Dan's Papers - September 14, 2007

The Hamptons International Film Festival is right around the corner and with it comes a new batch of local movies that have been made or are in the process of being made right here in the Hamptons. One of the most interesting movies is Randall Krongard's film, "Override," most notably because he is shooting the entire film on a low budget and is playing the part of writer, star and producer. Mr. Krongard wrote the script about a year ago, depicting the story of an everyday guy who gets involved in street fighting as a way to make money after his life goes down the tubes when his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack. Sounds like the plot of a real Hollywood movie.

Mr. Krongard has been doing everything for the film from scouting locations to applying makeup on the cast, who he sometimes finds just by walking into a local business in East Hampton and asking if anyone wants to be in a movie.

The director of the film is a man named Robert Frank, who works at Reed's Photo Shop and also is the Production Director for LTV in Wainscott. After the two of them got together, they headed to New York City for casting where they met a Los Angeles-based actor named Samrat Chakrobarti, who has a resume that includes roles on "Law and Order" and "The Sopranos."

Another movie, which was screened in Southampton just two weeks ago, is about windsurfing. The film, by John Decesare and Jace Panebianco, is appropriately called "The Windsurfing Movie." Panebianco is a Southampton local who has windsurfed across the Atlantic Ocean solo. He is one of only twelve people in the world that have accomplished this feat. The 31-year-old windsurfer graduated from Southampton High School in 1994 and is in excellent physical condition. His movie is a true documentary of the sport and has gained national and international attention. The movie went from a simple idea to costing $250,000, since it started snowballing from day one. It is a modern day classic version of the movie Endless Summer, only instead of following surfers, it follows the lives of windsurfers. Some of the scenes that it features are amazing. One such scene is with Panebianco heading out with a good friend, who is a quadriplegic. This touching scene really captures the human spirit, which has made this movie attractive not just to windsurfers, but to anybody. This has gotten Panebianco really excited about the film. He can't believe how much attention his Windsurfing vision has attracted.

Another movie being made in the Hampton is a major motion picture about the rumors of supernatural activity that went on years ago at Camp Hero in Montauk. Written and produced by John Brodie and directed by Christopher Garetano, the film is called Montauk: Unveiled. The movie is being made by Fortune Teller Films and is a "docudrama" about The Montauk Project, also known as the Phoenix Project, which took place in Montauk between 1970 and 1983. The many rumors about this time period include stories about time travel, mind control, genetic manipulation, inter-dimensional travel, space travel, memory erasure and creation, genetic experiments and just about anything relating to Science Fiction. What dramatically sets this movie apart is that, besides going out to Montauk and shooting the film on site, they also dug up information about who was actually there. The interviews they conducted for the film are captivating because they are from people who were actually working there at that time. Garetano argues, "What incentive do they have to lie about this?" And it is that argument which gets under your skin. The film is set to be released in theaters in early 2008.

With all of this movie hype throughout the Hamptons, it is easy to think that we may be going Hollywood. All we need are a couple of major movie studios to open up shop and we'll be in business. Are the Hamptons moving in that direction? Are we already there? It seems that with all of the celebrities out here and the movies that are being made, we are getting pretty close.