I Sell the Dead *North American Premiere*
I attended the North American Premiere of "I Sell the Dead" starring Dominic Monaghan with theshapeshifter. The Toronto After Dark closing night gala film was, in a word, FUN!
First off, I just want to say a very big "thank you" to theshapeshifter!! The tickets were my birthday present and they were brilliant! It was nice to see this movie with someone who was as equally invested in the film (*coughcoughDomlovecoughcough*) as I was.
We wound up having a complete blast! The movie is quite fun through out and there are several really good, laugh-out-loud until your sides hurt moments. Larry Fessenden and Dom have a wonderful comedic chemistry and so the characters of Willie Grimes and Arthur Blake are well-played and well-timed.
The story is set up in a small set of vingettes really, though they are cleverly woven together through Arthur's pre-execution narritive/confession and tie together nicely in a very interesting conclusion to the film.
Dom is heavily featured in this film and that, for me, was the best part. I went into this with the intent of getting to see Dom in this movie on the big screen. I was not disappointed. However, with the kind of horror/thriller film not being high on my list of favourite watched, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the actual story and take on that kind of film. For those who aren't as into the Dom fandom as someone like myself, I think they will still really enjoy this film as much as I did.
There are a couple of scenes that I really loved. To tell them, though, would be to spoil the movie a bit, so I won't go into detail. However, I can say that timing and reactions for these bits was really, cleverly executed. Kudos to Dom for his fantastic acting chops.
The movie was not done on a huge budget by any means, yet it is cleverly produced. Much love and sweat went into the details of this film. The art direction and set designers must have props for this. It amazed me that many of the major scenes were shot in a bar that was still a working bar during filming. Therefore, it had to be transformed EVERY NIGHT after hours for filming; a feat that is, in of itself, phenomenal, esp. given that it is a period piece film.
The Q & A session afterwords was very interesting. I always like to hear about process, so when Glenn McQuaid (writer, director) offered his insights to things, I was quite impressed. Actor Angus Scrimm is quite the real-life character and his tales from some the set were quite fun to listen to. Larry Fessenden was quite entertaining as well. Brenda Cooney (?) was gregarious and charming. The only thing I would have asked her to do (and I am sure this comes from inexperience and nerves) is that she removed her chewing gum! It was quite distrating to an otherwise happy, outgoing actress. The important part though was that she seemed to be having fun. I will be forever jealous of her though, hee hee.
I would have like to have had the nerve to ask a question (and of course, hindsight is always 20/20), but I do think that there were some good questions asked. They weren't all necessarily answered to satisfation, but it wasn't as though I was watching a presidential debate either, ha ha).
What would I have liked more of? naked Dom of course! I am the first one to tell you that any chance/opportunity to witness a less-dressed, hot, horny Dom is always a good thing. Though there wasn't much of this, there are some wonderful bits that at least give way for my imagination later on. :) Getting to see so much Dom screen time was worth it though. You can tell Dom had fun with this, and put everything he had into the role of Arthur, not worrying about where this will take him in his career. It was just pure, unabashed fun and he owned it. I loved it.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for a wider release and the possibility of more tales and adventures from the comedic buddy duo, Willie and Arthur.
First off, I just want to say a very big "thank you" to theshapeshifter!! The tickets were my birthday present and they were brilliant! It was nice to see this movie with someone who was as equally invested in the film (*coughcoughDomlovecoughcough*) as I was.
We wound up having a complete blast! The movie is quite fun through out and there are several really good, laugh-out-loud until your sides hurt moments. Larry Fessenden and Dom have a wonderful comedic chemistry and so the characters of Willie Grimes and Arthur Blake are well-played and well-timed.
The story is set up in a small set of vingettes really, though they are cleverly woven together through Arthur's pre-execution narritive/confession and tie together nicely in a very interesting conclusion to the film.
Dom is heavily featured in this film and that, for me, was the best part. I went into this with the intent of getting to see Dom in this movie on the big screen. I was not disappointed. However, with the kind of horror/thriller film not being high on my list of favourite watched, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the actual story and take on that kind of film. For those who aren't as into the Dom fandom as someone like myself, I think they will still really enjoy this film as much as I did.
There are a couple of scenes that I really loved. To tell them, though, would be to spoil the movie a bit, so I won't go into detail. However, I can say that timing and reactions for these bits was really, cleverly executed. Kudos to Dom for his fantastic acting chops.
The movie was not done on a huge budget by any means, yet it is cleverly produced. Much love and sweat went into the details of this film. The art direction and set designers must have props for this. It amazed me that many of the major scenes were shot in a bar that was still a working bar during filming. Therefore, it had to be transformed EVERY NIGHT after hours for filming; a feat that is, in of itself, phenomenal, esp. given that it is a period piece film.
The Q & A session afterwords was very interesting. I always like to hear about process, so when Glenn McQuaid (writer, director) offered his insights to things, I was quite impressed. Actor Angus Scrimm is quite the real-life character and his tales from some the set were quite fun to listen to. Larry Fessenden was quite entertaining as well. Brenda Cooney (?) was gregarious and charming. The only thing I would have asked her to do (and I am sure this comes from inexperience and nerves) is that she removed her chewing gum! It was quite distrating to an otherwise happy, outgoing actress. The important part though was that she seemed to be having fun. I will be forever jealous of her though, hee hee.
I would have like to have had the nerve to ask a question (and of course, hindsight is always 20/20), but I do think that there were some good questions asked. They weren't all necessarily answered to satisfation, but it wasn't as though I was watching a presidential debate either, ha ha).
What would I have liked more of? naked Dom of course! I am the first one to tell you that any chance/opportunity to witness a less-dressed, hot, horny Dom is always a good thing. Though there wasn't much of this, there are some wonderful bits that at least give way for my imagination later on. :) Getting to see so much Dom screen time was worth it though. You can tell Dom had fun with this, and put everything he had into the role of Arthur, not worrying about where this will take him in his career. It was just pure, unabashed fun and he owned it. I loved it.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for a wider release and the possibility of more tales and adventures from the comedic buddy duo, Willie and Arthur.