Vig Pictures
Presents
TILL DEATH
a Film By
Adam Vignola
Starring
Tava Smiley
Stephen Snedden
Vig Pictures Presents a Film by ADAM VIGNOLA TILL DEATH
Starring TAVA SMILEY STEPHEN SNEDDEN Jill Czarnowski
Nicole Randall Johnson Harry Karp Lynn Hermanson
Music Composed by Daniel Paquet Davis Sound Design by Todd Goetz
Costume Design by Gabrielle LeRoy Editor MARY ANN SKWERES Director of Photography JOSEPH RUBINSTEIN
Written, Directed and Produced by Adam Vignola
For Publicity, please contact:
Bonnie Voland, B. Voland International
Tel: (323) 344-0211; E-Mail: bvoland@usa.net
TILL DEATH
Synopsis
As a woman flees down deserted streets, alone, on Halloween, she seems to be both running to, and away from, an unknowable destination. Where is she, and more importantly, where is she going, are at the heart of TILL DEATH.
Written, directed, and produced by actor Adam Vignola, in his directing debut, TILL DEATH is an enigmatically haunting film. With atmospheric camera work by Joseph Rubinstein, an evocative score by Daniel Paquet Davis, and starring Tava Smiley (TIMECOP 2), Stephen Snedden (ANTWONE FISHER), Harry Karp (ER), Nicole Randall Johnson (JOEY), and Jill Czarnowski (THE AGENCY), TILL DEATH, in an almost wordless 18 minutes, draws you into a landscape that is at once familiar yet foreign.
A young woman wanders through an unknown city. The streets are eerily empty, except for a few Halloween revelers. She is disoriented, but little by little, fragments of several incidents pierce her mind and collide with reality. A crash, a wedding, a woman who helps her – are they real, or do they exist only in her mind’s eye? TILL DEATH reaches its climax as Halloween night turns into a new dawn, and she finds the answers she’s been looking for.
TILL DEATH
A Director’s Statement – Sansho Shima and the Art of Filmmaking
Sansho shima: the belief in Buddhism that exceptional goals are meet by having to overcome extraordinary obstacles.
A small sampling of the struggle to get my short film made:
TILL DEATH
Cast Biographies
TAVA SMILEY (Katherine): Missouri native Tava Smiley was a successful daytime drama actress when she met director Adam Vignola at Trader Joe’s. Luck is where opportunity meets preparation, and in true Hollywood fashion, Vignola used the chance meeting to ask Smiley to read the script for his short film. Smiley, whose beautiful first name comes from her mother’s maiden name, loved the script that with very little dialogue evoked a world of emotion and mystery. “I loved the challenge that this was an acting piece with very little dialogue,” says Smiley. As to the responsibility of carrying a film, Smiley says that she’d “rather carry a movie than a tray of drinks!” A night owl, Smiley said the night shoot brought out her creative side, and that the cold and eerie atmosphere worked for her character. She also thanks a very supportive crew for wrapping her in many layers to keep warm in between takes.
Says Vignola, “When it came to helming a film, John Huston said, ‘90% of directing is in the casting’. I believe this adage to be true and knew if I found the right actress my film would be a success. Tava Smiley is a beautiful actress who instantly captured my thoughts the first time I saw her. At the time I met her, she had just made the move from daytime television to the big screen. After talking to her, I asked her if she was interested in reading my script. She said yes, read it, and eventually said yes to starring in my film.” She put her faith in the new director, and stars as Katherine in TILL DEATH.
Smiley currently can be seen as the host of TLC’s CLEAN SWEEP, and on stage in FOX’S sponsored one act pilots with the LA Theatre company NAKED ANGELS.
Prior to this short, Smiley had successful co-starring roles on daytime television’s GENERAL HOSPITAL and PORT CHARLES. She also guest-starred on many nighttime shows, including Damian Cromwell's Postcards from America; THE GUILT; SAved by the Bell: The New Class; Freaks and Geeks; Pensacola: Wings of Gold; Baywatch; The Pretender; Nash Bridges; Walker, Texas Ranger; and Beverly Hills, 90210.
She has also been an entertainment correspondent on EXTRA, and successfully competed on Wheel of Fortune as a contestant during "Super Soap Week" in 2002. Smiley has made a successful transition from the small screen to the big screen, with roles in the upcoming feature THE LAST SHOT (2004); Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision; I Am My Resume; Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss; Nantucket; Outta Time; A Girl, Three Guys, and a Gun; My Life as a Troll; Crystal Clear; and One Night Stand.
STEPHEN SNEDDEN (Tom): Stephen Snedden has amassed a deep list of credits in film and television, but the part that brought him the most acclaim from fans was his role as Jimmy Bond in THE LONE GUNMEN, which led to his role in THE X-FILES. It’s a part Snedden loved. “Jimmy's probably morally and ethically what I think everybody would want to be," Snedden explains. "He bases all of his decisions on what is best for the world. I like to think that I do that, but I think it's more difficult in real life. He's proof that sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one.” However, the character’s naivete leaves something to be desired. "Intellectually, he's lacking a little bit," he says. "He's like the dog who could potentially save the little boy from the well and then come back and pee on your Oriental rug. You love him for saving the kid, but man, did he have to do that?"
Snedden’s own enthusiasm carried him farther than his fictional part. Although he wanted to be an actor from an early age, Snedden says his Oklahoma roots made the career choice seem like a distant impossibility. Snedden and his two brothers - now a painter and a graphic artist - would rent a video camera and make their own "silly movies" whenever they could. Snedden's mother was an artist, so his creativity was encouraged. "My parents were very supportive in that, when we were younger, they took us to the theater and they took us to museums," he explains. "But I think they planned on us being doctors or lawyers that were cultured."
However, after taking a few acting classes at Oklahoma State University, Snedden knew what he wanted to do. Following graduation, he moved to Los Angeles. He began to make a name for himself in both independent films and television. In addition to his work on THE X-FILES and THE LONE GUNMEN, he has guest-starred on some of the small screen’s most acclaimed and popular shows: SIX FEET UNDER; CROSSING JORDAN; ABBY; WITHOUT A TRACE; SHE SPIES; JAG; and SISTER, SISTER. He also did several telefilms and mini-series, including FREEDOM SONG and THE 38th PARALLEL. Snedden also co-starred in Denzel Washington’s ANTWONE FISHER, and in the indie breakout hit, COYOTE UGLY. An adventurous traveler, after shooting THE 38th PARALLEL in China, Snedden spent time in the jungles of Thailand where few people have electricity, let alone a television set, communing with a native tribe. The dichotomy between this primitive lifestyle and his career is not lost on Snedden, as he reflected, “Here I was, completely on the other side of the world, and it hit me: In a few days I would be flying back to California to audition for a TV show. Many of the people I was staying with probably had never seen television. It was pretty bizarre."
JILL CZARNOWSKI (Angel): Jill Czarnowski hails from Chicago and is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, where she received an Irene Ryan Award nomination for originating the role of Fay in the American College Theatre Festival production of Threnody. She also studied at the world renowned Second City Training Centre in Chicago. Her Los Angeles stage appearances include Hamlet and Road with the Wolfpack Production Company and The House of Bernarda Alba at the Tamarind Theatre. Her film and television credits include The Agency, Papers, Connecting Dots and Television. She returns to the stage later this year when she will next be seen in "More Fourplay" with Out To Play Productions. However, nothing quite prepared her for the challenges she encountered making TILL DEATH. Czarnowski met director Vignola at scene study workshops at TVI in Hollywood, and signed on for the short. Although used to the Chicago cold, nothing prepared her for the chill air during the night shoots on the short, where she was costumed in a flimsy sheath. It was a challenge for Czarnowski to keep her shivering under control, but she managed. The more intense challenge was conveying the drama of her part with very few words. Says the actress, “It was difficult. This was an almost surrealist piece to do, and it was fun to learn that there’s more to life than learning lines. It was worth it though, to get the chance to do a quality film.”
HARRY KARP (Creep): Harry Karp was first discovered when he was a Yeshiva student, and a casting agent for Steven Bochco had come to the school looking for background actors for a show Bocho was working on. Karp was chosen, and ended up in several Bochco shows. However, Karp says the biggest thrill in his career was “working with Mick Jagger on his video for VISIONS OF PARADISE, and with John Travolta and Kirstie Alley for a pilot of a show called KIRSTIE.” Karp has worked on some of the most successful television shows, with guest shots on ER; THE WEST WING; JAG; THE GUARDIAN; and this season’s latest success story, NIP/TUCK. Karp has also worked with Julian Sands and Jim Belushi in the film, EASY SIX, and was seen in the acclaimed indie film, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. If Karp looks familiar, it might be because of the numerous commercials he’s done, including those for Carl’s Jr., Toyota, Discover Card, and Nikon. In addition to TILL DEATH, where his creepy role was quite a stretch, Karp has done over 25 shorts, including Rules of the Game with Bruce Davison and Sony DREAMS Project with Jon Favreau, directed by Peggy Sirota.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Karp moved to Los Angeles at age 19 where he initially broke into acting with juicy roles on TV shows like LA LAW, CIVIL WARS, and a Tori Amos music video.
NICOLE RANDALL JOHNSON (Prostitute): Although Nicole Randall Johnson claims in her Groundlings profile that she began life as a garden gnome, as a human teenager the Oregon native attended the University of Arizona as a theatre art major. While there, she was a member of Comedy Corner, the school’s comedy and improv troupe. Moving to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career, Johnson was asked to join The Sunday Company at The Groundlings School and Theatre, the prestigious comedy institution that is known as a breeding ground of comedic talent, boasting such alumni as the late Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and Lisa Kudrow. Johnson also co-starred on NBC-TV’s MISS MATCH with Alicia Silverstone. Johnson is currently starring in Bravo’s newest series, SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, and has just completed a role in the pilot for JOEY, the first spin-off from FRIENDS. Johnson will be seen later this year in the Curtis Hanson film, IN HER SHOES, starring Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz. Through mutual friends, she met TILL DEATH star Tava Smiley, who recommended her to director Adam Vignola.
With her role in TILL DEATH, she again adds film to her resume, making her a triple threat talent.
LYNN HERMANSON (Dog Walker): Oklahoman Lynn Hermanson graced the stage in her native state often before recently moving to Los Angeles to pursue her film career. Her credits include roles at Oklahoma State University in BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and PRIVATE EYES; with the Tulsa Repertory Theatre in A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM; with the Stillwater Theatre in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; with the Town & Gown Theatre in the Round in THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH; and with Theatre Tulsa in THE REAL THING. Hermanson, who is currently studying with renowned acting teacher Larry Moss, is also branching out into production to put her talents to use both in front of and behind the cameras. She makes her film debut in TILL DEATH.
TILL DEATH
Production Crew Biographies
ADAM VIGNOLA (Writer/Producer/Director): Adam Vignola, a Stamford Connecticut native, is the son of a turn-around manager, and in what seems like perfect preparation for life on a film set, he grew up in a large Italian/Irish family, four brothers and two sisters in all. He attended Catholic schools, and after high school Vignola began to learn the discipline necessary to be a director when he enlisted in the service. Stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia, he soon became an Airborne Ranger in the Special Forces Unit, jumping out of planes and visiting third world countries. He valiantly participated in both the “Just Cause” invasion of Panama in 1990 and the “Desert Storm” invasion of Iraq in 1991. Vignola earned many badges, ribbons, commendations, and medals for his meritorious service.
After his service, Vignola attended college at New York University and graduated with a degree in philosophy, while simultaneously taking acting classes at NYU. Those classes, informed by his experience in the world, are what led Vignola to his career as an actor, writer and director.
Vignola has appeared in film with roles in John McTiernan’s THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR; in Hype Williams acclaimed BELLY; and in Amos Kollek’s Berlin Film Festival award-winner, SUE, among several other titles. On television, Vignola has been seen in the hit shows MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, LAW AND ORDER, and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Some of Vignola’s stage appearances include roles in OLEANNA and RICHARD III. IN addition to his acting, writing and directing careers, Vignola is also a wine importer. With his energy and diverse background, Vignola can best be summed up as a smart edgy actor with a Wall Street smile and a military bearing. TILL DEATH is Vignola's first foray into directing. Conan, Carroll & Associates 818-760-4730 represents Vignola as an actor in Los Angeles.
JOSEPH RUBINSTEIN (Director of Photography): Savannah, Georgia native Joseph Rubinstein could be considered an over-achiever - while attending Savannah College of the Arts, he double-majored in film and painting, and double-minored in sound design and art history. In addition to honing his visual and aural vocabulary, his extensive credit load gave him experience in different disciplines. While doing his thesis film, the debut feature TOFULAMBFRIES, which went on to the festival circuit, Rubinstein discovered that cinematography was closest to his heart. He moved to Los Angeles soon after graduation to commit to a career in film. Rubinstein sent his demo reel around, responded to ads in the trades, and applied to Panavision’s Young Filmmakers Program. Panavision liked what they saw and started recommending him to filmmakers in need of a DP. One project has led to another, and Rubinstein has been the cinematographer on several shorts, including WINTER SEA and CHINESE BEAUTY, which are currently on the festival circuit, and the upcoming VEIL and SOUVENIR. Having just finished TILL DEATH, Rubinstein is currently filming a short based on the short story, A LIFE UNEXAMINED.
MARY ANN SKWERES (Editor): Mary Ann Skweres made her film writing/directing debut with The Rib, which, based on the strength of the script, was one of five projects out 150 applicants selected to be produced through UCLA Extension’s Making the Short Fiction Film Program. THE RIB also won a special Industry Premiere screening at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the Award for Artistic Achievement from the International Cinematographers Guild; and a place in the prestigious Short Film Showcase Tour with a screening at The Director’s Guild in Los Angeles, followed by screenings at the Cannes Film Festival 2001 and on tour to New York, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Orlando, Boston and San Francisco.
For the internet series, Aliendog.net, Skweres has written and/or directed over twelve comedy/drama episodes, including Going the Distance, which was nominated for a Pixie Award. Each semi improvisational webisode was shot using digital video and guerrilla filmmaking techniques against the backdrop of current events.
Skweres has written a number of scripts, including Spirit of the Mountain, a family adventure film; Harmony Central, a family musical drama; and Skydancing, a romantic comedy. Treatments include One Heart, One Love, a mini-series from the novel about the life of Japanese actress, Chako Murata, for Fuji Television; and several episodes for the pending series, Mulligans, based on the award-winning short film starring Tippi Hedren.
A directing/acting graduate of the University of Illinois Theatre department, Skweres performed regionally and internationally, including improvisation at Chicago’s Second City Players’ Workshop. Her favorite performance was singing in Brecht On Brecht at London’s Queen’s Rep Theatre.
Skweres studied with UCLA Writer’s Program and Writer’s Bootcamp/Think Tank Professional Track. She won a writing fellowship through Writers’ Professional Track and developed Paloma, a romantic comedy feature script, for a veteran producer.
Skweres editing credits include Jack Nicholson screenplay and Methodfest Maverick award winner, The Stonecutter; Columbia’s Baby Geniuses, starring Kathleen Turner; Damon Wayans’ Major Payne for Universal; and the award-winning short comedy, Mulligans, starring Tippi Hedren, which aired on the WE.
A singer/songwriter, Skweres has collaborated with composer Bob Bayless as a member of the alternative multimedia band, The Hollywood Winged Rats. Together they hosted and produced the cable series, Hollywood Underground Couch Concert. She also hosted and produced Film Story Forum, a radio show that focused on story as the heart of the collaborative art of filmmaking.
In collaboration with Academy-award nominated producer Suzanne Bauman, Skweres continues to work as a producer-editor on Dying in Afghanistan, a feature documentary with never before seen footage, covering the last thirty years of tumult in that country.
Although director Adam Vignola didn’t know Skweres before hiring her, he instantly knew he’d found the right person for the job. “I met her through an ad I placed on Mandy's List for a film editor. I liked her energy. The absolute wildest thing was while she was editing my film her boyfriend, whom she’d lived with for 20 years, and with whom she bought a house, proposed.” Perhaps the underlying theme of eternal love in TILL DEATH made an impact on Skweres and her boyfriend. Vignola was amazed that while working on the film, she had time to plan her wedding. “She planned the wedding in the middle of editing my film, and a couple of weeks later, they got married – I attended the wedding.” Skweres brings multi-tasking to a new level.
DANIEL PAQUET DAVIS (Composer): Daniel Paquet Davis has been awarded the Georges Delerue and Richard Levy awards for film scoring and composition. This gifted musician/composer was a key part to TILL DEATH, since so much of the film’s almost wordless emotional landscape is evoked by the score. Director Vignola said “From the moment I heard the first notes, I knew Daniel and I were making the same film!”
Vignola’s sentiments are echoed by many of the directors Davis has worked with. Says LEGS director Richard Redlin, “Daniel captures the heart of each story and delivers it with tremendous emotional force." SOUND OF A VOICE director Susan Hoffman says that Davis “is a sensitive, responsive and generous collaborator, " and CENTURY GAME director Joel Marquez credits Davis with saving him money and possibly his film: “I thought I wanted a big, expensive score. Daniel knew better. Not only did he save me money, he may have saved the emotional life of my film!”
Beginning his career as a trumpet player and percussionist, Davis played classical and popular music equally well. During his teenage years, Davis toured and played at all the West Coast clubs as well as working with the Santa Monica College Orchestra, acting in local plays and creating music to accompany friends film projects. He taught himself to play piano and began writing music during this time as well. The precocious teen wrote a rock opera at age 15 with his musical partner Ric Alviso called, The Passengers Must Be Saved. More recently, he designed a one-man, multi-media performance entitled BigThoughtHead, a synthesis of electronic music, theater and mythology, performing it often in Los Angeles theaters to great acclaim.
Working as an assistant to a film and television composer, Davis again applied his talents to the genre. With the help and guidance of his mentor he enrolled and was accepted into the Berklee College of music. Awarded the Berklee Achievement scholarship for his talent and efforts, he excelled as a dual major in Film Scoring and Music Composition. He created and led the Society of Composers, creating and producing the Saturday Night Concerts at the French Library in the Back Bay. In his free time, Davis mentored musical students who were financially impoverished, some of which were given scholarships of their own to attend Berklee. He scored his first film while still in school, a documentary called, MInyan In Kaifeng about the plight of Chinese Jews. Chosen as commencement speaker, Davis ultimately graduated with top honors and moved back to Los Angeles with his new wife to begin his career.
Davis has scored a number of feature and short films, television commercials and documentaries. He is an active member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Film Music Network, the American Music Center, Women In Film, and is affiliated with BMI. In addition to his film and television work, Davis is currently developing a new multi-media performance piece to be unveiled in 2004, dealing with moral dilemmas in entertainment. He lives in Santa Monica with his wife Jane and their Beagle Dhaba.
Music Conducted & Arranged by Daniel Paquet Davis
Recorded at SiteSonics - Santa Monica, California 2003
Julia Albert - Vocals
Cheryl Holland - Oboist & English horn
Special Thanks to Allison Sackin - a.k.a. Gurumittar
VIG PICTURES
1541 N. Hayworth Ave, #304 · Los Angeles, CA. 90046
Tel: 323-646-6962 · Fax: 323-656-0180 · E-Mail:
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www.adamvignola.com