 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal photography began in the legendary town of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Moving away from realism and more into metaphor, the story needed a location to compliment it's mood and Asbury Park provided the perfect backdrop. Famed landmarks including Convention Hall and the Palace Amusements are featured prominently throughout the film.
"Growing up on the Jersey Shore, I always wanted to shoot something in Asbury Park. It's a town that's suffered a lot. Hotels are abandoned and dilapidated. Storefront's are vacant. But it's still a beautiful place with some of the most striking and historical buildings on the Eastern seaboard. It was important for me to photograph Asbury in all of it's grandeur. In pre-production, I spent days timing the sun, watching the shadows, just keeping an eye on the most flattering light. I wanted people to see, to remember, just how beautiful this town really is," reveals Botti. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Look, a smart slate! Now, if we could afford a video tap. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "It's a fabled place that provides a great backdrop for the story of Albo." Asked if he would shoot in the town again, Botti was quick to respond, "Without a doubt. I'll be back in Asbury," he assured. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| With Asbury Park being the first character secured, Botti proceeded to find the second. "Scott Wolfe (Walter), introduced me to Scott Black (Albo), during the summer of 1997," he says. Black was performing in a popular cover band at a local club when the two met. Botti jokes, "Though he's a great lead singer, he just looked more like a cab driver." The two began to talk and Scott revealed that he used to act, "I'm an actor playing the part of a musician," Botti recalls Black saying. The next week Scott landed the role of Albo and Botti began assembling the crew. "During that time I was overwhelmed with my job at Atlantic Records. I needed a hand, so I asked Scott to help out with the production. At times it got hectic, but he really was able to bring a lot of things together." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Casting went well into the fall, where a talented cast was assembled including Heather Donahue (The Blair Witch Project). "Heather just nailed it. She was hysterical. She's really a talented actress with amazing comedic attributes," praises Botti. "I was also fortunate to secure Gene Ruffini (Analyze This) as the bartender. He's been in so many movies, acted under the likes of Scorsese and Jarmusch, what more can you ask for? Needless to say, the production was blessed." Due to Botti's work schedule, the film would shoot during his vacation time over the course of nine months. "One week's vacation, equaled one story," Botti says. "It took three weeks to shoot three stories, but it took nine months to make one film." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NEXT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||