how well thought out James' script was. Everything is there and has a reason for being there. Kudos to James Sexton for giving the audience what I believe will be a fun, thrill ride!
So what can I say about our lead actor Michael McQuary? A lot! He is a consumate actor of the highest calibre, who I've often described as the best actor who's not famous- YET! My DVD interview reiterates this point, and also the fact that McQuary has this incredible facial and physical malleability that seems to equal the vocal ability of Mel Blanc, who did the voices of most of the Looney Tunes cartoons. Watch how his version of Fu Manchu compares with Fu's disguise of "Professor Wong" early in the film. You see the transformation yourself, yet somehow it's still hard to believe it's the same person. Fu gets crazed by the film's end and it's probably the best moment in the film as McQuary's frighteningly evil laughter escalates as he turns on the big version of the Atomic Beam Generator. Classic villain, classic acting. I don't think I could ever do a project without somehow utilizing the incredible talents of this man, and his talents aren't just relegated to acting either. In fact, Fu's make-up was done by McQuary himself, as was the set decoration of Fu's lair, because it's the actor's actual home! Believe it folks!
Now as for myself and the work I had to do... Well, this was indeed much work and I loved every second of it. Coordinating schedules, finding locations (aided by James), casting (aided by Michael and Jon), producing, directing, doing the camerawork, playing a Dacoit and a radio announcer in two quick instances, the preliminary edits, the sound effects, the visuals effects, photographing the DVD cover, doing the publicity stills, keeping the continuity as we shot out of sequence, designing the opening and end credit titles, the lighting, "blocking" the action, getting the costumes, obtaining the classic car, etcetera, etcetera. In fact, I was the ONLY crew member. I'm exhausted.... Yet somehow luck smiled upon this production. We shot in some great places; outside the Museum of Natural History in New York, outside and inside an actual ship we snuck onto, the incredibly beautiful Snug Harbor in Staten Island, and also sneaking onto college campuses and actually shooting in real classrooms and labs, to name but a few. Ah, "guerilla filmmaking" at its best, and yet this film LOOKS like it had a budget! So, as the film nears it's nine-chapter webisode version on-line debut, and before the full form version hits film festivals, enjoy these periodic blogs and to my actors: TAKE A BOW, because you deserve it.
More to come... the unveiling of the main movie poster and dvd cover...
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