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Hey all! It would take me pages and pages to really get you up to speed on this project from the beginning, so I will try to just focus on some of the important points and turning points.
Ric started working on this script so long ago that I have lost track of when it started. It has been through so many modifications that I have lost track of that too! It was well over a year ago that a motley bunch of us met at Café Portofino, on a very cold night, to discuss a very different version of the story than it is today. We were excited then and we are still excited now. The casting came together slowly and in spurts, but Ric’s enthusiasm and confidence never wavered. Casting discussion ran the gamut from the girl down the street to the Hollywood A list. Reality has ended up somewhere in between, and the more we work together the more we know we couldn’t have done better, or been luckier. The crew came together in pretty much the same way. Some came, some went, but again we wouldn’t change the current formation for anything! We learned a lot about the movie business, some of it the hard way, but with some expert help we got through it. ‘Nuff said about that. We have, over the last few weeks, come together as a family, albeit dysfunctional, but none the less a family. There has been drama, romance, and tears, but all in all the closeness is undeniable. The talent of this group seems to be never ending! It seems like any hurdle can be handled by someone in the gang. We have been very lucky with the press from early on. Our first debut was in the Hook, with a picture and short description. Since then we have been featured in the Rockland Journal News and have upcoming pieces in Rockland Magazine and the Nyack Villager. We also have had great luck with donations. Craft Services, in the form of food and drink have come from the Sidewalk Café, Community Market, Canzona’s, Turriellos, Nonna Rosa’s, Banchetto Feast, Bunbury’s Café, Piermont Wine David’s Bagels, and legal help from Joseph Adams. Also product placement has been good to us, from such locations as the watches from Ben & Olivers in Piermont, Vanessa Saunders/Coldwell Banker Real Estate, and more in the works. Locations have been amazing as well. We were lucky enough to shoot at the Castle in Piermont (a very special place), Udelco in Orangeburg, the Nyack Motor Lodge in West Nyack, the West Gate in Nyack, and Café Portofino in Piermont. The good people at every one of the locations have been more than helpful and their continued interest in our project is most appreciated! Extras for the film have come from the most unusual places! Some from a band whose song is on the film’s soundtrack, some from an amazing masseuse and her entourage, some fans from Ric/Mercedes/Big Jim’s radio show, some from previous shooting locations, some from behind the scenes, and some our friends and neighbors. Ok, I don’t want to get all sappy now. But it’s all true, and it is a love fest! We all love each other in our own way, and that’s why this film is going to rock! Well, filming for Delilah Rose is now complete. It was a long process, sometimes grueling, sometimes truly amazing. There were times some of us thought the film would never get finished.
Hey all! It is so interesting how new relationships develop on the set. You make new friends. You learn a lot about people when you work with them so closely for so many hours and so many days. You become the best of friends and tell them things you might not even tell a "regular" friend. You learn their sleeping patterns, who doesn't sleep who sleeps a lot, who is cranky in the morning. Or you become enemies. Some relationships stay strong and some deteriorate. There are times when tensions run high, times when you want to hug everyone. Our luck was especially good. The weather was glorious for every day we filmed. The only day it rained was at the end of our last shoot day which couldn't have been more perfect for the scene. We jumped hurdles, not always with grace but with passion and drive. With our limited budget we were able to film a great film. Every time we ran into problems someone on our wonderful crew came up with a solution. Even our troubles with the town of Piermont, which seemed unsurmountable at the time, was reconciled. Our wrap party was at the castle. It was a pot luck and everyone brought great stuff. We ate and drank and had a "Delilah Rose Quiz" and a scavenger hunt (which Charlene's team won). After that was a knife throwing contest. Then when many people thought the festivities were over, many of us ended up in the pool, many of us in our underwear. Great fun was had by all! And then what? Filming is over, everyone goes back to their own lives. Now a select few are working on a "buy reel". Since we have had some industry interest we have had to come up with something to show. It is very interesting to watch so many different temperaments and personalities working together for so long in tight quarters. It is so much work and I personally commend them on what they are doing. With luck this film will be available for the public to see. Me again with some updates! The “buy reel” has been completed and I think I speak for everyone when I say we love it! This was a very tricky project for many reasons but I think the end product gives a very true feel of the film and all its quirkiness. We are now in the process of putting together a package for some interested parties. Then we sit back and wait with all of our collective fingers and toes crossed! Everyone has gone back to their so called life. Ric has been writing like a madman, so much so that he decided it was time to give up the video store. He has had some real possibilities for good exposure. I have gone back to my radio show with more focus than I had when we were shooting. David has gone back to his art, as has Ron. Victoria has gone back to her fitness training. Alice is back to performing, Marina, Julia, and Mike Fails have all gone off to college. Also worth mentioning is that Big Jim Wheeler in addition to going back to his singing career, has played a principal character in Jonathan Demme's “Dancing with Shiva” due out later this year and has done a comedy skit for a TV show “Dinner with the Foodfellas”. Upcoming he will be playing another principal character in a film called “The Boxer” and will be appearing on the TV show “You Just Got Whacked”, both directed by Paul Borghhese. Paul, in addition to the above mentioned credits, is also collaborating and writing several screenplays. He is co-writing with Barry Pepper whom he met on the set of the HBO movie 61*. So life goes on you see. Let us hope that our future will be defined in some way by what lays in the can of “Delilah Rose”, still waiting to be edited. So stay tuned for the next chapter in our saga.........and ta ta for now!
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