The Making of the Movie Briefcase

The Briefcase Wraps!

2010-05-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Three six-day weeks after beginning principal photography, The Briefcase shot its final take early in the morning of May 10th. After a week of 6pm-6am splits, everyone was happy to finally get some sleep and slowly re-acclimate to the Real World.
Our editor James LeSage, who's been managing the Red Camera workflow as well as editing scenes day-of, provided everyone with an unexpected surprise by having an assembly cut already put together at wrap for people to watch. Needless to say, Briefcase is already turning out great and we look forward to the final cut and to start festival submissions.
We're still on the hunt for a new title. Ideas?

Principal Photography Begins!

2010-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Jason Krawczyk - Writer/Director

Well, there's no going back now. We began principal photography on this beautifully mild day with our eclectic crew from at least four different states, converging on a large swath of New Jersey Pinelands to knock out the first few scenes of the film. Okay, in reality we were shooting in the backyard of our production office, which also happens to house much of the A.E.S. staff, which is also going to be used for at least five different locations, but hey, this is an independent film. We do what we must.
So far, so good: no rain, a minimal amount of tick bites, and, well, no disasters yet to speak of. Doesn't get much smoother than that. Stay posted! And if you haven't yet, sign up and follow us here. You'll sleep better at night if you do, guaranteed.

Audrey Trailer

2010-04-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just two days away from the start of principal photography on Briefcase, Jason Krawczyk's feature debut, we thought this would be a good time to show off our director's previous work, a short film called Audrey.
A very different film from Briefcase - which is a dark comedy about crime, guns, and well, at least one briefcase - Audrey is the story of an isolated old lady trying to reach out to the people in her life as she nears her final days. It's a moving and strangely funny film, and one that displays Jason's range as a director.
Please stay tuned to developments with this film as we prepare to launch it into what will undoubtedly be a successful film festival run.

Eleven days 'til Production...

2010-04-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

... and counting!
Nerves standing on end... tempers getting shorter... coffee getting stronger... workload getting heavier... there must be a film nearing production.
Our April 20th production date looms larger everyday, and our team is gearing up and looking more like a small army these days than a film crew. Along with our in-house staff, we've brought on some impressive production talent including our Director of Photography, Eric Billmann; our line producer out of North Carolina Frank Gibson; and our assistant director Scott Lazar. With more crew coming in to this neck of the South Jersey woods from New York and Philadelphia next week, things will really start heating up.
Stay tuned for updates, photos and behind-the-scenes videos as we kick into high gear. This should get interesting...

New Attachments!

2010-04-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Kip Pardue as Jason and Vinnie Pastore as Ned

Our casting sessions have been exceeding our expectations with all the great actors we've been reading. We're pleased to announce that two very talented actors have signed on to Briefcase: Vinnie Pastore (a.k.a Big Pussy from The Sopranos) will play Ned, the crime boss, and Kip Pardue (The Rules of Attraction, E.R.) will play our lead Jason.

The Briefcase Blog Launches!

2010-04-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

Alternate Ending Studios is happy to launch a blog for our second feature film, the dark comedy Briefcase, written and directed by Jason Krawczyk, president of A.E.S. The script is attracting some excellent talent to the table as we move quickly towards our shooting date of April 20th, 2010.

Shot in and around Southern New Jersey, "Briefcase" is a slyly humorous story about two men, Jason and Dan, with nothing in common and who don't know each other but are on the run from a group of bumbling low-rent mobsters who both guys have crossed in different ways. Oh, did I mention the two are handcuffed together as they're pursued through the Pine Barrens? The story of how this came to be unfolds throughout the film until we find that they have a shared history that one of them is keeping secret from the other.

Stay tuned here for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos as we share with you the process of bringing this raucous comedy to the big screen. And while you're here, sign up to follow us so you don't miss a beat.