 Welcome to Suncoast Spotlight, the regional talk show that tells you what's happening on the Suncoast in movies, television and much more. I'm your host Jeannie Corcoran, director of the Sarasota County Film and Entertainment Office and this program is created and produced by Sarasota County Technical Institute, SCTI, the Sarasota County Channel and our film commission. We have some great guests today, Carl and Rhonda Wilson, independent filmmakers of several notable projects who recently screened their second full-length rough cut of Catching Junior Tate, a quirky action comedy shot almost entirely in our area and Victor Young, filmmaker, mentor, entrepreneur, noted area businessman and philanthropist who has just finished his second full-length movie here on the Suncoast as well and we'll learn more about both of those as well as his future plans coming right up. Welcome back. With us today are Carl and Rhonda Wilson, filmmakers, producers, directors, writers, multi-talented people and they just finished the first rough cut of their second full-length feature film called Catching Junior Tate. Their first was Breaking Up with Rosie and I'm going to start it right off with saying how does it feel to have your second one in the can even though you're not finished with post? You must feel a great sense of accomplishment. Yes, it is. It's pretty amazing. I think our mind we're always go, go, go, both personal life and business life that sometimes when I actually stop and make myself think about it, it is. It's exciting and pretty amazing to see what we've been able to accomplish in such a small amount of time. I see a lot of short films. I meet a lot of filmmakers who do shorts and they do them as demos and they do them as sizzles. But you have jumped in with both feet doing full-length projects from the beginning really. Breaking Up with Rosie led you to Catching Junior Tate. Tell me how that transitioned, how you went from one to the other, what inspired it or was it always planned to do one right after the other for full-length films? I think that when we started doing feature-length with Breaking Up with Rosie, I don't think that we really thought too much about doing anything other than feature-length films and we have a few scripts that I had written that we've had for a really long time and we actually were planning on working on one of those as our next feature. It's a little too ambitious for the level that we were at so we decided to do another one so I had this idea swimming around inside my head for a few years and I just thought I would go ahead and start writing that and kind of write that around our capabilities and our ability to make it happen on a much smaller budget than we normally, again, a larger budget than Breaking Up with Rosie, but much smaller than most people are used to seeing and hearing. I'm amazed at what you accomplished with such small budgets. Breaking Up with Rosie looked great. This looked even better. So many actors, lots of locations. How did you handle it logistically? I mean with a small budget, how did you make that budget stretch to have so many locations, so many actors? Tell me a little bit about that. Well, first of all, we did not sleep for a few months. I really don't know. I think we just, pre-production, we put so much time in pre-production and it just makes the production side of it go that much smoother, but we spend a good few months in pre-production planning everything out and scheduling and then ultimately just sticking to the budget once you're actually producing. You have to force yourself because it's easy to want to step out of that sometimes things go wrong or you need this extra or this thing or that, but you just have to stay within your budget to make it work, to be able to finish the project out through completion. And tell me a little bit about your actors, how you found them, how you chose your leading man, because what a great mix they were. I was very impressed with the diversity of the characters and every personality popped. Every personality was distinctly different than every other one. The way it was written was very clever. I think we had a couple of carryovers from Breaking Up with Rosie. So it made it easier when I was writing to know this is the type of personality I have to deal with, so I'll plug that in in these scenes. Mark and Greg, who were a comedy pair in the film. That's Mark Troy. Mark Troy and Greg Burgess, they were both in Breaking Up with Rosie. I know Mark Troy had sent in, when he auditioned for Breaking Up with Rosie, he sent us his reel. And we saw a couple comedic things that he had been in that he did a great job. He showed that he had a really good talent for comedy. So, and he was the right age and range and whatever for the parts. We cast him in that and he did such a good job in Breaking Up with Rosie that we thought, here's a guy we can bring on into Catching Junior Tate. And the guy who played Junior Tate, he was also in Breaking Up with Rosie. He played a totally different character. And we were very impressed with Jesse, Jesse St. Louis, who played Junior Tate. He played one of the main roles in Breaking Up with Rosie and was very well versed, very good actor. He at the time wasn't SAG yet, he was equity. And so I really like working with equity actors because you know, or people who have a lot of experience in theater because you know that they're used to memorizing the whole script and they're used to memorizing their blocking and so you know that they're going to show up prepared. So they're not going to trip over the scenery, they're not going to require 27 takes because they didn't learn their lines. Right, exactly. As I always found theater actors are, sometimes they're too big for the screen. Theater actors are very talented, but sometimes they can't dial it down and be intimate with the camera. Did you struggle with that at all? Not with Jesse, and actually not with Chris either. Chris is another equity actor. He played the Malibu character, which is the other main role lead character. Malibu Joe. Malibu, yeah, yeah. And he actually went to FSU here, Conservatory, was involved with Oslo and stuff. And so we tracked him down and he basically took on the role for us. And he was great. We absolutely were very happy with his performance as well. I was a little nervous about it because he had a whole lot of experience with film. He had done a few shorts here with Ringling and whatnot. But I was a little nervous about the over the top factor that you might have. But he dialed it down really well. And did a really, really good job. Took direction. That was very impressed. We're going to take a short break here. We'll be right back. Welcome back. With us are Rhonda and Carl Wilson. And we're talking about their full length feature film, Catching Junior Tate, as well as their previous feature film, Breaking Up with Rosie. I want to ask a little bit about your actors. Tell me a few of them by name. We interviewed Slick from Slick's Garage. We interviewed a lot of your character actors, Steve Hines, people like that. Tell me a little bit about how you chose those people for those roles. And what role did Slick and his garage play for you? Well, I will mention quickly with our first film, Breaking Up with Rosie, I put casting calls out all over the place, every option I could on the internet I could find. And we probably had about 150 people submit, which was great. The project had about maybe 75. So you kind of had a 50-50 chance of getting a part on that project. For Catching Junior Tate, I used pretty much the same resources. And we had almost 800 people submit from out of state, New York, all over the US. So we were very overwhelmed with the response. And it made the casting process very hard, which was great, because there was a lot of talent to choose from. So yeah, we were able to use a lot of local talent as well as some from outside of the area. So it's a fun process. We did work with Slick from Slick's garage. Who now has a TV show called Highway to Sell, which is a great show. I recommend you all watching it. But he was very talented. He has a great location. So it was great working with him. And I know we use so many different actors from our first film as well that had some smaller parts. I liked Ray Rodriguez playing a Mexican policeman. And it was a lot of bilingualism in there too. Are you going to be doing subtitles where people are speaking Spanish when you get in your final cut? Yeah, yeah, we'll be putting subtitles in. I know some people were asking us to put some subtitles in for our character who does his mute, who does the sign language. Oh, I don't think he needs it. He was hilarious. I love the mute character. That was his first role ever. He'd never acted before. Our audition actually was his first audition that he had gone to. So he was very talented. I think he was just getting past that. The buddy cop thing, buddy bad guy thing in their case in the car was very funny. I thought it was a lot of humor in it. I said when we were leaving, it reminded me very much it had a feeling of lock stock and two smoking barrels, not as violent, not as R rated with bad language. But it had that very quirky, funny, edgy, surprising, everything surprised you about where it was going next. And how did you come about that idea? Tell me a little bit about how you came up with the idea for Catching Junior. Usually they start with like a different, you'll get like a scene or some dialogue or something like that and like the bar fight in the Mexican bar. That's kind of the dialogue where you get the idea and you think that would be a funny scene. And then usually I go there and I kind of expand out from there. Just had some ideas for some things. Usually it's like I have a buddy of mine and I think, man, he would be really good for this role. Even though he wasn't even in the film, you know, you kind of start writing with that idea and then you go from there. But yeah, I definitely wanted to make the characters as diverse as possible. I really wanted to create a lot of, you know, variety for what you would see. So tell me, where do you go from here? What's next for you? What's on your timeline? Well, we've just started the film festival submission process. So we're, you know, it's kind of a wait and see how that goes. We're hopeful. We're going to submit to more than we did with our first project. Our first project we did submit to a few. We ended up getting in the Gasparilla International Film Festival here in Ebor City. You know, so this time around we're going to expand our submission process a little more and kind of see how that goes. Really it'll lead to finding a distribution for it and, you know, just kind of like I said, wait and see how it goes. And do you have another project in the pipeline? Do you have another film you're going to be working on or are you going to devote all the next six months to a year to making Catching Junior Tate your focus? I think we definitely have, once we kind of tighten up Catching Junior Tate, I have a screenplay which was the one we were going to do. Just like we considered breaking up with Rosie a level and Catching Junior Tate a level, we want to go to the next level with the next film and basically use that screenplay since it was a little ambitious for where we were at with Catching Junior Tate. Now I think we're ready to take on a project like that. Well, I certainly hope that it leads you to having more people come on board to help you, investors if you're out there and you want to work with indie filmmakers come on out of the woodwork, they really need you. And I hope that you get a continually growing team and yet all these great people you've been working with, I hope that they stay with you for the long run and everyone grows, everyone succeeds. And tell me if you had one goal for Catching Junior Tate ultimately, where would it be, what would it be? Netflix, big screen. It would be great to see it on the big screen, you know, it definitely has that indie feel to it, but it's funny, you know, we had sent a survey out after the screening that we did and got great feedback. And, you know, Carl's clearly a very talented writer. I think that's the biggest part. You've got to start with a great script and he's a great writer. And, you know, I yeah, it would be great to see it on the big screen for sure. Well, I hope it makes it there for you. I want to thank you both so much for being with us. Thank you for spending time on Suncoast Spotlight and we'll be looking for your future successes. Thank you. Carl and Rhonda Wilson. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome back. With us now is Victor Young, filmmaker, mentor, entrepreneur, notary businessman, philanthropist, many, many hats. And he has just wrapped up his second full-length feature film shot extensively here on the Suncoast. So Victor, you just finished Stratosphere. Yes. Full-length feature film, drama, action drama, human dynamic of people who get in trouble and circumstances that take them where they don't want to be. Where is it now? Is it in post? It is in post. You know, a great film. It it it it really evolved based upon a interesting group of actors. You know, it started off as as one character who was designed to be this very hated character and this bad person. And you know, Joel King did such a fantastic job portraying the character of Jason that changed the feel of the film a little bit. He ended up being this really nice, likable guy who just made a bad decision. So we had to come back and create a little bit more dialogue to fill that in. But yes, fantastic film shot here in Sarasota primarily. Which we so appreciate. Sarasota County is just eager to have indie filmmaking. And we think you're, you know, you're one of our local indie filmmaking stars with world class talent and world class goals. Thank you. We love shooting here in Sarasota. We originally had had had scheduled to shoot in another city. And things just weren't going as smooth as we wanted them to go. And at the last minute, obviously, we said, hey, let's look at Sarasota. And I'd just like to thank you and your team for responding and just doing a fantastic job on a very short time frame of being able to meet our demands with locations and everything else you guys permits and just everything that you push through the pipe for us. And it made it made us want to shoot here. It excited everyone and just energized everyone to shoot here in Sarasota. So it was interesting to see support system. Not only governmentally, Sarasota County is great about trying to help filmmakers and streamline permitting with us and and make everything flow pretty smoothly and pretty affordably. But we also have great private sector businesses that really work out. You used Bentley's Hotel down in the Osprey area. And from what I understand, they couldn't have been more helpful, could have been more cooperative. Bentley's was, oh, my gosh, it was a great location. We were able to pick up five locations for more property, which we needed because it was a multiple locations shoot. And literally, we, you know, we were probably in 14 different locations. So it was it was good to be on one location for a while and let the cast and crew relax, you know, from all the mobilizations and and and reassignments. It was it was definitely like taking a breather and allowing everyone to maximize their talent and their skills at that time at Bentley. So we needed that. Sure. And they have so many naturally useful elements there from food and restaurants to hotel rooms to the Tiki Bar to the Tiki Hut and so forth. Absolutely. And the production value was high. Yes. So, you know, we didn't have to do a lot of set design. So that that also made our jobs a lot easier as well. So it's perfect location. Well, I enjoyed the premiere you did of the trailer recently. We have some clips of it that we'll be showing. And that seemed to be a great cast that you assemble. They all seem to have a sense of family now. Did you see that on set? Did they all bond well and most definitely? We had a mix of talent as far as cast and crew. And so you were able to see some of the less experienced actors really step their game up and work closely with some of the more experienced experienced actors. It was an interesting dynamic to watch. And so we definitely got the most out of our newer people based upon that relationship and that dynamic. And same thing with crew. I mean, there were some very experienced individuals on on crew who really slowed down a little bit and was able to maximize what our interns and some of our newer people brought to the table. So it was a great dynamic and they also stayed in touch. So it's it's interesting because at the rap party, we're able to see, you know, it wasn't like reconnecting everyone. Everyone had, you know, already made these relationships. Stayed together. Yeah, they stayed together. So it was it was interesting. Tell me how you and Erica Sutherland came to know one another and a little bit about how you mentored her through this process. Because she is her background is primarily theater. She teaches and so forth. And tell me that transition. Erica, Erica and I met in 2010. I was shooting a television pilot and she came on board as as a first A.D. And it was a very interesting television pilot. It was supernatural based. And which I understand the history channel has tried to talk you out of a couple of times. Absolutely. Absolutely. I just we just need them to get a little bit more convincing. So we worked together on that project and it was a lot of challenges. I mean, when you're working in an environment that's actually you're trying to capture these supernatural experiences, there is no take two or there's no hey, can we re-roll that or change the light and let's do it again. So it was a very some of that as that entity back. And let's do that one more time. Exactly. So, you know, based upon her ability to really adapt in that environment, I knew we worked together again. And so we stayed in touch over over time and actually started working on writing Stratosphere together. And in 2011 late 2011 and it it took three or four different twists and turns and shapes. And finally in 2000 end of 2012, we finished it. And put together a production budget and a schedule and we made it happen. Well, and the trailer looks fantastic. We're going to take a short break here, but we'll be right back. Welcome back. We're with Victor Young, filmmaker, entrepreneur, businessman and all around interesting kind of person. And Victor, we're talking about Stratosphere, the feature film that you've completed with Eric Sutherland, your director and writer. Correct. You co-wrote it with her. But I want to ask you a little bit about another project that you just wrapped up as well. Another feature film, Full Length, Independent. Tell me a little bit about Paradise Florida, if you can. Paradise Florida, a completely different project. It's more of a coming of age drama. And it was written by a young man here named Tony Stopperin. And Tony and I met a few years back on the set of Lucky Six. And so we talked and stayed in touch and over time and had several meetings and he expressed his interest to shoot another project and produce another project and ask what I interested in producing with him. And so I said, yes. So we, you know, started talking about it and looking at the script and evolving it and making some changes and until it became what it is today, getting a shooting script. It was a little bit of a different process. I hadn't really produced a project with another person in a long time. So it takes on a whole nother, you know, feel when you do that, especially when another producer has actually written the script. So it's right close to him. It's very personal. So it was interesting. It was it was kind of nice. But it did just create a completely different dynamic when you're when you're working from someone else's heart and I'm working from a budget and a timeline, but we actually worked together well. The film was shot on red and it looks beautiful. Great locations. Again, you know, Missy Malloy, who works with the Film Commission here in Sarasota. Right, one of our freelance location specials. You got it. She's done a lot of projects. Kind of some great locations here and, you know, really work with a great crew, work with a lot of Ringling students and X Ringling students, the prior Ringling students who graduated, who also did a fantastic job. And so once again, we had some crew that was more experienced, had been in the business for a while and some really, you know, new cast and crew as well. That's great. I mean, a lot of mentorship going on. Absolutely. Training. I remember when I spoke with Erica Sutherland at the premiere of your trailer, she was talking about how you truly mentored her through her process of doing a full length feature. And you mentioned then, too, that sometimes there's a conflict between the business side and the creative side. Absolutely. Does that happen? And I assume it happens in all of the projects. Every project, it always happens. You know, there are scenes that are beautiful, that are just cinematic or touching. And then you look at it and it's like, okay, what film is that for? Why did you shoot that? So it was now it's time to pull it, you know, to get either time down or continuity or, you know, even, you know, and you never want to write for commercial reasons. I feel you always want to make it, you know, an artistic expression to be able to tell a story beautifully. And however, sometimes when you're thinking about what's being sold and you're looking at the rags every day and you're seeing what distributors are buying and you see what networks are looking for, you kind of want to make sure you have some of those elements in your story so that it's a retail story unless you're actually shooting it for film festivals and to be able to express yourself and using it for a calling card. Still at some point, you know, it has to be a professional product that you can monetize so you can make your next product. Tell me a little bit about your background. Surprising to many people because you are such a very successful and very well-known entrepreneur and businessman in our business community. A lot of people don't realize you've been in show business for a long time. Absolutely. Since you were just a toddler, practically, since you were very young. Yeah, I started my career at a Fox affiliate, worked in master control, production, was a switcher, puller, did voice work, you know, left there, actually produced a sports show, left there, went to Sports Radio 910, produced a morning show for Scott Brantley and Bob Yuko. Again, did a lot of voice work there. Then I got my own show on air at a basically a pop station. I was on air personality and then left there and went to an urban station as a morning host on air. So, you know, from production to voice to, you know, switching and running camera equipment. I even did a lot of acting at the time. And the interesting part was I also had a background in wrestling. Professional wrestling. Professional wrestling. So I wrestled in box when I was young and had an opportunity to wrestle little WCW. And matter of fact, my last match was a tag team match with Jumbo Beretta and Kane. Oh, wow. He's huge. Yeah, 300 pounders, two 300 pounders from my brother and I tag team with. My knees didn't hold up for that very well. So I had to move on. So that was the end of your wrestling career when you said no? That was the end of my wrestling career. You know, one of the things I did take away from wrestling was the fact that you had to have the ability to connect with an audience in a very short period of time. So there were three different types of guys in wrestling. There was a face, a heel and a neutral guy. And you wanted to be the bad guy or the good guy. You never wanted to be the guy who didn't have a personality because you were the guy that the Ultimate Warriors music came on and he came out to the ring and just pummeled you for 30 seconds. So you wanted to be a good guy. Well, I'm glad you have made your transition to be with us and to be in Sarasota County and on the sun coast through Tampa, through Sarasota, through Manatee County. And I think you just have a really exploding career ahead of you in a whole new way as a filmmaker and executive producer and an on-camera talent. Thank you. So I hope that you'll continue to do it here. Do you see that in your future? Absolutely. I actually have a third film for 2015 that's on the schedule right now. So hopefully we can start pre-production in the first quarter of 2015. Wonderful. Well, we'll look forward to helping you anyway we can. Thank you. And we'll bring Victor Young back again one day soon. Thank you for being with us, Victor. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you.