The Sundance Wish
It’s crazy how fast some things can come together when you have some very talented people to help you out with the whole process. There has been a story inside of me that I’ve been dying to tell since 8th grade. It’s a project called Diet which was my first feature film screenplay that I ever wrote. It was the basis of what had jump started my passion to make films one day. In 9th grade, I tried and failed to make the film with my best friend Michael Reyder. Along with Molly Finch as our lead, we shot several scenes on a janky camera at Universal Studios. Our production was quickly shut down and for the next 5 years the story was silent. I always spoke about it but never thought that I’d ever actually film any part of it.
When Michael Jackson passed away in June, a spark inside of me was ignited. I knew he has done so much to try and make the world a better place with his message. I felt like the story I had to tell contained a similar message that I wanted the world to hear.
Before I knew it, the story for the film all came together. The pieces of the puzzle finally were making sense and everything was falling into place. With the help of Grace Jones and MJ, I was able to crank out a script in several days. My brother Adam helped me every step of the process and before we knew it we were ready to start pre-production.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully understand and comprehend the amounts of stress, exhaustion and fear that we were faced with from the start. There were many sleepless nights, many points where the challenge just became too overwhelming. Somehow we pushed forward and kept going. Each time we found the solution to one problem, another 50 arose. When I reached my breaking point and trust me when I say I got there….many MANY times,somehow I found strength through my brother. He remained calm and relaxed through it all. Though I’m aware that it was probably all just a facade, it was the outside which matters. Like all great leaders, Adam has the ability to stay cool under pressure. He’s the Obama of directors. I, on the other hand, take after my mother…..meaning I’m a nervous wreck, stressed to the max, boiling blood pressure and constantly having a nervous breakdown.
So all the details were smoothed out, all the equipment was picked up and before I knew it we were filming. The images of my imagination were coming to life on the monitors ahead of me. The first scene we filmed involved my baby niece Eden and boy was that a terrible idea. I’ve never seen a baby cry as hard as she did. I’ve never heard the high pitch screams that came from her. Immediately we had to scratch out the ‘baby smiles and laughs’ scene from our film. Eden was just the first of many problems that we would encounter from production. Somehow though we managed to push forward.
With our talented cast made up of Laura Ulsh and Molly Finch, we knew that we were working with special people. I can’t describe how humbling it is to have all of your best friends and family working hard on set with you to help make your dreams come true. Everyone had a specific role and a specific job and I can honestly say that if there was one person missing from the formula that none of it would have worked. I will never be able to truly express how grateful I am for my support system. My team of friends is made up of the most talented individuals in the world. I can’t wait to grow together with them as time goes on because I know that the product we all get together to produce will just keep getting better and better.
In two short weekends, with a crew of 20+ and the legendary/infamous RED, we were able to film the film. It was some of the heaviest material that Adam and I have had to deal with. It challenged us as directors and storytellers. Each day brought a new challenge and each time we were prepared to ‘make it work.’
As we wrapped production, the feeling was bittersweet. Adam and I had exhausted ourselves to the max. While I had the opportunity to cool down and relax, Adam had the nearly impossible task of sorting through hours and hours of film and begin piecing the mess together. With a 7 day deadline, Adam went sleepless night after sleepless night to make sure we’d get a cut of the film done. While many of our peers deemed his mission ‘impossible’, Adam kept going. While most people would have given up including myself, Adam kept going. His drive is unmatchable, his endurance is unending and his talent is godly.
Many people have to look far to find their heroes, I need to look no further than to my side. My brother is, has been and will always remain my ultimate hero. I can’t thank him enough for giving his everything to help make one of my visions a reality. I could not accomplish anything without his support and guidance.
After a one month preproduction period from hell, a challenging two week shoot and a tight 7 day deadline, I’m happy to say that on September 21, 2009, my brother walked into the Sundance office and submitted our film Purge for the festival. It’s an impossible task to accomplish, a ridiculous dream to have and a ludicrous thought to think our small film will be chosen from the tens of thousands but the overall process to get there haha made it more than worth it. From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone that has helped or tried to help in any fashion over these past few months. This is only the beginning for the Reich brothers.