Wherever you go in New Jersey, someone is making an independent (indie) flick. They usually require a good deal of time, and most don’t pay, but the experience is worth it if you like to act or work behind the scenes.
In 1996, my two best friends Greg Wilson and Scott DiPalo and I were in a $7,000 indie called "Jesus Banana: What’s Man Doing?" I don’t think we’ll ever forget that title. It was the story of three men trying to come to grips with themselves, women and life in their early 20s. It was so low budget that we were allowed very few takes, so it forced us to be very prepared. It was shot in Seaside Heights, Toms River and Whiting.
When its director, Chris Dye, took the rough cut of the film to California, it was enjoyed, but not given financial backing. He was told by one studio insider there were no stars in it, so they wouldn’t give him money. That is sometimes the fate of an independent film.
The second indie film I was in had a much bigger budget and was shot in black and white in several places on the Jersey Shore — the majority was shot at Windward Beach in Brick. It was directed by Joe Valenti of Brick and was a comedy called "Lying Beside You." My buddies Wilson and DiPalo starred and I had a bit part in this film about the trials and tribulations of making an indie film.
This film’s cinematic quality was better, and on April 6, 2001, I attended the premiere in New York with the rest of the cast. It was accepted in the New York Film and Video Festival, won an honorable mention at the Delaware Film Festival in 2002 and had a California premiere.
The experiences and some of the people of the previous two films carried into "The College Murders," which I directed in 2002. The film’s producers and stars were once again the very talented Wilson and DiPalo. Currently, Wilson is hard at work editing this film with the hopes of having a rough cut ready in a few months. It was a grueling shoot, and without the dedication of Wilson and DiPalo, it would never have been done. We got cooperation and shot it all over the Jersey Shore, including Ocean County College, a police precinct in Toms River, and Gull Studios in Bayhead. It was also shot on location by Wilson at the Cook Islands in Fiji, Bermuda and Africa.
Some indies will never be seen, some will never be completed and others will be appreciated and given a degree of fame. What they all have in common is they are brought together by hard work, love and dedication to film. People will always want to tell stories. It started at the beginning of time and continues now, best expressed in the blood, sweat and tears of the independent film.
Darren DeBari
Brick