Tell me a little about your film “Silicon Beach”?
Silicon Beach is about an actor (Lucas) who just isn’t finding success, so he takes a temp job at a tech company called “Roomie.” As an outsider, he finds winning and keeping the job more challenging than expected.
As Lucas struggles to fit in with his precocious millennial coworkers, he learns that ‘the real world’ might actually be more absurd than his Hollywood dream.
Who is the main character and tell me about the cast?
Oliver Singer plays the protagonist, Lucas. I cast Oliver because he is a true ‘heavy,’ in old Hollywood parlance. Oliver is a thoughtful and powerful force — and also a director, so he always has an eye on the bigger picture.
Oliver and I both believe that Lucas is a truly talented actor who just hasn’t gotten his break yet… so we infused the character with Oliver’s natural weight, countered by my own heightened (neurotic) sensitivity to the people around him. This made for great tension.
But the real charm is that Lucas is surrounded by this extraordinary ensemble cast of collaborators, old and new. Every single character antagonizes Lucas in their own way. To witness the actors explore the conflict-ridden scenes was one of the most joyful experiences I’ve ever had. Each cast member brings a unique personality to their character and breathes life into what might otherwise have been a caricature on the page. Maybe you could interview me 12 more times, I could do an interview for each of them?
How long did it take you to write it?
I wrote iterations of Silicon Beach while moonlighting at tech companies the last couple years; mostly sketches about feeling like an outsider in Los Angeles. Making quixotic choices while watching everyone else around me move forward with their lives and careers. You know, quarter-life crisis stuff. But when a bigger film I was about to shoot got delayed this summer, I went into a rage blackout and fleshed out this script in a matter of days while sleeping on friends couches in New York city. (It’s no accident that Roomie is a couch-surfing app.) Also, I’m not angry anymore.
Have you finished filming “Silicon Beach” ?
Yes– Producer Max Silver and Cinematographer Stephen Tringali functioned like a well oiled machine. Because of them, we were able to shoot the entire film in the month of November, make our days, and have an amazing time while doing it.
How long did it take?
16 shoot days, with 2 days off between each week.
What’s the progress of the kickstarter?
We were lucky enough to clear our goal after 4 days! Everything raised beyond this point will support the rest of post production costs. We are grateful for any contributions, and are always eager to connect with new backers.
Are you planning to submit it to film festivals?
South by Southwest is our target festival because of the overlap with the tech world. But there are several younger prestige festivals that align with our themes and target audience so we’ll just have to play by ear!
Max Gold is the writer/director of Silicon Beach and BEAST (2017). He also directs commercials and music videos.
Follow this creative artist on social media and please support his film.
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maxgold/silicon-beach-a-tech-startup-thriller-feature-film
Max Gold twitter: https://twitter.com/blindhummingbrd?lang=en
Blind Hummingbird Productions: https://www.facebook.com/blindhummingbird/