A comedy about a small town on the night of Orson Welles’s legendary, 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast -- the hoax that terrified millions into believing Martians were invading America. As the citizens of one New Jersey town are faced with what they believe is their last night on Earth, their lives will change forever. An alien invasion movie where the aliens never show up.

Interview with Director Jody Lambert

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

My co-writer Mike Dowling and I always felt that a story about how a small town reacts to the 1938 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast was a great idea for a film. How their hidden desires and buried emotions come to the surface over one crazy night when they thought Martians were coming to kill them. We fell in love with the characters and the world we created and we were lucky that a bunch of other very talented people felt the same.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The night of the "War of the Worlds" broadcast is one of those great, true stories that allowed us to tackle some big themes: love, friendship, mortality, faith, fear, regret, paranoia, the role of the media in our lives. So even though it's set in 1938, it feels very contemporary. And the performances in the movie are magical. We assembled an amazing company of actors who can make you laugh and break your heart, sometimes in the same scene.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

The movie is very personal because there's a bit of all the characters in all of us. Even Peg (Anna Camp), who unlocks darker sides of herself over the course of the night, felt relatable on so many levels. That's the fun of making a movie with a big, diverse cast -- discovering parts of yourself through the characters you create.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

We made changes to the script here and there to fit the budget and schedule. Here's an example: one scene was written as a huge ceremony with everyone in town. When we were prepping, we knew we wouldn't have enough extras to make it feel as big as we wanted, so we rewrote the scene to be the rehearsal for the ceremony. It ended up a funnier scene because fewer people were there. Sometimes tweaks like that make the movie better.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

It's been wonderful because audiences are really digging the movie. We sold-out our screenings at the Austin Film Festival, they added a third "buzz" screening and we won the Audience Award. Feels like we're off to a great start.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

If anything, the feedback reaffirmed our belief that we made a funny, warm-hearted crowd-pleaser. That was always the goal.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Connecting with other filmmakers and exposing the film to new audiences.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

The more people who see the film, write about it, tweet about it, the better. It's a very uplifting and commercial film so we're confident it'll find a home.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

It's a small movie with a big hook. I think there are a lot of different audiences for the movie -- sci-fi fanboys, comedy lovers, history buffs, etc. It seems to have something for everyone, so we want to get it in front of all those audiences.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

The movie asks, What would you do if you thought you had one night to live?

Would you like to add anything else?

I'm inspired by directors making bold, original, entertaining independent movies. Filmmakers like Patrick Brice (The Overnight), Ross Partridge (Lamb), Jason Lew (The Free World), Sarah Adina Smith (Buster's Mal Heart), to name a few. There will be superhero movies until the cows come home, but hopefully audiences will find their work and support them so we can see more personal, challenging films.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Our cast seems to be everywhere at the moment: Tony Hale in Veep; Heather Burns in Manchester By The Sea; Anna Camp in Good Girls Revolt; Dan Bakkedahl in Life In Pieces; Sam Jaeger in When We Rise; Raymond J. Barry in Ice; Mel Rodriguez in The Last Man On Earth; Matt Oberg in The Real O'Neals; Grace Kaufman in Man With A Plan; Erika Alexander in Queen Sugar; Leonard Earl Howze in Kevin Can Wait; Evan Jonigkeit in Frontier.

Interview: November 2016

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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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Brave New Jersey

A comedy about a small town on the night of Orson Welles’s legendary, 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast -- the hoax that terrified millions into believing Martians were invading America. As the citizens of one New Jersey town are faced with what they believe is their last night on Earth, their lives will change forever. An alien invasion movie where the aliens never show up.

Length: 83 mins

Director: Jody Lambert

Producer: Taylor Williams, Jen Roskind

Writer: Michael Dowling & Jody Lambert

About the writer, director and producer:

Jody Lambert (Director, Co-writer) co-wrote the DreamWorks drama People Like Us; directed the award-winning documentary Of All The Things; and was Emmy-nominated for producing Starved For Attention.

Michael Dowling's (Co-writer) short films have screened at Hamptons Film Festival, Berkshire International Film Festival, Philadelphia Film Festival and Woodstock Film Festival. His short Wait Here played on IFC.

Taylor Williams (Producer) produced the critically-acclaimed Lamb (SXSW premiere, released by The Orchard), Death Valley and the award-winning documentary Of All The Things.

Jen Roskind (Producer) is currently producing HBO's Animals with the Duplass Bros. and Starburns Industries. She's also producing Charlene DeGuzman's upcoming film Unlovable.

Key cast: Tony Hale, Heather Burns, Anna Camp, Dan Bakkedahl, Sam Jaeger, Mel Rodriguez, Raymond J. Barry, Grace Kaufman, Matt Oberg, Erika Alexander, Leonard Earl Howze, Evan Jonigkeit, Harp Sandman, Noah Lomax.

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Distributors.

Funders:
Private Equity

Made in association with:
The Shot Clock

Where will it be shown in the next month?
Follow us on Twitter and IG @bravenewjersey for updates

Release date: 2017