Even with its relatively few shortcomings, Fissure is still worth a look. It’s especially great fun to see how director Russ Pond has taken two distinct genres – sci-fi and crime – and melded them together in a unique way. In so doing, Pond has made unexpected fissures in our movie plot expectations, and mostly with great success.

If you get a chance, go read the full review.

The reviewer also spoils one of the key plot twist in the movie. So, if you haven’t seen Fissure, and you want to keep it a mystery, then you may want to wait.

Note: Interestingly, at the bottom of the review, there’s a picture of our poster and a link to buy the DVD. That’s cool, but our DVD isn’t out yet. So, don’t get all excited.

We recently hired two producer reps out of LA to represent Fissure: Zac Reeder and Glen Reynolds at Circus Road Films. They will be managing our distribution. Currently, all rights are still available for Fissure.

Stay tuned. We hope to have Fissure on the shelves of movie rental stores and on your cable or satellite channel by the end of the year.

Also, you can watch James Macdonald’s interview from AFI Dallas:

For those of you who missed the live interview, check it out here:

Engineering and business marketing are not typically a director’s forte–unless you’re Russ Pond, who pulled triple duty as the director/producer/editor of Fissure, his first full-length film and an entry in this year’s Texas Competition. The corporate escapee talks about his feature-length foray, hoodwinking an audience and what it’s like to film in Dallas.

What drew you to the script?

By page 10 of reading the script I thought, “This is pretty interesting.” Then by page 20, I thought, “What is going on here?!” I realized if I could translate that feeling onto the screen that would make a great little movie.

The script has a lot of adult material–the pill popping, depression, violence–but it’s ultimately uplifting. Was that a priority for you?

I really go for redeeming stories. The script was a lot darker when we first got it, but we worked really hard with Nick [Turner, the film's screenwriter]. He was great to work with, very open to the changes. His main concern was making sure I didn’t break the science.

Since the story is told through the main character’s point of view, the audience is just as confused as he is through much of the film. How have audiences reacted to that?

At screenings, we heard the audience whispering things like, “What’s going on?” That was
a plus to filming the story that way, but it also takes awhile to get things rolling because we had to set up so much for the plot.

The story starts off with a typical “haunted cop” scenario—James McDonald (lead actor) even looks like Michael Chiklis. Were you going for a Shield-type feeling?

We purposely built up a lot of those stereotypes–the substance abuse, the troubled past. We kind of lead the audience to believe that all the weirdness going on is because of what he’s going through, but then bam, we twist things really unexpectedly. But we also put in tons of clues throughout the movie that give you an idea of what’s really going on.

So much of the movie depends on playing with sequence. Did that present filming challenges?

Continuity was a big challenge, but we had a great crew, which made it go smoothly. We would shoot out each room, so all the living room scenes were shot at once, all the bedroom scenes. That kept the time of day consistent. I also had to trust the audience to let go and be open to the story.

A lot of those challenges stem from the sci-fi elements of the film. Was that subject matter intimidating?

I spent 20 years as an engineer, so the science and the physics aspects of the script really intrigued me. I’ve told my wife that if we cancel our cable subscription, I would still need the Discovery Channel and the Sci-Fi Channel to survive. Because I’m such a sci-fi fan, I saw that part of the movie as a way to challenge other fans of the genre.

How does that science and corporate background affect your filmmaking?

From my career I learned a lot about scheduling, budgeting, and other business aspects that other filmmakers don’t really know about. So producing a film was relatively easy for me, but the artistic directing side was more challenging.

Besides producer and director, you also had editing duties for the movie. Was that difficult to balance?

As a producer I had to make decisions about cutting this scene, saying no to this or that, so I kind of had to be the bad cop. But as the director you need to make everyone happy, so it would have been easier to have a separate person be the bad cop producer.

I originally intended just to put together a rough cut and have someone else edit. But then I started doing the first scene, and I saw the film just come alive. I got so excited watching and engaging in that process that I just couldn’t stop. I would sometimes spend 14 or 15 hours a day editing.

What was it like to film in Dallas?

The crew was great, the locations were great. The crew worked so well together–there was no yelling on the set. We wanted to keep it local because there’s so much great talent here. It also really helped keep the budget down–we didn’t have to fly people in or go all over the place to get shots.

Any plans for another feature?

Well, I have three things I want to accomplish when I make a movie: One–make movies that make a difference. Two–make a profit for my investors. And three–I want to do it again.

Fissure accomplished all those, and we have lots of investor interest in more projects. It’s really just a matter of getting a business plan together, but with three film festivals coming up it’s been hard to find time. But if things go well, I should start working on another feature this summer.

Fissure screens at 5 pm March 28 @ Angelika 7, and again at 7:30 p.m. April 3 @ Magnolia 5.

Making it in Texas: What are the benefits? Is there an effective local network of filmmakers and industry to support independent film production today and into the future? How has the new Texas incentive grant program impacted production in Texas?

Moderator: Chris Kelly, Critic Star-Telegram Panelists: Bob Hudgens, Director of the Texas Film Commission; Garry Brown, Producer; and Russ Pond, Director/Producer “Fissure”

The discussions are held on the beautiful 16th floor Wet Deck at the W Dallas Victory Hotel on Monday, March 31st at 5:30 p.m. They are free and open to industry professionals and AFI DALLAS pass holders.

Below is the article that appeared in the Dallas Morning News this morning. Fissure is mentioned at the end of the article. We’re looking forward to a packed house tonight!

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Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Mickey Rooney light up AFI opening night
Friday, March 28, 2008
By STEPHEN BECKER / The Dallas Morning News

The sounds of familiar cinematic scores wafted through the air. Cameras zoomed and clicked along the jampacked red carpet. Onlookers shouted out the stars’ names as they passed.

All the telltale signs that this was a Big Movie Night were present. And it was.

Thursday night’s festivities at the Majestic Theatre downtown marked the opening of the second annual AFI Dallas International Film Festival. The star of the show was Helen Hunt, the first-time director whose Then She Found Me screened as the festival’s opening-night film.

“It’s a total thrill. I would not have been surprised if I finished the movie and it was never released and I would have gotten to have it in my hands and say, ‘At least I made this,’ ” she said, sporting a silver floor-length dress cut down to there in the back. “So the fact that it’s going to be released in such a big way, the fact that I’m opening a festival of this cultural weight is incredible. Dreams come true.”

Other luminaries walking the red carpet included the night’s other major honoree, fellow Star Award recipient Mickey Rooney, as well as Fort Worth native (and Ms. Hunt’s Twister co-star) Bill Paxton and Josh Brolin, accompanied by his teen daughter, Eden.

The latter pair is here showing the short film X, which Mr. Brolin directed and his daughter stars in. Both father and daughter said working together wasn’t much different than living together.

“It was what you would think it is. We’re very close and we don’t have a lot of that angst going on between us, so it seemed like a fun thing to do,” Mr. Brolin said.

“It was actually really fun,” said Ms. Brolin. “He was very calm about it and he was really open to new things and new ideas, so it was actually really easy working with him and it was fun.”

Once inside, the attendees were treated to a medley of movie music from the Dallas Symphony Chorus, followed by speeches from festival dignitaries and the night’s Star Award recipients. Then, finally, the reason the festival exists: the film.

And, of course, the after party a few blocks away at Neiman Marcus. Film festivals can’t exist without parties, too. Today at AFI:

• The Visitor –Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) directs Richard Jenkins as an economics professor whose life changes when he befriends an immigrant couple in New York. Fine writing and acting. 7:15 p.m., Angelika

• Gonzo – A lively documentary on Hunter S. Thompson, directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side). 7:30 p.m., Magnolia

• Fissure – Local filmmaker Russ Pond directed, produced and edited this detective story. 5 p.m., Angelika

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Click below to watch the AFI Dallas Opening Night ceremonies.

AFI DALLAS International Film Festival 2008 Opening Night Highlights from AFI DALLAS on Vimeo.

Tonight, the festival kicks off with a screening of Helen Hunt’s new movie, Then She Found Me. After the movie, there will be a black tie reception that we’ll be attending as well.

Then, on Friday, we have our World Premiere of Fissure. Very exciting!  Our first screening of Fissure this Friday is already sold out. I’m not sure how we have received so much exposure, but it’ll be fun playing before a pack house for our World Premiere.

We’ll have a smattering of parties and receptions and movies to watch. On Monday, I’ll be part of a panel speaking on filmmaking in Texas. I was asked to join some folks from Prison Break and Missionary Man to speak on shooting in Texas. I’m looking forward to that. I may blog more details later on this event, in case anyone is interested.

We’re still giving away tickets to the Thursday, April 3rd screening of Fissure. To register to win, go to the home page of Fissure, and send an eCard to someone. Every eCard you send is an entry to win tickets.

• Friday, March 28th at 5:00 pm at the Angelika Theater

• Thursday, April 3rd at 7:30 pm at the Magnolia Theater.

Click here to order your tickets online.

For those of you planning to attend the opening screening on Friday, March 28th, we’ll be having a small get together at the Angelika Cafe immediately following the screening from 7 to 8pm. James Macdonald, our lead actor in Fissure, will be joining us at the private event. If you would like to attend the post-screening get together, please let us know so that we can add your name to the invitation list.

We hope to see you there. And if you are planning to attend, be sure to vote for Fissure as your “Audience Favorite”.