Filmmakers Put Creative Control In Audience's Hands

Ever see a movie and wonder just whom the producers were trying to appeal to? The folks at CKrush Entertainment sure did. And so they launched Livemansion: The Movie and went straight to the public for the decisions that matter.

Over at livemansion.com, the latest venture in competitive reality entertainment is in full swing. Only this time, it's not TV, it's the internet, and the winners will find themselves starring in a feature film, and for one individual, directing it. Back in round one, contestants submitted pictures and answered rudimentary questions. Thousands of actors and wannabe-actors submitted for roles that had not even been announced yet. Many advanced to round two, based on the votes of the people, where they selected specific roles to submit for. In round three, their numbers whittled down further, the actors were given monologues for the characters they'd chosen, which they filmed on their own time, on their own equipment, and uploaded to the internet. At the close of round three , twenty-four finalists remained, three for each of eight roles. The finalist were flown to New York City for several days to film scenes, screen-test style, and conduct interviews. The scenes were then screened for a panel of judges- John Leguizamo, Michael Rapaport, Cara Buono, and Al Palagonia- who give lively, insightful, American Idol-style critiques of the work. The scenes and corresponding critiques will be the basis of the final round of voting, which runs from March 26th to April 26th. The winners get a lead role in a theatrically released feature film and a SAG contract.

The director finalists had their own road to success. With each round they submitted examples of their work, first prior ventures, and then new pieces based on scripts they were given. AT the end of round three, five finalists remained, and were given $1000 each to film longer sections of the script. Their final projects were screened for Spike Lee (now an official creative advisor at CKrush), who offered his own criticism to their submissions. These will be posted alongside the actors' work for round four. The winner of course, will find himself at the helm of a feature film slated for national release!

If helping to shape a movie exactly to your liking isn't your cup of tea, then maybe making a Long Islander a movie star is. Levittown native Damian Maffei is a finalist, competing for the role of Jack. Described by Leguizamo as "having a real edge," Maffei is no stranger to the Long Island stage. A frequent leading man at Nassau Community College, he has recently appeared in several community theatre productions in between independent films. He's still waiting for that big break, though . . .