Pleadings (2009) ~ Deleted Scene (Daphne and Wyatt in Front of the Nordstroms')

In this deleted scene from the Anamnesia Productions, L.L.C. film "Pleadings," Wyatt (Ben Pronsky) and Daphne (Heather Durham) have returned to the house of their friends the Nordstroms to pick up Wyatt's car. Their adventures with Wyatt's crazy ex-girlfriend are finally over, and this is the first moment they've had for a quite conversation.

Commentary from director Alistair Isaac:

"We shot this at the end of an *extremely* long and onerous day of shooting scenes from the party. Ben (Pronsky) and Heather (Durham) were both absurdly tired, but then so were their characters. I thought they both delivered a wonderfully understated scene.

"From a story-telling standpoint, this is the one scene (well, with dialogue) where we see Wyatt and Daphne interacting in a calm and supportive manner. It's also pretty much the only scene where you get any sense of why they might be dating in the first place. Unfortunately, the scene is redundant from a plot perspective - of course they'll pick up the car at some point, of course they reconcile to some extent. As I recall, it was (editor) Dan (Loyd) who pointed out that the manner in which Wyatt awakes in the next scene (from sleeping in the chair, while Daphne can be seen sleeping in the bed) elegantly communicates everything the audience needs to know about the extent to which the two did (or did not) make up.

"This scene also fit well with our previous deleted scene, which shows the immediately preceding events in the house's interior. In that scene, the Nordstroms fight and are briefly interrupted when they see headlights shining in through the front door. Those were the headlights of Daphne's car, of course, and I always liked the moment when the narrative moved outside even though Nordstrom himself was forbidden to do so.

"So, I cut this scene at the same time as cutting the previous one. It was sad to see them go, since they both added a significant layer to the characters involved.

"From a stylistic standpoint, this is another single shot scene. We really shot it in front of the darn house we shot the party in, and it was shot at 3am, about the time the events in the script occur. I'm a big fan of creating an environment with a unity of time and space. I think it adds a layer of authenticity and creates a productive mood for the actors. I guess it must of because we only did two takes (both one shot) and they nailed it both times."

"Pleadings" is an independent film presented by Anamnesia Productions, L.L.C. and starring Ben Pronsky, Katie Stuckey, Heather Durham, Shondra Marie, and Jim Prindle. The film was written by Jim Dedman and directed by Alistair Isaac. It was shot in Beaumont, Houston, and Waco, Texas.

For more information on the film, please see pleadingsmovie.com or facebook.com/pleadings.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Pleadings
• Houston
• Beaumont
• Waco
• Texas
• Ben Pronsky
• Heather Durham
• Alistair Isaac
• Jim Dedman
• Dan Loyd