The Dapper Man offers
up a spoon
City of Dreams (formerly The Lost City of New York) is a short film written and directed by Joseph Pierson, filmed on location in New York City. We prepped in April / May 2005 for a one-week shoot in early June. We shot on super 16mm film. The shoot was non-union for the crew and governed by the rules of the Screen Actors' Guild Experimental contract for the cast and background actors.
SYNOPSIS
A BRIEF PRODUCTION JOURNAL
CAST
CREW
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
After school in the park
Her friends are greatly enjoying the after-school celebrity bashing, fueled by the latest copy of "Deep Insight" magazine, but Sarah is transfixed by the homeless guy. He's tucked in a corner across from their usual park bench and every day he scribbles intently in a growing stack of journals. What could he possibly be writing about? Her curiosity finally gets the best of her, so Sarah hatches a plan.
The next day, Sarah offers the Homeless Guy Chinese food. While he greedily consumes fried rice, the girls execute a surgical strike and steal his journals. Wickedly innocent, they race to the safety of a nearby stoop. After their hearts stop pounding, Sarah begins to read to her eager listeners.
The
Dapper Man tries out his curious egg device
The story that unfolds is of a magical New York; like a dream it is at once familiar, yet impossible. The year is 1932 and we follow the promising love story of a dapper man and a pretty young woman who meet by chance on the Subway. The Dapper Man loses the Young Woman almost as soon as she first commands his attention, but he eventually finds her again, working in a novelty shop. Will he take her on the Coney Island roller coaster ride she pines for so?
The narrative ultimately circles back upon itself, weaving Sarah and her homeless guy together with the past. The Lost City of New York has love, loss, redemption and the promise of a brighter tomorrow -- all in twelve minutes.
Production on City of Dreams began on Sunday, June 12 and ended on Friday, June 17th. The cast did a tremendous job, without exception, and the crew was outstanding. Click on "Day One" below to begin.
* DAY ONE * DAY TWO * DAY THREE * DAY FOUR * DAY FIVE *
Some down time on the Subway
Director Joseph Pierson
Director of Photography Jeffrey Chu
Production Designer Joseph Pierson
Editor Joseph Pierson
Assistant Editor Lovisa Inserra
Art Director Lovisa Inserra
Graphic Designer Lovisa Inserra
Sound Recordist James Baker
Boom Operator To be announced
Property Master Roberto
1st Assistant Director Dave Peska
2nd Assistant Director Barbara Saraintaris
1st Camera Assistant To be announced
Camera Loader To be announced
Stills Photographer Lovisa Inserra
Location Scout N/A
Gaffer To be announced
Electric PA To be announced
Key Grip William Amenta
Grip To be announced
Costume Designer Aimee Schlectman
Make-up/Hair Jennifer Manon
Wardrobe Supervisor Elissa Santiago
Set PA
Karen PobickiSet PA Christopher Menges
Set PA Cassandra Charles
Composer Joel Goodman
Elissa (wardrobe) and Jennifer (Hair & Make-up)
I never attended film school or had any formal training as a filmmaker. As a consequence, I never had the opportunity to make a short film. After producing and directing three feature films, I finally decided it was time to considering making a short.
City of Dreams provided an opportunity to experiment with the freedom of short form filmmaking in between feature film projects. A narrative that unfolds in twelve minutes can never be as complete or involved as a 90 minute film, so there is an inherent freedom to experiment with plot, character and tone that I found very appealing. After working extensively outside of New York, City of Dreams has also enabled me to reconnect with the independent film community in New York, the city in which I grew up.
The City of Dreams is at once a love-letter to New York and an exercise in recreating a New York past that never existed. Part homage to John Dos Passos and part Bruce McCall fantasy, the film represents to me a view of the city that is by necessity romantic and nostalgic. No one who lives here is immune from the city's charm and mystery. I hope I have succeeded in conveying my own enchantment in The City of Dreams.
RESUMES can be faxed to 212-262-3925 *If no answer, please call 212-262-3900 and ask us to plug the fax in. As part of an ongoing effort to create a more meaningful and joyful office environment we are currently engaged in junk fax avoidance therapy. The stock tips proved utterly worthless and the vacation in Cancun was, frankly, a disappointment. Another watered-down Piña Colada, señor? No thanks.
OR avoid the whole fax mishegas and email your resume directly to Lovisa:
Please mail or hand deliver REELS to the attention of Lovisa Inserra at:
Lost
City Films, LLC.
The Film Center
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 415
New York, NY 10036
DVD or CD-R preferred, but we can still watch a VHS
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.
Copyright © 2005 Cypress
Films, Inc. Some rights reserved.
* Last updated: October 03, 2005 *