Normally I don’t like to write previews for movies I haven’t seen, but I thought I’d make an exception in the case of Redhead, a locally-produced independent feature that will premiere at Studio 35 this weekend.

I recently sat down with the film’s writer/director, Jason Heinrich, and one of its stars, Maya Sayre, in a half-booth at the Caribou Café in Grandview to talk about the movie.

Redhead is the story of Ian (played by Heinrich), a young man who has reserved himself to working in a machine shop instead of following his dreams. Just when Ian thinks he has finally grown numb to his existence, he meets Ally, a young woman with the potential to shake him from his jaded mindset.

Unfortunately, Ally’s past comes back to haunt her, as her violent ex-boyfriend Sam steps back into the picture, forcing Ian to once again decide whether he is going to give up or fight for his last hope of happiness.

Heinrich, a “redhead” himself, says the film is about being “stuck in the middle,” where every decision made (or avoided) only seems to add more weight to a sinking suspicion that life is too mundane to even care about.

“It has a very ‘Midwest’-feel,” Heinrich said. “(The characters) know what they want to do, but can they bring themselves to accomplish it?”

Maybe the characters should just ask their creator for some tips.

Even though his first film is still being touched up only a week before its premiere, Heinrich speaks like accomplished director.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Heinrich attended film school in South Carolina for one semester, before falling ill and being forced to return home.

He then put his directorial dreams on hold, and chose to focus on a career in music instead.

For a while, Heinrich said that he slept on a futon in the closet of life-long friend, Jeff Boddy. Boddy, an Ohio filmmaker and animator, introduced him to Jared Greene, producer/director of photography, who showed interest in Heinrich’s story.

After Heinrich “banged out the script” in two weeks, the two began searching for a “strong female” actress that could easily fit into the role of Ally.

They found Maya Sayre, an Otterbein graduate and full-time actress, whose credits include “Garage Sale” and the soon-to-be-released “Courier,” among various stage performances.

After being “blown away” by Sayre’s talent, charisma, and natural beauty, the pair offered her the part, although Heinrich said it took some convincing.

Finally, after raising just under $1,000 for production costs, the crew began filming at the end of last November and subsequently wrapped in March.

Heinrich says that over 95-percent of the movie was shot in Columbus using mostly “guerilla-filmmaking,” but he does boast that they were the first film crew to be allowed in Greenlawn Cemetary.

“We had to convince them it wasn’t a porno first,” he said. “But they eventually let us in.”

With the entire film running at 90-plus minutes, Heinrich said he hopes that his simple, organic story can transcend the medium and make people forget that there are watching movie that was filmed with digital video.

“We didn’t reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We just put Ohio tires on it.”

But Ohio isn’t the only state where Heinrich hopes to drive his film. After the premiere this weekend, Heinrich says he plans to embark on a strategic marketing campaign for festivals all across the nation.

When asked how he thinks a movie with such a “Midwest”-feel will be received in other regions, Heinrich cites that there is always someone from the Midwest in every town.

If successful, Heinrich says that he has a number of scripts that are “ready to go,” including an adaptation of the Postal Service song called “Such Great Heights.”

He said that while he is proud of the film, he considers Redhead as the “pre-season” of his film career.

“It may not count toward your record, but you’re in the NFL,” he said.

Redhead will premiere this Saturday, Dec. 2, at Studio 35. The show starts at 4:00pm.

For more information, please visit www.redhead-movie.com

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 3:34 pm and is filed under Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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