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netuser
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TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: Drama
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
A premonition of an assasination leads an aging gay activist to warn the public; the backlash threatens to ruin him.
SYNOPSIS
Grinder stalking meets REAR WINDOW and SHUTTER ISLAND. Set as a fast paced political thriller, NETUSER explores conflicts between older LGBTQ activists and the new generation of left-wing leaders, and ties those conflicts to the current election cycle and the very real threat of foreign intervention through social media.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I’ve been a playwright, director, and theater producer for the last 25 years. My work has a style that is often called cinematic – on stage, I’ve tried to approximate the perspective and point of view that cameras allow, while working within the dimensions of theater: real time, space, design, and live performance. Now, inspired by the advent of the new golden age of media – not to mention the arrival of my son two years ago – I’ve been drawn to find out what I might do with these tools, but now as a filmmaker. My goal is to create a film that uses what I know about theater craft, producing, and playwriting, to create this short film. NETUSER is honors dramatic structure and the Aristotelian rules of tragedy, but functions within the essential elements of the screen. NETUSER began as an assignment to myself – to write a contemporary tragedy in 15 pages, including unity of time and place, a hero with a tragic flaw, rising action tumbling from that flaw, and a major reversal – all in a film roughly 13 minutes long. I’m also concerned with the most toxic political moment since 1968, and with this project I want to explore my biggest fears about the upcoming election. The question I’ve been asking is how one part of the electorate with essentially disparate goals – the religious right, the corporate fiscal conservatives, and the alt-right – could hold a coalition together, while the interests of the left, which are essentially aligned, could devolve into the circular firing squad we are witnessing today. The result is a political thriller and tragedy about Peter Sardovski, a provocateur and activist who is suddenly adrift. Peter fought in the streets for ACT-UP, and turned its techniques into a strategy for political provocation that made him famous, influential, and wealthy. But as the political moment turns, Peter is unable to stay relevant, and as he loses his power, he takes bold actions rooted in his tragic flaw – his pride. The actions he takes sets him on a collision course with his own coalition and threaten to destroy his family. And in the end, we realize that we might all be pawns in a “vast right wing conspiracy” – the one predicted by the real life candidate who won the popular vote in the last election. I am grateful for the mentorship of Doug Wright, a long time friend, who is a champion of this project. I am collaborating with the brilliant producer James McKay, who was once my protégé and has been developing his film producing skills for the last decade. We are in the process of assembling a cast of extraordinary theater artists, most notably, at the time of this writing, Denis O’Hare, who has tentatively agreed to play Peter. In September, we will use everything I know about how to tell a story to create a provocative touchstone for the coming political season.
KEY CREW
Eric Rosen - Writer / Director
Eric Rosen was Artistic Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre (2008-18), and was previously the co-founder and Artistic Director of Chicago’s About Face Theatre (1995-2008). Most recently, he was honored with the Helen Hayes Award for best director of a play for his production of Indecent (Arena Stage). World premieres under his direction include Venice (KCRep, CTG, Public Theater, named “Best Musical of 2010” by TIME), A Christmas Story: The Musical (KCRep, subsequent Broadway production Tony nominated for Best Musical), The Fairy Tale Lives of Russian Girls (Alliance), M. Proust (Steppenwolf/About Face, by Mary Zimmerman) and Theater District (Jeff Award, Best New Play, Steppenwolf/About Face).
Other directing credits: Goodman, Hartford Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, St. Louis Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Chicago Shakespeare, Melbourne Theatre Company (AUS), the O’Neill, and Sundance.
At About Face Rosen produced the original production of the Pulitzer and Tony winning play I Am My Own Wife (About Face/MCA) and One Arm (About Face/Steppenwolf/Tectonic). In 2000, he co-founded About Face Youth Theatre, one of the nation’s foremost arts and advocacy programs for at-risk LGBTQ youth; the 20 year old program continues to serve thousands of young people in Chicago.
Rosen served on the Board of Directors of TCG, was twice a finalist for the Zelda Fichandler Award from SDC, and was inducted into Chicago’s LGBT Hall of Fame. He holds a doctorate in performance studies from Northwestern University and a BA in performance studies from UNC-Chapel Hill.
James McKay - Producer / AD
James McKay has partnered with filmmakers, artists, networks, brands, and organizations to create unique content for over 15 years. Television project, line producing, and production management credits include The Farm: 10 Down (National Geographic), Teen Mom New Jersey (MTV/Viacom), Country Buck$ (A&E), Shadow of Doubt (Discovery ID), Born: Hip Hop (MTV/Viacom), Too Cute 4K (Animal Planet), Going Deep with David Rees (National Geographic), Town of the Living Dead (SyFy), Lucky Bastards (Esquire/NBC Universal), Elder Skelter (Discovery ID), Dinner Impossible (Food Network) and Decoding the World (The Travel Channel).
Independent feature film production supervision credits include Mariachi Gringo, Higher Ground, Were the World Mine, Death in Love, and Peter and Vandy.
Commercial and branded content credits include spots for Facebook, Adidas, Penn State, Champs Sports, The Travel Channel, Food and Wine Magazine, JP Morgan Chase, Speak Productions, Kansas City Repertory Theater, It’s Easy Passport Services, Veolia Transportation, and many non-profit organizations.
James has provided additional production services support to The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., and Sony Entertainment.
In 2018/ 2019 James oversaw more than $10 million worth of programming production managing The Travel Channel's hit new reboot of Ripley's Believe It or Not and multiple investigative and true crime series for Discovery Networks.
Links to multiple work samples can be viewed at http://macadoomedia.com..
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