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Lights! Camera! Action!
11/01/2005 - By Kristin Weston Long-time Colts Neck resident Dave Scotti , an actor and a producer, discusses the movie industry, his experiences on both sides of the camera, and his ambitions for the future.
Originality is the name of the game when it comes to local actor/producer Dave Scotti's films that he hopes will one day be ranked with the classics. The many masks modeled by an actor create characters of all emotions and personalities. Depending on the mask, the character played by an actor or the actor himself can become one of lasting significance...a classic!
Actor/producer Dave Scotti is artistically inclined, which ultimately drives him to put everything he's got into his acting, producing, and writing. His number one goal in the film business is to make original films that will stand the test of time. As an avid reader of literature and an up-and-coming actor, who is involved with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Actors Equity,Scotti is breaking new ground in the film business, acting and producing shorts and feature films that stray away from the cheap thrills that are more or less predictable in present-day theater presentations. Scotti makes sure that, in his words, originality, passion, and mystery go into his acting, films, and writing. Scotti's overall goal is to interest his audience and keep 'em coming back for more. LICN met with the charismatic actor in mid-September to discuss what it's really like to be in the film business and what mask he might be fitting for.
LICN: Have you lived in Colts Neck your entire life?
DS: Almost. Since I was nine. I remember when Colts Neck was considered to be the sticks, like a little backwoods community. And now Bruce Springsteen and Queen Latifah live down the street.
LICN: Is being a filmmaker/actor something you've always aspired to be?
DS: Without question. Since I was 17. I was probably an actor as a kid, but just didn't know it. I started in New York doing theater, then moved to Los Angeles for ten years. I had a recurring role (Vito) on General Hospital; I ran a coffee warehouse for Sonny, the lead on the show. It wasn't one of those big contract parts, but it was growing bigger and bigger and went on for a few months until I went in one day and they said the coffee warehouse has burned down and you were inside. So, it was back to square one. I had started writing my own screenplays, and I was offered a lot of money for a comedy caper that I wrote with my father, but they wouldn't let me play the co-lead. So we opened our own production company called Shadowbrook Productions, and we made our first feature, Docs and Robbers. We're now trying to find a distributer.
LICN: How long has your company been up and running?
DS: Two years.
LICN: Did you wind up shooting any films in LA, or were you in any other soap operas or sitcoms?
DS: I did a short film called The Right Hook that won the HBO Arts festival and the New York Comedy Film Festival and launched the director's (Luke Greenfield) film career. He went on to direct The Animal and The Girl Next Door. HBO is considering it for their short film schedule.
LICN: Do you have anyone in particular who has inspired you to be in this type of business?
DS: Marlon Brando... one of the few geniuses in the business. He brought more to a screenplay than the writer did. Stroking the cat in The Godfather, stuffing his cheeks for jowls to look like a bulldog, none of that was in the script. Just pure Brando. I also like the fact that he took nothing too seriously.
LICN: How long have you been in the film business?
DS: Most of my life. I started acting in high school. I did theater for years, but was always involved in films; student films, independent films. I'm still not where I want to be, though. But I just can't see myself in a corporate office for the rest of my life. I can't. I just can't do it. I'd rather be doing this.
LICN: What kind of films do you primarily produce?
DS: Comedies, so far. Unfortunately, when you make a comedy it's almost impossible to get a wide release unless a major star is attached to it, or it's something like My Big Fat Greek Wedding that indirectly had Tom Hanks behind it. But the next film I'm doing, Mug Shot - which my friend Frank Perrotto is directing and producing- will be a drama. A Bonnie and Clyde type feature film. I'm done with shorts. The Right Hook was a really successful short. I came across a book at Barnes & Noble that actually devoted an entire chapter to the film and I thought to myself, this is as successful as a short film can get. But it didn't really get me anywhere. So I decided to stop doing shorts. There isn't a great market for them. The point is if that had been a feature, I'd be successful right now. And I put so much effort into it.
LICN: Have you ever had any interest in other types of film, like drama or horror?
DS: I like all films, especially classics.
LICN: What would you say is your biggest accomplishment in the business as of yet?
DS: My feature film Docs and Robbers. I did it from nothing. We started from zero and created the story, screenplay, money, cast, crew, all the locations, unions, editing, and music without any resources whatsoever. Just putting together a feature film is a monumental task.
LICN: Do you have any films that you are working on now?
DS: I'm getting ready to do the movie Mug Shot, playing an ex-con. I'm not producing it, so I can just concentrate on acting. The ultimate goal with this movie is to stray from the norm. Almost every movie now is a re-make of some sort. If you're a major film star, you can make any script you want. You can say "I want to shoot the phone book" and producers will line up at your door. And what do these stars do? They pick the most mediocre, rehashed scripts out there. The average cost of a Hollywood movie now is 100 million dollars. Can you believe that?! If these stars didn't take their usual 25 million dollar paycheck, and went outside the studios to make a quality film, they could do it for 5 million dollars. And make a profit at the same time. But it's not happening because they have their power agent in one ear and their publicist in the other, and they're terrified that their next movie won't make a zillion dollar profit. So we're hoping that Mug Shot is something fresh and unpredictable...just pure, aesthetic filmmaking. And maybe the public will respond to that. This is really the Dark Ages for the film industry, but there is a glimmer of hope. The public is fed up with the garbage that's being released and it's showing at the box office.
LICN: Did you go to college? Where?
DS: I went to New York University, where I received a B.F.A. in drama, and USC Graduate School, an M.F.A. in acting.
LICN: How do you get your funding for your films?
DS: Begging and pleading. Just kidding. It's private funding from the Monmouth County area. I just start where I can, and persevere. I had an old high school friend- who I hadn't seen in years- step forward and write a check for Docs and Robbers. It was the first check, and it was funny because I hadn't seen him in years. It just floored me and I will never forget that. And once one person stepped forward, everybody started to step forward.
LICN: Do you shoot with 35-millimeter or digital?
DS: We've shot in both. 35-millimeter for our short films, and HD for our feature. Digital is definitely the wave of the future. At first I was worried it would look like video, and then we used it. I was amazed at the quality.
LICN: Where would you say you're at your most creative during the filming process?
DS: In front of the camera. But I must say that the actual acting is only part of a screen performance. The editor may be the most important creative job on a film. They can destroy a performance or make it brilliant. If you and I are acting a scene, and I'm listening to you speak, and I choose not to answer you immediately...maybe I'm thinking about what you've said. The editor may decide to cut that pause, changing that moment forever. For better or worse, depending on the editor's talent.
LICN: Where do you get your ideas for a certain film?
DS: Certain circumstances, or something I hear, or a person I meet. My daughter said something to me once about these kids picking on the "fat girl" in class and this whole movie jumped into my head. It was so cinematic. It's like the experience when you meet a person who's a "character." My father introduced me to a doctor who was not your usual doctor. He had a tattoo and an earring, but it turned out that he was a great doctor. And that's where the idea for Docs and Robbers came from. It just presents itself to you. It's those moments that you have to let your imagination soar. All those great film moments are born there. Brando with the cat, De Niro saying, "You talking to me?" into the camera, all spontaneous momoents. That's what people remember.
LICN: What is it about acting or filmmaking that drives you?
DS: It's my outlet. If you're an artist, you need to find your outlet. I considered music and writing, but I found that acting was just it. And you have to be extremely screwed up to choose acting as your outlet (he laughs). Show me a healthy, psychologically stable person and I'll show you a bad actor. The great actors who became "normal" seem to lose their talent.
LICN: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
DS: On a film set trying to remember my lines.
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