The camera is a character in Rod McCall’s Slice & Dice, a no-holds-barred dissection of a disintegrating California marriage. As six old friends gather to help two others decide whether to stay together or split up, they take turns interrogating each other on-camera. As the interviews progress, it rapidly becomes apparent that the hosts are not alone in being at a crisis point. "Often when you see video it’s as a substitute for film," says McCall. "Here it’s an organic part of the story. It’s natural for actors to do things like talk into the camera, and the structure affords (characters) a chance to delve into each other’s secrets." The cast includes Alanna Ubach, Caroleen Feeney and Dan Gunther who all previously worked together in Denise Calls Up.

McCall is best known for his first feature, Paper Hearts, a Western romance starring Sally Kirkland that premiered at Sundance in 1993. Before turning to features he directed and produced numerous award-winning TV commercials and directed film segments for "Saturday Night Live." His second feature, Lewis & Clark & George, starred Rose McGowan and premiered in the American Spectrum section of Sundance ’97, eventually playing on both Cinemax and HBO and getting a video release from BMG. McCall says he and producer Ed Cathell put Slice together "on a guerrilla budget" with some help from Paramount-based Todd Harris, an old friend who produced both Lewis and Denise and is on board here to help market and sell Slice.

Principal photography at a rambling home in the Silverlake section of L.A. was completed over six days last summer with cinematographer Michael Mayers (Joe the King), another veteran of both Lewis and Denise, juggling 35mm, Super-16mm and Hi-8 digital. Slice was blown up to 35mm during postproduction and features a modern jazz score composed by Ron Pedley. The film is now complete, and all rights are available.

Cast: Caroleen Feeney, Alanna Ubach, Dan Gunther, Holly Riddle, Paula Sorge, Tony Crane, Juan Fernandez, Daniel Quinn. Crew: Executive Producer, Dan Bennett; Producer, Rod McCall & Ed Cathell III; Screenwriter/Director, Rod McCall; Cinematographer, Michael Mayers; Production Design, John Huke; Editor, Edgar Burcksen; Score, Rod Pedley; Acting Producer’s Rep, J. Todd Harris. Contact: Rod McCall, Percha Pictures, Inc., 300 Main Street, Hillsboro, NM 88042. Tel/Fax: (505) 895-3399, E-mail: filmcowboy@zianet.com.

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