This has been a year of hyped movie sequels, reboots, books-turned-into-movies, spinoffs and great flicks.
While the great big mega-corporations waddle around the big screens this December, independent artists are also looking to stake their claim in the world of film. Pasha Eshghi, a recently graduated UBC Film School student, is releasing his pitch into the game this December — an internet series called Swerve. The six-part series is an action comedy with 12 minute long episodes revolving around a limousine driver.
Reuben, the protagonist, is the character through which we see the criminals and "whackjobs" who make use of his services.
“There is an arc which goes throughout, but each episode is its own story in itself. Most episodes have their own character ... a passenger in the limo which it revolves around,” said Eshghi.
He describes the protagonist, played by Louis Dupuis, as “an ex-military man, dishonourably [and] honourably discharged.” In terms of character, he is “very gullible, very likeable [and] always trying to please his passengers.” As a result of his passengers “lead him into outrageous situations.” Closer to the end of the series, events do begin to tie in as Reuben experiences some character development.
Of course, a little bit of star power is always a great addition to a young artists’ force. For Eshghi, that would be Vancouver’s own Alexander Ludwig of The Hunger Games fame — the two of them were high school buddies. Although Ludwig was filming Vikings in Ireland, they flew him in for a day to play the character of Dr Delucchi — described by Eshghi as a complete psychopath and Reuben’s ironic court-ordered therapist. The insane madman shouldn’t be in any position counsel anyone let alone our amiable protagonist.
“It was really a blast working with the cast,” Eshghi said. “The level of professionalism was great and it was awesome.”
The crew, who was comprised of volunteers for the most part, was valuable in his endeavour as well. They used a camera capable of shooting at a resolution of 6K, which is able to create a considerably visible difference in picture quality.
"Almost always, there’s a tug-o-war between the director and the producer,” he said. "I'm thinking about both sides of the coin ... I'd say that's the most challenging part."
Swerve will be premiered in December. For fans of smaller movies who prefer fresh, young faces of non-Hollywood actors over the fleshy likenesses of what the industry likes to continually pump out, the series will be an entertaining show.
The Kickstarter campaign ends at the end of the month and the processes of making the web series can be followed online.
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