SXSW Premiere - All Square
A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend's son and begins taking bets on his little league games, creating chaos in the community.
Interview with Mill House Motion Pictures partners Jordan Foley and Jonathan Rosenthal
Main image: Tom Everett Scott and Michael Kelly in ALL SQUARE. Photo credit: Mill House Motion Pictures
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
There are several reasons that we chose to make ALL SQUARE, but the initial instigator was because the script was written by a long time friend, Timothy Brady. Tim did such a great job on the script, it immediately attracted all of his talented friends who wanted to collaborate with him on his first feature. Some of his best friends for years are John Hyams, Michael Kelly, Josh Lucas, and Tom Everett Scott. John is an established and super talented director, and Michael and Tom are both top notch prolific actors. They signed on and we offered to co-finance and produce.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think there's something in this movie for everyone. We can all relate to someone who hits a rough patch in life and is looking for an easy way out of his troubles. Our character does just that, only his quick fix choices lead to an eventual moral dilemma. At some point or another, I think we've all experienced a similar situation, so we can all relate to this guy and his issues. Now put him in the middle of a fun movie and a really well told story, along with some crazy situations and hilarious moments that come out of adults gambling on kids games... I think anyone who sees this movie will be pleasantly rewarded for their time.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
As I mentioned above, I think everyone can relate to going through hard times and taking the easy path to a better life, even if there are some negative side effects from that choice. I also think there are universal themes that people will relate to in the father/son or mentor dynamic between the characters of John (Michael Kelly) and Brian (Jesse Ray Sheps), as well as the friendship dynamic between John and his voice of reason friend, Scotty (Isiah Whitlock Jr). We also see John dealing with his father (Harris Yulin) and the health issues he experiences with old age, something many of us can relate to from our own lives and dealing with our own parents, etc. Again, I think everyone will find they relate to several of the issues and themes explored in this movie, while also having a lot of fun for the 90 or so minutes they get to watch.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script that we all read from Tim's original draft was basically what we shot in Dundalk (Baltimore), MD. We had some dialogue changes here and there, and we pulled a few short scenes that we new would be cut - but the bulk of the story was just how Timmy wrote it. As we got into post, the scene order from the script moved around a bit and some voice over dialogue was added to explain some of the gambling specifics; but what we all signed on to make is what we now see in its final form.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Thus far, the feedback has been positive. We haven't shown many friends or family yet, so the bulk of the reactions have come from press / critics / people not associated with the movie.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I'm looking forward to hearing how the first real audience reacts. Not many people have seen the movie yet, so it will be interesting to get a large group of different opinions together in one room for the premiere and gauge their reactions.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We are hoping that exposure will help bring more attention and more eyes to our movie. We are really proud of all the hard work everyone put into this production, and we now want to share it with the world and hope that the reactions will be positive. Thank you for giving us a platform to reach more people.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
At this point, I think the more exposure we can get through journalists, critics, influencers, etc, the more people we will reach and will hopefully/eventually see the movie. We are also currently without a distributor, so that will be the next step after we premiere at SXSW.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Our hope is that everyone loves our movie and is willing to share with their network their experience, which might in turn help motivate others to go see it. In an ideal world, the reactions will be so positive that buyers will line up to distribute the film and we'll have a great sale and platform to launch ALL SQUARE to reach the largest audience possible.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If you could make big money taking bets one something pure, like kids sports, would you?
Would you like to add anything else?
ALL SQUARE was sort of a rare experience where a bunch of long time friends all filled key positions to be able to produce a legit feature film with a great script, great director and incredible cast. The movie has a shot at reaching a large audience and it truly was a group of friends that have known each other for (some) over 20 years. It will be fun to bring the team back together and experience the final product on the big screen with an audience at SXSW.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Our company, Mill House Motion Pictures, has three features in different stages of post at the moment (one is ALL SQUARE). We have a movie called, DESOLATE, that premiered at the Mammoth Film Festival recently and won an audience award for best feature, as well as a best director award for our director. We also have a second movie with the same team from ALL SQUARE called, ALONE, which was produced with Paperclip Limited and Directed by John Hyams. We still have some pickup days to shoot on ALONE due to an actor's injury on set, but we hope to have that ready to show sometime in late summer / early fall.
Interview: March 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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ALL SQUARE
A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend's son and begins taking bets on his little league games, creating chaos in the community.
Length: 100 minutes
Director: John Hyams
Producer: Jordan Foley, Jonathan Rosenthal, Michael Kelly, Yeardley Smith, Ben Cornwell
Writer: Timothy Brady
About the writer, director and producer:
John Hyams is not only talented, he's also just a great guy to work with on a movie. He's got a clear vision, but he's also collaborative.
Timmy Brady wrote an incredible first draft of a script that pulled an all star team together for his first feature film.
The producers formed such a solid bond on this first movie, that we all went right back out together and did a second feature just a few months later.
Key cast: Michael Kelly, Jesse Ray Sheps, Pamela Adlon, Josh Lucas, Tom Everett Scott, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Harris Yulin, Yeardley Smith
Looking for buyers, distributors.
Social media handles:
Facebook: @millhousemotionpictures
Instagram: @millhousepics
Other: @allsquaremovie
Funders: Mill House Motion Pictures / Paperclip Limited
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? ALL SQUARE premieres at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival on March 10th at 7pm at the Zach Theater.