Spotlight on...Daniel Smarg

Author: Justine Katzenbach

Middlebury College community members gathered in Dana Auditorium on Sunday, Oct. 1 as Dan Smarg '05.5 debuted his feature length film, "Endzone." The completion of the film was a significant accomplishment for both Smarg and Middlebury actors Daniel Di Tomasso '06, Macleod Andrews '07.5, Evan Dumouchel '06.5, John Rayburn '06.5 and Will Damron '09, as they managed to produce one of Middlebury's lengthiest student films in an effective and powerful manner. Here, Smarg shares his insight into the "Endzone" filming process. For more information, visit www.mfilmworks.com

The Middlebury Campus: Could you give a brief plot summary of "Endzone?" Under what genre of film would you categorize it?

Dan Smarg: A co-production of MAVERICK Filmworks, Inc. and Steeltoe Productions, "Endzone" is a feature length thriller about a kidnapping gone terribly awry. The writing on the back of the DVD is as follows: Daniel Di Tomasso '06, Macleod Andrews '07.5, Evan Dumouchel '07, John Rayburn '07 and Will Damron '09 team up with director, Dan Smarg '05.5 in this twisting tale of severed friendship and deadly gamesmanship about Tony [Tomasso], an aging, ex-All American quarterback who leads a motley crew of his old football buddies into one final power play. The plan - to kidnap Hugh [Andrews], a successful young attorney. But when their prank goes terribly awry, the players are forced from the field by an unexpected twist of fate that obliterates their defensive line.

TC: What was the message that you were trying to convey to your audience through the creation of this film?

DS: I try not to convey any one particular message in my interpretation of a story. Rather, it is my goal to present a specific vision of a particular conflict between characters. In this film, the characters experience a radical transformation in their lifelong friendship. For example, to illustrate this emotional descent, I employed a variety of graphic motifs such as high contrast bars of light and shadow to emphasize a pervasive sense of moral incarceration. In more simple terms, I did my best to create a frigid environment in which to invite the audience to experience the characters' dilemmas. As a direct result of kidnapping Hugh, their particular environment evolves from comid to tragic.

TC: What experiences during your time at Middlebury influenced you to create this film?

DS: I never took production classes at Middlebury because I always focused on generating my own shooting schedules. This is not to say that there wasn't a substantial learning curve. Therefore, the experience that motivated me the most was my desire to consistently produce material that would apply the theoretical concepts from my studies of film history to a fully commercial, feature format.

TC: What other movies were inspirations for "Endzone?"

DS: Now that the film is in the can, I can honestly say that the whole idea stemmed from a prank I was very seriously considering [doing] a few years ago. What you're watching is what I imagined might go wrong. In terms of aesthetic style, much is derived from an amalgamation of creative influences from directors William Wyler, David Lean and William Friedkin, while also running in the vein of Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs."

TC: This film also incorporated local Middlebury community members. How did their involvement influence the direction of the film?

Local resident David Dupoise gave us carte blanche to use his home at our discretion. When producer Christina Wehry found the place up in the snow-laden hills, we never thought our ideal location would actually come through. But David's daughter, Emmiline, had just been accepted to the NYU Tisch School in film studies and he thought helping us would be a good way to circulate positive creative energy. Matt Bruch, who is actually an ex-Hollywood stunt car driver also participated. He helped with the opening sequence and in providing a gnarly looking rusted out van for the crime. Sheriff Don Keeler came to our rescue when we needed a patrol car and advice on how to shoot someone without actually killing him. Don was integral to keeping the film safe and professional. All these people are inspirations.

TC: A feature length film seems as though it would be a difficult task to achieve - especially with a low budget, time constraints and a general lack of equipment. What were some of the obstacles that hindered you and why did you feel it was so important to make this film longer rather than shorter in length?

DS: Our cinematographer left with his camera and crew a week into the shoot. He thought the schedule was too intense. His opinion, not mine. So I had to deal with that. The cast was entirely supportive. Guerilla style filmmaking sharpens your fangs. I want to work in Hollywood, and if you want to work in Hollywood you have to have sharp teeth. Yet there is still absolutely no guarantee you'll get projects. That's the scary part. You spend your whole childhood and college education in development for a career that could potentially lead you to a variety of dead ends. Ultimately, you have to be obsessed. Completing a feature is obsessive work 24-7. Sometimes it can be a very vicious process.

TC: Where are you now? What are the plans for "Endzone" in the future?

DS: I am living in Hollywood now about ten minutes away from the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held. I know that there are 37 steps to the top of that marble terrace and when you stand there and you look back towards the boulevard, you see the blank marquees for Best Picture stretching out along the columns all the way up to the year 2050. But the most amazing part about the place is that there are many empty spaces on those walls. "Endzone" is not likely to change that. But for the people involved in creating it, I hope the film is the first step towards filling some of those 44 voids.