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Plot
Synopsis
Character Analysis
Evolution
of The Script
Casting Options
The Future of
ARCHAIC
ARCHAIC is the story about internal struggles of members in society. Driven by hatred, fear, prejudice and wild imaginations, the characters of ARCHAIC are no different than you or I. This film is about the reality of how the media has influenced our culture for the worse. The story you will see is obviously fiction (for now), but the reality is that this story has happened before, is happening right now and will happen in the future.
The film will focus on three distinct and different people, Mahzino Santos, Jason Reynolds and Dan Dirik. Santos is of a Latin-America decent and therefore takes much ridicule because he is the minority in his social group. This character also posses a gambling problem which is highlighted in the films opening scene and throughout his story line. The pressure from the thugs is heightened by the ridicule of his peers and all that combined is what pushes Mahzino over the edge as he acts hastily and commits a murder.
Jason Reynolds on the other hand is a police office sworn to up hold the law without prejudice or passing judgments. Society has shown us recently that this isn't always the case. The rodney King beating and the Mark Furman testimony in the O.J. Simpson case proves that prejudice is a part of life and that everyone posses it on some level. Jason's prejudice is targeted to the X Generation. He sees deviance and conspiracy's around every corner all caused by teenagers and young twenty-something's. It is apparent that the job takes a toll on him as the script reveals that he also suffers from a drinking problem as well. He takes his frustrations out on his wife Debbie.
Debbie is the most over emotional character in the film. She is at heart a very caring and nurturing individual but these qualities are exemplified to the point that she can no longer deal with her husband putting his life on the line every day. Her nature is another reason for Jason's problems. The Reynold's are basically good people caught up in the high paced society in which they are surrounded by.
Dan Dirik is the most puzzling character in the film. Unlike Mahzino and Jason, Dan never appears in the film until the alternate reality sequences. Close perception to the film will show that he does care about his girlfriend Megan and that on the surface he is a good person. He does posses a bit of prejudice himself, and that is what ultimately leads to the climax of the film.
These characters were designed to represent people in general and how they would interact in a certain situation. The imaginations run wild, but in the end, their true identities show through as their actions seal their fate.
| Mahzino Santos | The minority in a group of young, partying twenty something's who will ultimately be pushed over the edge and be forced to do something uncharacteristic. He is also involved in illegal actions as determined by the initial scenes of the film. |
| Jason Reynolds | A young police office who has a basic distrust and bigotry toward people (especially younger people) in general. The force has taken a toll on him as he sees conspiracy's and deviance all around him when it doesn't exist. The nature of his profession has effected his personnel life as well. |
| Dan Dirik | The caring boyfriend who becomes the victim of society by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This character represents the good nature which society is lacking. |
| Megan | Dan's girlfriend and the subject of Jason's alternate reality. |
| Debbie Renolds | Jason's overly concerned wife. Her inability to control her fear and emotions is the reason why Jason returns to the streets. |
| Rachel | Megan's friend and confidant. Rachel is the voice of reason in which Megan needs to hear for her own sanity. |
| Steve, Ray & Tim | The three other guys at the party. They are the reason why Mahzino goes over the edge. |
| Thug 1 & 2 | Members of the mob who confront Santos and set the tone for the movie. |
| News Caster | The person responsible for delivering the news about the cop that has been shot which in turn sets Debbie's character into emotional overdrive. |
The script was actually conceived over a period of time from different ideas that eventually became one story. The largest influence however came in the spring of 1994. While Michael Mowery was attending Salisbury State University, he viewed a music video put together by Scott Bethke. The premise of the video was very simple. It was a collection of movie clips showing people in emotional distress, suicide sequences, depressed conditions and death sequences to the music bed of "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.
This piece was very moving, but it was also very dark. It began the creative process. This led to the writing of a suicide one act that was to be used as a production at Salisbury. The scene was put on the shelf as other ideas were being developed.
While penning the script for the follow up to Searching For A Glory, Mowery dusted off the idea once more. While many ideas were written and developed, the problem became molding the ideas into a single story. This idea was a little dark even though it was a dramatic production. Finally, Mowery decided not to do another sequel and develop a film around this idea.
The second part of the writing process was learning from mistakes of the previous scripts. A conscience effort was made to only use two or three people in all scenes. This way serious reconstruction of the script would not have to occur as it has happened in the past.
The final challenge was that Mowery had this vision of intertwining multiple pot lines through the perspective of various points of view. The bases for this came from such films as The Usual Suspects where the story was driven by the written word and not huge action sequences. It also represents that a thinking audience is the target because the script would present many possible endings. The real trick here is that based on a persons own values, each of the three endings would have a different affect on each person.
The multiple endings is cleverly written as the second half of the film. The action continues to move forward. Its not so much as three endings as much as it is three different peoples perspective of the same event and how their own character perceives the situation.
Philadelphia area casting
There were a few major problems with this production. The first (as stated in this site) is that the actors from One Size Fits Ed (Bill Shute, Chad Damiani and Steve Meagher) were originally casted in the three main roles. Bill as Jason, Steve as Dan and Chad as Mahzino. The very first casualty was Steve. Availability became a concern especially because the script was not complete. At this point, Chad's roommate at the time (Lance Privatera) would step into the role.
Now that the principle characters were in place, or so it was believed. Reviewing the script, it was easier if Lance were to play one of the three friends of Mahzino and his and Chad's apartment was used for the set. Once again the role of Dan needed to be filled. Finally making the decision to appear on screen (something originally not designed) Michael Mowery took on the role of Dan Dirik.
Also at this point of the script, some backstory for the Mahzino character needed to be added in order to fully understand the complexity of him. This was where the opening scene of the beating takes place in the gym came from. Nick Gianinni was casted in the lead Thug role for many reasons. First, he looked and sounded the part. Secondly, since he and Michael Mowery worked together, it was easy to get together to film a few of the city shots required.
Now the leads were in place, attention was given to the supporting roles. Mike turned to some more fresh faces to cast the female leads.
The first role of Debbie Reynolds was narrowed down to a few finalists. The first choice was Rose Christy. She had appeared in the Abbott & Costello production and showed promise. Rose was then re-casted as Rachel because it required less time on the set. In the end, after speaking with many people, it was decided that Christina Witcherman would play the part because she looked similar in age to Bill and they would be believable as a couple on screen.
The role of Megan (Dan's girlfriend) also so frequent changes. Since a few other roles were already casted from Mowery's work, he turned there once again. Now that he was playing Dan, he wanted someone who he was comfortable with. The person that played this part also had to look younger than the person playing Megan but still old enough and attractive enough to not only be believable as Dan girlfriend but also the object of Jason's illusion. The first choice for the role was Carrie Krass. She was definitely attractive enough but she was in the same age range as the other actors and had a limited availability. Still she was the choice until she left her job which made it more difficult to get together with her. The producers then went with a completely different look. Tara Gorney fit the mold because she was younger but still very attractive. In the end she did agree to play the role. Like many other productions, availability became an issue. It was difficult to get multiple people together. It was at this time that Mowery began talking to an old friend from college, Mandy Brooks. It became clear she had an interest in the role and eventually won it out.
A cameo role of sorts in the film is that of the News Caster. It is a small role but very important as it sets the tone for eh Reynolds storyline. The very first thought was to cast Frank Repici. This would have reprised his role last seen in Buddy Boys: The Movie II The Search For The Golden Roll. The next thought was to give the role to Nick Troiano since he was unable to be in Searching For A Glory. Both ideas were dismissed as the the producers wanted the cast to be a closer knit crew. Joe McGroarty was actually consider for this role and the other Thug role. At last James P. Hall was casted in the role.
Joe McGroarty was considered briefly for a third role as well. It was the role of the announcer. The announcer had two small dialogues (basically the plot synopsis above) that played over establishing shots to set the tone of the film. He was passed over for an on screen role. Mowery again turned to the Dave & Buster's staff for the role. Jim Haney had the right voice and characteristic for the role and was granted it.
Now that the majority of parts were casted, another wrench was thrown into the works. A promotion was offered to Michael Mowery. The problem, it was in South Florida. When Mowery accepted the role, the film was delayed, again.
Miami area casting
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Starting the process over was no easy task. First the entire project was put on hold for the move, settling in the new job and getting to know a lot of new people. Then one night a conversation about the film started. Nick Gianinni (who also made the move to Florida) began talking about the possibility of doing the film in Florida. A few script changes were necessary but no real over haul.
So the process began again. Gianinni and James P. Hall will reprise they roles. That is great but they are supporting characters. Michael Mowery will also reprise his role of Dan Dirik. The role of Mahzino was also tough to cast. No one truly fit the part perfectly so the search would continue. The one person most likely to be casted was a New York transplant Gary Levine. For the final lead of Jason, a few candidates did surface. Mowery would look no further than is own roommates. Tim Sullivan and Bill Etkin were both given serious consideration. Tim would take the role of Tim which allowed Etkin to be casted as Jason.
The female characters saw many potential casting options as well. The role of Debbie Reynolds generated the most interest. The reason is that it is a featured role but only has a few scenes. The three finalists were MacKenzie Roberts (who would eventually be casted as Rachel), Trish Moore and Meg Liberace. Meg (whom Mowery knew from Philadelphia) accepted the role. The final female role of Megan also started out with a few candidates. When Mowery first got to Florida, he worked closely with the Front Desk staff. As a result, MacKenzie Roberts and Jennifer Cox were considered but neither was offered the role. It didn't take long to see that a relationship was building between Mowery and Michelle Anderson. They got along very well and were comfortable with each other. That relationship would come across well on screen. Michelle also fit the requirements that became so difficult to find in Philadelphia. She was granted the part.
Before the remaining roles were cast, another bump in the road occurred. Mowery left the area to pursue another employment opportunity. Once again, the ARCHAIC script was put on the shelf.
It is bittersweet for Mowery to constantly put this project on hold. He still believes that the script is one of the most clever and interesting things he has written. Every so often, the script is taken out and worked on a little, but then is returned to the shelf. With the company working on many other projects there is no immediate plans to resurrect this script any time soon.