My producer Michael Cook and I had the script for "Envy" for a total of six years before we went into production. Over that course of time we looked at just about every possible way to get it made. Ultimately I got sick of saying I was developing a feature script and was going to direct it one day. I decided to make it completely independently.
When it the time came to find cast and crew, I knew I wanted to work with talented like-minded people who were committed to realizing our vision of the film. Over the six years and countless drafts, I cast the film many times over with actors from a few different countries. Some of the actors I originally cast for the short film/trailer version we shot to help raise money for the feature, grew too old to play their parts. Just one original cast member remains, Jeff Truman, who plays the husband. He also stepped in to take the reins of writing during the past five years. His tireless acceptance of my "what ifs" was more interesting because he is also my husband.
Among other pre-production choices, there was really no alternative for our main location ‚ so it became our house. It was the cheapest we could find, and Michael was living in an apartment. As with all such decisions it had numerous unexpected consequences. Shooting at home meant our cast size increased by one. It was more cost effective to write my dog into the script than to put her in a kennel for the period of the shoot.
We then launched into production. The actors and crew agreed to work for below their usual rates, and I was pretty confident that we could get the script shot in five weeks. It was always going to be tight. Unfortunately I hadn't completely taken into account a little thing called winter. "Envy" is set in Sydney in summer and long hot days are part of the story. When we started shooting, it was getting dark at 4.00pm. This meant that our planned five-week schedule quickly became a very, very tight six-week shoot, and we were already over budget.
As well as becoming the major location, my house also provided wardrobe and make-up rooms, a catering facility, the rushes' screening room, and the green room for the cast. My bedroom became the main bedroom for the husband and wife in the film. So, in the morning I'd get out of bed and jump in the shower; then the art department would rush in, change the sheets. While I'd be drying off, the actors would hop into the bed, which would still be warm.
I didn't realize that making a film in your own home could also turn once friendly neighbors into your fiercest enemies. One, an elderly lady who had always been sweet and smiling, now started snarling ‚ "you're not Cecil B De Mille you know". Another, an ex-Olympic swimmer, took it upon herself to close us down with daily phone calls to the local council and the police. When all that failed, she resorted to playing Elton John's "Daniel" on repeat, at full volume on her stereo (neither suitable nor affordable for the soundtrack). Little things started taking on larger significance ‚ like catering. When you're not paying people their regular rate, one way to keep them happy is to feed them well. However, good food doesn't come inexpensively, and after a few attempts at budget meals, the only contented one on set was the dog. We ended up spending my annual household grocery budget feeding the team.
Michael also doubled as driver for most of the cast and some of the crew, as well as being an extra, part-time caterer and underwater camera assistant. I remember seeing him sitting shivering in his bathing suit at one of our major locations after being in the water for six hours. He was looking particularly long-faced. I asked him if he was having fun and he said no quite convincingly.
Being totally independent, I was able to modify the script during the rehearsal weeks and then into the shoot. Jeff, Michael and I would watch rushes every other night, then discuss whether the scenes were working [if not, why not?], if we needed more or less material, and how to make the story better. Sometimes this would mean making changes until the early hours of the morning with Jeff, grabbing a couple of hours sleep, and handing the rewrites to the 1st AD over breakfast ‚ a sure fire recipe for indigestion.
Lots of shoots are shrouded in secrecy, and extreme measures are taken to prevent leaks. We had a leak of another nature. The public swimming pool ‚ our other major location- sprung one. It was losing thousands of litres a day while we were shooting. So, as well as trying to stay warm, we had trouble trying to keep wet. The Environmental Protection Agency decided enough was enough and the pool had to be drained. We got our final shot done just as they pulled the plug.
I shot on Fuji stock for a number of reasons ‚ financial and artistic. The fast stock suited our lighting style ‚ minimal use of lights. However, large quantities of this stock were not available in Australia at the time. It got to the stage where I found myself directing the most emotionally intense, heavily dialogue driven scenes of the movie at 3am on embarrassing short ends of film.
After shooting, we left the film on the shelf until our editor ‚ who lives in Melbourne - was available. We put the house back into shape in time for her to move in. The house now became the hub of our post-production universe. Again we had no money but all the time in the world. With no pressure of a completion deadline hanging over our heads, we were able to experiment liberally with the structure of the film during the editing. This in itself became an invaluable part of the process.
So after seven years "Envy" is finally completed. My dog is fine, my marriage intact, and Michael and I are still working together. Now if someone could only repaint my house.
Press Release
NEXT WAVE FILMS CHOOSES
JULIE MONEY'S "ENVY";
WILL PREMIERE AT
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
— Next Wave to Make Digital Filmmaking Presentation —
NEW YORK (September 3, 1999) — Next Wave Films has chosen "Envy," a provocative new psychological thriller, as its second international feature, president Peter Broderick announced today. Next Wave, a company of the Independent Film Channel, is providing finishing funds and serving as a producer's rep for the film, which was selected from hundreds submitted by filmmakers around the world.
The company will premiere "Envy" in the Discovery Program at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.
The feature debut of Australian director Julie Money, "Envy" follows the unnerving chain of events that occurs when a trio of streetwise teenagers clashes with a suburban family. Produced by Michael Cook, the film stars Linda Cropper and Anna Lise Phillips, was written by Jeff Truman and shot on 35mm by Graeme Wood.
"'Envy' is a striking work," Broderick said. "Julie has taken a powerful script and turned it into a gripping film, driven by haunting performances."
"We're very excited to be working with Next Wave Films," said "Envy" director Julie Money and producer Michael Cook. "Their unique approach will maximize the opportunities for our film to be seen as widely as possible."
In addition to providing finishing funds to first features shot on film, Next Wave Films has been a leading advocate of pioneering efforts in digital production. Peter Broderick will make a major presentation on the state of digital feature filmmaking during the Toronto Film Festival's Symposium 99 on Tuesday, September 14, 1:00 p.m., at the Cumberland 3.
Broderick's up-to-the-minute overview, "The Evolution of the Revolution," will include clips of notable new digital features from around the world, including Peter Greenaway's "Death of a Composer," Nicholas Bruce's
"I Could Read the Sky" and Christopher Browne's "Third World Cop."
Through its production arm, Agenda 2000, Next Wave Films will be financing digital features made by experienced filmmakers for theatrical distribution. Next Wave Films was originally created by the Independent Film Channel to help launch the careers of exceptionally talented new filmmakers. In addition to furnishing finishing funds to outstanding, low-budget English-language features, Next Wave Films provides assistance during postproduction, helps filmmakers implement film festival and press strategies, and assists them in finding distribution by serving as a producer's rep. Its films include Joe Carnahan's "Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane" and Christopher Nolan's "Following," which was shown in the Discovery Program at last year's Toronto Film Festival.
The Independent Film Channel (IFC), managed and operated by Bravo Networks, is the first television network entirely dedicated to capturing and presenting the irreverent style of independent film. Launched September 1, 1994, IFC is available to over 23 million homes. All films are presented unedited and and commercially uninterrupted 24 hours a day.
