Bust A Move was shot throughout Monmouth County, New Jersey. Produced for ten thousand dollars, the film is an extraordinary example of efficient, no-budget filmmaking. "To me, casting is everything. It's the most important and most difficult part of making a low budget film", notes director Philip Botti. "I started with Scott Wolfe (Walter) and searched for many unsuccessful months, trying to secure the rest of the cast. " A childhood friend and featured subject of Botti’s acclaimed featurette, Middletown, the part of Walter was written for Scott for obvious reasons, "He’s the only person who’s got the balls to wear a g-string," jokes Botti. "He’s a natural. He’s a great actor who is not afraid to make an ass out of himself for the sake of character."

Take 1 of many. Dan Fogler reacts to Scott Wolfe.

Casting a no budget film is never easy, but patience would eventually pay off for the filmmaker. Once we found Dan Fogler (Charlie) things started falling into place. Botti goes on to praise his lead actor, "Dan is really a comedic actor, but he held back and really underplayed everything. The last scene of the film really shows he’s got some dramatic chops." "I saw Steven Randazzo (Bob), in a film and was able to track him down. I sent him a script and the rest is history," quips Botti. An actor who has been in numeorus Woody Allen films, proved to be yet another great addition to the production. "Steven is an amazing actor. He gives such an honest performance. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better," commends Botti. And finally veteran stage actor Leslie Lyles (Carol), signed on. "I went to high-school with her daughter Karina," informs Botti. "I was telling Karina that I was having a real tough time finding a woman to play Carol and she said her mother occasionally does no-budget films." So how did Botti secure an acclaimed actress who was playing the role of Andy Kaufman’s mother in Man on the Moon with Jim Carrey, "I just sent her the script and she agreed. It was that easy," he says in awe.

Now that he had his cast, how did Botti rehearse the actors to prepare them for the dynamics of a family gone awry? "I didn’t. There were no rehearsals. Nobody even met each other. Leslie and Steven just showed up and did it. I didn’t know if it would work. But, luckily, I had pro’s who believed in the material," he says with a hint of relief. "It wasn’t until I edited the first kitchen scene that I knew I had a family." When asked what he likes most about his cast, Botti was quick to answer, "The film's got the raw energy of unprofessional actors and the polished performances of seasoned professionals. And that makes for an interesting dynamic."

Steven Randazzo takes it in at the kitchen table.

Another interesting aspect of the production was the minimal size of crew that was involved. "Including me, it was eight of us with a helping hand here and there. Though we were small, we were efficient and at this level, that’s all that matters," remarks Botti. In fact, with a minimal support group, Botti had to take on many other responsibilities other than writing, directing, producing and editing. "In the end, you only have yourself to rely on to do the work. Unfortunately, that took a lot away from the core aspect of my job as a director. For the most part, I was doing all the location scouting, art direction, wardrobe, props, and everything else in between. At this level, you can’t expect people to work for free and do as good and as thorough a job as you would." Reflecting on the process of making a no-budget feature film, Botti had this to say, "It's not easy. You have to work your ass off, especially when you don’t have a trust fund backing you up. You have to be willing to put everything you can in to it because nobody else is going to. And you have to have realistic expectations of what type of product ten thousand dollars buys you." Botti concludes, "Bust A Move was always about showing what I could do with nothing and getting my next feature produced. I wasn't preoccupied with securing distribution. That's why I think it turned out the way it did - a good film that's completely unique and different from anything that’s out there. And audiences are hungry to see something good and something unpredictable. That's why it’s important for me to do things that people haven’t seen before. To define something before it becomes a trend, then walk away from it with my hands clean. I did it using a camcorder to make Middletown. And hopefully I did it with Bust A Move."

BUST A MOVE