http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/hc-ctmovie0629.artjun29,0,7635852.story
By STEVE GRANT | Courant Staff Writer
June 29, 2008
No wonder the scene drew a small crowd Saturday to one of the streets in Blue Back Square in West Hartford.
A film crew was at work, and the cameras and a good deal of the attention were focused on Jamie Szantyr of Waterbury, a professional wrestler who competes as Velvet Sky but on this day was an actress playing an unnamed woman walking down a street.
Truthfully, the attention was centered on her derriere.
This was to be a scene in "Walkaways," a tight-budget, independent film that, its creators hope, will not only be included in some of the major film festivals next year, but deserve acclaim as well.
Waiting for the camera to roll outside the National Jean Company store on Isham Road, Szantyr was asked about her J Brand Jeans. J Brand Jeans are premium, designer jeans with the kind of price tag that goes with such things. This pair, intentionally, was so tight-fitting only Szantyr could describe the fit.
"I'm holding my breath," she said. "If I breathe, the jeans are going to pop." Sitting down was out of the question.
In the scene, actor Jeremy Fiske, who plays John in the movie, walks down the sidewalk behind Szantyr and spends an inordinate amount of time looking at her backside. Or, as Szantyr put it: "He notices my backside and kind of like goes gaga at it. That's my big part in this movie. My butt."
Backsides aside, "Walkaways" has serious aspirations. Due out next year, it is described as a dark comedy-drama that concerns the lives of four men and their girlfriends over a few days that will forever change their lives. It is set in central Connecticut and much of the filming was done in Connecticut and New York.
"Something else is going on in their town," executive producer Daniel Bucci said. "It's in the background, it's on the news, but they are so consumed with their relationships that they are not paying attention to what is going on in their own surroundings. And then something happens at the end of the movie that hopefully makes you go 'Whoa — all the little petty stuff you are arguing about is not all that important.' It doesn't have a twist ending, but it has an ending that hopefully has a message."
"Walkaways" is Bucci's first film, but he and the other key figures in their Dark Dimension production company all have film backgrounds. Bucci's experience includes work as a stand-in for Donny Osmond in the film "College Road Trip." Fiske currently is stage manager for a Martin Scorsese film being shot in and around Boston.
This weekend is the last weekend of filming on "Walkaways." From Blue Back Square, the crew moved on to several other locations, including the Simmer Restaurant & Lounge in Canton. Filming concludes today at the Crown & Hammer Restaurant & Pub in the Collinsville section of Canton.
Screenwriter and director Matt Carlin said he hoped some local theaters would show the film next year. He and Bucci also hope to have it accepted at some of the major film festivals, such as the Sundance Film Festival or the New York Film Festival.
For small producers, film festival exposure can be significant.
"People get to see your film, people that might say, 'We can distribute your film,'" Carlin said.
Contact Steve Grant at
sgrant@courant.com.
