CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

 

                 

Aaron Rhodes                   Harold Hoptuit

                       

Scott Andrus                             Giovanni

 

Angelo Jaramillo                            Oscar 

                

Lynn Goodwin                                 Judy

 

Aide Rodriguez                              Claire

 

Mike Ostroski *                          Dr. Dave

 

Jennifer Migliore                          Crystal

 

Danielle “Dani” Lenski *               Natalie

 

Stephen Jules Rubin             Officer Dicky

 

Ron Weisberg                      Officer Ricky

 

Bruce G. Holbrook              Detective Rob

 

Larry Glaister                        Dr. Watkins

 

Derrick Padilla                       Sales Clerk

 

Merritt C. Glover *               News Anchor

 

Shawn Wayne King        Rev. Hugh Purse

 

Rory Armstrong                 Bartender Bob

 

Everette Scott Ortiz                        Clyde

 

Ben L. Ziegler                                 Evan

 

William Potter                                  Max

 

Lisa Jay                         Mom Contestant

 

Spencer Jay                    Kid Contestants

 

Gwendolyn Falcon Jay

 

Katherine Chavez *                          Vicki

 

Frank Abeyta                                 Elmer

 

Joe West *                              Local Band

 

Linda Golly                        Dead Organist

 

Ramona Tafoya                   Dead Harpist

 

Tim Jullian                                    Mayor

 

Michael Tomlins                  City Attorney

 

Leslie Harrell Dillen *                      Judge

 

Nick Najdowski                     Court Bailiff

 

Seymour Muchmore               Undertaker

 

 

*  links to individual sites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Rhodes - HAROLD
Scott Andrus - GIOVANNI
Angelo Jaramillo - OSCAR
Lynn Goodwin - JUDY
Aide Rodriguez - CLAIRE
Mike Ostroski - DR. DAVE
Jennifer Migliore - CRYSTAL
Danielle "Dani" Lenski - NATALIE
Stephen Jules Rubin - OFFICER DICKY
Ron Weisberg - OFFICER RICKY
Bruce G. Holbrook - DETECTIVE ROB
Larry Glaister - DR. WATKINS
Merritt C. Glover - NEWS ANCHOR
Shawn Wayne King - REV. HUGH PURSE
Rory Armstrong - BARTENDER BOB
Everette Scott Ortiz - CLYDE
Ben L. Ziegler - EVAN
William Potter - MAX
Lisa Jay - MOM CONTESTANT
Spencer Jay - KID CONTESTANT
Gwendolyn Falcon Jay - KID CONTESTANT
Katherine Chavez - VICKI
Frank Abeyta - ELMER
Joe West - LOCAL BAND
Linda Golly - DEAD ORGANIST
Tim Jullian - MAYOR
Michael Tomlins - CITY ATTORNEY
Leslie Harrell Dillen - JUDGE
Seymour Muchmore - UNDERTAKER
Patty Smith & Oscar Cifuentes
Erick Castillo & Lynn Goodwin
Astrid J. Segovia
Erick Castillo & Aaron Rhodes
Jonathan Mugford, Kirill Oleynikov & Greg Byrd
Greg Byrd, Terrell Cummings, Oscar Cifuentes & Jett Boyton
Adelicia Rodriguez & Katie Chavez
Nick Najdowski, Aaron Rhodes, Stephen Jules Rubin, Leslie Harrell Dillen & Ron Weisberg
Greg Byrd & Astrid Segovia
Erick Castillo
Patty Smith & Peter McCarthy
Victor Alonso, Spencer Jay, Lisa Jay & Gwendolyn Falcon Jay
Tuff shed into a crypt
Peter McCarthy, Larry Glaister & MerrItt Glover
4' cell tower perspective
Construction on Cerrillos was a bummer for drivers but a plus for us
Patty Smith, Lisa Jay & Erick Castillo at the one room office
Dani Lenski in the makeshift ADR studio

SHOOTING AXIOMS:

 

    -single camera

                        -static shots 

                                            -narrow depth of field

                                                                          -back lighting

                                                                                                -no insert shots 

                                                                                                                     -super 16mm look                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

The first person to read a draft of Death & Taxes was cinematographer, Erick Castillo, a former student of mine at the College of Santa Fe. His response – “It’s great, let’s do this!”  His enthusiasm was refreshing, but I knew doing a film for next to nothing was going to take time & effort to put together. Aaron Rhodes, who plays the lead, HAROLD, read it next. I had Aaron in mind when I was writing because he's one of the funniest guys I'd ever met. I had no idea he was a ten-year vet of Chicago's Second City, had toured with the company, and had done a short film with Stephen Colbert. When Aaron said he'd do it, if I offered him the role (which I did after auditioning other local actors), for the first time I actually felt the film could happen.

 

Other former students of mine, Greg Byrd, Nick Najdowski, and Jason Siegel, stepped in to help, as did many recent Santa Fe City College film grads. The first crew members to start work, however, I found on Craig's List. Lisa Jay, my Art Director, had recently moved to Santa Fe and had never worked on a film before, but she was smart, talented and eager to learn, and even with two small kids somehow found the time. Shawn K. Deasy, Attorney at Law, who specializes in estate planning, I persuaded to set up the LLC and other necessary documents to get the production rolling.

 

Remaining key personnel just seemed to fall into place. Lynn Goodwin, who plays Harold's wife, JUDY, I’d admired in local theater productions. Lynn introduced me to Patty Smith, my casting director and 1st AD, who then introduced me to Oscar Cifuentes, whose company, Seige Films, provided our gear, and who became an integral crew member.

 

Makeup artists, Adelicia Rodriguez and Dayan Morgan-Sylvaen, heard about the project and found me. One of the final crew was Donovan Thomas, a Native American craft service person, who my buddy, Dale Lotrek, had recommended. I lucked out when Donovan agreed to do the film. He helped in so many ways and kept us nourished and smiling for 20 days of principle, a pickup day, and a green screen day, all in one month.

 

What’s different about Death & Taxes as compared to most micro-budgeted (under ten grand) digital productions is that it was shot in a retro fashion. There weren’t a bunch of cameras wing-dinging every scene, just one. And the first shooting axiom was a static camera so there were no dollies, pans, tilts cranes, handheld, steadicams or drones. The script was tight, rewritten dozens of times. Then it was broken down into a 5-day, 4 week, production schedule. Shooting axioms for the look of the film and production axioms for the design were pretty much adhered to. Most of our public locations, like the mini-mart gas station, the bar, the church, and the park, we never own and had to shoot around whatever activity was happening. And sometimes there was a lot. We were fortunate that some great Santa Fe restaurants kicked in meals, which was a generous thing to do.

 

Post-production took longer than expected, but it always does. Aside from learning Final Cut Pro X, I continually honed the film and tried to make it as tight as possible having numerous test screenings for feedback and submitting the film as a work-in-progress to some festivals to see how they'd respond. I learned to do simple effects and also did the laborious digital timing to get the look I wanted for Harold, which was way more time consuming than I had anticipated. During post an incredible thing happened; award-winning dialogue editor, Rich Quinn, a friend of Erick's, saw the film and offered to put together a team to cut sound and do a mix. Working with re-recording mixer, Roy Waldspurger,  sound  supervisor, Everett Moore, and a talented crew of sound technicians was truly a memorable experience.

 

Everyone who gave their time and effort did it pro bono, and in return will be a profit participant, if the film ever makes money. The fact that a radically satirical film like Death & Taxes could get made in New Mexico, and be done the way I envisioned it, is amazing and speaks volumes about the burgeoning film biz here. The movie's awesome look and wonderful acting is a testament to everyone who contributed, and I can't thank them enough.

PRODUCTION

 

Writer, Producer & Director

Peter McCarthy

 

Associate Producers

Aaron Rhodes, Lynn Goodwin

& Lisa Jay

 

Production Legal

Shawn K. Deasy, Attorney at Law

 

Casting Director & 1st Assistant Director

Patty Smith

 

Art Director & Still Photographer

Lisa Jay

 

Cinematographer

Erick Castillo

 

Production Sound

Nick Najdowski

 

2nd Camera & Assistant Camera

Oscar Cifuentes

 

2nd Camera, AC, DIT & Steadicam

Greg Byrd

 

Key Craft Services

Donovan "Donzer" Thomas

 

AC, DIT & Grip

Victor Alonzo

 

Gaffer

Terrell Cummings

 

Additional Gaffer, AC, DIT & Grip

Kirill Oleynikov *

 

AC & DIT

Astrid J. Segovia

 

Assistant Camera

Madeleine Lauve

 

Electrician & Grip

Jett Boyton

 

AC & Best Boy Grip

Sheridan O'Donnell

 

AC & DIT

Jason Seigel

 

2nd Assistant Camera, DIT & Grip

Kenney Cox

 

Digital Information Tech

Jonathan Mugford

 

Key Makeup

Adelicia Rodriguez

 

Makeup

Dayan Morgan-Sylvaen

 

Makeup Assistant 

Rachel Lively

 

Wardrobe

Kristen Chavez

 

Additional Production Sound

Alex Raguini

 

Green Screen Production Sound

Phil Arnold

 

Swing Boom Operator

Andrew Jay

 

 

POST-PRODUCTION

 

Editor

Peter McCarthy

 

Green Screen Editor

Greg Byrd

 

Original Score by

Joe West

 

Additional Score by

Bardford Reed

Kevin MacLeod

Danosongs

hill & Trip

 

Supervising Sound Design

Everett Moore

 

Re-Recording Mixer

Roy Waldspurger

 

Additional Re-Recording Mixer

Malcolm Fife

 

Dialogue Editors

Matt Hartman

Malcolm Fife

Richard Quinn

 

Special Thanks To

Chris Scarabosio

Ryan Fries

Jon Greber

Doug Ford

Mike Lane

Bonnie Wild

 

Special Effects

Luke Fitch

 

Digital Cinema Print

Alex Usatine

High Desert Digital

 

ADR,Music, Additional Sound

Cutting & Mixing

Digital Effects & Color Correction

Hugh Kares

 

Poster Graphic Art

Lorraine Edge Castillo

 

SONGS BY

 

Joe West

Hamell on Trial

hill

Trip

Clem Snide

Treemotel

Smoking Section

 

 

 


 

GRACIAS

 

Erick Castillo, Lisa Jay, Patty Smith, Aaron Rhodes & Lynn Goodwin

Shawn K. Deasy, Attorney at Law.

Oscar Cifuentes - Seige Films

G-Byrd & Zoo Crew Productions

Victor Alonzo & Dead Vinyl Productions

Donovan “Donzer” Thomas

Joe West, Bradford Reed, Will Dyar & Trip

Rich Quinn, Everett Moore, Ray Waldspurger, Matt Hartman & Malcolm Fife

Luke Fitch & Seth Lliff - Altitude-FX

Lex Lucius - Lex Lucius Design

Jim Smart - Smart Motors LLC

Charles Ashley - Bernalillo Film Liaison

Bernalillo County Courthouse

Phil Arnold - Southwest Music Productions

Jennifer Migliore aka Jennifer Best

Rob & Angelo DeSimone & Fillup Mini Mart

Michelle Dube, Michelle Gonzalez, Robyn Archuleta & Open Hands Thrift Store

Eduardo Castillo & Molly's Restaurant & Bar

Marsha Wolf at Western Equities

William Roybal & Rosario Cemetery

Dick & Derrick Padilla & Beyond Waves Mountain Surf Shop

Kathy Leyba, BSB/A & Corazon Family Health

Jim Sowa & Alice Springs & The Universalist Unitarian Church

Emily Powell & Laura Nunnelly & Santa Fe University of Art & Design

Melanie Moraise at Daniel's Insurance

Ceasar Barba & Marcus A. Boston

New Mexico Film Commission Website

Peter Grendle & The Screen @ SFUAD

Alex Usatine & High Desert Digital

Lorraine Edge Castillo – Poster Graphic Artist

Wendy Chapin        Tomas Moore     Jessica Long          Bill Georgenes

Eddie Rio        Mark Gutterend     Brian Murray Crane     Ben Taxy

Jarod Lawrence     Alton Walpole     Matt Page     Dale Lotrek     Marti Mills

Mommo

 

SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE GREAT SANTA FE RESTAURANTS

 

Andiamo's     Blue Corn Cafe     Counter Culture Café     Jinga Bar & Bistro     Joe's Diner     Maria's     Olive Garden     Santa Fe Baking Company     Schlotzsky's     Upper Crust Pizza     Zia Diner

 

CHURCH CONGREGANTS

Evanselina Rivera     Marcelina Martin     Melissa Sprout-Singh    

Pascale Million     J.P. Jallifiter     Anna R. Rael     Delfina Bowles    

Adam H. Schwartz     Larry Burke      Georgia Bueno

 

DEAD 'n HERE'S

Deborah Chavez      Dolores Garcia     Daniel Romero

Edgar Allen     Dylan Del Compo      Destiny Velarde

Genoveva Reyes     Nereida Villalobos     Manuel Samario

Olivia Gallegos      Cesar Barba

 

SHOPPERS

Robyn Archuleta      Michelle Dube     Angelo DeSimone

Prickly pear productions llc

Santa Dinero Police door magnets

Lisa Jay, Patty Smith, Nick Najdowski, Aaron Rhodes, Greg Byrd, Peter McCarthy, Erick Castillo, Oscar Cifuentes

                                                                            

Picture by Lynn Goodwin

 

 

PRODUCTION AXIOMS:

 

           -expansive contraction

                                         -less is more

                                                              -stay on the same page 

                                                                                                 -keep it simple 

                                                                                                                           -it is what it is

                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                   

SHOOTING AXIOMS:

 

  -static shots

                     -single camera

                                          -narrow depth of field 

                                                                           -back lighting 

                                                                                                  -S16mm look

                                                                                                                        -no insert shots

                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                   

HEART

HEAD

THE SECOND COMING OF HAROLD HOPTUIT

 

DEATH & TAXES     

© 2020 Prickly Pear Productions LLC

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