Interview With Ryan Casey

Since this blog is meant to cover everything entertainment (excluding tabloid stuff), I wanted to start focusing on local filmmakers. The first filmmaker that I will introduce you to is Ryan Casey. Ryan has just completed his new movie, Crushing Pennies, which has been chosen to be in the Kent Film Festival.
Casey writes and directs his own movies and is working towards making a full-length feature.
“My first film [Icon of 2nd Street] was about 20 minutes long, this one [Crushing Pennies] is 32 minutes and a full length feature has to be 70 minutes so that’s what I’ll be working towards next,” Casey said.
Below are questions I asked Casey, so JD stands for James Drzewiecki and RC stands for Ryan Casey, obviously.

JD: What filmmakers do you look up to?
RC: Kubrick, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, they all had a huge influence on me. With those directors they understood that cinema was about moving pictures and they really paid a lot of attention to their photography, something that I think filmmakers forget about today.

JD: I know there are a lot of people out there who want to get started in this business and are always wondering how, can you give some advice on how they can go about doing it?
RC: It is tough getting started, but there is a general process. First you’ll need a camera, I got lucky because a friend of mine had a camera and I was able to borrow it.
You’ll then need someone to light it properly. I had David Sikora, a cinematographer from Full-Sail, light my movie and he made it look great, especially the opening scene in the grocery store (in Crushing Pennies, which was shot in Gnazzo’s Grocery in Plainville).
Then you need to get a cast. We had casting all over Connecticut and we used churches and libraries. Then once you have a cast you need to put together a crew of knowledgeable people

JD: How is the casting process like for you? What do you look for when casting a role?
RC: A visual image, the person needs to fit the part. We usually have people come in for a read, and there is a large filtering process, because we get tons of people that want to be cast. I also look if they’ve done any other films and in the future I will be calling references.

JD: How was the cast to work with?
RC: It was a really good cast to work with.

JD: What do you want to accomplish with Crushing Pennies?
RC: Well it’s a stepping stone, a business card to help attract more funds for future projects.

JD: What is your future project going to be?
RC: The next project I’m working on is “Catching Sparks”. The movie will focus on a guy who gets out of rehab and returns to his home town. When he gets there he finds it has changed dramatically.

JD: When will you start shooting “Catching Sparks”?
RC: Next May.

Ryan is currently working as a production manager at Nutmeg TV. He puts together original programs for them and when he isn’t doing that he is putting together a premiere for his movie, Crushing Pennies. The movie is currently not for sale and the best way to see it is by going to the premiere (I’ll keep you all up to date on where and when that’s going to be).
The review of Crushing Pennies is coming soon.