FILMMAKER MAGAZINE | Spring 1997: PRODUCTION UPDATE

PRODUCTION UPDATE

Adam Bernstein's Six Ways to Sunday is a transgressive tale about a sheltered 17-year-old learning the ropes of sex, death and extortion inside a small time Jewish crime ring. Norman Reedus is Harry, an only child who's had a warped upbringing at the hands of his overly adoring single mom (Debbie Harry). When Harry starts getting blood on his hands and unwanted lipstick on his collar, the pressure triggers what could be a pathological response. Six is an updated adaptation of Portrait of a Young Man Drowning, Charles Perry's 1962 pulp classic.

"Harry's a nice boy caught in a hard place," says Bernstein, who wrote the script with Old School editor Marc Gerald. Isaac Hayes plays Harry's cop nemesis, Elina Lowensohn's his would-be sweetheart, and Adrian Brody's a fellow initiate. Best known for classic videos like the B-52s' "Love Shack" and Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby's Got Back," Bernstein's directing credits also include five episodes of Nickelodeon's "Pete and Pete," a dozen episodes of "America's Most Wanted," and the It's Pat studio film.

Bernstein was making the rounds of potential distributors with Six Ways when he sent a copy to a friend at a literary agency, Zachary Schuster, who shared office space with young producer David Collins and his Scout Productions. Collins had formed Boston-based Scout in '95, co-producing indies Never Met Picasso and Home Before Dark (both in post) last year. He flipped for Six and partnered with Wall Street refugee Michael Naughton, a recent convert to the lure of indie film, to raise "about $1,000,000" in equity financing. The 35mm Six shot 28 days beginning January 13 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island with Daytrippers d.p. John Inwood. Bernstein describes Six as "a color version of a classic B-movie, saturated and moody with all the compositional possibilities afforded by a wider lens." All rights are available.

Cast: Deborah Harry, Norman Reedus, Elina Lowensohn, Adrien Brody, Peter Appel, Holter Graham, Jerry Adler, Isaac Hayes, Anna Thomson. Crew: Producers, Adam Bernstein, David Collins, Michael Naughton; Screenwriters, Bernstein, Marc Gerald; Director, Bernstein; Cinematographer, John Inwood; Production Designer, Teresa Mastropierro. Contact: David Collins, Scout Productions, 45 Newbury Street, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02116. Tel: (617) 421-1630, Fax: (617) 421-1636.