Director and writer Jonathan Salemi chatted about his new film “The Last Deal.” He shared his motivations as a filmmaker and being a part of the digital age.
On his experience writing and directing this movie “The Last Deal,” he said, “The writing process was extremely unique for me given how quickly it all happened. The idea for the movie hit me in October of 2019 and I turned out a first draft in January 2020. We were on set shooting the movie in August which is less than a year in total from concept to production.”
“It’s pretty wild, things don’t usually move that quickly,” he admitted. “I felt I had a good grasp on what this story was and how I was going to tell it. I let my imagination run while writing the script and I knew I could scale it back later. We did scale back parts of the script like a car chase which leads to a foot chase through the subway.”
“The most challenging part for me was the producing part because you’re working with this very ambitious script with over 60 locations, numerous speaking roles and all these schedules to work with so it takes up a lot of bandwidth when you’re also directing,” he explained.
“I brought aboard some great producers led by Tracy Martin and associate producers to help lighten the load when we started shooting so I could wear my directing hat once production started. We were doing two to three company moves a day to make the film,” he said.
He continued, “We would be shooting in Burbank in the morning, Ventura Blvd in the afternoon and then on Sunset Blvd in the evening for example. I knew going into the project this would be the norm so I made peace with it all and dove right in. The anxiety going into each day not knowing if you’ll be shut down because you’re shooting without permits was an interesting animal but I bought all in on the filmmaking style and knew I could make adjustments because of my preparation. We always had a plan B.”
“When you’re writing, directing and producing a micro-budget film like this you have to carefully dance within all three of those roles and respect all three,” he said.
“Thankfully all the cast and crew bought in on the ‘no permit’ shooting style which let us all have fun each day while being creative. There’s no way this film would have happened if it didn’t have the relentless passionate support that the entire cast and crew had on it,” he added.
Favorite part of the filmmaking experience
When asked what his favorite part of the filming experience was, he responded, “The end of each day! Kidding but not kidding. I knew I was climbing a mountain, one script page at a time, so at the end of each day it was very rewarding pulling out my black sharpie and crossing off what we shot in the script. As the days rolled on and the script had more and more giant black X’s on it, I could see that this crazy ambitious idea was hopefully going to work.”
“My favorite part was collaborating with the actors and DP Dominic Lopez as well as everyone in post. That’s where the real fun is for me, after all the preparation and the strategizing and now you’re on set blocking out your scene or cutting it together. I love the exchange of ideas and ways to make dialogue, blocking, VFX and all other parts of the process better. That’s where the magic happens, when you fully prepare and you’re open to new ideas,” he elaborated.
Working with the cast of actors
Salemi praised his cast, which included actors Anthony Molinari, Sala Baker, Mister Fitzgerald, Jeffri Lauren, Mike Ferguson, Audra Van Hees, Conner Floyd, Kenny Johnston, Orion McCabe, Gigi Gustin, April Lang, Tim Willis, Linda Burzynski, and Jamil Zraikat, among others. “I couldn’t have asked for a better cast,” he said.
“They were all so supportive, dedicated and excited about this idea of shooting without permits and even moving locations two or three times a day. We were like a family and I think because of the shooting style it was this thrill ride because you’re sorta doing something you’re not supposed to and it brought a level of excitement which then translates on camera in the performances as well,” he elaborated.
Salemi continued, “Anthony is such a professional and he’s logged so many hours in front of the camera with major actors and directors that it shows in his work. Sala Baker as well. Stuntmen and stuntwomen have always acted but in the last ten or so years I believe they’ve gotten more opportunities. They are this incredible pool of individuals that are wickedly talented, team players and many times under used.
“I was very blessed by all the actors we were able to work with, there’s over thirty speaking roles so it’s hard to single out everyone but if there was an indie ensemble award, I definitely think we’d be in the running.
Motivations as a filmmaker
Regarding his daily motivations as a filmmaker, he said, “The fear of falling behind and the constant pursuit of perfection within a certain timeframe. There’s so many choices and things to do that if you don’t get a head of them you get behind very quickly.”
“I’m in turbo mode all the time just trying to get it all done so you can bring a movie to your audience. So for me it’s the fear of getting behind that is always moving me forward. Once you realize that aspect is always just going to be a part of your normal day, you just plan around it. What really excites me though is the thrill of problem solving and making something better,” he acknowledged.
“I’m always looking to make the script, production, editing, marketing, always better and I love bouncing the problems and solutions off the team. You’ll never get everything you wanted the way you intended but you can give your best. This way when your film is released you can say you have ‘limited’ regrets!” he exclaimed.
“Nothing makes me more uneasy than knowing that I didn’t exhaust all options on something that could have been better,” he said. “That’s why you need a really good team around you so you can go to specific people with specific questions. Ryan Liebert who edited the film not only did an amazing job on it but he wasn’t afraid to keep hacking away at parts of the film that he or I knew needed improving. He never turned down an ask I had or a road I wanted to explore.”
The digital age
On being a filmmaker in the digital age, he said, “I love it. I think we’re at an amazing point where we don’t have to edit on Movieola and tape frames together. I love how quickly everything can move nowadays and how quickly solutions happen and how technology can make storytelling better. My first movie in 2009 we were finding and downloading music from artists on MySpace. No longer did you need a long road to get to where you wanted.”
Salemi continued, “Post production editorial is where I’ve seen the biggest impact because of what you can do in the editing room. We shot ‘The Last Deal’ in 8K which gave us a lot of room to play if we wanted to reframe or punch in tighter. The coloring process has also greatly evolved as you move into 8K. There’s a lot more information to uncover in each frame and you can really push your lighting. We used that a lot in this film because we didn’t have a big crew or lighting budget.”
“I’ve shot on the Red for close to ten years now and Dominic owned the camera which gave us an edge when shooting that we knew we could use limited lights to create the vision we were intending. And thankfully we had an extremely talented colorist Jimmy Qiu to pull it all together,” he said.
“Streaming has helped the indie filmmaker get their movies seen. It’s so hard to get a theatrical release today that streaming is your way to get seen. When indie films were coming up in the 70s these filmmakers were able to get into theaters or midnight showings and have a following, that’s almost impossible today. Streaming has become that opportunity for today’s indie filmmaker,” he added.
Advice for aspiring filmmakers
For young and aspiring filmmakers, he said, “You’re not going to learn anything by just talking about it or moving on from one project to the next without finishing them. The technology is there to make your movie and take your chances. Once you’re there, finish that film and submit it to festivals. Go to the festival and meet filmmakers and watch your film in a theater. Network.”
“Listen to feedback and intuitively feel the room when an audience is watching your movie. This is going to inform all your creative and business choices on your next movie, and create relationships.
“You have nothing to lose by putting something out there to the world and seeing what comes back. It only makes you a better filmmaker and most of all it makes you a filmmaker. Also, you’re not going to be able to do it alone. Teamwork truly does make the dream work,” he said.
Success
On his defintion of success, Salemi said, “Success is that I’m happy with what I created, everyone involved in the project is happy and people are watching the movie. Not everyone is going to enjoy your movie but the fact that they watched it is humbling enough. That’s the whole point; to get your movie seen.”
“Thankfully we’ve had a good reception so far on ‘The Last Deal’ which has made for an even more incredible experience. Its been amazing sharing this ride with the cast, crew, my family and all of those that have been following the film or involved in it in any way. It has been a magical ride,” he concluded.
