Weirdest title ever goes to…
TILTING AT SKYSCRAPERS
Synopsis: When a gamer is overcome by his obsession, his neighbor must shepherd him home.
Director: Frank Stasio
Laugh Track: How much time and energy did you spend making the movie?
Frank: I had the idea swimming in my head for about 6 years. One night I got home and my computer screen was staring at me, just daring me to do something. So I sat down and finally started writing the script. It took me about 10 minutes to crank out the first draft. Very little changed from the first draft to the film. It took another 3 years before I could find someone to help me make it…
Then I spent a few months getting everything and everyone together. It was shot over a total of 4 nights. And then I spent another couple months with the editor and composer getting everything just right. So, adding up, it took like 350,000 years to make Tilting at Skyscrapers. And I poured enough energy to power 10,000 Hiroshima bombs into it. It’s a year later and I’m still exhausted.
Do you think it was worth all that time/energy?
Without a doubt, yes.
No, honestly.
Yes, yes, yes. I’ve been acting for 20 years and this is the first story I wrote and created from scratch. It was an incredibly empowering, fulfilling experience. I can’t wait to do it again.
What’s the funniest thing that happened on set? And by funniest we mean the most horrible thing.
We shot the first 3 nights at a location just south of Downtown L.A. It was this very industrial/warehouse kind of urban wasteland environment. No one lives there; it’s just a bunch of big 18 wheelers driving through to pick up stuff to drive it somewhere else. But, for some reason, almost directly across the street from where we were shooting, there was a strip joint. Strip joints are kind of sad places to begin with, but this one was downright clinically depressed. It was so horrible. I was tempted to go inside just to see, you know? Kind of like when you slow down when you drive past an accident. The first night we’re shooting (a Monday night, BTW) the guy working the door at the Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Hear gentleman’s club sees us and walks towards us. Now, I’m guessing his boss told him if he leaves the parking lot of the club he would get his pay docked because he walked to the corner of the parking lot closest to where we were shooting and just stopped. And then he starts singing. Just starts singing his ass off. And really getting into it. Moving his body, gesturing with his arms. The neighborhood was too loud and the club was too far away for me to hear him, but I have no doubt he was belting something of incredible import out with all his being. I could tell what he wanted. He wanted me to discover him. Hire him, cast him in my movie and make him a star. It was so sad but at the same time completely heart breaking. I didn’t have it in me to explain to him that it wasn’t going to happen. So I pretended I couldn’t hear his cries for mercy and went about my business.
Convince us why your film should win our top award. Best answer wins the award (joking…or are we?)
If my film wins your top award, I’ll hire that guy to pick it up and sing my acceptance speech to your audience.
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Tags: bug theatre, frank stasio, shorts, thursday films, tilting at skyscrapers