Interview by Matt Armstrong, Studiodaily.com

Director Andrew Hunt  finished sixth in the reality-show film contest On The Lot. Before joining the show he had been producing promos for the Home Shopping Network (ShopNBC). For these national spots on a tight budget they developed a formula for getting a film look with HD cameras. When applying to be on the reality show On The Lot, they used the same technique to shoot their shorts that eventually got them on the show. We spoke with Hunt about this formula and the experience ob being on the reality show.

How did you get on the show On the Lot?

I directed a short film called Polished. Shot and completed it in five days. They liked it. The word is that the 50 filmmakers selected were personally picked by Spielberg.

From that point I went out to LA and went through various tests and challenges. Before they sent me home they said they wanted me to make another short film, a one minute comedy in five days. That is where I made Spaced Out. I used the same formula I used before using a HD camera (Panasonic AJ-HDX900) and a set of Cooke primes, which makes everything look fantastic.

They went from 12,000 of those that applied, then narrowed it down to 200, then to 50 and then to 18 that would be on the show. I made it to the final six.

The test was to see if you could a short film in that turnaround. The show was airing in real time. It wasn’t like you shoot for six months and then all the contestants have to keep quiet for six. On the show the time you had to make the films was even shorter than five days. I did three: Midnight Snack, Zero to Sixty and Keep off the Grass. Literally you shot on Friday and Saturday and as soon as you wrap you are at a post house. You finish shooting at 6 pm Saturday and you have to have a locked picture by 4 am Sunday morning. So making the short was about 32 hours to do shooting and posting and final tweaks.

What was it like going from shooting smaller-budget projects to this?

It was kind of a surreal environment because up here in Minneapolis I am used to doing everything. Then for this they tell you that you are directing a car chase scene and here are 50 crew members. It was the first shoot I had to go on where I didn’t have to take out my credit card to buy pizza for the crew. So there were preproduction meetings with art directors, cinematographers, editors, post supervisors. Then going onto set where you have a crew of 50 and then into post where you had an editor, a music editor, a sound effects editor, a mixer and a color correction artist.

So how did you develop this formula for HD?

We’ve used several different cameras with the Cooke lenses. We used the Varicam, the HVX200, the F900 and many others. It was a formula that we came up with. We have no money for making films but we hated the look of a zoom lens on an HD camera because you can see everything. In order to get any sort of cinematic depth of field you have to move the camera back into Iowa to get the depth of field. So we startd to play around and got the P+S Technik Pro35 adaptor (or 1/3” cameras fitted with Mini35 adaptors). That was the first step. We started using different set of prime lenses at first and weren’t really happy with them because when you get to a 25mm or 35 mm lens you notice that the sides start to go out of focus and start to vignette a bit.

I started talking to a vendor and they suggested the (S4) Cooke lenses. I shot a commercial here where I work (ShopNBC) and as soon as I threw those Cooke lenses on to an HD camera that was it and I knew we found the formula to have really good looking images on a shoestring budget.

If you want to shoot something that doesn’t look like video, primes are the way to go. I got spoiled during film school (School of Visual Arts in Manhattan) when working with prime lenses and then it was several years trying to find a formula, right when the CineAlta came out, which is a great acquisition format but there was nothing on the front end. Granted, you’ll never make it look like film, but at least make it look cinematic and more than just high definition.

If you are watching football it is fantastic because everything is sharp. But when it it comes to films or commercials we are used to having a cinematic look and with everything sharp it is hard to manipulate where you want your audience to look.

Do you favor any particular HD camera?

I’ve used all the HD cameras out there. It’s funny after a while you look at HD cameras like film stocks. The CineAlta feels more like a Fuji stock, whereas the Panasonic P2 cameras look different. If it was up to me I would shoot everything 35mm film. If my budget is small I’ll shoot the HVX200. I love how compact that camera is. I am also eager to get the RED camera.

The cameras on the shows we used Panavision CineAlta and the Genesis camera. Those were great but I really, really enjoy the Cooke lenses.

Are you back in Minneapolis working now?

We are about to move to L.A. Once you see how efficient and amazing the crews are in L.A., it’s tough to leave. That is every filmmakers dream. www.sleepyeyeflix.com

by Amy Wilschke, Screen Magazine

Colorist Michael Sandness of post house Splice Here (Minneapolis) had the unique experience recently of color-correcting a couple of shorts created by independent filmmakers Andrew Hunt, one of the contestants on the FOX reality series “On The Lot.” For those unfamiliar, “On The Lot” is a contest for which the winning filmmaker gets the chance to win a million-dollar film development deal with DreamWorks. The films are judged by Garry Marshall, Carrie Fischer and a different “guest” director each episode, and viewers can vote to see which filmmakers stay on the show and which have to leave.

One of Hunt’s films Sandness worked on is called “Polished.” The short centers on an office building janitor who tries to act friendly towards his stuffy, white-collar counterparts, but is rejected time and again. One evening, he devises a plan of retaliation. He buffs the floor so it is super slippery and places signs all up and down the hallways announcing “Free Burgers at Noon.” The next day, the janitor sits by his plate of burgers and waits. When the clock strikes noon, the whole office charges toward their free lunch, but one after another they slip and fall on the hyper-polished floor and end up in a heap, groaning and rubbing sore heads and elbows. Content, the janitor chomps on his own sandwich, clearly happy with the results of his little plan.

Sandness says Hunt brought his film to Splice Here because Hunt was familiar with the colorist’s work. “Andrew came in based on some of the other color work he has seen me do for other independent filmmakers up here in Minneapolis,” he says. “We did a music video that was shot on 35mm and he really loved the look we were able to come up with and he loved the effects work, but in particular he liked the idea of being able to do color grading for his independent film.”

For his part, Sandness used the relatively new Apple Color, which he likes because he says the tool offers the option of color grading on a Mac desktop. He says Hunt came to Splice Here with his film stored on his iPod, and Sandness got to work copying the files into Final Cut Pro and loading them up for Color. He says he was able to load “Polished” right into the Color tool and begin working.

“Andrew and I had talked on the phone about the basis of the story and how it was shot, which camera [was used].” explains Sandness. “Those things are pretty important to me as a colorist to know not only what he’s going for [as far as] a look but what I can do with the footage that he’s going to provide me.” He says independent filmmakers use different formats when shooting their films, and with Color he’s able to offer high-end color grading and finishing according to whatever format the project is brought in on.

Since “Polished” has somewhat of a dark comedy feel, Sandness says he came up with a look that was “kind of cold and uncomfortable.” He says his collaboration with Hunt was unique in that the filmmaker allowed him a certain amount of leeway to try some different looks with his film. And, since the Color system makes the process so streamlined, Sandness says he and Hunt were able to focus more on being creative as opposed to watching a clock or keeping tabs on a budget.

Compared to other tools he’s used, Sandness says that, with Color, “The differences are that the integration to the edit is a much tighter integration, so if you’re cutting your short film in Final Cut Pro, in short of doing some prep work you literally can take that edit and bring it into your color grading session. There’s no EDLs, there’s no re-digitizing of the footage; the footage that the filmmaker has and can cut either at his home or with us in our facility, that exact same footage is what I’m color grading.” Sandness says this integration from edit to color and back is what drives independent filmmakers to Splice Here – it’s affordable, the quality is excellent and the workflow is painless.

“I would say that, because of my relationship with Apple, I think Andrew’s short is probably the first production that Apple Color touched that was on broadcast television,” he says. “It was on FOX, and that’s kind of a cool feather in my cap, I think, that I worked on something that was broadcast on a major network that an independent filmmaker can get their work done and have it look as good as a high-end major production. That’s really what we’re going for here is to give people services and quality that they wouldn’t get anywhere else based in their genre and their budget.”

Josh Clinton:  Hey Andrew

Andrew Hunt: Hello sir, how are you doing today?

JC: I’m doing good. How about you?

AH: I’m doing good as well.

JC: Good. So what were you doing before you got on the show?

AH: Before I got on the show I was a promotional producer for a home shopping network called ShopNBC. I was also a partner in a production company called Sleepy Eye Flix doing short films and commercials.

JC: Alright, cool. How did you hear about the show then?

AH: I heard about the show back in September. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail saying they were doing a reality show with Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg called On the Lot, and that I should give it a shot. I had a short film that I did with my partner Jason Lausche over at Sleepy Eye that we took to the Tribeca film festival. It was a short film that cost seven dollars. I submitted in and the rest is history.

JC: Cool. Have you always been into movies?

AH: Since I was like 11 years old when my dad let me play with the video camera for an hour. As soon as I picked up the camera, my friends and everyone started listening to me for the first time. So that’s when I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.

JC: Right. So there wasn’t a movie you watched that confirmed that for you?

AH: Well I was always into Star Wars. But the movie that probably affected me the most was Jaws. After seeing Jaws I was afraid to go back into the pool. So that affected me the most, but I always loved movies and I loved the Star Wars trilogy and Close Encounters. But it wasn’t really made clear to me that I wanted to do this until I actually picked up that video camera.

JC: Yeah. Were you a reality TV fan at all?

AH: You know what, the only one I watched was the first season of Survivor. I don’t really watch a lot of TV, so the only one I was addicted to was the first season of Survivor with Richard, the naked guy on the beach. It was a very wild show to watch and was very different than every other show I had seen.

JC: Yeah, exactly. I have talked to others from the show and they all have said that this show was a lot of work. Explain how much work this actually was to be on the show.

AH: Well what you are doing is making a film that would normally take you a month or a month and half to finish, and crushing it down into four days. When you are doing a short film, time is usually on your side when you are doing the writing aspect of it. Time is usually not on your side when you are producing it. But then again, time is sometimes on your side when you are cutting it. Here you only have a couple of days to write a film, about 16 hours to shoot the film, another 10 hours editing the film, and then 8 hours of color correcting and sound. It’s a pretty daunting thing. For people who don’t really know filmmaking, it’s like trying to plan your wedding in four days. That is probably the best way to describe it. With all of the different elements and details involved in the process.

JC: Yeah, that sounds a little crazy. Some of the biggest complaints about the show that I have heard was that the format of the show was a little screwy. Some people would have liked to explained their movies to the judges more than they got to. What do you think?

AH: I come from the school that my work should speak for itself. I shouldn’t have to stand in front of the judges and tell them “before you watch my movie, I want you to know I wasn’t able to do this and that. The things I really wanted to do, I couldn’t do because of the budget”. I really consider that cheating. When I stand in front of the judges, I don’t want the “behind the scenes” video to determine their critiques.  As long as the judges are critiquing my movie, I’m tickled to death, whether it’s good or bad.

JC: Yeah, that makes sense. Do you think the comments from the judges were fair overall or completely off?

AH: I think their comments were pretty spot on. Of course, it is just their opinions. When David Frankel (Devil Wears Prada) said he thought my film was more like a commercial, that’s his opinion. I can’t say “well you’re wrong.” I can only say “that’s your opinion.” The kind of movies that I love are not the kind of movies my mother likes. Filmmaking is such a subjective art form. Most of the critiques that I got I completely agreed with. One of those things in the back of your mind when a judge is hitting you with this or that, you are like “yeah, I wish I did have a little more time to do this or that.” But you don’t have anymore time, so that shouldn’t really be an excuse. The person that is going to win this contest is the person that makes really consistent movies and thinks everything through.

JC: Right. So you went to film school?

AH: Yeah, I went to film school in New York City called the School of Visual Arts. I attended it for three and half years.

JC: Okay. There are some people on the show that didn’t go to film school. Do you think that really matters as far as making great films?

AH: No. I don’t think film school really matters. For me, it was more important to live in New York City than attending film school. That experience right there is priceless. The things you learn in film school and applying that in real life is probably like every other major in college as far as going from textbook to real world. For me, my real film school started when I started directing commercials. I started working with real money, real crews, and professional actors. The people I got to work with didn’t consider this just a class project. Everybody I was working with was doing it to put food on the table. That was my film school. So then I strayed away from making short films, because I was so focused on making commercials. But then my partner-in-crime, Jason Lausche and I started Sleepy Eye and made a short film. That’s when I quickly realized that commercials were great and I still liked doing them, but I need to focus on Features as well.

JC: In your opinion, what makes a great director?

AH: I think what makes a great director is someone that is completely passionate about making movies.  And who knows how to tell an engaging yet entertaining story.  Anybody who works on a film set can tell you that it’s one of the most boring jobs on the planet. It’s like sailing. 90 percent pure boredom and 10 percent pure terror. So you really have to love telling stories.

JC: Right. So why do you think you got eliminated when you did this week?

AH: I think I got eliminated, because my film didn’t connect as well with the audience as it should have. That’s all my fault. I used to be a comic in New York and if I went on stage and told a joke and the audience didn’t laugh, that’s not their problem it’s mine. That’s the way I look at filmmaking. Another reason was I think Keep Off Grass was the most dangerous film that I did while on the show. I think the concept was pretty strong, but my execution wasn’t as good as it should have been. The fault all lies with the director, not with the crew, not with the actors, not anyone else involved with it. It’s all how the director handles the concept. I think on that short film I didn’t handle it as well as I could have. I think those kind of movies really pisses audiences off. You have been in this situation, where you think a movie has a great idea behind it and then you go and watch it and you get pissed off because you are like “how could you have not made this film as good as it could have been?!” I think that’s what happened here. I think I should have gone a lot further with the concept and directing than I did. And being voted off, we all knew that could happen going into this, so that’s just the way it is. The one thing I don’t regret, though, is not playing it safe. When I did the horror film, I was playing with comedy and horror. The car chase movie was insane, because how do you do a car chase movie in two days? With the superhero movie, I thought I would just take a big swing and if I failed, then I fail big.  I hate playing safe.

JC: Yeah, that makes sense. Out of the remaining guys left, do you have a clear favorite in your mind to win it all?

AH: I think that Will Bigham will take it all.

JC: So there is not like a close second to him?

AH: I think that the final three will be Will, Zach, and Adam.

JC: Okay, cool. So what are you going to do now?

AH: Continue directing commercials and ready myself for my first feature.

JC: Sounds good. Well that’s all I have for you. Thanks for your time.

AH: Yeah man, thank you. I know that the reaction to this show wasn’t as popular as we thought it would be before we got on the show. But the whole experience for me, from the beginning to end, has been nothing but a blast. So part of me doesn’t really care what the critics or anyone has to say, because I will remember this experience for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Whether it had great ratings or poor ratings, the people involved with the show made it a dream come true for me.

JC: Alright, very cool. Thanks again.

AH: Thanks so much…

Andrew Hunt spent last year filming a campaign commercial for eventual Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton, quite a change from having Carrie Fisher and Garry Marshall analyzing his work on national television.

Hunt, 31, is one of the contestants on FOX’s “On the Lot,” which features 18 filmmakers in a competition resembling “American Idol.” Each director must create one film each week to stave off elimination in order to win a $1 million film development deal.

“There’s no doubt he’s destined for Hollywood,” said Stillwater resident Jesse Kurtz, Hunt’s father-in-law.

Kurtz has watched Hunt film several shorts near his Stillwater home. The one-minute-long “Spaced Out,” in which a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy pulls over two inebriated aliens, was broadcast nationally on the show.

“We are proud of him,” Kurtz said. “We knew that he was going to excel.”

Originally from Pittsburgh, Hunt met wife Christine in Minneapolis about 10 years ago and eventually moved to the area in 1999.

“If I could have a home office anywhere, I’d be in Stillwater in a heartbeat,” said Hunt, who now takes up residence in Minneapolis.

Although he’s not native to Minnesota, he hopes to represent the Midwest well with a strong showing during the competition.

“For me it’s very cool because the first two movies shown – “Spaced Out” and “Polished” – were made 100 percent in Minnesota. To me that means a lot,” he said. “I’m representing the Midwest – I’m sick and tired of (people) saying they’re the flyover states.”

On the show, contestants are given a basic premise each week, which they must turn into a short film. Each time out, Hunt tries to put a humorous twist on the situation. All of his films used during “On the Lot” can be viewed online at www.thelot.com.

Hunt was chosen for the show based on “Say Nothing,” a two-minute comedic spin on a popular scene from the film “Say Anything.”

“The big kicker was that the movie only cost me $7 to make,” Hunt said.

The “On the Lot” producers liked his film enough to request another, this time on a short timeframe, which led him to the show.

This past week, Hunt created a film based on high-speed chase, called “Zero2Sixty.” During the short, a hapless car salesman gets thrown into a high-speed chase when a suspect steals a car from the dealership.

Although admittedly not a huge fan of car-chase scenes, the director said he tried to mesh humor with the feel of famous car-chases, particularly that of Steve McQueen in “Bullitt.”

“I just like to make movies fun and entertaining,” Hunt said. “I like to find a typical scenario and just completely twist it.”

Back in the St. Croix Valley, Kurtz said the usual group who ends up watching “On the Lot” at Grumpy’s Bar and Grill in Minneapolis loved the car chase film. The judges have also reacted favorably to his son-in-law’s movies, Kurtz said.

Another local fan base has sprouted – Sheriff Hutton said he’s a dedicated “On the Lot” viewer. Hutton’s family has even voted for the director a couple times.

“He’s a cool guy with great ideas,” Hutton said. “He’s a well deserving young man with a great attitude and he’s very creative.”

Even as Hunt battles several other filmmakers, he focuses on his own work, rather than looking over his shoulder.

“I honestly look at this a lot of like golf,” Hunt said. “You can’t look at what your competitors are doing. If you do that, you lose sight of what you’re trying to do.”

Kurtz said that outlook is characteristic of Hunt’s mindset while directing.

“He’s one of these guys that you just like him,” he said. “He’s not pretentious and when he gets his mind on filmmaking, he gets so focused. Everything is very, very serious to him.”

Even more serious is a check showing a one followed by six zeroes.

“I want that million dollar development deal and I want to make movies in Minnesota,” Hunt said.

West Alexander native Andrew Hunt got married on April 28 and promptly quit speaking to his new bride. No, there wasn’t some skeleton that came rattling out of the closet or a cataclysmic honeymoon spat. Hunt had to leave wedded bliss in Minneapolis and take up residence in a secluded Hollywood bungalow as one of the contestants on the Fox-TV reality series “On the Lot.”

“It’s like a college dorm,” Hunt said on the phone last week.

“On the Lot” pits a handful of aspiring filmmakers against one another in order to win a $1 million movie development deal with the studio Dreamworks. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett, the creator of “Survivor.” It airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. and is carried in the Pittsburgh region on WPGH-TV.

Hunt was the president of his class when he attended McGuffey High School and was “really trying hard for class clown.” He transferred to the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts for his senior year and followed that with a stint at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

More recently, Hunt has been in charge of promotional spots of the Shop NBC home shopping channel, which is based in a Minneapolis suburb. It’s a steady paycheck, to be sure, but Hunt still aspires to be a feature filmmaker like his influences David Mamet and the late Bob Fosse.

Hunt vaulted past 12,000 other contestants to land a spot on the program after submitting one of his short films. Like “American Idol,” the aspiring filmmakers on “On the Lot” get advice from a panel of judges that includes actress Carrie Fisher and director Garry Marshall. One of his other short films, “Spaced Out,” which has space aliens vomiting on a police officer, is posted on the You Tube web site (www.youtube.com) and on the program’s web site (www.the lot.com).

And like “American Idol,” contestants stay in the mix or get the boot on the basis of votes from viewers. They can vote by telephone, text message or through the “On the Lot” Web site.

As long as he’s on the program, Hunt will remain sequestered “Survivor”-style with the other contestants. There have been a few field trips to, not surprisingly, a multiplex, where Hunt and his cohorts have seen the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, “Knocked Up” and “Disturbia.”

“It’s kind of like prison, really,” Hunt explained. “Because you don’t know what’s going on in the world You can’t pick up a magazine, you can’t watch TV, which I think is great. I really don’t want to know what’s going on in the world right now. I’m just more focused on making movies.”

Whether he wins or loses, Hunt knows that he will gain a measure of exposure thanks to “On the Lot.” If he is ever able to sit in a director’s chair, he wants to helm comedies that will place a premium on accessibility and entertainment – among his ideas are a story built around Bigfoot and bank robbers, and a superhero saga set in Pittsburgh.

Despite listing heavy-hitters like Mamet and Fosse among his influences, Hunt doesn’t have aspirations to direct heavy-going fare or costume dramas, so anyone thinking of sending him an adaptation of a Eugene O’Neill play or an E.M. Forster novel should probably not waste the envelope.

“I’m not an artsy-fartsy filmmaker,” he said. “I’m not trying to change the world by making a movie. I want to make people laugh, and maybe, make people think a little bit too.”

Andrew Hunt, a native of West Alexander, Washington County, is blissfully unaware of the show’s status, as producers have kept contestants sequestered from outside knowledge of the tepid reaction to the show. Tonight he’s one of five aspiring filmmakers on the chopping block; one will be sent home.

Last week Hunt, who attended McGuffey High School in Claysville and graduated from the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, debuted the short film “Polished,” which he made for about $500 in February in Minneapolis, where he works in on-air video promotions for ShopNBC. On “On the Lot” last week, reaction to the movie — about a janitor who gets back at co-workers who ignore him by waxing the floor to a slickness that causes them to fall — was mostly positive. Hunt said he thought it was the best movie he’d ever made.

Carrie Fisher, the actress-writer who is one of three judges, said, “Vengeance is for people who haven’t the patience for karma. I thought it was like a little silent film.”

Judge David Frankel, a director (“Sex and the City,” “The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story”), said it wasn’t Hunt’s best film and complained it suffered from a slow beginning, prompting boos from the studio audience. But director Garry Marshall, the third judge, said “Polished” was polished.

Viewers were encouraged to call in and vote for their favorites. Hunt will learn his fate tonight.

“Everybody’s got an opinion,” Hunt said by phone from Los Angeles yesterday. “It felt like I got a really good reaction from the audience. I appreciate the judge’s opinions, but I’m more interested in what the audience thinks of my movies than what three industry folks do.”

If Hunt survives tonight’s elimination, he’ll get to start making short movies for upcoming “On the Lot” competitions in Los Angeles with a Hollywood crew.

Local Filmmaker Andrew Hunt Wows’em in “ON THE LOT”

Anyone who thinks filmmaking is all glamour and thrills should visit a movie set. The process is about as exciting as watching someone boil eggs.

And, yet, we now have Fox’s “On the Lot,” a new reality series geared toward finding the next great auteur through such exercises as having contestants pitch lame movie ideas and face edge-of-the-seat nail-biters, such as where to place the camera.

Competing with the finale of “Dancing With the Stars,” Tuesday’s premiere didn’t get great ratings. It retained only 38 percent of the audience that had watched its lead-in show, “American Idol” — the kind of numbers that might have the show’s executive producer, Steven Spielberg, contemplating an “E.T.” sequel.

Thank goodness for Minneapolis’ Andrew Hunt.

Hunt, a promo producer for the ShopNBC channel in Eden Prairie, was the premiere’s breakout star, deftly handling the initial challenge of selling an idea about a priest who considers leaving the flock, while most of his competitors hemmed and hawed or completely melted down. One entrant removed his belt at one point and started whipping the stage, for reasons only David Lynch could understand. Unfortunately, Lynch was nowhere to be found.

The professional judges who were on hand gushed over the 31-year-old Hunt.

Brett Ratner asked if he would be willing to pitch his next movie. Garry Marshall offered to take out his wallet and give him the million-dollar prize right now. Carrie Fisher hasn’t looked so wowed since Han Solo planted a kiss on her in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Hunt, who wasn’t available for interviews, is tailor-made for the show, according to Jason Lausche, his partner in the local film company Sleepy Eye.

For the past three years, the two have teamed up for the Twin Cities’ 48 Hour Film Festival, which forces directors to create a piece of work in a weekend. Perfect training for the series’ second task: making a 180-second short in just one day.

“All these people were freaking out, but you could see Andy thinking, ‘OK, no problem,’ ” Lausche said.

A win for Hunt could also mean a win for Minnesota.

Jane Minton, executive director for IFP Minnesota, a local nonprofit center for filmmakers and photographers, said that Hunt is determined to bring any Hollywood success back home.

“There are so few representatives on the show from the Midwest,” said Minton, who talked to Hunt several weeks ago, after the taping of the initial episodes (later episodes will most likely air live). “Andy really feels a responsibility to represent flyover land and to help people recognize that there is talent outside the industry center. If anyone can do it, he can.”

Hunt’s skewed sensibility seems in line with Minnesota’s most famous filmmakers, the Coen brothers. His submission for the contest, in which 50 were selected out of 12,000, was “Say Nothing,” a spoof of “Say Anything.” A recent work, “Buzzkill,” codirected by Lausche, features a couple arguing over a life-size, human-looking vibrator that has become the wife’s best buddy. Another project has a traffic cop taking on a driver who happens to be a manic-depressive muppet.

The chances of Hunt’s comedy darkening the big screen seem strong. Fox isn’t revealing how far he goes, but Minton said Hunt was in the Twin Cities last month doing a short film as part of the competition, a sign that Hunt won’t be cut any time soon.

If he ends up champion, we have a suggestion for his first feature: “Boiling Eggs.” Bet he’d make it a winner.

The tough-faced, denim-clad man stood in Dinkytown Wine & Spirits on Saturday afternoon, mumbling vaguely to himself in front of a Long Island Iced Tea display.  On his head was a pair of pantyhose, one leg dangling over his shoulder, the other trailing down his back.  In his hand, a gun hung loosely at his side.

“Hey, uh, Paul,” a voice called out.  “Let’s not have you walking around with a gun in a liquor store.”

Actor Paul Economon snapped out of his dialogue-rehearsing reverie.  Sheepishly realizing his folly, he quickly tucked the toy gun in his jean jacket pocket.

At Hour 20 of the 48 Hour Film Project, it’s easy to get a little spacey.

Though not all involved guns, scenes like this played out at dozens of venues around the Twin Cities are over the weekend.  Thirty-nine teams, encompassing hundreds of filmmakers, actors and aficionados, blew off sleep and any semblance of a normal life in a 48-hour race to create four-to seven-minute movies from scratch as part of this international filmmaking competition.  The entry judged best in the Twin Cities later this month will hit the film festival circuit, as well as compete with finalists from 30 other cities.  Last year’s local winner, “Stale Mate,” took third place internationally.

It’s not easy – last year only 10 of 23 Twin Cities teams finished.  You won’t find a Steven Spielberg or a Martin Scorsese competing in this cinematic meat grinder.  The 48 Hour Film Project is, however, where you may find their successors.

“A lot of people have movies ideas,” said Bobby Marsden, a producer at Sleepy Eye, a fledging local production company.  “This festival forces you to do what you’ve been talking about.”

RETURN ENGAGEMENT

For Sleepy Eye, which shot in and around Dinkytown WIne & Spirits in Minneapolis on Friday night and most of Saturday, the stakes were high.  Last year, its principals – Marsden, Andrew Hunt and Jason Lausche – had their movie written, filmed and edited, when a computer meltdown made them miss the deadline.

“It was devastating”, said Marsden, moments before the competition started Friday night.  “This year we’re more prepared.”

Marsden sipped a beer at The Independent restaurant in Calhoun Square, where the competition was about to begin.  Each team would pick a genre (comedy, romance, cop/detective and so on) from a hat.

“Ugh, mockumentary, they’re not going to be happy.” Marsden said moments later, then quickly phoned co-directors Hunt and Lausche to give them the news.  Although the genre has made millions for movies such as “Spinal Tap” and “Best in Show”, Marsden felt it didn’t work in a short format.

“Doing those interviews takes time away from the action.”

All teams were also given a character (D. Poe, runway model), a prop (balloon reading “Congratulations”) and a phrase (“Do you have a breath mint”) hat had to be in the final entries.

NO SCRIPT

By 8 p.m. Friday, Sleepy Eye was already shooting, even though they had no script (they planned to start writing that after midnight).

“Whatever can go wrong will!” Hunt said cheerily.  He and Lausche wanted to make use of their very special “prop,” the Paper Monster.  Often seen at concerts of the hippie-rap band WookieFoot, the costume, inhabited by its 6 feet 3 creator, performance artist Sean Doyle, looks like what would happen if Bigfoot were covered in hot glue, then plunged into a paper recycling bin.

Doyle changed into his costume (his dressing room: a space near a trash dumpster) and lumbered onto the set (i.e., the parking lot).

As liquor store patrons screamed and cheered and passing cars honked, Doyle the Paper Monster took several lurching, paper-losing jogs down the street over a nearby bridge.  He rusted so loudly that he couldn’t hear “Cut!” commanded and had to be physically stopped.

Logistics were tough.  Shooting was constantly interrupted by Dinkytown WIne and Spirits’ bustling Friday night business.  Still, the 15 member cast and crew remained infused with a giddy dark humor about the process.  Most of them were participants from the previous year.

“People say ‘You’re killing yourself, that’s suicide!’” said assistant director Ryan Wood, who directed his own film last year.  “Then they say, ‘Can I help?’”

Co-directors Hunt and Lausche spend most of the evening speaking in cinematic shorthand as they created their scriptless scenes.  “Awesome!” the bouncy Hunt enthused after every shot.  Lausche’s most-used phrase: “We’ll figure it out!”

GETTING CRISPY

By Saturday, Hunt was still cheerful, but not bouncing so high.  He, Marsden and Lausche spent the night writing a script, logging — all combined — about 90 minutes of sleep.  A mockumentary had emerged, featuring a liquor store robbery, hostages, humor and, well, the Paper Monster.

“What’s keeping me going?” joked Lausche.  “Fear and caffeine!”

With the big outdoor scenes completed the night before and a storyline in place, the shooting – now inside the store – began to resemble any other movie production: a lot of hurry up and wait as scenes are shot from a number of different angles.

Downstairs in the store’s basement, Sleepy Eye’s secret weapon toiled away.  Tucked among the cases of Miller and Busch Light, a computer screen glowed.  As soon as a tape was filled with footage, it was rushed to Scott Warder, dubbed “the editing troll.” He called the time saving “edit while you shoot” setup “really ingenuous.  We might actually get some sleep this weekend.”

RACE TO THE FINISH

Sunday was spent editing, scoring, color correcting and tweaking the final project, which now had a name: “Paper Hearts”

And at 6:30 p.m. Sunday – Hour 47 – it also had a place among this year’s finalist.  In fact, it was the sixth entry to be turned in.

All finalists’ films will be shown this week at the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis.  The Twin Cities winner will be announced at the end of the month.

As the rest of the teams arrived back at The Independent, in various stages of sleep deprivation and dishevelment, Marsden, Hunt and Lausche laughed about their turn of events.  “Last year at this time, we were just crying,” Marsden said.

“This year, I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” Hunt said.

Will they do it again?

Hunt was in.

Lausche hesitated.  “I’m thinking, ‘never again,’ but by next week that will change,” he said.

Marsden smiled.  “Next year, I’d like to say, ‘Gee, that would be fun, but we’re busy doing a feature film.’”