Little Chicago

[Ambereliz]

My Google alert just delivered the information that Adrian's movie Little Chicago will be shown at the Macon Film Festival :)


http://www.macon.com/198/story/270590.html

The film can be ordered from Amazon here ;)


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-2346438-5496411?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=Little+Chicago&x=11&y=23

[jobranham1964]

i just added this to my NetFlix list when i saw Adrian was in it.
is he a lead in this one? did you all like it?

that's really cool that they're showing it at a film festival. i never heard of the macon one. is it a yearly event?

[Tessa]

Jobranham, Little Chicago is a small Indie film that Adrian did quite a few years back now. He has a very small role in it and only appears in a few scenes but the final scene he is in near the end is well worth watching the film for! He did this at the request of a former PA of his who was acting as a producer on LC. She asked him if he would be interested in taking a small role and since it was a quick shoot and a different type of role for him he decided to accept. So no, he's not the lead but I would say that his character is quite pivotal to the story and there is a bit of a mystery and a surprising twist to his character that is revealed at the end. It's a bit of a quirky film with a very young cast, and it would probably appeal to a younger audience because it focuses on the lives of two young guys in a small town who find themselves involved with dealing drugs. Adrian is very good in it as he always is, and it's worth watching for his performance. :)

[Valoise]

It's not a particularly good film, but Adrian is great in it. You could always watch it like we did on the Vancouver tour. We watched maybe 20 minutes or so (I forget exactly) when Carmel (at least I think it was Carmel) came up with the great idea just to fast forward through everything except Adrian's parts. Didn't miss much of the plot and Adrian does have one really poignant scene towards the end.

Valoise

[Ambereliz]

i just added this to my NetFlix list when i saw Adrian was in it.
is he a lead in this one? did you all like it?

that's really cool that they're showing it at a film festival. i never heard of the macon one. is it a yearly event?

From the festival site it appears that it is a yearly event and that it is getting bigger and more important year by year :)

I would suggest that you watch the whole movie at least once so you understand the plot - as far as subsequent watching - second, third, fourth and so on ;) I just watch Adrian's scenes :D

[jobranham1964]

thanks, everyone.
a "poignant" scene, huh? he's gonna die, isn't he? no, don't tell me. i should get this within a day or two.

[Valoise]

thanks, everyone.
a "poignant" scene, huh? he's gonna die, isn't he? no, don't tell me. i should get this within a day or two.

No, don't worry, Adrian's character doesn't die.

[pat_t]

Gosh darn, it's been forever since I've been over here. :eek:

I bought this film as soon as it was available from Amazon. I knew Adrian wasn't the lead, but I still try to get everything the boys (Adrian and Peter - yes, I'm a PWFCer too) appear in.

Adrian was definitely the best part of the movie. Totally awesome in this. I did a three day photo post on my LJ from Adrian's part in this movie. He was just so good in this movie.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast wasn't although there were a couple of characters that interested me and I thought they did very well. ;)

[jobranham1964]

loved adrian in this. what a sweetheart.
not my kind of movie tho - way too dark.

[Barney]

This is a complilation of a few articles written by Adrian and 3 others involved in the making of "Little Chicago". I'll start with Adrian's brief comments on making the movie.

"Little Chicago" by Adrian Paul

Actually, it was interesting working with students, which I hadn't done before. I was really surprised at the knowledge these kids have at their craft. It was like they had read all the textbooks, studied a lot of film and knew a lot of technical data. Now they were getting the practical experience. Keep your eyes open--I think you will find some of these kids working in this industry later on.

There is not as much pressure when you do an independent movie. You can be a little more creative sometimes, I think. The machine doesn't govern you, you govern the machine. The best was when the producer talked to somebody about getting a trailer from the RV place up the road. We all stayed in that. We really appreciated it because the weather was kind of humid and it was a very comfortable air-conditioned bus with a TV and everything else.

North Carolina was a very different way of life than I am used to. It is humid, yes, but it is just different. It reminds me of the South quite a bit, right down to the columns in the house where we shot. I would shoot again in that area. It was a nice little break from LA.

"On Location with Adrian Paul" by Dena Wilkinson

I remember hurrying to the airport on that hot, muggy, off and on rainy Thursday afternoon hoping to arrive on time to pick up Adrian Paul. Luckily I was on time and in fact had to wait on his flight to arrive.

I'm not sure if anyone has ever been to the airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, but I assure you it is a far cry from Los Angeles International. It was actually quite calming and a much needed "breather". The few days that preceded Adrian's arrival found us either rushing to beat a storm or desperately trying to make our day. But we also felt the building anticipation of Adrian's arrival.

Everyone was going out of their way to make sure the two "Adrian Paul" days went off without a hitch. I heard talk amongst the crew that they wanted everthing to be perfect for Adrian. See, what I didn't know until after we started filming is that we had quite a few Adrian Paul fans on our crew. A lot of them were nervous about actually meeting him, not to mention working with him. It was a dream come true for a few of them. And I was so pleased to see that although they were bursting inside, they maintained true professionalism and did not "fanatically" overwhelm him or rush to get his autograph. In fact it was just the opposite. They were actually a little hesitant to approach him. It wasn't until we were at the end of Adrian's second day when he wrapped that a few started coming up to me and asking if it would be okay to get a picture with him, or an autograph for their mother, girlfriend, etc.

Adrian was so gracious and quite playful that day. He posed and signed. He chatted and posed. I was mostly watching the monitor with our director, Richard Clabaugh. I remember looking up and seeing Adrian holding bunny ears (his two fingers) behind the head of our production assistant who was slating the take. He yanked them down just as we heard "camera rolling". I was constantly laughing or giggling to myself the days he was there, in between making sure his shirt was ironed, he had his protein shake, his hair looked just right and his face wasn't shiny.

When we were between setups, or when Richard was working with another actor, Adrian was constantly telling jokes, goofing off or playing pranks. He always had a smile on his face and was quick to offer advice or tell a funny story from a past experience. I expected Adrian to be a little demanding or impatient when having to wait in the hot sun (and justifiably so), but he pleasantly surprised me. In fact, he actually told me to relax a few times! Working with Adrian on "Little Chicago" was not only a great learning experience but also an honor.

Frankly Adrian Paul by Scott Miles (lead actor and writer)

Some actors would say it's just another day at work, but it's not just another day. It's an Adrian Paul day. The director and the crew are excited, and quite frankly so am I. "Little Chicago" is my first feature. Well, sort of. I've worked as an actor before on projects such as "October Sky" and "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries", but this project is different because I wrote and star in it.

"Little Chicago" is about recent business graduate Cal Rowan, who returns to his hometown. He has no intention of staying until he finds out that a childhood friend is in serious trouble with a local drug dealer. Cal goes out of his way to save him...way out of his way...by selling marijuana out of fear for his friend's life. Adrian Paul plays Frank Newcome, a businessman who nervously buys marijuana from Cal and his friend. But are Frank's motives as simple as they seem? When Cal learns that his customer is also a friend of his father's, things in "Little Chicago" get even more complicated.

I was very impressed with Adrian and his work. As an actor he brought with him a rich and compelling back-story that flavored his character with the sort of caring nuance the role required. As a matter of fact, his final scene in the movie is one of the most powerful. As one observer noted, "This scene will sell your whole movie". I proudly agree. As a personality Adrian was easy and fun and light. He didn't take himself too seriously, and with the pressures normally associated with a film set, his fun-loving attitude was most welcome.

"Adrian Paul in Little Chicago" by Richard Clabaugh (director)

When Dena Wilkinson first put forward the possiblity that Adrian Paul might be available for a part in "Little Chicago", my reaction was immediate, strong and totally positive: "He's wonderful. That would be great for us. Can we get him?" I had seen his work in the "Highlander" TV series and had been very impressed by Adrian's work, which brought depth and dignity to the character of Duncan MacLeod. Getting Adrian to play the vital part of "Frank" in our project would be a valuable asset to our modest production.

Scott Miles wrote, produced and starred in "Little Chicago" and we both felt that the character of Frank was an important role that called for an actor with strong screen presence. Although Frank's character is not on screen for long, it was important that he leave an indelible mark. How fortunate for us that, after reading the script, Adrian agreed to do the part.

"Little Chicago" centers on Scott's character, Cal Rowan. (By the way, the character's last name is pronounced in the good ol' Southern way as "row-ANN", not that damn Yankee-tongued "ROW-in.") After years of being away in Chicago, Cal returns to his hometown of Gastonia, North Carolina, to find his best friend Andre (Earl C. Poitier) in a life-threatening situation. Cal agrees to help Andre despite the risk to himself. Cal's attempt to help Andre only succeeds in dragging him down as well. It's during this period that he unexpectedly encounters Frank, a mysterious character whose "uptight" attitude seems strangely at odds with his actions. It's clear to Cal from the beginning that the sophisticated (but nervous) Frank is almost humorously out of place in this world of trafficking rednecks. When Cal stumbles upon Frank's other life, Frank feels compelled to tell Cal the truth and let him in on his secret.

The creation of an interesting character is always a collaboration between the writer's material and the performer's interpretation. Scott met with Adrian and they discussed ways to tailor the character to how Adrian would portray him. As an experienced and talented actor himself, Scott understood this. The results of their conversations made a good character stronger by playing to Adrian's unique qualities and strengths.

From a director's viewpoint, my greatest concern in working with Adrian was going to be the short amount of time he would have to shoot. Adrian's schedule was tight, so we carefully organized our shooting to film all of his scenes in a couple of days. It wasn't going to be easy, and yet, in spite of the high temperature, high humidity and high pressure (from the schedule), Adrian kept a consistently wonderful attitude on set. He's one of those actors who knows how to have fun while remaining serious about his work.

Adrian flew into North Carolina (where we were filming), the night before our first day of shooting his scenes. I was able to meet him in person for the first time over dinner. I'm sure it comes as no shock to his fans to say he is a charming, funny and thoroughly entertaining gentleman. In addition to idle "get-to-know-you" talk, we also spoke about his character. Adrian commenced to tell me all about Frank's background, his history, his family, his immigration status and all the stuff that's not directly in the script but that an actor needs to know. Background is the tool that allows someone like Adrian to give depth and realism to a character that, in reality, exists only as a few words on paper. Adrian knew this character, where he'd come from, the situation with his parents, his siblings...none of these things were directly in the script, but Adrian was able to infer them from Scot's writing.

[Barney]

"Little Chicago" continued....

Shooting went well, although it seemed storms were always chasing us. Adrian worked professionally and efficiently, without letting the weight of the schedule take the fun out of it. In addition to some fine performances, I have several great outtakes from those few days that speak to his wonderful sense of humor on set.

Adrian's final scene as Frank, both in the movie and on the schedule, was an important one for me. It was a delicate, emotional moment. If handled incorrectly, it had the danger of coming across as funny or slipping into something maudlin. As we prepared to do the scene, I spoke with Adrian about how important I felt this scene was and I relayed my fears about the thin line that had to be carefully walked for this scene to work.

I needn't have worried. Adrian sold the moment. He made it look easy, performing with grace and dignity. He added the subtlest tough of wit to take the edge off. Although it occurs very near the end of the movie, it was one of the first scenes we edited. It has never failed to strike the proper emotional chord with those who've seen it and it's all thanks to Adrian Paul's deft handling of that moment.

--------------
As you know Richard was so impressed with Adrian's work that he wrote "Eyeborgs" with him in mind and was fortunate to have Adrian star in "Eyeborgs", which turned out to be a really good movie.:)

[brilliant!MacLeod]

thanks again,Barney!
It´s good to hear all these people praise Adrian for his professionalism(sp?),his humour and his being a real gentleman!!:)

And speaking of outtakes - are they anywhere to be seen or found?

[pukkie]

Thanks again Barney !!

[Coolwater]

Barney, I'm glad you're a pack rat, and saved all these articles. Part of the reason I like to come here is that AP does stuff I'd never do in a million years, and then he writes about it (and this time so do others!). Many thanks.

And AP's perspective is different. :D If he'd told the Tar Heels that North Carolina reminded him of the South, they'd have howled!

[Barney]

Cool - I have to admit that his reference to North Carolina did give me a chuckle. I kept wondering where he thought he was. My dad and grandparents were from NC. They certainly thought they were part of the south. I can appreciate the reference to the heat and humidity though. It was always summer when I visited my grandparents and being from Oregon I wasn't used to that type of weather.

The articles I am reprinting are from the Peace magazine that they used to publish. When I discovered the world of Highlander I went on-line and was able to purchase the whole series at one time so I haven't had them that long. I do like to pull them out and reread some of them. I just decided it would be nice to share some of them for those who had never read them before. I'm glad everyone is enjoying them.:)

[Coolwater]

Very kind of you to share!

[brilliant!MacLeod]

Very kind of you to share!

It really is!!I love you for that!:)