Making low budget movies isn't easy, especially in Milwaukee. Christian Otjen, writer and director of "Lady in the Box," which opens locally today, deserves credit for creating a stylish and entertaining mystery.
The talented filmmaker, who calls Milwaukee home and has a promising future, talked with us about the challenges of low budget filmmaking, what it's like to shoot a movie here, getting a chance from Marcus Theaters and more.
OnMilwaukee.com: Why did you set and film "Lady in the Box" in Milwaukee?
Christian Otjen: Mostly for budgetary reasons. I was born and raised in Shorewood so I know the area and knew that we could get some of the crew. I based the plot on things I had or could obtain to keep the budget low. I had a boat and I had a slip on the water so I started to get the story from what I had within my grasp.
OMC: Where did you film?
CO: Barnacle Bud's was one of our main locations, which is right next to Skipper Bud's down on the KK (Kinnickinnic) river. We were at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Shorewood dump, Memorial Hospital, out on Lake Michigan and a house on Dean Rd.
OMC: How important is the look of the movie in terms of progressing the story and creating a certain atmosphere?
CO: Very important. A lot of it's dark and most of our shooting days were at night. Almost the whole story takes place at night. That has a dramatic effect on setting the mood of the film. My objective as a filmmaker is to make something that you can't tell only cost a million bucks. It's got to be able to play, somewhat, with the big boys.
OMC: Was it easy to film a movie in Milwaukee?
CO: It's tough to get crew. Most of the crew in town is used to working on commercials for just a couple of days, so their rates are a little higher. We had to get crew from all over the place. Three people came in from Detroit. We had budgetary restraints but I tried to hire as many local people as possible.
OMC: Do you plan on filming more movies here?
CO: Yes. I'm working on a couple of scripts right now. One is set in a small town that wouldn't be Milwaukee but the other one is set in Milwaukee. For the one that isn't in Milwaukee we'll use a small town that's maybe three hours from here or something like that.
OMC: Was it hard to raise money for the film?
CO: Yes and no. Originally I put up some of my own funds because I felt good about the project and that made it easier to raise capital. You can say that I'm not only writing the script and directing but I also threw money in the kitty, too. And then we received outside funding from five different sources.
OMC: Was it easy getting the cast as well?
CO: Yeah. Basically we had four people from L.A. I did about three or four days of casting out there. The rest we got through Jennifer's Talent. They did a great job and were very helpful with local casting.
OMC: When did you start writing the project and what influenced you?
CO: I started writing in the beginning of 1999. I had been working on a different script and hit a wall. I wasn't being creative on it. From wanting to jump into a new idea I just started "Lady in the Box."
OMC: Is this a genre you like to work in? Have you worked in it before?
CO: This is my first experience in this style. I do like it but the other scripts I'm writing are more hardcore drama. I don't want to pin myself down.
OMC: Are you hoping to get theatrical distribution for the film?
CO: That's what we're looking for. This is like a test run in Milwaukee. We're going to be doing distribution city by city or, if it does really well here, we might get picked up by a major distributor, who'd do it all at once.
OMC: How does that work? How does a distributor get a chance to see it?
CO: We've already had a lot of screenings. Depending on what it makes in Milwaukee, that information goes across their desk. They remember hearing about the movie and see that it's only in six theaters and making so much money, so why don't we pick it up.
OMC: Where has it played already? Film Festivals?
CO: We were at Cinequest in San Jose, Calif. (where the programming director called it a "real audience-pleaser") and CineVegas in Las Vegas. We also just got into the Florida Film Festival, which is in Orlando at Universal Studios in June and we're screening over in Cannes (at the Cannes Film Festival in France).
OMC: How did you get the movie into Marcus Theaters locally?
CO: We approached Marcus to donate a theater for the screening by donating a video of the movie. They really liked it and agreed to donate a theater for us. They then proposed doing a test market here.
OMC: How long will it show here?
CO: We have a two-week commitment and if it's doing well it'll play for three.
"Lady in the Box" is currently playing in Milwaukee. Check our movie guide for location and times. To read a review, click here.
