Vice"Assistant Director
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
Ciro Dapagio, pictured with actress Annalynne Mccord, wins Best Actor award for "Silent Partners" and Best Comedy for "Suit Casing" at the World Class Film Awards in Mexico Photo provided by Dapagio
RisingStar CiroDapagio HeadsStraight totheTop; TalksAbout
?Silent Partners?
By Rachel Galvin
Call him the comeback kid, Like aprize fighter,Ciro Dapagio keepstaking the hits and getting up for more. After spending almost two decades in prison,battling Stage 4 Cancer and almost dying in Spain,he isrising like a Phoenix.Although still dealing with the slingsand arrowsof life,he perseveresand is making aname for himself in the film industry.
He already had gained ahuge following with hisshow ?Mob King,? which only grew when the highly successful movie of the same name wasfinished. So,when hismovie ?Silent Partners?came out,people paid attention.For those who thought the movie premier for ?Mob King?wasspectacular,they had not seen anything yet.Thisone took thingsup anotch.Held at the Wick Theatre in BocaRaton on August 23,thispremier wasluxury all the way. Guestsdressed in retro style and enjoyed afull dinner in the swank supper club with interactive wallsshowcasing Miami,complete with moving Palm trees The Boston Guido emceed. Dapagio thanked many,including actor Garry Pastore,the Emmy Award-winning director,JokesYanes; Anthony
Caliendo,who executive produced ?Mob King;?actor Antoni Corone, who wasunable to attend; and many others. Singer Blake Gchanneled Frank Sinatra ashe sang afew songsand LikaOsipovaand her dancers tried to pump up the energy.Then,Mike Marino killed it with his stand-up comedy. And DJFreakin Dominick played some good tunes. The party wasreally jumping. But that wasjust the beginning.
After that portion of the entertainment wasover,it wason to see the film in the actual sit-down theater. The film,set in the gritty underworld of the 1980sin Miami,wasreminiscent of ?Miami Vice?in some ways,including the long car ridesblasting Phil Collinson the radio and cool Miami style. The story followsa Chicago hitman named Valentine,played brilliantly by Dapagio,who devisesascheme to defraud the mafia,leaving a trail of bodieswhile framing an unsuspecting South Floridacrime family. In the process,he goesup against Chicago heavyweightslike Franky Cuts,played by JamesRusso (?Donnie Brasco,??Django Unchained,??Public Enemy?) and Gambino Capo Fat Dave Iacovetti,played by Pastore (?The Irishman,??Mob Town?).
The film waswritten by Dapagio,Yanesand also JamesBishop,and executive produced by Dapagio and Barry Jay Minoff.The film also brought in other talented actors,such asNick Vallelonga(Academy award-winning co-writer and producer of ?Green Book"),Joseph D'Onofrio (?ABronx Tale,??Goodfellas?) and many others.
Following the film,there wasan after party in the lobby of the theater.The party continued until after midnight.
The film hasalready hit the festival circuit and isgaining awardsleft and right,including him picking up most recently aBest Actor award at the World ClassFilm Awardsin Mexico,along with Best Comedy award for another one of hisfilms,"Suit Casing."
Independent Streak Magazine had achance to talk to him about his monumental successwith thismovie and others.
Asked about how thisfilm came into fruition,Dapagio said,?Me and my brother Dave Iacovettti decided to write about [hisfather] Fat Dave Iacovetti?slife. He wasagambino bosshere for 40 years. I decided to not make it about hislife and to make it fiction,but keep the insurance scam that took place asthe crux of the story. So,you know,the insurance thing isa true thing that happened incorporated within the
mafia??So,the film ispartially true.
One of the aspectsof Dapagio?sfilmsthat sticksout isthe excellent acting,including from Dapagio,and the plethoraof well-known actors. He said getting actorsof that caliber to jump aboard comesdown to good relationships.?Nick Vallelongaactually called me because I guessJamesRusso told him about me.?
He strivesto stay authentic."I'm aguy that keepshisword," he said. "I just do what I say I'm going to do."
"But," he added,"I guessin the end,it'swhether or not they believe that you create the type of stuff they would look good in ?
Before ?Silent Partners?wasamovie,it wasactually apilot. He talked about that transformation.?When you have something asapilot.You're setting up the stage for charactersthat are going to evolve over three to five seasons.People think that they can make a pilot and it'sjust going to get picked up,but the reality of it is that doesn't happen.It doesn't happen at all for independent people. I don't care who will tell you it does; it doesn't. You could put it on Amazon,but it's going to go into no-man'sland if you don't have a following," he said.
?Mob King isdoing really well,?he added,?because I have ahuge fan following.When I released it,the algorithmsare just like every other algorithm in that if people are buying,then they'll push it more because they're in the businessof making money too?
He said,Amazon,for example,makes50%,so,if they're selling it for $12.99,you're getting $6.
did with ?The Cherry Picker,?which we just finished,which isa20 minute short.?
Those films,he explained,are short so they end up being simpler to make and not ascostly. ?I don't have to spend asmuch asI spend on a pilot for ?Silent Partners?because I wasshooting that asif it could air right out the box.So,it makessomething where you can use that as like ademo reel where you could sell it to somebody eventually.?
Dapagio just announced that actor Robert Davi,known from movies like "The Goonies," "Die Hard" and othershasagreed to produce and act in hisfuture films.
Dapagio isworking on several filmsright now (asof presstime), including ?Ministry,?aswell as?Good Run,?with writer Daniel Knauff,who worked on showslike "The Blacklist" and Danny AAbeckaser,who directed many movies,including "Mob Town," "The Engineer" and "Inside Man," among others.
Asked abut distribution,he said,?I had one seriousoffer from Showtime,but they wanted to [get rid of] everybody and everything else.I'm like well,why did I do all this?I mean,why would I sell it to you and just have you gut everybody?I'm not going to do that ? so, then,I decided I'll put it out asa movie,so that'swhere the challenging part was-- taking something that'sa pilot and turning it into an all-encompassing story that endsin 85 minutes. Because you have to condense the entire seriesinto a movie that hasa start,amiddle and a finish.?
Due to hisexperiences,he said he will no longer make pilots; but rather,focuson movies ?Yeah,?he said,"If I'm gonnado anything,I'll do like I did with 'Suit Casing,' which isa10 minute short.I'll do like I
Besidesbeing good at putting together great productions,Dapagio also shinesasan actor. He isa real natural talent and doesnot take acting classes. ?What I do differently than a lot of people isI don't study the lines," he reveals,"because I have a good memory and I don't want to get married to anything. When I'm doing ascene with somebody,I like to see what kind of energy they're bringing and then I base what I'm gonnado off of that. So,I'll get there,I'll read the scene that'scoming up for about 15 minutes. Then,I'll go out and I'll rehearse it for another 10 minutes. We'll run through it three or four timeswith the people who are doing it,and then I'll just shoot it.?
"My opinion issimple ?you either can act or you can't act," he said. "I mean,maybe rehearsing with people doessomething for your confidence,but it'snot gonnachange how you are asan actor."
He added,"And the funny thing about it is,I don't have the acting bug at all. You know,I don't care about acting in other people'sstuff and I don't even really care about acting in my stuff.I just do it because it savesme money getting alead,and people seem to think I'm good at it.Eventually,I look to get to the place where I just make moviesand I don't really have to worry about acting in them.But,right now,it'snot that way.'" No matter what Dapagio isup to next,the industry issure to take notice. Keeping up with him isalmost impossible. He isalso working on "Speccubus" and more.
Atthe Premier
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
Film Review: ?Blink?
By Rachel Galvin
Trudging through snowy hills,traversing through the rainforest, walking through the sifting sand of the desert? the Montreal-based Pelletier family took the type of worldwide trip that many would dream about.But the reason for thissojourn was bittersweet.The ideafor the trip came about when the parents discovered that three out of their four young children had arare genetic disease called retinitispigmentosa. Thisincurable malady would lead the children to become blind.Feeling hopelesssince there wasno cure available,parentsEdith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier decided the best course of action wasto take the kidson abucket list trip around the world to fill their mindswith visual memoriesthey could look back on when seeing wasno longer possible,to capture the momentsbefore the light fades.
Mia,who wasthen 11,wanted to go horseback riding in Mongolia. Six-year-old Colin wanted to sleep on atrain,Leo,9,wanted to see elephants.Laurent,4,wanted to drink juice on a camel ? The list of thingsto do waslong and varied,and it took them all over the globe to achieve ? to Indonesia,Namibia,Nepal,the Amazon
Basin,and beyond.For 76 days,afilm crew followed them along their journey,filming footage of beautiful landscapes and precious moments.The children embraced nature,from hiking in the mountains, to letting sand sift through their fingers,to playing with stray pets along the way. All the while,they were being homeschooled,chiming in with their timestablesasthey walked along the path.
The memorieswere preserved in abeautifully-made National Geographic documentary called ?Blink,?directed by Edmund Stenson and Academy Award-winner Daniel Roher. ThiswasRoher?sfirst film since hisAcademy Award and BAFTA-winning movie ?Navalny,?for which Stenson wasan associate editor. That film,produced by CNN Filmsand HBOMax,wasabout the Russian opposition leaderAlexei Navalny and eventsrelated to hispoisoning,long before his suspiciousdeath earlier thisyear.
?Blink?wasan equally poignant and heartfelt film,telling the story of one family on the journey of their life in more waysthan one.
For their global trip,the Pelletier family had abudget of $200 a day and stayed in homestaysand hostelsto really get to know the culture. It wasn? t an easy journey,there were plenty of challengesalong the way,but they persevered and made friendsfrom around the world, another item on the bucket list.
In quiet moments,when life wasnot so chaotic,the children had private epiphanies,realizationsof what thisdisease meansfor their future.Those momentswere hard for their mother,especially,to bear.
From the very beginning,the premise of thisfilm makesit a tear-jerker.How could something so damaging happen to innocent children?The way the story istold,through voice-over and interviews, aswell asfootage all along the journey,makesthisa beautiful film to watch.The reality of the moment,however,iswhat gripsyou. Overall, the film makesyou want to watch it again,to have a part in the wanderlust and perhapshold on to hope for abetter inevitable future. ?Blink,?which istold in French with English subtitles,waslaunched theatrically in the U.S. and Canada recently. For more information on the film, visit https://films nationalgeographic com/blink
Before the year comesto aclose, reflect on what have been your accomplishmentsthisyear.Have you done what you set forth to do?What else isthere?Maybe you meant to start a project but never got started. Maybe you did start but never finished.Perhaps,you have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams.Or maybe you did a lot but have a long way to go.No matter what stage of the game of life you are in,it isOK.You are OK.It isyour journey.Forgive yourself for that which you did not do and remind yourself that tomorrow isanother day.
Rachel Galvin Publisher
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
H o u r F i l m
r o j e c t
By Rachel Galvin
More than 30 teamscompeted in thisyear's 48 hour film project,spending countless hoursto write the film,cast it,shoot it,edit it and turn it in on time.Saying the experience isachallenge isan understatement,but for most,it seemsaworthy endeavor.
For those unaware of how the process works,each team drawsa genre from a hat and then must include a certain role,prop and line in their script.The short films,upon completion,are shown in front of their adoring fans.
That fateful night took place on September 29 thisyear at Savor Cinema and it brought in apacked house. Not only were these films shown,but also othersfrom a different contest,called the FloridaFilm Showcase,and there were also additional workshops.At the end of the night,awardswere given.
Awards:
In the end,the winner overall was team Laika! with their film "Boopgone." They get the chance to put their film in Filmapaloozato compete against people all over the world.
Other awardswere given,including audience award,which wasasfollows: Group A: "The Box" by Andronache Studio
Production, Group B: "CenaMortale" by ReelBonds; and Group C: "Beyond the Miss" by Two by Two Productions.
Other Awards:
Best Writing
"Beyond the Mess" by Two by Two Productions
Best Editing
"Mother'sKeeper" by SLFilms
Best Directing
"The Mark of Spice" by Phresh New Day Productions
Best Cinematography
"The Blue-collar Man" by The Wastrels
Best Sound Design
"Final Ingredient" by The REELONES
Best Original Musical Score
"Staged Love" by Cinema
Creativa
Best Song
"What'sYour Name" by Sound On
Best Actor/ Actress
"Boopgone" by Laika (Nathan Sabo/ Katie Lyons)
Best Supporting Actor
"Mother'sKeeper" by SL Films(JoshuaAriza)
Best Supporting Actress
"Cena Mortale" by ReelBonds(ChiaraAvenia)
Best Acting Ensemble
"The Unchosen Few" by Prize Box
Best Special Effects
"Hero-Man" by McPree ProductionsFilms
Best Costume Design
"Last Call" by MORF
Best Poster
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by The Fresh
Eye Collective
Best Use of Character
"Final Ingredient" by The REELONES
Best Use of Prop
"Studio on Collins" by URGENTINC:FACEthe Experience
Best Use of Line
"The Mark of Spice" by Phresh New Day Productions
Best Use of Genre
"OUTOFTHEGAME" by Starfall Pro
For more info., visit 48hourfilm.com/miami.
Dana Della Cam era
At theScreening
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
RBy Rachel Galvin
"Miami Vice" wasmore than just aTVshow. It wasarevolution. Producer Michael Mann?svision went beyond the screen and into everyday life. Hispastel palette translated into 80sfashion. His musical interludesand cinematography transformed the way TVwas shot.Hisshow wasamecca for young starswho would go on to be mega-famous. Not only did it make aname for Don Johnson,Phillip Michael Thomasand the rest of the cast,but brought on many actorsin guest roleswho were new then,but household namestoday,like Bruce Willis,JuliaRoberts,Ben Stiller,DennisFarina,Liam Neeson, Stanley Tucci,HelenaBonham Carter,John Leguizamo,Richard Jenkins, Ed O?Neill,Steve Buschemi,Michael Richards,ChrisRock and many others.It also brought in musiciansto be actors,such asPhil Collins, Glenn Frey,Gene Simmons,Little Richard,Ted Nugent,JamesBrown, MilesDavisand others.
Before the show came into town,Miami wasknown only asa run down capital of crime where murder and drugswere a mainstay.It also wasasleepy town filled with seniors,sort of God?swaiting room. It looked nothing like the show portrayed it to be ?a sunny playground filled with excitement,nightclubs,and hot women and musclebound men on the beach.
When the show came in,they transformed it to fit their vision,hiring people to fill the beach,refreshing the local architecture in pastel colorsand art deco style,bringing in Mr. Neon to put in neon signsto add to the pizzaz.Their look stuck and the city realized they could make Miami the exciting place shown on the TV. They made it into what it istoday.
Now,it is40 yearslater and the impact of the show wascelebrated recently in aspecial reunion in Miami from September 12-15 that brought back many of the stars,including SaundraSantiago,Olivia Brown,Edward JamesOlmos,Michael Madsen,Bill Smitrovich,Joaquin De Almeida,Pepe Serna,Ismael Carlo and others. It also brought in one of the assistant directors,Marty Eli Schwartz,who gave a talk about hisexperience on set (See pg 12).Stunt Coordinator Bobby
Foxworth did atalk aswell.
The weekend wasjam packed with partiesand events.The Wilzig Erotic Museum hosted apop up "Miami Vice" museum filled with props and photosfrom set,even scriptsand call sheets,donated by the actorsand crew.Guestswere able to look everything over with the actorsright there. There were also guided busand walking toursof the filming locations. People could get their photostaken with celebsand buy autographstoo. There were several dinnershosted by the cast that could be attended by guests
The film ?American Badass:AMichael Madsen Retrospective?was shown followed by a Q&Awith the actor. He talked about working on "Miami Vice," aswell aswith Quentin Tarantino on several films,and the rest of hiscareer. Pepe Serna?sfilm,?Pepe SernaLife isArt?was also shown at the Betsy Hotel.It starred EvaLongoria,LuisReyes, Edward JamesOlmosand Cheech Marin.
Derek Hedlund,who worked to coordinate thisweekend,made afilm about the event and about the making of the TVshow It wasshown at the wrap party,which washeld at The Clevelander.In it,he interviewed many of the starsabout their experienceson set.
On Saturday night,the Washington Avenue BusinessImprovement District had created an event called Vibration Cocktail seriesin collaboration with the reunion.Evidently,they have monthly pub crawlsin Miami,and thistime,they themed it "Miami Vice," and people dressed accordingly. There were girlson roller skateszipping from bar to bar,and people could listen to bandsand get afree drink for their ticket price.
Overall,the event wasa huge success.It brought in people from all over the world,fanswho knew the minutiae of every scene in the TV show,more so than often the crew and cast themselvesremembered.
At the wrap party at the Clevelander,many of the cast got achance to speak and Hedlund received much praise. Even hismother expressed her pride in him. The whole bar erupted in applause at the call to do it again next year.It isuncertain if it will be ayearly event (although it appearsthat the 41st reunion isin the works), but what is certain isthat the memoriesof thisreunion will never fade,much like how "Miami Vice" will remain in the history of pop culture and beyond. For more info , visit miamiviceevents.com
Assistant Director Marty Eli Schwartz Talks "Miami Vice" & More
(Part 1)
By Rachel Galvin
For at least 15 episodes,Marty Eli Schwartz ran the set of ?Miami Vice?asan assistant director. But he hasbeen working in the industry in variouscapacitiesover the last four decades. On September 14,at the 40th anniversary reunion of the show in Miami,he gave atalk about hisexperienceson the ?Miami Vice?set and hisoverall career.
Before hisbig break on ?Miami Vice,?he worked hisway up from the bottom. Living in New York,he worked on hundredsof TVcommercials before getting agig in Californiaand moving there.He started working asaproduction assistant and then asa location manager. He worked on well-known filmsand TVshowslike ?Grease,??Raging Bull,? ?CHIPs?and many others. It wasat that time that he said he got his foot in the door to become an assistant director.
On the show ?Mike Hammer,?he worked asa1st AD and that led to him getting ajob in Miami,working on a show called ?Miami Vice.? Little did he know then how big the show would become,aworldwide phenomenon.
There had been other ADsbefore he came along,he said,that ?didn? t quite make it.?
He explained the processof working on set,saying,,?So,there are two assistant directorson a television series. And back then,and on a lot of showseven today,they shoot over the course of seven days. So, the two ADs,one isprepping,which isgetting ready to do the show, and the prep isjust asimportant asthe filming itself,because that's when you're getting everything prepared and ready. You're figuring everything out. You're making it all work.
?Nothing happenson amovie set unlessit goesthrough me asthe
1st AD,The safety,the coordination,the timing,who'sgoing to be where when,how long it'sgoing to take to shoot each scene?.?
He had to arrange the timing of everything from when the actors came on set to when the pyrotechnicswent off. That type of responsibility takesalot of experience,something he built in histime working on the show.
?You know,at the beginning of ?Vice,?I wasn't that experienced,?he said. ?I gained it asthingswent along and got better.?Miami Vice?was a stepping stone for me,avery big stepping stone.It wasavery difficult show.To shoot the episodesin seven dayswasalmost impossible.?
Something that "Miami Vice" isknown for isthe long sequencesof a car barreling down the highway with apopular song blaring. He explained that it wasshot asfiller.?It wasbecause we didn? t finish every scene that we were planning to shoot,?he said.?That'swhy,you all know,there will be scenesthat all of a sudden,it cutsto the Ferrari driving down the highway with agreat song playing.?
He spent many long hourson set,a minimum of 12 hours,sometimes longer. Alot of people worked 14,16,18 hoursby the time they loaded and unloaded the trucks.?I slept four hoursa night for two yearson that show,?he said,adding that he never had time to watch TVor moviesbecause he wastoo busy working on them.
After ?Miami Vice,?he went on to work on many other well-known filmsand TVshows.?It wasastepping stone,?he said,?because after that,I went on to be assistant director on big feature films,?Karate Kid? in China(in 2010),?The Pink Panther,?with Steve Martin,actually three movieswith Steve Martin,three movieswith Robin Williams??He also worked on ?Joe Dirt,??Waterboy,??Corky Romano,??House of Cards?and many more
He talked about the importance of having sensitivity for the actors on set. ?They're going through asmuch asI am,in trying to get everything ready because they have to prepare asactors. And you have to give them that moment in front of the camera to do what they do. Some 1st ADsget it and some don't.?
Asked how he ended up working on the show,Schwartz said. ?Well, John Nicolellawasthe producer. He wasa driving force.?Nicolella worked on directing many of the episodesaswell. ?Avery close friend of hisand I worked with me on a feature asalocation manager and knew that I moved up to 1st AD.He contacted John Nicolellaand said, ?Hire that guy.??
Besidesbecoming a1st AD,he actually wasan actor and a stunt man on the show.In the episode entitled ?Lombard,?he played Lombard's attorney. ?My hair wasa lot longer. I had alot of hair and makeup. They cut off all my hair and put me in a $5,000 suit," he said. ?And then there wasthe episode of 'Made for Each Other,'" he said,"the only comedy episode,and it washysterical. It'sthe 12
funniest show ever.But there'sa scene where they steal the cement truck and blow up the outhouses. So,I went to the director,who was pretty well known for being a feature director at that time.I said,'We need to add some more comedy to this.How about if someone flies out of the last outhouse asit?sfalling over?'?
?He [says],?Who'sgoing to do that??? ??Me.??
After the first two seasons,Schwartz left the show,but it wasn? t his choice It wasMichael Mann?s He explained,?So Michael said,?We're going to do something bigger and better.?And he and the director of photography and I went to Chicago to do ?Crime Story ' The three of us after season 2 were gone."
He continued,"After 'Miami Vice,' like I said,I went on to do features I wasvery selective in doing television.I did maybe three or four different episodics.I did 'House of Cards,' for instance.I did thingsthat I thought were going to be important to television. Otherwise, day-to-day TV,to be honest,I don't watch much of it,I don't care for much of it,and so I hand-picked a few.I did athing three or four years ago with Susan Sarandon and JessicaLange. And I did a couple of moviesof the week,the remake of ?Streetcar Named Desire,?[with] JessicaLange,Alec Baldwin,John Goodman,a huge cast."
Asked about how he dealt with directors,he said,?Some of them never really did television,so you have to get them up to speed in termsof the pace.I would have to schedule them,and say,'Thisis what we're doing today You have an hour and ahalf to do thisscene ' If it wasabig action scene,we'd have three hoursto do all thisaction. All of that hasto be figured out to scout the locations You kind of lay thingsout in preparation about what you're going to do in each place so that lighting knows,okay,there'slight coming through that window Have the cable laying down there.All of that hasto be figured out to pre-callson hair and makeup with something prosthetic or putting on little squibsfor bullet wounds."
Regarding gunson the set,he said,"I wasactually called asan expert witnessfor the Alec Baldwin case because I worked with gunsall the time all starting with 'Miami Vice.' Every day on 'Miami Vice,' we had gunfire.We never had one accident.We were using squibsall the time. Ear plugsfor everybody.Checking gunsfor everybody. You saw some of the shootouts. They were pretty incredible."
Someone asked him about an episode that Don Johnson directed called "Back in the World," which the attendeessaid wasreminiscent of "Apocalypse Now." Schwartz agreed that it seemed like that classic film with all the footage from Vietnam and everything that they had to get put into the episode."It was,at the time,the most expensive TV episode done. That wasabout $8 million," said Schwartz."Don wasa slow director.Agreat guy.We got along wonderfully. But,being a first-time director,I had to do alot of work for him. I had to lay a
lot of thingsout because that'sjust what I do. He wasn't used to it. He came and said at the beginning,,? I want all the actorsavailable to me all the time.?I'm like,'Don,really?If another actor on the show was directing,would you be sitting in the trailer all day waiting to be called?That'snot going to work. We have aschedule.We're going to plan out when they're coming.'"
He added,"The real crazy story about that episode waswe're out in a marinain a boat.Don wasdirecting,which meant he'sin the boat,and I?m directing [since he wasacting in the scene at that time]. There were 12 bombsa foot and a half under the water.Thisismidnight in the Marinaharbor.I went to the effectsguy.I said,'Who'ssetting off these bombs?' He said,?It'sfriendsof my son.' I said,?Friendsof your son are going to know when to push the button to blow it up?'"
He explained that the boat had fuel cellsare on the bottom of it and said,"If abomb went off underneath that boat,it would be athousand pieces. Who are these people setting off these bombs?I go to the first one.[It wasa] 17-year-old girl. She doesn? t know anything that hasto do with special effects. I said,'So,when are you going to set off your bomb?When are you going to push the plunger?' 'Oh,' [she said], 'When the boat getsabout 15 feet away.' I said,?Okay,interesting.?I go to the second person -- another young kid. 'When are you going to pressit?' 'Oh,when the boat getsabout 15 feet past the marker.' I go, 'Thisain? t happening.' Usually,when you have awhole seriesof bombs going off,it'sone guy doing it and he hasa board and he'sflipping off each one at atime."
He added,"I went to the production manager and I said,?Thisaint happening.Don needsto come over and see who?spressing it. He's going 60 milesan hour in aboat.There'sno marker smaller than thisin the water. He'snot going to see it,and so,I need Don to come over here.'
"[The production manager] said,'No, we have to film.We have to get back to the studio. We have more work to do.' I pull out my walkie-talkie.I hand it to him. I say,?You can run the set.I?m going home.I?m not doing this. That boat'sgoing to explode.It aint going to be with me yelling at you.?He says,'You do it your way.?"
He continued,"I call out to Don: 'Come on over here. Take a walk with me.' Showing each person that'spressing the button,I said,'Look out there,Don.Can you see the marker?Do you think you're going to see it at 60 milesan hour?' He'slike,'You just saved my life.Thank you so much. I know.I'll take the line further away. The bombswill be in the foreground.'"
"[I said,],'We're here on the beach with five cameras,with along lens.Thisishow it'sgoing to work. Otherwise,I'm going home.I'm not going to be responsible.'
"I'm lucky to be able to say I never had aseriousaccident," Schwartz added.
Regarding working in the studio versuson location,Schwartz said they would spend one or two daysthere where they could compress much more work because they were in acontrolled area. ?It'svery contained so you can get much more work done.We had pretty much the same background actorsthere all the time.They knew the routine. Everybody there wasset and we could knock out eight pagesaweek. If you're in a location,you might be talking about two or three pagesaday,he said. "In ageneral script,you figure it'sa page a minute. That'show it all begins. It all startswith me getting ascript and then me breaking that script down to figure out what isgoing to happen on each day.It'sa science but that'show,through experience of doing it,you have amuch better understanding of how long things take.Again,it dependson the crew.Thiscrew wasincredible," he said. "Once we were up and going,it wasa very well-formed machine," he added,"I've done other showswhere it can be a disaster. The grip department'snot that great.The makeup'staking forever.So many moving partsthat you have to take into consideration."
Regarding how far in advance everyrhing isplanned,he said, "Everything isplanned for the next seven daysof prep.On day one of prep,I'm doing the schedule.On that day,we're not having a schedule, we're doing it in the lower half of the day.You used pay phonesto communicate everything.Everybody getsacall sheet every single day at the end of the day of shooting.You get a preliminary call sheet at lunch time. I look through it,make any changesfor the next day,hand it back to the 2nd AD,finalize it. By the time you're pre-wrapped before people leave,they can have a call sheet that itemizesevery single person'stime on it."
"So,it'scomplicated," he continued."There'salot more to it than what meetsthe eye.You see it on the screen,you go thislooked like it waseasy and fun.It wassometimesfun,but it wasnever easy."
One attendee wasasking the processof becoming a production assistant on set and more about how they are utilized. Schwartz shared about how he usesPAsto control the areathey are shooting in.He said."I wasshooting with Beyoncé and Steve Martin on 5th Avenue and 57th Street,probably the busiest part of New York City.Two of the
biggest starsever,right?Walking down the street,walking and talking. How do you control that?I called it a moving block,so I had 35 extras that all surrounded them to different positionsso that they were insulated by those people. It would be asteady cam shot. They're walking and talking.Then again,there are PAsthat are on cornersthat are stopping traffic,keeping people away. That'swhat aproduction assistant does."
"Then again," he added,"being alocation manager,I alwaysthought of amovie asa cell. The nucleusisinside.The nucleusisme,the 1st AD,the director,the director of photography,the actors,the script supervisor.That'sthe main little group.Asa location manager,that wasmy dream -- to be in the nucleus. I wanted to be in the center of all thiswhere that'show you learn what'sreally going on,what that moment to moment thing isbetween the actors,between the director, between how a film ismade. It isthat way. It'sa very tight group,and you're surrounded by the protonsand electronsthat are feeding the nucleus.That'severyone else on the group.My dream wasalwaysasa location manager -- I need to be inside there."
Schwartz definitelt found himself on the inside for "Miami Vice," which catapulted hiscareer to be larger than he ever dreamed.These days,he worksmore asaconsultant on showsand movies,but he still revelsin talking about the good old dayson set of "Miami Vice."
He also wasproud to mention that hisdaughter isan Emmy Award-winning stunt woman on such showsas"Stranger Things."
For more about thisprolific assistant director and location manager, check out hisIMDBpage.
(L) Schwartz talks to a fan after Q&A. (R) He speaks to reunion organizer Derek Hedlund before his talk.
Art of Networking
By Rachel Galvin
On September 22,there was avery successful networking event that came together in collaboration with several organizationsand people: artist/ actor "Magchop" Kenny Ruiz,FloridaArtsNetwork, Dining Divas,FLOW Film Festival & Market,EUGOT Entertainment,AMP2 TV Network,Cinefreek Productions,Miami Cam Squad and others. It washeld at Boca Luxe Lounge and brought in celebrities,filmmakers, actors,artists,writersand other filmmaking professionals,and creative individuals.
Violinist/ rapper Steven Avi entertained.Ruiz and Christine Curran from the Dining Divasspoke briefly.
Thisisthe second of their eventsand they continue to have others.
Find "MagChop" Kenny Ruiz on social mediato see what he isup to next.
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
INDEPENDENT STREAK MAGAZINE
FLIFF2024
Reveal ed at Post er Part y
By Rachel Galvin
The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival isready for its39th edition.On September 28, at Savor Cinema,the new poster wasunveiled, created in collaboration with artist Guy Harvey.They also unveiled some information on the upcoming festival, which will be held Nov.8-17.
Thisyear'sevent will include 100 filmsfrom 25 countries.Many celebritieswill be coming into town,including Ray Romano,Mena Suvari,Cathy Moriarty,Gavin Casalegno,FrancescaEastwood,Emily Bett Richards,Kevin Pollak,John Savage and the legendary Bob Mackie.The Jersey Girlswill also return to give another showstopping performance.
There also will be some changes.For one,Gregory von Hausch,who waspresident & CEO,will no longer be with the festival,ashe hasa new job acrossthe country in Hawaii. He will be sorely missed. During the announcement of hisdeparture,there were many tearsand shock. Another change isthat thisyear there will be no short films. They are reserving those to another event,which will be held in February.
Besidesproviding thisintel while people sat inside,there wasa party on the patio.People could enjoy light bitesand drinksand mingle with many they had not seen since last year.Steve Savor,who isnow listed aspresident & CEO,talked about hisspecialty ?the parties! Besides the kickoff at the Hard Rock,he will be having hisusual soiree at his Villade Palmaon Nov.9.Thisone isBarbie themed. He talked about the Centerpiece movie,?No Address,?and having a block party again thisyear at Savor Cinemaon Nov. 13,and the wrap party with the film ?Grander?shown at Super Yacht Village with a grander party at Pier Sixty-Six South complete with live music and superyacht after parties on Nov.16.
At Poster Party
