Catching up with Sweetwater director Martin Guigui

In fast forward since last blog…We never heard back from Mr. De Niro. I’m taking that means the $$ or lack thereof we had offered was not attractive and/or the script did not talk to him (“you talkin’ to me?...”). Probably a combo platter... Richard Dreyfuss ended up walking on the project because the Producers would not agree to the hefty deposit he was seeking. Along the way Richard and I became friends and I would be honored to work with him anywhere, anytime. Henry Simmons also took off, to another basketball film! We miss him. He and I keep in touch as well, so no hard feelings. We quickly learned that the no start date approach and allowing for the actors availability to dictate a start date is a no-no. As a rule of thumb, the closer you get to production the easier it is to get and actor to commit. It’s called a gig…We have been reading Brian McKnight for the role of “Sweetwater” and so far so good. There are other candidates still in the mix. One being Jalen Rose (the ex-NBA star and Michigan State Fab-Five member).

Danny Devito is in talks to play Saperstein and we have an offer out to Chazz Palminteri for the role of Ned Irish. The production also rose in price and we found that the bay area no longer could support our limited funds. So, we’re off to Connecticut because of their Tax incentive and New Yorky architecture (Stamford, New Haven, etc…). Having extras coming in from NYC will add to the authenticity of this New York story. The five boroughs actors are a sure bet for great faces in the crowd…We are banking the tax credit thanks to the extended efforts of two additional producers: Donald Kushner (“Monster”) and Elie Samaha (“Driven”, “The Pledge”, “3000 Miles To Graceland”). They have been very helpful in getting the production moving along and bringing in distribution partners. They also have a strong relationship with the bond company. This is the first time I have ever made a film with a bond. It’s pretty nutty futty…The bond company is brought to insure you’re not going to fuck up. They look at every minute aspect of the production and give you notes until you satisfy there criteria that you will indeed deliver the film you claim you are going to make at the budget you have chosen to make the film for…we have found ourselves tweaking and tweaking and tweaking the budget and the script every day. It’s tricky because creatively we don’t want to compromise the story yet sometimes there are instances in which consolidating one or two locations and cutting a few actors that just have one line can tighten up the shoot and bring the bond company to a comfort zone. The bond company essentially has to guarantee that they will finish the film, provide funds and expertise in the event we do not comply with the provisions set forth in our production and financing agreements that says we will deliver the picture, blah blah blah…

Seconds away from signing our loan docs with our principle financiers and getting ready to head into CT for location scouting. We are still looking for the perfect arena to double for Madison square garden. It might be the Yale arena if we are able to work out the schedule, which is now June 1 through July 3. That’s right, all actors have to adhere to that start date. I always say that who ever is on the set the first day of shooting, gets to be in the film…