Andy Rothenberg is one of the finest actors I know. He’s also a dear old friend of mine. Seriously, I’ve known the dude for 30 years now. We used to be in a successful sketch group together called Upstage Comedy. These days, you might recognize Andy from such iconic shows as “The Walking Dead”, “True Blood”, and “American Horror Story: Asylum.”
Anyway, Andy lives in New York but has been out here in L.A. on an extended visit. We decided to hang out last week, drink some wine…and watch some horror movies. But BEFORE those rewards, I wanted to make a short film starring Andy. And so I did. These were the only prior notes I gave him:
Bring drab clothes. Unshaven. Depressed. Unable to provide for anyone (including yourself) but still curious enough about things not to kill yourself.
It would be fun to do a thing where you’re feeding squirrels nuts in the park. But you only choose to feed them over yourself. Your nourishment is provided elsewhere.
No dialogue. Just you. And music.
And that was basically it. And he TOTALLY went for it. We had a blast. Andy was so open to all my directions. And he works in real Hollywood. This is a brave actor who GETS it (and, I suppose, it helps that he gets ME.)
So here it is. It’s called “Squirrely.” I hope you like it. Andy’s amazing. Just click the pic below and GO!
WINE PAIRING: Enjoy learning about the German vineyard site, Geisenheimer Rothenberg!
