Interviewdatum: 14. Juni 2011.

News, Informationen, Musik, Clips und Pics:
http://www.isitjustmethemovie.com

Kommentar: Mit seinem Erstlingswerk „Is it just me?“ ist Ihm ein erstaunlich toller Film gelungen der berührt. Regisseur J.C. Calciano schuf mit dem Film einen großartigen Mix aus Romantik, Komödie und Kitsch für Verträumte und Verliebte. Ein Film zum immer wieder ansehen, untermalt mit einem grandiosen weichen Soundtrack. Wir hoffen mehr davon zu sehen…

INTERVIEW!
Reden wir über den Film „Is it Just Me?“…
OBZ: Gerade ist in Deutschland der Film “IS IT JUST ME?“ auf DVD erschienen. Können sie uns was zum Film erzählen?
CALCIANO: IIJM? is my first film. I’ve made movies and TV shows for other people my whole adult life and decided that it was my turn to make one myself. I finally decided to pursue my dream of actually writing/producing/directing my own film and IIJM? is it. I’m very proud of this film and love it, I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it came out.

OBZ: Wie ist die Geschichte zu „IS IT JUST ME?“ entstanden?
CALCIANO: The script for IIJM? was written eight years before the film. It was one of my first scripts and written as a romantic fantasy of how I could meet the man of my dreams online. As a writer, I wrote the character of Blaine based on myself. Years later, I finally had the resources to make the film so I updated the script to fit the technology of today and with the help of a few friends, pulled together the resources to make the movie using local bars, restaurants and our own apartments and homes.

OBZ: Geben Sie mit der Geschichte auch privates von sich selber preis? Wenn ja, warum und was genau?
CALCIANO: Blaine is similar to who I was when I was younger. Since I’m older, I’m more confident and assured. I’m also in a relationship now and no longer single. When I was in my twenties, I was a pessimist who thought that I would never find love and insecure about how to meet guys. Now I’ve met my „Xander“ so I’m in a great relationship. My partner is from New Jersey and not Texas, however, he does sing. He can be heard singing a song in my new movie, eCUPID.

OBZ: Erzählen Sie uns was über die Besetzung und über die Dreharbeiten. Konnten Sie während des Drehs Erfahrungen sammeln?
CALCIANO: The film was shot in a very short amount of time. Since we didn’t have the budget to afford to pay people for more than 2 weeks, I shot the entire film in 12 days. Knowing that we only had 12 days to make the film, I knew I would have to have an amazingly talented group of actors who could shoot their scenes in only one or two takes. I hired a great casting director named Mark Sikes to get me the best actors available. That’s how I met the the cast of the film. I auditioned over 200 actors per role and not only made sure they were great actors, but also they had a chemistry between them. After I found an actor I liked, I brought them in to do their scenes together so that I could see if they all looked believable together. Could Blaine and Michelle be best friends? Would Cameron and Blaine be roommates and could Blaine and Xander be a couple?

OBZ: Wie war die Zusammenarbeit mit den Darstellern?
CALCIANO: I love working with actors, that’s my favorite part of the process. When you hire a great actor, they bring their interpretation of the character to the production. Often the actor will ask if they could improvise a scene or an action or they make a creative decision about how the character should behave. I encourage talented people to bring their talents to my productions. I’ve found that artistic collaborations with the actors often improve the film and make their roles more believable. There have been times that an actor and I have had differences of opinions on how something should be played, it’s not often but it happens, if that’s the case, I do my best to shoot both choices and then I make the final decision what works best in the editing room.

OBZ: Wie waren die Reaktionen auf den Film?
CALCIANO: The reaction by the audience has been absolutely amazing. Both myself and the actors receive emails daily telling us how IIJM? is their new favorite film and how much they could relate to the story. The film touches a very special part of the heart and I think everyone can identify with the characters in the film. I did not expect the wonderful reaction I am receiving from the film and certainly didn’t think that it would be as popular as its become. I certainly did not expect to win the awards we have or to have broken the sales records that the film has broken in the last six months!

OBZ: Was möchten Sie den deutschen Zuschauern zu „IS IT JUST ME?“ sagen?
CALCIANO: I think the best part of the movie is that it is universal in its message. I make movies about people, love, relationships and community. I hope my films just don’t speak to an American audience. I make them to speak to everyone who has ever been in single and wanted to find someone special to love. I genuinely hope that the German audience will enjoy the film as much as the American audience has enjoyed the film. My goal is to make movies for everyone to enjoy and just not people who live in the USA.

Jetzt noch mal was anderes…
OBZ: Gibt es ein Filmprojekt von denen Sie träumen?
CALCIANO: Yes, my dream project would be to do a rock-opera, I love music and one day when I have the money and resources would like to make a rock-and-roll based movie with mind-blowing visuals and special effects.

OBZ: Was können wir von Ihnen in Zukunft erwarten?
CALCIANO: In the very near future, you could expect my new movie called eCUPID. It’s my next and newest film starring Morgan Fairchild and a new cast of incredibly talented and sexy men. eCUPID is a romantic fantasy film inspired by the movies, SPLASH and BIG. It’s a wonderful and loving story about two men in a relationship who fantasize about something different, one of the guys downloads an APP on his phone to help him fix his life and things go terribly wrong.

OBZ: Sie haben jetzt die Möglichkeit Ihren Freunden, Ihrer Familie und allen anderen etwas mitzuteilen. Was möchten sie sagen?
CALCIANO: I try to always remember to thank all the gifted and generous people who have helped me make my dreams a reality and have allowed these films to be make because of them. That said, I don’t think it could ever be said enough, so I will say it once again: Thank you to my friends, family, cast and crew and all the people who have supported both me and the film. If it weren’t for the contributions of so these important people, my films could not be made and the fans could not enjoy them!

© J.C. Calciano.
© Dewey Darko.