Past Filmmakers

Matt Tarquino
The Universal Theories of the Duke of Zeppelin

1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?
I was driving in my car.  My CD player had been stolen a few weeks before, so I was just daydreaming.  All of a sudden the idea pops into my head.  I had to pull the car over and took out a pad of paper I carry in my jacket.  I sat on the side of the road and wrote for the next forty-five minutes.  At first it wasn't an idea for a film, but a few days later was the deadline for scripts for our spring films.  So I turned the ideas into a screenplay and turned it in.

2. How long did the production process take?
It took three months to find actors, locations, props, and to do rewrites.  We then had three days to shoot the film and ten days to edit it.

3.What challenges did you experience in the creation of the film?
We needed a baseball field with lights.  We found a field, but the Recreation Department wanted two hundred and fifty dollars for the electricity.  We only had $250 for the whole film.  So the producer and I made a deal with them that we'd do fifty hours of community service a piece if they let us use the field.  They agreed.  After the movie was shot we called them and left a few messages about the community service. They never called back.

4. What is your favorite memory from creating the film?
There was one scene that had about twenty-five extras in it.  They were imaginary people in the film, so they weren't there one second and were there the next.  The shot also went 360 degrees.  So twenty-five extras, the crew, the main actress, and my dog were choreographed together for this forty-five second shot. 

5. When someone has finished watching the film, what do you hope they take away from the experience?
The feeling that their time was well spent, and hopefully something for their brain to chew on later.

6. What type of reaction has your film received from viewers?
I've seen it play in a few festivals and normally there is chitter-chatter when it's finished.  If I'm playing it in someone's living room, they usually ask questions about something in the movie, or how it was made.  For the most part people usually enjoy it.  One of my brother's friends saw it and asked me why I didn't just make regular movies.

7. What advice would you give to aspiring young filmmakers?
Filmmaking is the most exhilarating and draining experience I've encountered.  Each film you make molds you into a new direction.  That can be good or bad, and usually both.

8. Please tell us about the next film you plan to work on?
I wrote two screenplays that are being made next year at school.  Someone else is directing them, so aside from rewrites my work is done.  Right now I'm writing a lot, and am trying to get some feature length scripts under my belt.

9. What are your thoughts on the film industry in NC?
I don't know much.