Dances With Films 2018 - Murder Made Easy
Joan and Michael host an elaborate dinner party for their dearest friends to remember the passing of Joan’s husband Neil. As each guest arrives they find their very lives are on the menu to protect a secret that links them all.
Interview with Director/Producer David Palamaro
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Murder Made Easy came about out of necessity, honestly. I co-wrote a feature horror script called The Housesitter with my talented friend Suju Vijayan. Our script won Slamdance for Best Horror Screenplay and was a finalist at the Screamfest. The problem was that we couldn't find anyone to finance the film. Out of frustration I thought, "What would be a great film we could make that takes place all in one location that I could actually finance myself?"
I am a huge fan of murder mysteries like Hitchcock's Rope (one of my favorite movies of all time), Deathtrap and Sleuth. All of these films were originally plays and all incorporated limited locations. I felt if I could come up with a well written, fun, one-location murder mystery in the vein of those films, I could have something special. Thus, Murder Made Easy was born.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We wanted Murder Made Easy to be a fun, intriguing, entertaining murder/mystery thriller. The kind of film where you're constantly trying to figure out what's going on. Someone described our film as, "The horror version of Clue." And that's it exactly! If you love that sort of thing then this is the movie for you.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Murder Made Easy deals with themes of revenge, justice, betrayal, morality and social status. These are definitely things that I feel affect our society greatly - today maybe more than ever.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The plot and story for Murder Made Easy, complete with all the twists and turns, came to me when I was driving home from work one night. The whole thing was jolted into my brain all at once. I raced home, grabbed a pen and pad so I could write it all down before I forgot everything!
I knew I wanted to work with a writer to turn my outline into a script. I immediately thought of my friend Tim Davis who was having success with some of his scripts in screenplay contests so I reached out to him. Tim and I had worked on a TV show together years earlier and bonded over both being fans of the Granada Sherlock Holmes TV series starring the great Jeremy Brett.
Tim and I worked on the script for about two years, refining and tweaking. Later, our two lead actors came on board and helped us fine tune the script. We also did a script pass of sorts in the editing room. Once the whole film was assembled, we took a pass at getting rid of any dialogue or scenes that weren't necessary. We trimmed eleven minutes out of the film! It's the kind of thing that you can't really see until the whole film is shot and on a timeline in the editing bay. It was a very educational and eye opening process.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The very first film festival we got into was The Women In Horror Film Festival. We qualified to enter the festival because we have a female producer (our lead actress Jessica Graham), a female cinematographer (Sherri Kauk) and female hair/makeup/FX artist (Crystal Nardico). And the horror community really embraced our film, even though it's not really a horror movie. After that we got tons of positive reviews from horror sites and movie critics and it's been really humbling to be honest. When you make a low budget indie film you just want to finish it. To get such positive feedback is mind blowing. I'm very proud of this little movie!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I would say it's nice to get honest feedback from unbiased sources. Although most of the reviews were very positive, we also received some critical feedback focusing on things that could have been done better. And I appreciate that honesty! It makes you think about the choices you made and apply those lessons to the next film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Having our film featured on We Are Moving Stories is a great opportunity to spread the word about our film to both audiences and industry insiders.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I feel we have yet to find a distributor who really fits with what our movie is all about and understands the audience we are trying to reach. It's important to find the right distribution partner for your film and I know the right one is out there.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
That's a great question! I suppose people might see some kind of morality tale in Murder Made Easy. After all, with themes of murder, betrayal, social status, justice, etc. there's plenty of tasty issues to sink your teeth into after watching the film.
But honestly, I really want audiences to be thrilled, surprised and taken on a roller coaster ride in the same way one would feel watching a Hitchcock or Agatha Christie film. If I can achieve that, then I feel that I've done my job as a director.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Who will survive? I love to see if audiences can guess the mystery of the film: which characters will survive until the end.
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you so much for including Murder Made Easy in your website! It's very inspiring to read about other filmmakers projects and the lessons they've learned.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm still trying to get my horror script, The Housesitter, off the ground. Our two lead actors, Jessica Graham and Christopher Soren Kelly just finished making their feature film, The Tangle. Christopher is the male lead as well as the director. And Jessica is the lead actress. Those two are very talented so I can't wait to see the finished version of their film. Our cinematographer Sherri Kauk shot a beautiful film called Loev which is currently on Netflix. And our writer Tim Davis is working full time over at the El Rey Network. We have a very talented team I feel very lucky to have had them on Murder Made Easy!
Interview: June 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
Murder Made Easy
Joan and Michael host an elaborate dinner party for their dearest friends to remember the passing of Joan’s husband Neil. As each guest arrives they find their very lives are on the menu to protect a secret that links them all.
Length: 76 min
Director: David Palamaro
Producer: Jessica Graham, Tim Davis, David Palamaro
Writer: Tim Davis
About the writer, director and producer:
DAVE PALAMARO is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has gained international theatrical release, digital distribution and festival acclaim. Murder Made Easy is Dave’s second feature directorial effort. In 2014 Dave directed In Heaven There Is No Beer, a feature length documentary about the Los Angeles Kiss or Kill music scene. Film Threat called In Heaven There Is No Beer, “One of the best films of the year”. Recently, his feature horror script The Housesitter (co-written by Suju Vijayan) won Best Horror Screenplay at the 2016 Slamdance Screenplay Competition. The Housesitter was also a finalist at the 2015 Screamfest Film Festival. Dave Palamaro’s short film Grandfather was nominated for a Student Academy Award.
JESSICA GRAHAM is an actor, producer, writer, and director based in Los Angeles, California. She is known for her work on The Tangle, Chasseur, Monkeys, The Temptation Game, and Murder Made Easy. She has an extensive background in theater, and has been trained in Meisner. She is a co-owner of Damn Warrior Productions, an independent film production company.
TIM DAVIS was born on August 14, 1976 in Lakewood, New Jersey, USA. He is known for his work on Murder Made Easy (2017), Big Medicine (2007) and Thintervention with Jackie Warner (2010).
Key cast:, Jessica Graham, Christopher Soren Kelly, Edmund Lupinski, Emilia Richeson, Daniel Ahearn, Sheila Cutchlow, Paul Rose Jr.
Looking for: distributors
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMEmovie2017/
Twitter: @murdermadeeasy
Instagram: @murdermadeeasy
Funders: Self Funded