DIRECTOR S STATEMENT

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“The film I wish I woulda made, and one of the best comedies in the festival.” –

Michael Moore, President/Founder, Traverse City Film Festival

While studying playwriting as an undergrad, I came up with a harebrained idea: I would stage an original musical, about OJ Simpson, based on Shakespeare’s Othello. I had never written a full musical (or really had any aspirations to do so), but I was blown away by the parallels between the two stories and began scripting almost immediately.

But once I started really breaking it down, I realized that the more interesting story might actually be about the guy who wanted to stage an original musical, about OJ Simpson, based on Othello, and who wouldn’t stop until his dream had been fully realized. As a huge fan of inside-theater-style movies like Waiting For Guffman and television shows like Slings & Arrows, I’ve always been drawn to stories of theater artists trying to achieve their dream of staging the perfect show.

After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, I began working as an Assistant Director on numerous projects, including The League (FX), during which I had the privilege of working closely with actor and filmmaker Mark Duplass. During my three years of involvement with the series, Mark and I kept up a dialogue about the trials and tribulations of indie filmmaking. Chief among his offered advice was to “Just go out and do it.” He told me there was a lot wrong with his first film, and a lot wrong with every film after that, but making something was always better than NOT making something. The more you make, the better filmmaker you become. Feeling inspired, I made a personal declaration that between seasons, I was going to complete my own feature.

I immediately began talking to friends about helping to make a micro-budget, filmed-during-hiatus movie a reality. It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was finally time for me to follow my own impossible dream and make that wacky OJ Simpson/Othello movie that I’d dreamed up nearly 10 years before.

Having accumulated a large network of colleagues through my career as an AD, I was able to cast and crew the entire movie myself, as well as secure all of our equipment and locations for next to nothing. This film truly was a labor of love: made for no money, and utilizing the hard work of a dedicated group of friends who believed strongly in the project.

I am incredibly proud of OJ: The Musical as it is a film about a group of friends… made by a group of friends. We just went out and did it.

LOGLINE

An eccentric theater artist struggles to stage an OJ Simpson musical with the help of his childhood friends.

SHORT SYNOPSIS

Eugene Olivier is a “fairly successful” theater artist living in NYC, where he has spent the last ten years of his life putting on various musicals to rave reviews. After years of creative triumphs, Broadway has lost its luster for him and Eugene longs for the early days when he and his childhood friends would put on shows together back home in Orrville, Ohio.

With little thought and no preparation, Eugene decides to move to Los Angeles where he will surprise his two best friends from child-hood, Lawrence and Regina, and help them rediscover their now forgotten love for the theater.

After pitching them on his brand new OJ Simpson musical, which is loosely based on Othello, Eugene comes to realize that it may not be as easy as he thought to stage the next great American musical.

LONG SYNOPSIS

Eugene Olivier is a “fairly successful” theater artist living in NYC, where he has spent the last ten years of his life putting on various musicals to rave reviews. After years of creative triumphs, Broadway has lost its luster for him and Eugene longs for the early days when he and his childhood friends would put on shows together back home in Orrville, Ohio.

With little thought and no preparation, Eugene hops on a train for Los Angeles where he will surprise, Lawrence (Malcolm Barrett) and Regina (Larisa Oleynik), his two closest childhood friends, and help them rediscover their forgotten love of the theater.

After Stan (Eddie Steeples) agrees to let Eugene stay in his garage for $20/week, he sets out on his journey.

He first reconnects with Lawrence, who now has a wife, two kids and moderate financial stability from his job as a mortgage broker. It doesn’t take long for Eugene to unleash his master plan to Lawrence: they have exactly one year to complete the next great American musical.

Or Eugene will kill himself.

Though Eugene tries to pass the threat off as a joke, Lawrence refuses to help unless his unstable friend seeks help from a psychiatrist. After Eugene agrees to start regular visits with Dr. Love (Paul Scheer), which rhymes with the action of jumping into a pool not the bird, Eugene and Lawrence start development on a musical based on the Shakespearean classic Othello – with Eugene as Iago and Lawrence as Othello.

Eugene alternates between manic bouts of writing and intense recruitment of an amateur “theatre army” when he is suddenly struck (almost literally) by inspiration. A white Ford Bronco nearly hits him in a parking lot, and all becomes crystal clear: the musical will be an adaptation of Othello set against the backdrop of the OJ Simpson trial!

Eugene explains the unbelievable parallels between the two stories to a reluctant Lawrence; given his new life as a family man, this show sounds very controversial. Eugene calms his nerves by promising him the role Johnnie Cochran (instead of OJ) who, like Lawrence, is a man of God.

Eugene finally sets into motion the second part of his plan when he contacts Regina, his high school sweetheart. Like Lawrence, Regina also has abandoned her dreams of performance and settled into a life working at a dog shelter. Though they haven’t spoken in nearly a decade, Regina is extremely flattered that her now successful old friend wants her to play Nicole Brown in his new musical.

The show practically writes itself, and the team is assembled: Amy (Mimi Michaels) the bubbly stage manager, Riko (Jonathan Slavin) the peculiar choreographer, and Dietrich (Sarah Hagan) the savant composer. There is only one thing left to get Orenthal: The Musical off the ground – who will play OJ Simpson?

Miraculously, Orlando Thomas (Owiso Odera), a recent graduate of Julliard’s professional actor training program, arrives to audition and delivers an inspiring rendition of Othello’s final speech. The entire room swoons – except for Eugene, who is made noticeably uneasy by Orlando’s immense talents.

Rehearsals proceed and the team moves in perfect lockstep. Eugene’s vision could not have been better realized, as both Regina and Lawrence are quickly rediscovering their love for the theater. Sparks of potential romance are also flying for Eugene and Regina, as they comfortably slip back into their old chemistry.

As the show progresses and the cast and crew members grow even closer, Eugene becomes increasingly concerned about the relationship between his two lead actors, Orlando and Regina. Concern grows to paranoia, and paranoia builds to demanding that Orlando stay away because he and Regina are having sexual intercourse. Regina is mortified.

Eugene’s master plan quickly unravels as we realize this was always more about his romantic feelings for Regina than helping anyone rediscover a love for the theatre. Once Eugene realizes that Orlando and Regina are in fact “making the beast with two backs,” his down-ward spiral bubbles over as he struggles to maintain any level of control over the imploding production.

He finally reaches rock bottom and Lawrence’s trust in his friend is completely destroyed when a gigantic lie from Eugene’s past is revealed.

Against all odds and with little time to spare, Eugene must face his own demons, learn the true meaning of friendship and rediscover his own love for the theater if he is ever to achieve his goal of creating the next great American musical.

CAST

Eugene – Jordan Kenneth Kamp (RELATIVE OBSCURITY) Lawrence – Malcolm Barrett (DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, PEEPLES) Regina – Larisa Oleynik (MAD MEN, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU)

Orlando – Owiso Odera (THE ORIGINALS, BLUE BLOODS) Dr. Love – Paul Scheer (THE LEAGUE, NTSF:SD:SUV)

Stan – Eddie Steeples (MY NAME IS EARL) Riko – Jonathan Slavin (BETTER OFF TED) Dietrich - Sarah Hagan (JESS + MOSS, FREAKS & GEEKS)

BIOGRAPHIES

Writer/Director/Producer- Jeff Rosenberg is a filmmaker based in Southern California. While still in college, Jeff won a Student

Emmy Award and MTV Film’s inaugural Best Film on Campus competition judged by Gus Van Sant, Allison Anders and Joel Schumacher. His short films have screened at festivals throughout the world and his senior thesis project, RELATIVE OBSCURITY, won best narrative at the Columbus International Film Festival. OJ: THE MUSICAL is his first feature film.

Producer- Maura Anderson has worked in independent film since 2006, production managing Academy Award nominated WINTER’S

BONE, Berlin’s best first feature winner ON THE ICE, Max Winkler’s CEREMONY starring Uma Thurman and NIGHT CATCHES US in competition at Sundance 2010. In 2011 she produced WOULD YOU RATHER which was acquired by IFC Midnight and premiered in North America in February 2013. She has produced several series for Fox Digital including SUIT UP which played across the in-ternet on yahoo, crackle, college humor and later on DirecTV’s audience network. In 2013 she began producing web series for WIGS (www.watchwigs.com), a YouTube channel conceived by Jon Avnet & Rodrigo Garcia, which recently partnered with Fox Broadcasting.

Producer - Philip Barnes has worked in the film industry for just over a decade, and in that time has worked as a music video and

commercial producer. Philip has produced commercials and music videos for such companies as Apple, Anheuser-Busch, Kimberly Cole, Municipal Waste, Coors and Nike. When he’s not working on projects of his own, Philip also works as a location manager on various feature films and television shows, including “The Bling Ring” for Sofia Coppola, Sons of Anarchy for the FX Network and New Girl for Fox Television.

Director of Photography – Andrew G. Mueller began his professional career by gaffing commercials and shooting 2nd unit

on documentaries such as I’M STILL HERE and ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL. His experience in the run-and-gun world of documentary filmmaking, where you rarely have an opportunity for take 2, paired with a strong lighting background, allowed Andrew to shoot narrative scripts and commercials with a more organic energy and a keen anticipation for improv. His vast on-set experience has paired him with many of today’s talents including Sarah Silverman, Adria Petty, BJ Porter and Funny Or Die among many others.

Editor – Spencer Houck moved to Los Angeles from Ohio to pursue a career in film editing. In his time in LA, Spencer has had

the pleasure of working for Mark Woollen & Associates, the premiere motion picture advertising company responsible for creating memorable trailer and TV campaigns for films such as THE SOCIAL NETWORK and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Spencer was a lead editor on the fourth season of NBC’s critically acclaimed comedy series, COMMUNITY and is currently working on the new CBS program, BAD TEACHER.

Composer – James Sizemore is a music producer and composer, with a focus on music for film. Most recently, James provided music

programming and oversaw the technical music production of the Oscar nominated film HUGO and THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. With a versatile background in many musical styles, he has ranged from the big Broadway musical numbers heard in the film OJ: THE MUSICAL, to the ambient soundscapes heard in the acclaimed soundtracks to COSMOPOLIS, and TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE.

Sound Designer – Mark Binder made a seamless transition to working in film, after years of working in the music industry, on

such movies as ANCHORMAN, STAR TREK, TRANSFORMERS and SUPER 8. He was the lead sound designer on PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, PLUSH and currently, the TV show COMMUNITY for NBC.

Costume Designer – Christina Mongini has over a decade of experience working as a costume designer in the film industry, including

WEBSITE

http://ojthemusical.com

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Film ype: Feature Narrative-Comedy Country: U.S.A. Running Time: 90 minutes Shooting Format: HD Completed: 2013

Exhibition Format: DCP Color: Color Aspect Ratio: 1:1:178 Digital Sound: Dolby SR

Language: English Shooting Format: HD

FESTIVALS

2013 – Traverse City Film Festival 2013 - Woodstock Film Festival 2014 - Santa Barbara International Film Festival

2014 - Sedona International Film Festival 2014 - Sun Valley Film Festival 2014 - Cleveland International Film Festival

2014 - Friars Club Comedy Film Festival 2014 - Athens International Film + Video Festival 2014 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Interational Film Festival

2014 - Nashville Film Fetival 2014 - Newport Beach Film Festival 2014 - Seattle True Indepedent Film Festival

CONTACT