Project Twenty1: "Patient Zero"

I am proud to announce that Hard Boiled Productions' official entry into this year's Project Twenty1 Festival is complete. We have submitted it and received word from the Project's organizers that the film is safely in their hands and will be playing on the big screen down in beautiful Philadelphia the weekend of October 1st through 3rd. What's the name of our flick?

COME SEE IT IN PHILADELPHIA OR IT'S LIKE IT NEVER EXISTED!!!

How much can I tell you about the film? Not much at this point. We want people to be surprised when they see it, after all, and it's less than nine minutes long, so information comes at a premium. Nevertheless, I can share certain information as conveyed through ACTUAL SCREEN SHOTS FROM THE FINISHED FILM! HOW ARE YOUR PANTS STILL DRY?!

Our main character is this lad, Sean.

As portrayed by Chris "Lil' Don Draper" Kapcia

Sean is very sick. He's stuck in his apartment, where a mysterious trio are tending to him as his condition worsens. This trio is:

Dr. Crosby, as portrayed by Jennifer Fouche

Dr. Oxford, as portrayed by Aundra Goodrum II

Leonard, as portrayed by Jeremy Goren

(Yes, all of the characters' names were chosen for a reason, but you will never guess that reason, and I will never tell you...Okay, I might tell you, but not now. Later. If it comes up and I remember.) WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AND WHAT DO THEY WANT? Whatever their intentions, they are stopping Sean from seeing the one person he desperately needs to talk to, his girlfriend Megan.

You can see higher quality versions at our Facebook page, where we will eventually post more photos, including images of our high-larious behind-the-scenes hijinks. Also a trailer, but only if you behave.

For me, editing the film was relatively easy. I got to sit there and make jokes while Chris did all of the actual work. Sometimes I would say, "Let's put this shot here," or "Let's use this voiceover clip," and then I would leave the room for the half hour it would take him to actually do that and not make it look and sound like scratchy balls. He did a fantastic job with the sound design; it's one of those instances where you won't notice it because it's so good, stealthily sneaking into your ears and getting all up inside your brain.

Our job was made much easier, naturally, by the fantastic performances, and my hat goes off to all of our wonderful actors. They were fun to work with, tolerant of our artistic pretensions, and genuinely insightful towards the characters. When a script is only nine pages long, there's not much room for fully fleshing out three-dimensional people; you rely on your actors, and they delivered in a big way. Watching the footage, Chris and I would crack up in delight when we saw a small gesture, a carefully shaded look, a perfectly timed movement, and we would say, "Awesome! That's going in!"

The film's tone is pretty dour and serious, but if you watch us while it plays, you won't know that. We'll be smiling and nudging each other, whispering our in-jokes and pointing out our favorite moments. Hopefully, though, you'll be too engrossed with the drama to notice the two jackasses in the back of the room.

What's next for us? We'll be promoting the hell out of the film, putting the final touches on Time In and beginning the edit on One Night Strange, and submitting some more of our stuff to festivals across the U.S. of A. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be trash talking some of our Project Twenty1 competitors in this space to drum up controversy and attention.