Wednesday Review
Indie Interview with Justin D. Hilliard
Interview with Justin and Ryan
Loss in Transition Article
IMDB User Reviews
DVD Talk Review
FW Weekly Article
Cinephelia.com Review
Fort Worth, Texas Magazine
Movie Maker Magazine
Pegasus News Article
Short End Magazine
Rogue Cinema Review
Rogue Cinema Interview

Wednesday (2005) * * * *

Wednesday Review by: Daniel J. Stasiewski – The Film Chair

What is ' Wednesday ' about? Is it about love? Is it about redemption? Is it, in fact, an exercise in narcissism? To all three I would say yes, but Wednesday , a unique and experimental film, is above all things a work that struggles with its own ambitions. For most films that would be a criticism. For Justin D. Hilliard's feature debut, however, it is anything but.

With those ambitions intact, the film becomes a harrowing journey through four stories. One is about a young man dealing with his family and his past in relation to his current lover. One is about an old man trying to find his
way back to a love that he had lost so long ago. One is about a mother whose dedication to the right things may have not have served its purpose. The third story disintegrates into a final narrative about an artist whose film
begins to take on a shape that he could never have anticipated.

It's that fourth one that matters most. It's that fourth one that takes me from comparing this film to say
'21 Grams' to realizing there are few films that can be honestly put next to ' Wednesday '. While I'm inclined to use Almodovar's 'Bad Education' as a ruler for success, that too, with its own film-within-a-film story, doesn't sit
just right. ' Wednesday ' strikes me as a film with many potential comparisons, none of which seem to be
totally viable.

The uniqueness may be why, in spite of so many things that I could have disliked, I didn't find myself able to turn away from the film. I was intrigued and interested in the stories that initiate an existential discussion of human loss and redemption and floored by a sudden and jarring turn toward the intelligent introspection of an artist with something so bold and so beautiful waiting to escape that it may actually destroy his creation.

The film as we know it is eventually destroyed and from rising from the ashes is a miraculous creature. The original creation, an affecting but at times melodramatic work, could have lead to attacks on the film. What
' Wednesday ' does successfully is it addresses the criticism that would have come in words like 'pretentious' or 'overwrought,' forcing the viewer to engage the film in a different way than they would have otherwise. Most
people don't go into a film with a back-up plan on how to view it, and with that in mind, ' Wednesday ' succeeds.

Had the film progressed as three simple narratives, I would have commented on Ryan Hurst, who plays the young man in the first story I reference above, and his convincing and affecting performance. I would have complimented the editing, which keeps the three narratives appropriately constructed as three interrelating tales. I would have also noted Ryan Hartsell's subtle, but distinct photographic style.

If ' Wednesday ' has a fault it's that I'm not left remembering those things alone, things that should have made me love the film (specifically Hurst's performance). Instead, I'm left to focus primarily on something that is so
successful that, while it may intensify the love I would have felt for one of the earlier stories, it doesn't let me respect them singularly.

I did want to feel for those earlier characters without anything else, but the fourth narrative, this seemingly autobiographical storyline, makes me understand those vignettes as a part of something greater. I'm still
affected by those earlier stories, but on the whole, ' Wednesday ' demands at least a second viewing to fully appreciate what Hilliard has done. With a film like ' Wednesday ', a film that stayed with me for days after first
seeing it, there will be no complaints on having to see it again.

© Daniel J. Stasiewski 2000-2006

Indie Interview with The Film Chair

Interview by: Daniel J. Stasiewski – The Film Chair

I've seen maybe four independent films without distributors that made me wonder what was wrong with the distribution system in America. 'Kwik Stop', 'The Snowflake Crusade' and 'Façade' are the first three. Justin D.
Hilliard's film ' Wednesday ' is the fourth.

Hilliard's ' Wednesday ' is a literate film with the potential to change lives. It's rather professional looking, despite being filmed on Mini-DV and has a grasp of the cinematic process that I don't expect when I'm watching
an indie film. I do enjoy indie film for the ingenuity and ambitions, but ' Wednesday ', which ranks as one of the best indies I've ever seen, is one of the only indies to struggle with its ambitions and win. Justin D. Hilliard discusses his characters from all four storylines and his real life motivation in this month's indie interview. (Note: This interview contains major spoilers.)

The Film Chair: When I watched ' Wednesday ' it was a deeply affecting film and an intellectual film. It shows through the characters. How much do you personally care about these characters when you are writing the film?

Justin Hilliard: Whenever I am writing a film it's almost like I'm writing elements of myself or people that I've known in the past into the story. I get to know them really well and I care about them. Ithink that if you are going to write a character, whatever their flaws, theyare always going to have some good in them. A major part of my process is I have to find that good and find their heart and then that will show mewhichever decisions they make and whatever choices they make in regard to the story.

FC: The fourth narrative in the movie, the one with the filmmaker, it would seem almost too contrived had you written it the way the film is described by the filmmaker in that story. But I still have to ask. How did you come to write the film narratively, the three storylines, leading into that fourth storyline? What inspired you to do that?

JH: Just the process leading up to the final segment?

FC: Yes

JH: Well, actually when conceptualizing began for our first feature, it was going to be just 'Luke and Lucy' (the first story). It was going to be that original story with just a lot more involved backstory and character as the feature. What I decided was to interweave these two other stories with 'Purgatory' and *Lyrics* that I wanted to expand and show how different people deal with death. We shot the first one, 'Luke and Lucy' and then I ended up going to London to prep for 'Purgatory' and as I was over there I started having these confrontations with my ex who I hadn't seen. It was a pretty rough breakup and I ran into her on the subway, just out of nowhere, just like in the film. Then there were a couple meetings after that and it was just one of the situations where she came back into my life as I was in the middle of writing the segment, so things were kind of fresh and evolving and becoming something more than what was originally outlined. She turned to me and said this is your '8 ½' just kind of joking around, but that kind of got stuck in my head because one of my favorite films of all time is Fellini's '8 ½' and that was what was happening. I was writing this film. I was really passionate about the stories. And it was kind of just falling apart. Especially when I got to the Lyrics segment which was supposed to be the paradise of the three stories. Julian (the filmmaker character) or my paradise was lost and that turns into the 'Narcissus' segment. It just evolved through what was happening in real life really.

FC: So that is a personal part of the story, the 'Narcissus' segment, it is very personal to you?

JH: 'Narcissus' is pretty much as close to a documentary or reality that I could get. There are still some things that are different within the story because this is still a film. The basis is still a screenplay, but all the situations that connect to all the different stories are all based on something that happened in real life that is connected to *Narcissus*.

FC: Did I catch a glimpse of you in the 'Narcissus' segment? Where you were interweaving a shot of you with another woman? Did I make a mistake or was that you?

JH: You are actually correct. There are a lot of hidden images in 'Narcissus' and there is a lot of behind the scenes footage from filming the other segments, a lot of small clips within 'Narcissus'. The clip that you caught that kind of holds for just a second longer than some of the others, what you are seeing is me and my ex. For the audio in *Narcissus* I actually on the third meeting in London…I asked her if I could bring over a camera to record some audio because I wanted to do this voiceover. So I took over the script for 'Narcissus' of all these things that were still fresh and we had a nice dinner, sat down, and recorded the audio. That is what you hear. That's the voiceover for *Narcissus* is us repeating these painful things that had happened to us, though it was also something that was very cathartic for both of us. I walked out of there and felt like I had something quite special and real that I hadn't seen in a film or felt before.

FC: In my review of the film, I say, 'If ' Wednesday ' had one fault it's that I'm not left remembering those things, the things that should have made me love the film.' That's not negative criticism, it's just saying that there is this sudden, surprising change, but it works as a stream of consciousness type thing. Did you see it as a problem when you were writing it? Did you see it as possibly distracting from the other stories you were writing too?

JH: You had these segments and you have the hell, the purgatory and the heaven and they all have their ending whether it is redemption or they are stuck in hell or whatever happens. So when it came to deciding how to put in 'Narcissus' it had to be abrupt like it kind of was in real life for the fact that we are working on *Lyrics* and I wasn't personally attached to that segment at all. I mean that it had almost no personal influence. Literally as the film falls apart so does *Lyrics* on screen. It's supposed to be abrupt. That's what's interesting because so many people relate to different segments in the film but forget a lot of that once 'Narcissus' arrives. So on the second viewing, they go back and remember these other characters. The reason it's there is because every emotion that you felt for these past segments whether good or bad, is slammed into this one character. I think that if it was not as abrupt, it would be too long and I think that if you are automatically slammed into this one character it does involve you. That kind of shake up does force the viewer to be more involved.

FC: I completely agree with that statement. That is one of statements I make too, to be a cliché as possible, that it brings it all together.

JH: It takes the entire cinematic story, these film elements and sure it takes the attention off of them, but it focuses on what the whole film is saying. If you have to revisit it, then there are other things that will
connect even more and those segments can come across stronger.

FC: And it's a film that is definitely worth revisiting. I was engaged to whole time, and I've carried it with me for days now. That's one of the biggest compliments I can give to anything that I watch, that this movie has stayed with me, that it has been that affecting.

JH: Well, thank you.

FC: Well, you film this in many locations. Was it something that happened by happenstance, that you were able to film these in different locations or did you plan it out that way? Were you set on making this ambitious project,
like you did? Going from Texas to London, was it planned that way?

JH: As soon as I started writing the other segments, from the moment I started writing 'Purgatory', it really just felt like a London segment. These characters, I really wanted to show that there was this history and
kind of a believable romantic side to a somewhat elderly couple, middle-aged to elderly, that I haven't seen a lot in films. That kind of darkness, that element of where they are at in there lives, that really just felt like
London. I wrote it down and I told my producing partner that we have to do this in London. That was the biggest step. I had just gotten done with school and I managed to get a work visa through that. Even though I graduated
I was able to get a cheap enough work visa to go overseas, have a job that got me room and board, research, finish writing the characters once I got to know the area a lot better, and just cast it, location scout it,
and do everything on my own out there. My producing partner and some of our people here in America came over to help us out too.

FC: Your producing partner, Ryan Hartsell, he was the cinematographer, the director of photography for this film, correct?

JH: He's the director of photography and co-producer.

FC: The vignettes, when you two were discussing the photography, did you film them distinctly for each segment? They seemed like they were. Did you have a plan for filming the differently, stylistically for each segment?

JH: We had a base for the whole thing. There are some color balance elements, whether it is complete desaturation for 'Narcissus' that I had in mind before hand. Then it was really a matter of taking the stories and
saying, 'What do these really remind us of?' 'Where are we at visually and emotionally whenever we see these characters?' We shot them all based on what we were feeling. We always ran multiple cameras. We shot Mini-DV
because with our first feature it is like, we can either shoot film, pay more for it, but get one take out of the actor, or we can shoot Mini-DV and just run the camera then put the focus on the story and the acting first and
embrace our limitations for our first feature. We can improve on the other stuff later, we'll make the visual style connect to the story so we picked an emotional story that is raw, emotional and kind of unsettling and I think
that connects well to Mini-DV. '28 Day Later' they shot most of that on Mini-DV or digital and that really adds to the film. With ' Wednesday ' it brings it more so to the docu-reality feeling that you get with 'Narcissus'.
It was one of those things that we planned and talked about until we were able to just feel it out when we were in the scene. The editing more than anything was kind of the thing, more so than the cinematography, where we
were able to dictate what we were feeling with each story, within the jump cuts. There are just constant reminders throughout the film,especially in 'Luke and Lucy', that you are watching a film and that was intentional.
We have somuch coverage on this film, but we'll go to the close up instead of the wide and reverse the traditional order of things, just hints throughout the film that this is a film. When it comes to the final segment, you are kind of caught off guard, but when you connect it later it makes sense.

(c) Daniel J. Stasiewski 2000-2006

Interview with Justin & Ryan on their film ' Wednesday '

Interview by: Denise Kaminsky 2006

Where did the idea for creating the film ' Wednesday ' originate from?

JUSTIN - Wednesday is based on real, personal events that happened to me. We all go through the same things in life, but it's how we individually deal with them that separates and connects us all. We all encounter love and loss whether directly or indirectly. These are universal themes. The end result may differ, but the pain, heartache, hope, and redemption will always be there.

Did the film idea come from the both of you?

JUSTIN - Ryan always adds his insight and knowledge to whatever story we are talking about. I wrote the story and screenplay because it is such a personal story. Ryan has such a precise eye with the camera for both
aesthetic and emotional/dramatic effect. So, the initial idea is mine, sure…but the end result is both of our collaboration, design, and art.

Tell me something about Striped Socks Productions?

JUSTIN - Striped Socks Productions is true independent filmmaking. We love film and truly believe that film is art. Our goal is to create art that stands the test of time. Striped Socks Productions represents that passion
for art, storytelling, and collaboration. We want everyone involved in one of our projects to be hardworking and passionate about their work. Stephen King said, 'Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented
individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work' My personal motto since I was a kid was, 'MAKE IT HAPPEN!' If you want something bad enough, make it happen.

RYAN - Justin and I have gotten lucky in finding each other. We compliment each other's visual and intellectual abilities. That is Striped Socks Productions.

Are there any upcoming Future projects?

JUSTIN - Things are still pretty hush-hush, but we will be going into pre-production on three different feature films at the end of the year. We are going to shoot PALE HORSE, ENOCH, and BLUE LIKE ISOLATION back to back to back. We're very excited about these projects. These films will cover new ground stylistically and thematically, very exciting!

RYAN - We are going to tackle many different subjects and really surprise people with our ability to jump from genre to genre. Like Kubrick, we plan on redefining these genres as well and making films that are unique and
purposeful.

Will there be screenings? If so, what towns/state/country will they be screening in?

JUSTIN - We'd love to have a London screening by the end of the year; otherwise, the DVD will be available for everyone! Wednesday was shot digitally and is meant to be seen on a home entertainment system. And it is
the type of film that should be watched more than once.

RYAN - Wednesday is very special when viewed in an intimate setting and it requires many viewings to full appreciate it. There is a lot there to be seen and discussed.

What made you both become a team?

JUSTIN - I could not ask for a more talented, intelligent, driven partner in film. We have such similar tastes and styles, but what I can't do or can barely do, he excels at. Ryan is the perfect collaborator, contributor, and
enhances everything I do as a filmmaker. Plus it helps being really good friends. We trust each other and won't throw a fit if the other one rips apart a new idea…it's mutual respect.

RYAN - Like he said, what I can't do, Justin excels at…we fit the puzzle and the pieces fit perfectly.

How many other projects have you both worked on together?

JUSTIN - We've worked on a couple short films together. Wednesday was the first feature film for both of us. Next, we'll work on these three feature films together.

RYAN - This isn't the end of the collaboration. We have so many stories we want to tell and so many goals we want to accomplish. We won't stop until we're six feet under…until then, we'll always be going forward.

Justin: Who inspired you to become a writer/director/producer?

JUSTIN - From a personal standpoint, I'd say my parents. They always encouraged me to think outside the box and pursue any creative endeavor with confidence. From a filmmaker standpoint it was Stanley Kubrick, Peter
Sellers, and Steven Soderbergh. I'll always remember the first time I saw A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove, and Eyes Wide Shot. Those first viewings of Kubrick films changed me.

And it was Peter Sellers roles that showed me how amazing performances could really be. Steven Soderbergh's work, specifically Out of Sight and Schizopolis really altered my views on the difference between an auteur, a
one-trick pony, and a sell-out. Soderbergh brilliantly manages to make these large-scale crowd-pleasers and small personal statement films with the same drive and quality.

Ryan: Who inspired you to become a director of photography/producer?

RYAN - Stanley Kubrick's ability to attack any genre with precision is the reason I'm a filmmaker. His use of color and light showed me that each frame of a film is like a painting. That is why I'm a filmmaker. I'm an artist first.
I'm not solely into film, I use several different mediums, but a DP does deal with color, light, composition, and the balance of shape which connects to me being an artist first.

Loss and Transition
Article by: A.J. Eaton - The Shorthorn:

Director and writer Ryan Hartsell, left, and director of photography and producer Justin Hilliard created an independent film called Wednesday . Hartsell and Hilliard are UTA alumni. How people individually deal with love
and loss is the connecting theme of the intertwining stories in two alumni's independently produced film.

Writer and director Justin Hilliard, a 2004 graduate of the UTA film program, started his feature film project, Wednesday , after he graduated along with Ryan Hartsell, the film's director of photography and producer.
Wednesday will be shown at three separate release parties this weekend.

The film dives into three story lines portraying the pain and anguish of loss and how people react. A fourth story line ties them all together.

Hilliard chose the actors for the film by simply talking with them instead of holding traditional auditions.

'I put out casting calls and held meetings and mainly just talked to the actors and had to feel something in my gut,' he said.

Hilliard said the first conceptualization of the film was based on real experiences he was having.

'I was going through a lot of the same stuff the characters in the picture do,' he said. 'The film is really about these different people. One loses his father and pushes his girlfriend away. Another loses someone and never
learns to talk about it. Basically, the film deals with loss.'

Filmed in Texas, California and England, the film is close to the hearts of the filmmakers. Hilliard spent a year in London preparing for the film and waiting to shoot. The entire film took two and a half years to shoot.

'I moved to London and got a job at a hotel through a work visa, so I could have free room and board and I could get the film done,' he said. 'We did a series of shoots in some caves north of London, and it was probably the most fun I had on the whole shoot.'

Wednesday 's soundtrack features 'Living a Goodbye,' a melancholy acoustic piece performed by Clint Niosi, who attended UTA from 2003 to 2006. Niosi, who wrote and recorded the song over five years ago, said he was extremely happy to have his music included in the film.

'It's a nice feeling to have a renewed interest in this song after five years,' he said. 'My song is really about my own fear of intimacy I guess, and so it works well in a film with the overreaching theme of loss.'

Hartsell has worked with Hilliard on numerous other projects, including the short film SCHISM and the dark superhero satire Captain Freedom. Hartsell said he just seems to click with Hilliard and will continue to work with
him.

'Justin and I formed a collaboration while attending UTA and after graduating, we really wanted to do a feature,' he said. 'We seem to fill each other's voids. Certain things I'm not good at, he is and the other way around. We bring two nice different aspects to the table, and it works.'

The duo have three feature films planned for next year, which will be shot back-to-back. Hartsell said he is very proud of Wednesday and hopes for only worthwhile film experiences in the future.

'I'm really proud of what we accomplished with a very small budget and minimal crew,' he said. 'We made a feature film just as good — and in some cases better than — a lot of studio pictures.'

User Reviews - IMDB:

'Hope and Love', 26 January 2006 (10/10 stars)
Author: from United States

This film was beautifully written and directed. I was amazed at the different location shots, but more than that, by the complexities of the storyline. If the purpose of the film was to offer hope to the hopeless,
then it succeeded. Bravo!

One of the things I liked best was opportunity. I had the opportunity to feel pain. I had the opportunity to sympathize or feel dislike for a character. Best of all, I had the option to hope.

I cried throughout the film. Hard enough that people turned around with knots in their throats and nodded at me in agreement.

Harold, you're wonderful! Hope you're happy up there.

' Wednesday ', 25 January 2006 (10/10 stars)
Author: terrparkerterr from United States

Wednesday was amazing! I've seen a lot of Dallas and Austin local films and this one ranks at the top for me. As an actor I was completely lost in the performances, incredible realistic performances. After the screening, some
people seemed confused (including friends of mine), but I really was amazed by this film. It worked on so many levels to me. I reminded me of a mixture of Requiem for a Dream, Cold Mountain, and a documentary or reality show. Very intense film-making. The editing was so different and intense, linking into the personal nature of the stories. I'm sure a lot of people won't get this film or ever give it a chance. And that is a shame. I am looking
forward to seeing what Justin D. Hilliard does in the future.

' Wednesday ', 21 January 2006 (10/10 stars)
Author: Austin38 from United States

I caught Wednesday in Dallas a couple of days ago and have been thinking about it ever since. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt, some parts made me feel uneasy and were quite different from other films. I just can't stop
thinking about it. Everything seemed to be connected in it. It may throw some people off, if you're not into shaky hand-held, realistic, documentary type images. The acting was incredible. The segment shot in London had a
very professional cast. The Luke and Lucy stuff was so intense. Lucy was amazing, barely had any lines, but had me in tears. The guy in that section reminds me of early DeNiro. The third segment was short, but the acting was
great. I wanted to know what happened, but without giving a spoiler to the ending, it made sense. And the end is what has kept me thinking. I want to see it a couple more times to get it all, it has a bunch of layers. I recommend it for people that like to think and like alternative stuff.

'See this film', 2 February 2006 (10/10 stars)
Author: IDigglerpta from Dallas, Texas

SEE THIS FILM - If not for the tremendous acting (which it all is) - If not for the tremendous film-making (which it all is) -

SEE THIS FILM for the ingenuity behind it. The realization towards the end hits the viewer like an emotional brick wall. This film is so deftly polarizing in style and statement, slamming the viewer through a cinematic and emotional hell - hypnotically entrancing the viewer through a questionable purgatory - and giving the viewer a glimpse of a possible heaven -

THAT'S THE FILM - then comes the surprise - change the entire perspective -leaving the viewer questioning ideals, purpose, art, and relationships -WOW.

I read the other comments and agree completely with what has been written. Except that not one review has mentioned Frank Mosley as Julian and the subtleties and nuances within his near silent performance. Mr. Mosley's performance and segment was by far my favorite and I see as the most successful. And that makes the entire film successful. I also felt that the actors who portrayed Linda, Lucy, and Virgil were nothing short of
brilliant. Their careful glances and heartfelt reactions lend so much to the respective leads within their segments. (As does Mr. Mosley's performance draw on the eerily realistic voice-over in Narcissus Flower).

WEDNESDAY – DVDTalk Review – ‘Recommended' (3 out of 5 stars)
by Jamie S. Rich

THE MOVIE: Wednesday is a story told in four segments, all about terrible losses suffered on the same day of the week. Hump Day, as it were, the day you have to get over to carry on. There is Luke and Lucy, a troubled couple who can't seem to find a way to share their considerable pain; Harold, an older man who has alienated everyone who has been important to him and who is convinced he is damned to a life in purgatory; Norma, the single mother in a dead-end job who just received word that the father of her children has died; and a final component that brings the rest together.

First-time writer/director Justin D. Hilliard has structured his script so that all the stories happen simultaneously, cutting back and forth between the various narrative scenarios so that as they unspool, the events of each can be juxtaposed against the other. This is particularly effective in the case of Luke and Lucy vs. Harold. Luke (Ryan C. Hurst) seems determined to make the same mistakes Harold (Philip Goldacre) has made, and when the older man tells a random hotel bellhop not to take his love for granted, you wish he could step over and tell the same thing to the younger man. Both men are haunted by something in their past that will not be named. Harold did something to make his daughter, who has just passed, despise him, whereas Luke's father did something to drive Luke away. Luke's father has also just died, and the son returns home to confront what he left behind. Lucy (Arianne Martin) follows to try to support her boyfriend, but the overwhelming negativity couples with her own secret to send her running home. Interestingly, not knowing Luke's secret makes it a lot harder to like him, while being ignorant of Harold's indiscretion allows us to have compassion for him. It's a tricky play on our perceptions. Luke is all raw nerves and anger, and because we aren't sure why, he comes off as a selfish jerk. Harold wants to do right, and so his sins are no longer relevant. This gives both men entirely different walls to climb to find the new beginnings they seek.

Wednesday is shot on digital video, and that fact also has an interesting effect on how the film might be viewed. Shot in natural light, Wednesday has the unpolished look of reality. For me, it often feels like I am watching the raw material, a rough draft, as opposed to the finished product. While this means the film's flaws are right up front, it also softens their impact somehow. Perhaps the fact that I can't forget that there are people behind what I am seeing makes me more willing to look past the errors and see the earnestness that lies on the other side. (If that weren't enough, Hilliard and his producer, Ryan Hartsell, have put a heartfelt intro on the film; truth be told, I'd have much preferred that being exclusively an extra than loading up as I started the main feature.) This is an entirely independent release, and it often shows.

Most of the missteps do come out of the good intentions of first timers. There is a tendency to oversell in Wednesday . Early on, there are too many jump cuts and quick flashes of memory. It makes for a feeling of forced artiness that is only compounded by the ever-present musical score. DV automatically lends a movie the air of cinema verite, and if we're going to talk that style, then we can't avoid Jean-Luc Godard. He teaches some valuable lessons in how to handle sound and, more importantly, silence. Wednesday could use more silent moments.

Even so, there is a hypnotic quality to these first two stories (titled 'Luke & Lucy' and 'Purgatory'). The sense of despair and yearning is hard fought and mostly won. Harold's story is the most successful of the two, as he reconnects with his ex-wife (Adrienne Marks) and seeks actual redemption. Both Goldacre and Marks appear very comfortable on film, and it's a welcome change of pace to see characters of their age having bona fide life experiences. Erich Redman (United 93) plays Virgil, who serves as a guiding chorus for Harold, drawing comparisons between Harold's journey and the poet Dante's expedition through the Inferno. It adds a quirky counterbalance to Harold's heavy emotion. That said, the long shots of Harold walking through a stony labyrinth could probably be dropped. It overstates the allusion.

The acting in 'Luke & Lucy' is a lot less consistent. Martin is strong at playing the put-upon girlfriend, but Hurst is real up and down. When he's brooding quietly, he seems to be straining to feel it. He's much better when the emotion gets bigger, such as when he's having it out with his mother when he first arrives at home.
It's the other half of Wednesday where the real problems start to occur. The story of Norma (Holly Leach) is entitled 'Lyrics of a Lowly Life.' It had the potential to be the best of the stories, or at the very least, a more hopeful counterweight to the other two. It has a different rhythm, signaled by the guitar-based music in its scenes. The death in Norma's life offers a more instantaneous new beginning: the man she considered worthless when he was alive apparently turned out to be worth some cash after he was dead. Packing her two girls into the car, Norma heads off to the funeral.

Only, she never gets there. The fourth story, 'Narcissus Flower,' crashes in, and it stops 'Lyrics of a Lowly Life' in its tracks. There is no resolution for Norma, and for the rest of Wednesday , we follow a new metafictional track. It's the last chapter on the DVD, and so only covers the last fifteen minutes or so of the movie, but it's a colossal misstep. While Hilliard's intentions in taking this left turn are genuine, it ends up selling the rest of his movie short. Beyond leaving the viewer unsatisfied after interrupting Norma's narrative, it leaves a question mark hanging over the entirety of Wednesday . Meta devices in stories are notoriously difficult to pull off; they're no longer new, and so they can appear to be pretentious cheats. Unfortunately, such is the case with 'Narcissus Flower.'

This final segment introduces us to two new lovers, Julian and Maggie. Julian (Frank Mosley) is the one person in the movie more self-absorbed than Luke, and since he controls the narrative flow, we don't get a bead on Maggie. When it's pointed out to him that his behavior is narcissistic, it's meant to be ironic, but the true irony may be that the whole movie has tumbled into its own reflection.

Forgiving that last error in judgment, Wednesday is an interesting glimpse at raw talent blooming. Though very rough in patches, there is enough to warrant a viewing, just maybe with your finger on the stop button so you can get out before the film makes a wrong turn. Hopefully, Justin D. Hilliard has gotten his growing pains all worked out, because I'd like to see his second feature pay off on the promises of the first.

Video: Shot on digital video, Wednesday is shown in full frame with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is well done, catching all the detail of the original footage. It definitely has a raw, lo-fi look, but that's the nature of such an endeavor.

Sound: Wednesday has a stereo sound mix. The filmmakers do their best with the audio, all of which was captured live, but it's far from perfect. The levels change based on the camera position, and sometimes there are obvious noises from the microphone being exposed to the open environment. Know that going in, however, and you'll be fine.

Extras: There are a couple of extras on the DVD. One is the aforementioned filmmaker introduction. Like I said, I wish this hadn't come on automatically when I started the movie, but it's only about 30 seconds long, so it at least goes by quick. The other feature is, unfortunately, painfully long. 'The Real Julian and Maggie' is the script from 'Narcissus Flower' being read by Hilliard and his real-life ex-girlfriend, Nicole Gray (who also receives story credit on Wednesday ). As Hilliard explains, some of the script is based on their relationship, and so when he ran into Gray while they were shooting 'Purgatory' in London, it seemed like some weird twist of fate. This unedited footage is part of some kind of reconciliation, and it's one camera in Gray's apartment, running unmanned as the two read through the screenplay--some scenes several times in a row. It's tough to watch, partially because it's boring and partially because it seems far too personal to be sharing. I can't tell if it's a case of self-flagellation, obsession, or once again, the same narcissism being discussed in the script. How about we lump all three under the umbrella of 'youthful indiscretion'? Rounding out the disc is the trailer for Wednesday .

FINAL THOUGHTS: Wednesday gets a rating just this side of Recommended. It certainly lacks polish, but it's a noble independent effort. Though the filmmakers fly too close to the sun and fall before the closing credits roll, they manage to tap into some honest emotion prior to losing their way. Take it as a glimpse of a director of tomorrow getting his start today, and Wednesday 's flaws stop being a problem and become just the natural byproduct of a do-it-yourself aesthetic. Raw in both methodology and emotion, Wednesday lingers. In this age of disposable entertainment, take that as a high compliment.

Jamie S. Rich is a novelist and comic book writer. His most recent novel is entitled ‘The Everlasting'.

World Traveler

A lesson on making the impossible happen, from local filmmaker Justin Hilliard.

By KRISTIAN LIN

Most filmmakers I interview are quite happy to chatter about their own work. It is, after all, the purpose of our conversation. Not so with Justin Hilliard, the tall, thin UTA graduate whose beard doesn't distract from his boyish facial features and enthusiasm that befits his 24 years. Our conversation winds through a great many film-related topics, like our shared enthusiasm for the Tutto Fellini festival, Talladega Nights, and Asian horror flicks. 'All great horror flicks are either dramas or comedies at their core,' he said. His casual manner and passionate engagement with film (instilled from an early age by his mother, he says) make him agreeable company.

When Hilliard wrote the script for his debut film Wednesday (which is now on sale in DVD form through his production company's web site at www.striped-socks.com), he figured that a portion of the movie featuring an older couple felt like it belonged in London. So instead of trying to make a facsimile of Old Blighty in our area, he moved to England and almost instantly got a job as a hotel porter. The work required him to learn the city's geography as quickly as possible — the better to direct visiting guests to local tourist spots — and it allowed him to rewrite the script for specific London locations. His pay helped fund the project, and the actors he cast were locals. If that wasn't enough to deal with, on his second day in the city he unexpectedly ran into his ex-girlfriend on the tubes. 'A lot of personal events wound up going into the script directly,' he remembered.

Wednesday is a meandering and rather abstract meditation on the lives of various couples, one section involving a young couple in America (Arianne Martin and Ryan C. Hurst), another about an older Englishman (Philip Goldacre) ruminating on the choices he's made in life. The American sections of the film were mostly shot in North Texas, including Haltom City. 'The DFW area is great at giving filmmakers permission to shoot, especially Tarrant County,' he said.

For his next project, he and producing partner Ryan Hartsell (for whom Hilliard has nothing but praise, saying, 'He can tell me when my ideas are bad') are shooting for the moon. He's looking to finance three more feature films that he'll be selling to investors as a package: a horror flick called Pale Horse that he plans to shoot in Denton, a drama called Enoch that he'll look to shoot in Prague and Rome, and a one-character piece he describes as 'my Bergman film' called Blue Like Isolation . He's hoping that the three films and Wednesday will form an aesthetically cohesive four-part story built around questions of masculinity and loneliness. This stunningly ambitious project isn't without its pragmatic elements; he's hoping the package will reduce the risk for investors, and he expects the horror movie, at least, to make out financially. 'Even when horror is crappy, it sells,' he said, 'and we don't plan to make a crappy movie.' In most horror flicks, character development is secondary, but not so in Hilliard's film. Indeed, he's hoping Pale Horse will 'revolutionize' the genre.

It sounds like a lot to handle, but Hilliard seems completely undaunted by the monumental task in front of him. Looking back on his sojourn in England, he said, 'If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen.'

Cinephelia.com Review By Jason Moss

Rating: 8/10

This was probably one of the more interesting experiences I've had in a while.  I'd received a copy of Wednesday a while ago, and upon first getting it in the mail I popped it in.  Unfortunately I had to cut it off pretty early on due to a personal issue, and ended up becoming pretty busy after the fact.  What is going to be hard for me to admit as a so called film viewer, was I wasn't really captivated by the few minutes I had seen, and thus I was having trouble motivating myself to pop it back in.  I eventually did, and in doing so I gave myself a wake up call of sorts.  It was one hell of a film.

Let me start by saying that Wednesday in some ways is a diamond in its own ruff.  It's got potential like I rarely see in independent efforts.  It's got a very well thought out script, and I will admit now that it is the first film in a very long time that has surprised me near or close to the end.  I won't reveal how, but I will admit for that alone this film won me over.  While the film itself has an independent look, the camera angles and cinematography as a whole don't.  With all due respect to the people behind this film, it was like watching a young athlete with little if any financial support. The child has all the potential in the world to become one of the best, but is seemingly held back by the resources and equipment at hand.  Now please don't let that scare you off, this film still looks damn good regardless of budget, but I can't imagine how beautiful it would have been using the same angles, cuts and idea's with a better film stock.  Overall however I really applaud the effort, and outside of the film stock itself potentially bests films with a much greater budget.

I mentioned before this was one of the more interesting experiences I've had of late, and for the most part that can be credited to the acting.  Many indy films live and die by the acting, and often it's easy to see that some of the actors have little if any experience.  Wednesday saw a bit of both worlds.  On one hand I saw some of the best performances I've ever seen in an indy film through the Harold and Linda characters, while I also witnessed some unconvincing acting through the characters of Lucy and Luke.  It was almost like a Ying and Yang.  When cutting from the UK sets to the US, it became very apparent that the actors behind Harold and Lucy were in a completely different league, to their American counterparts.  They were superior in all aspects, and to some extent this distracted me as I found myself wondering how the American casting  Luckily Wednesday was strong enough to look past this shortcoming, regardless of what I thought about the Luke's acting.  In fact, the story surrounding his character captivated me regardless, a testament to the script itself.

Wednesday 's a film I won't soon forget, nor will I forget the people behind it.  The tagline describes it best.  It's a story of life, love, loss and redemption.  Justin Hilliard is an individual full of potential, and I honestly hope someone with some money recognizes his talent.  While I'd be eager to see his next effort regardless of budget, I truly believe he has the talent to expand into a much bigger market.  I guess only time will tell.  Until then, you might want to check this out.  I'm not sure how easy it'll be to find it in stores, but I believe the director sells them on his website www.striped-socks.com

Fort Worth on Film / Indie filmmakers Justin D. Hilliard and Ryan Hartsell made their big break into Hollywood right here in Fort Worth.

Download Full Article Here

Interview: Striped Socks Productions - Pegasus News Article
Let's get one thing straight: Erich Redman was in United 93.
By: John P. Meyer

Justin Hilliard and Ryan Hartsell, 2004 graduates of UTA and already (on the basis of their first completed feature film, Wednesday ) established filmmakers, met with me for a late lunch at Roma's, south of Walnut Hill on Greenville. Also joining us were co-producer/actress Arianne Martin (who is, incidentally, Justin's fiancee) and co-producer/actor Frank Mosley.

Ryan, Frank, Arianne and Justin

Justin, Ryan and crew are committed artists. This fact is established beyond dispute as our discussion commences. They proclaim that Wednesday was produced without regard for commercial potential, and - having viewed the two hour long, intensely personal, sometimes uncomfortably dark and, finally, dangerously deconstructed film - I can report that the Striped Socks Productions folks have indeed created a work of epic non-commercial potential.

But I say this in the most complimentary way possible, because what Wednesday ends up being is a filmed document of the thoughts, emotions, philosophies and real/imagined life experiences of serious young filmmakers who succeed in demonstrating a raw talent for the art and craft of cinema. It's just so dang depressing for the first 100 minutes or so. If you order the DVD - and I recommend that you do, because I think you'll want to refer back to it after these folks complete their next series of films - I suggest putting away all sharp objects before popping it into the player. Forewarned is unarmed.

NOTES regarding the interview process and the transcript to follow:

Wednesday plays out in four segments, referred to below as 1) Luke and Lucy, 2) Purgatory, 3) Lyrics for a Lowly Life, and 4) Narcissus Flower.

For purposes of coherence, I changed the order of some of the questions/responses from their original sequence; I also omitted some of the conversation in situations where we diverged from topic. When you see how long this thing is, I doubt anyone will mind.

My editorial remarks are included in parentheses. (Like this.)

John P. Meyer: Are you all North Texans?

Justin Hilliard: Yes, we are all locally bred.

Ryan Hartsell: Well, I was imported at an early age, from Dearborn, Michigan. I was two years old, so…

JM: Tell me about the locations used in Wednesday . Did I recognize White Rock Lake spillway?

JH: Yes, that was White Rock Lake spillway, and we got pretty lucky with that one, because the scene was originally written to take place in a cafe, and Luke was supposed to just wander off into the sunrise, whatever. And Ryan's like, 'you need to check out this White Rock Lake spillway.' That's one of the locations. A lot of 'em are Dallas/Fort Worth area locations, Lewisville, Arlington, North Richland Hills, kind of scattered all around the metroplex.

RH: As far as a location to really isolate those two (Luke and Lucy), in that moment in time, that just came to mind. To see off into the distance and the perspective of that shot…

JH: With the shift of light, to The Divine Comedy, where it's purgatory/paradise, it really put them at the edge of the world, where they were about to make the step before they slipped into Hell, basically.

Frank Mosley: It's one of the things I really like about all the characters in Wednesday , because it's a great use of locations. Every character has their own space, and they completely fill that space. Whether it's the Narcissus or whether it's the Lyric segment, everybody has their own world. I think those locations were wonderfully chosen.

JM: Who did the scouting for the locations?

JH: On Wednesday , we wore so many different hats for that. Ryan and I always do a lot of the scouting. Frank helped out a lot. Arianne helped out a ton on location scouting. A friend of mine, Scott, who was a porter at the hotel I worked at in London, helped a lot with the scouting there. He and I pretty much did all the London scouting.

JM: What about the tunnel for the Purgatory scenes? Where'd you find that?

JH: The Hellfire Caves. Up in High Wickham, England. There's another set of caves, the Chislehurst Caves, and I'd been in contact with them, I'd been back and forth with them, and Ryan's boss gave him the suggestion to check out these Hellfire Caves…

RH: Because he actually grew up not too far from these caves.

JH: It's funny, 'cause at that same exact time I found them on the internet. So I contacted them. I went up there, talked to them, talked down the price just enough…

(LOUD CRASH FROM THE KITCHEN AREA)

JM: Wow, that was impressive! At least no gunfire was involved…

JH: So we just scouted it out, worked that location and, I mean, I'd written that stuff originally and it's one of those situations where I write something and no matter how it's gonna get done, Ryan and I have an understanding that no matter how difficult, it's going to happen, we're going to get it done. And so it's just a matter of spending time up there.

Because I'd moved out there (London, England) without knowing any of the surroundings. I'd just written a script where a segment (Purgatory) took place in London. So, it's just a matter of taking time to find those locations, find the actors, and that was one of the lucky ones that turned out to be a complete blessing. To connect Purgatory (segment) to Dante's Inferno even more.

JM: Oh, yeah. I mean, it was a thread that ran all the way through that story line.

JH: Exactly.

JM: So, you say 'lived in London?' You lived out there for a while?

JH: Yeah, after we shot the Luke and Lucy segment. The funny part of it was I wrote the script, I gave it to Ryan. This Purgatory segment takes place in London, and he's like 'Yeah. So we're gonna shoot in London?' And I said, 'Yeah,' and that was it.

So when I graduated from UTA - we both did, in 2004 - and, while I was still graduating, I was able to get a work visa. So I moved over to London right after we finished shooting the Luke and Lucy segment. I was there a couple days with just a suitcase. Went to a hostel, looked around for a job and decided to take one at this hotel, so I could get free room and board. Forget the pay. Free food, had a place to stay. It had free wireless internet, so if you've been over there, it's not cheap to get internet access. It really worked out perfectly, so I worked 12 hour days and then in my off time I worked on the film. I saved that money just to put towards the film.

And so then Ryan came out eventually and I scheduled everything so that whenever Ryan flew out there with a couple of people that had helped us out before, we had the crew and the cast all set up and we shot.

RH: Right off the plane we went to locations immediately.

JH: That day we'd signed the contracts for the locations in the caves.

RH: No time for jet lag.

JH: Exactly. I ran him around the city for location scouting: 'here's where we're gonna shoot this, here's where we're gonna do that.' Then, 'hey, let's get some rest and next morning we start shooting.'

JM: And how many days did you shoot there?

JH: That segment, I believe, was scheduled out to seven or eight days… it was seven days, the Purgatory segment was seven days.

And then after we finished the seven days, we took a nice little treat for ourselves, a trip to Prague.

JM: Wow!

JH: Me, Ryan and Cecil (Cecil Sparks, Key Grip) all went to Prague. We got to enjoy that before we came back to shoot the Lyric segment.

JM: I hear that's a really freaky place.

RH: It's awesome. It's probably one of the most historically preserved places…

JH: And it's the only place I've ever been to that… it's just fantastical. You can go to other places and they're still kind of rooted in what you're familiar with, but Prague was just a fantasy world. They had the most outstanding doors I've ever seen.

JM: Don't they have a lot of carvings of bones and skeletons?

RH: We went to a chapel that was actually decorated with 40,000 human skeletons.

JH: It's about an hour out of Prague, we took a day trip out there. And Ryan and I got to enjoy it. Cecil was a little bit hung over from Absinthe shots he'd done over the weekend, but… he stayed in the van, so he missed out on that wonderful place.

JM: O.K., let's see… has there been any other means of distribution for the film other than direct marketing via your website?

JH: Other than reviews that we've had, other sites that have included it, other write-ups that we did as far as marketing, the website's been the exclusive deal. We had Amazon and a few select stores in LA and the Dallas area - just independent stores.

But other than that, what we did with Wednesday is we maintained all the distribution rights. 'Cause we have these three films coming out ( Pale Horse , Blue Like Isolation and Elevators ) that are gonna be on a different level. These next three are not only artistic, but they're meant to be also extremely marketable.

So, after that, whenever those start doing well, those Wednesday rights become a lot more valuable. Instead of just selling for cheap and not giving Wednesday its due. We maintain those for later on, it'll be a little bit better investment for us.

RH: Wednesday's the kind of film that, after people see these next three films, they're gonna further appreciate.

JH: That's why it's our first feature. I mean, we could have done something like 'let's make a lot of money,' or 'let's do a cheap, cheesy horror film'… just make some money, sell it quick…

Arianne Martin: I've been in a few of those! (laughs)

JM: Really?

AM: Yeah!

JM: Well, see? You'll be in good shape to carry 'em through Pale Horse . It is gonna be a horror film, right?

JH: Yeah, it's gonna be a horror film. It's horrific. It's a drama at its core. Maybe some of the most intense drama I've ever gotten to direct or see on film. The relationship between the characters, I get thrilled even thinking about it.

But when those horrific moments come in, too, that takes it to its genre place, it's… I mean, we have big plans for Pale Horse . It's not horror in the condescending sense.

RH: It's gonna stand out from most of the stuff that's being made right now.

JH: By acting alone.

RH: We're actually gonna have genuine performances. There's not a camp factor that a lot of the horrors come out with.

JH: The way Kubrick defined genres? That's the way we hope to make it eventually. We have to define genres and kind of redefine them in our own artistic vision, the way we see it. So we're taking a horror genre with a lot of the elements that are throwbacks to these favorite films of ours, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, all these films that we love… it's gonna be something special.

AM: It's gonna have the intensity of like Silence of the Lambs, too, because those are so based on performances. And it's got that drama, but with the blood and guts…

RH: You can still call it a horror film, but there's something very scary when the person you should be fearing in the film is sane. It's easy to kind of write them off whenever they're insane and they're just killing people, maniacal things going on, but whenever it's sane and calculating, and you don't know what the purpose is, and you don't know if it's good or bad, that's pretty horrific. And then you have all these other relationship problems going on.

FM: I think too many horror films nowadays focus so much on getting to the crunch of the action, and the gore, it's so annoying. This is so based on the characters that hopefully the audience will forget if they heard anything about the horror element at all.

JH: I would love this product to be marketed as true drama. Like art house drama first and then to wide release? More people will be shocked. When things start escalating and inevitability sets in? It's gonna shock people because it's… they're gonna be so wrapped up in these characters and they're gonna be so emotionally attached - THEN the horrific elements come in and it's gonna blow 'em away.

RH: And we're talking reality, also. You look at most horror movies, and they're polished. They're too clean. The lighting is artificial - you know, and what we're trying to do is bring a reality to the film that… you know, you're starting to see in a lot of influence in film right now.

JH: Like United 93, that's a great example. Taking something on a real standpoint, making the camera.. you know, the story dictated the camera moves. Like Children of Men. The story dictated everything, and then when you saw the camera work, it just flowed, it's like 'this is what is supposed to happen.'

We've already started talking to actors; we haven't started talking with casting directors yet, but that will be very soon. Like Elias McConnell, he's been in Elephant, he's been in Paris, je t'aime, he's gonna come in for a small role, he's in talks for that, that's a done deal. And he's gonna knock it out of the park.

So it's gonna be exciting to see some of these art house character actors that tend to be sort of a certain genre, into another element, in a horror film. That gives them artistic credibility.

FM: What's great though, for those people that really do love that pure horror genre, we'll have kind of allusions and moments where it'll satisfy those guys.

JH: I was nervous when Frank and Ryan both read the script for the first time because they are horror fanatics, they've studied up on it, they know what they're talking about… Romero and Carpenter? Those are big influences on all of us but them especially, so when they read this thing that's a tip of the hat to the genre and alluding to certain things but kind of turning it on its head, I was nervous when they read it because, like anyone, I cared what they think. But they…

RH: It's gonna be awesome.

FM: It's pure Americana, pure horror.

JH: Like I said, with the dramatic elements, as a director, I can't wait to work with the actors involved.

RH: Might even try to sneak in a cameo of like a horror legend somewhere in there.

JM: Bruce Campbell maybe?

All: Noooo!

JH: Not one of the ones where the whole thing stops when the guy appears and everyone says, 'Oh, there's that guy!', but more like if Romero walked by and tipped his hat at someone - only a few select people are gonna know who that is. But that'll be the extent of that.

Horror sells. Even bad horror. But this is gonna be incredible horror, and we're excited.

JM: I'm excited. It's hard to be around you and not get excited.

JH: Pale Horse is in preproduction. It's going ahead.

JM: Who wrote the script?

JH: Me. On all of these I've written the script. I wrote the script for Wednesday . And Ryan and I've co-written a lot of stuff, Frank's a writer. Arianne's written some stuff. All these next ones are based on scripts I've done.

JM: Super. How have sales been on Wednesday? Satisfactory, as far as you're concerned?

JH: It's recouped our initial out-of-pocket expense; we've had some other investors help with the DVD that we'll be able to pay back soon. But that's not our goal (the money). Ryan and I wanted to create something that would be looked on later as art, when people go back and say, 'Well what was their first feature like?', they'll know that we had artistic integrity from the beginning. And they'll see that we put all that we had with that little budget in there, and were able to do well, so I think, the marketing, the exposure we've gotten, has exceeded our expectations. I expected i