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| Tilted Windmill Productions |
According to former Edwards resident Matt Ratner, a key to directing movies is having a plan that allows for deviations and building a production schedule that’s ambitious but achievable.
“The last thing you want to do is tell Billy (Crystal) he can’t do a second take because we’re out of time,” said Ratner.
“You got have to be secure enough in yourself and secure enough in who you are,” he said. “If someone else has a good idea, I don’t care if it’s Billy Crystal or a PA, … this is this collaborative medium where I get to have these smart people around me who have all of these things to contribute. To not listen to them is insane.”
That flexibility has paid off and Ratner’s directorial debut, “Standing up, Falling Down,” featuring Crystal and Ben Schwartz will screen at Breck Film Fest’s opening night.
The movie is about a struggling stand-up comedian (Schwartz) who moves back to Long Island after abandoning the Los Angeles comedy scene. There he forms an unlikely friendship an alcoholic dermatologist (Crystal) who gives him career and life advice. A fan of Alexander Payne’s work like “Nebraska” and “Sideways,” Ratner aimed for the drama-comedy to have a tone that was grounded, yet elevated.
If You Go
What: “Standing Up, Falling Down” screening and Q&A
When: 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19
Where: Riverwalk Center, 150 W. Adams Ave., Breckenridge
