Interview with actor, Salvatore Stella

Salvatore Stella

An interview with the star of Selective Listening, Salvatore Stella.

How did you become involved in Selective Listening?

I’ve known Tim and Miriam since we worked on The Special Effect (2010) and they asked me if I would like to audition for the role of Harrison. Before the audition I told them we would still be friends if I didn’t get the part!

What was The Special Effect?

The Special Effect has a thriller aspect to it but also deals with some mental health issues. It’s a short film with the look and feel of a feature. I loved playing Graham because I got the chance to do both physical and emotional acting.

What were your thoughts on the Selective Listening script when you first read it?

I felt the story had the right balance of humour and drama. I didn’t feel it was trying to force a particular point-of-view or statement upon you, but instead show a the day-to-day experience of a type of person that you don’t get to see very often.

How did you prepare for the role of Harrison?

Harrison is obviously very lonely and doesn’t have much contact with other people. I thought this could be one of the reasons the voices have been able to get such a foot-hold in his life. So, I started examining physical loneliness every time I was alone — on a train, in a café, at home — and what it would be like if this was always the case.

Salvatore Stella as Harrison in Selective Listening

Tim sent me a DVD of a documentary about people with different mental health issues. It was very uncomfortable to watch, as I felt sorry for the people suffering from these afflictions, but it did teach me something essential for Harrison — there are justifiable reasons for not wanting to take medication although without it, the line between hallucinations and reality can become blurred. Occasionally it’s impossible for Harrison to know that what he sees and hears isn’t real. More personal contact from friendly, level-headed people would help him in these circumstances, which is why his mission is to make new friends. Not an easy thing to do!

Some actors like to rehearse, others like to be spontaneous on the day. What is your preference?

I think rehearsals are important, especially for physical scenes, but not too much. You need to leave something for the camera, because you will always do several takes.

How did you find the rehearsals for Selective Listening?

I liked them. Meeting the other actors and feeling comfortable with what we are doing will show on screen. Some dialogue heavy scenes we rehearsed more as Tim wanted some shot in one take.

What factors do you find most important about getting the best performance on-set?

You have to feel comfortable and in a “safe place”. You expose yourself emotionally so whatever method you use to get up to that point you would like to do without interruption or piss-taking.

What differences, if any, do you think there are when acting in a comedy or comedy-drama as opposed to an out-and-out drama?

Obviously things would be lighter on-set with a comedy but as an actor you play the character. Most good comedies don’t have people trying to be funny, they are just being the character in a funny situation.

What are the pros and cons of acting with toys as opposed to other actors?

The pros are that the toys have no egos — not that there were any egos on this set — and they don’t forget their lines! The cons are that I worry I’ll be remembered more as a puppet stand than as Harrison! I will be very upset if the toys get their own TV show!

Sal Stella as Harrison and Phil Gyford as Robin

Was there anything that you found particularly challenging about the shoot?

They only time I had a bit of difficulty was when we shot with the voices interjecting into conversations as written in the script because we had rehearsed without them and I got completely distracted. We had to film the dialogue and leave enough gaps to add in the toys’ comments in post-production. Trying to keep a straight face when working with Phil Gyford was also difficult.

Were there any behind-the-scenes moments on Selective Listening that are particularly memorable?

Any scene where the toys were animated. I have a lot of respect for the toy operators who had to work around me or inside cupboards. Filming outside attracted some funny looks. The whole experience provided a wonderful story to tell of how creative people can adapt when they don’t have a mega budget.

Selective Listening was quite an intense and fast-paced shoot. How did you find it combined with your own personal process, as an actor?

I liked it. “Concentrate on the project, get it done right.” We knew we had time and money constraints and that gave me the motivation to be as ready as I could be. I didn’t want to be the reason the shoot fell behind schedule.

What is your preferred way of working? Do you find it occurs often?

I like meeting the other actors beforehand and doing some rehearsal, but not too many takes! I find discussing the script and character with the director very useful and I was able to do that with Tim and Miriam. I’m flexible, so how I like to work occurs all the time!

Salvatore Stella as Harrison,
surrounded by the voices / toys

After seeing the film for the first time at the premiere, what were your thoughts?

I was very pleased with the result. I finally got a chance to see what the toys were doing behind my back! It does not look like a low budget film, which is a testament to the talent of everyone involved.

For the benefit of any writers, directors or producers who see Selective Listening and decide they want to work with you, what roles would you say you would be most interested in?

Of course I would be interested in playing any role in a quality film, but two roles particularly interest me — either a comedy sketch show or an action role like James Bond or The Transporter, or even fantasy or sci-fi. I have a lot of martial arts and stage combat training and I would love to put it to safe use! Whatever the case, I wouldn’t like to be type cast.

What are you working on at present?

I’m starting to be seen by people who can take my acting to the next level so hopefully I will continue in that direction. My writing has picked up as Selective Listening has shown me the quality you can get with a low budget and a top script. There are high-budget, spectacular stories in my head but they will have to wait!

Salvatore Stella has been awarded Best Leading Actor at the International Independent Film Awards for his portrayal of Harrison in Selective Listening.

Selective Listening is due for release in late 2015. Exact date to be confirmed.

The short film, The Special Effect (2010)

starring Salvatore Stella, Harriet Moran, Sarah Gordy and Phil Gyford:

The Premiere!

Hello!

Tim here.

The evening of Saturday 6th December 2014 saw the Selective Listening premiere for cast, crew and invited guests!

The evening took place at Richmond Upon Thames College's Edmund Kean Theatre. A private screening is something they hadn't hosted before, and was a punt on our behalf when we made the enquiry in the first place. 

(Low-budget indie filmmakers note: you have to get creative when organising a screening. The venue has to be of a standard that will show off your work but is also affordable. Many of the official venues in London do not fulfil the latter criterion.)

It's probably not a huge surprise to say that nerves were a part of the occasion. Miriam and I arrived early – Miriam arranged the reception area for guests with the help of actor Philip Gyford whilst I worked with the RUTC staff to get projection and sound to the best standard possible.

It was great to see the cast and crew come together again. In the film world, this only ever seems to happen for shoots and screenings.  It was also touching to see all friends, family and guests who had made the journey, in some cases travelling cross-country, to be there for the night.

Unfortunately some actors and cast members were not able to attend. Thank you to everyone who did come along!

After a brief introduction from Miriam and myself, the film was underway.

As the writer / director, this is what I've been seeking since the film was complete – to know if the laughs or thrills or emotions are shared by an audience who know little or nothing about what they are about to see. 

I'm happy to say that we appeared to get it right. There were even occasional laughs and gasps at points we didn't predict. It was a great experience.

And I will point out that the theatre was not simply full of cast, crew and friends willing to please by reacting with ease. In a sense the room felt a little more difficult to crack than a room full of people we don't know – there was a lot of anticipation – probably as we've had little else going on in our lives to discuss since May 2013! This had better be good...

Thankfully, the story, performances and efforts of everyone involved had the desired effect. The cast all received applause and a plethora of compliments and we were very happy with the positive one-on-one feedback we received afterwards – from the story to the cinematography; to the sound and music; to the overall quality of the production.

It was great to hear discussions of the themes and reasons to pause for thought raised by the film. As the film is primarily about someone's struggle with mental health issues, when you hear a viewer telling you that your film has made them think twice about the challenges faced by others, it is good to know that your intentions have made those contemplations happen.

It is also satisfying that we have labelled Selective Listening a comedy-drama and that, although people are aware that we are portraying a serious subject, it has given them reason to laugh several times during the film.

Whilst I wouldn't be so bold myself, it's alright if I mention the other films with which some said Selective Listening would stand comfortably next to on the DVD shelf, isn't it? Among them were:

Silver Linings Playbook

Napoleon Dynamite

Withnail & I

Forrest Gump

We will happily accept those comparisons!

It was also nice to hear many people say that they wanted to see the film again as soon as possible.

On a similar topic, we were asked many times during the evening, "So, what now?" The answer is, now we are seeking a sage and dutiful film distributor to take Selective Listening to be part of their portfolio and help us to get it seen by as many people as possible.

So, if you know of, or indeed are, a sage and dutiful member of a film distribution company, please do get in touch!

In the meantime, the yuletide season brings little rest for us as we work to find possible distribution avenues and develop other projects.

If you're reading this and want to know what else you can do to help, please do "like" the Selective Listening Facebook page, and, importantly, "share" anything you find of interest.

We will write of any news as it occurs!

Selective Listening Facebook page

Selective Listening on Twitter

View and rate the trailer on YouTube!

Happy Halloween and other news...

Hi there!

Tim here.  We've been extremely remiss in our delight and forgot to post some very nice news recently – a couple of weeks ago, the star of Selective Listening, Salvatore Stella has been named winner as leading actor at the International Independent Film Awards.

Well done Sal!

Other than that, it's Halloween and so Smiling Herbert has released another (slightly dark) video diary...

Our cast and crew screening is on the horizon, so we're really looking forward to it!

One year since...

Hi,

Tim here. One year ago today we had just completed Selective Listening's first day of shooting.

A housing estate. A pig. A bridge. A sunset.

...it'll make more sense when you see the film.

In the meantime, one of the websites we are using to submit the film to festivals has requested that we make a poster, so we've created a provisional one, which we post here by way of celebrating the one-year-since-principal-photography-began mark.

We hope it intrigues you...

It's been a while...

Hello!

Tim here.  It's been a while since we last wrote a blog entry, but that's because we've spent every waking moment editing, re-editing, re-re-editing the film, seeking a quality post-production house with whom to work on the grade and the visual effects, recording sound effects, re-recording certain voice moments, tracking down those who are providing our "additional voices", keeping an eye on what the voices are saying on each of their Twitter accounts and recording one more Smiling Herbert video diary for "Star Wars day". 

Here are some illustrations of what's been going on...

Photos from some of the voice records:

Meanwhile on Twitter:

 Smiling Herbert's "Star Wars day" video diary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJcZIr0neZE

Intermission...

...not in work, of course – the editing continues!

Tim here.

I thought I'd jot down a couple of things that I've learnt along the way and direct you toward some entertainment...

1. Thank the Gods for DVD commentaries.

Ridley Scott once stated that he was jealous of the actors that he works with, in the sense that they can finish one project and move onto the next. They can, in effect, get four or five projects done in a year, whereas the producer and director stay with one project from beginning to end. Depending on the project, this could be between one and five years.

I'm quite impatient when it comes to getting on with our other scripts, but I know that if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing with 100% of all efforts. Therefore, nothing on Selective Listening will be rushed and, in the meantime, future projects keep percolating, maturing and improving.

Fortunately, when the day's edit work is complete and I can look at design work that allows one to listen to music or speech, I am regularly entertained by Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, John McTiernan and others thanks to the marvellous invention of DVD commentaries.

Who came up with this idea?! It's brilliant and so lucky that it caught on! (Yes, I'm a movie nerd – Get Over It!) While I am in script-writing, development, pre-production, production or post-production stages, I can always get reminded that the great directors have to have the same patience.

This is why it's so important to choose the right pictures to work on and, with every day spent editing, I'm very happy that we chose Selective Listening to be our first feature!

2. Don't store your stuff in damp and leaky sheds.

When moving home, one thing that is surprising is how your possessions appear to multiply as soon as you unpack and the amount of things (such as books) that are taking up space, that you haven't used in over 15 years and will probably never look at again but you keep them due to sentimentality or because they look nice.

When preparing the flat for the film, I was determined that half of the stuff I was putting in storage, wouldn't be reappearing. And a good job, really.

As the plan was to complete a rough edit in order to know that we could reset the location and let some of the props go with no qualms, and because the journey to begin the editing process was a lengthy one, certain items have been stored in a shed since sunnier times. 

To quote those who hire out the shed, "If it leaked, we wouldn't hire it out."

Not the case. And we kind of suspected that we shouldn't take their word for it when we first opened the shed, due to the mould and mildew on every visible surface. Our first task, then, after clearing a couple of decades-worth of cobwebs, was to cover the floor and walls in plastic sheeting, after which it resembled a Dexter Morgan ritual murder scene. BUT, it was reasonably thrifty compared to other storage options and so we went with it.

Five months later and the shed is nearly empty again. Although we have had to say goodbye to a bookcase, a desk and a couple of smaller items of wood-based furniture. 

All books have needed to sit atop a warm radiator and consequently get flattened to reduce concertina-like shapes. But, as part of the cleansing experience, yesterday we made a quick trip to the Cancer Research shop with two suitcases full of books to donate and they seemed very happy to get them!

Meet the gang, 'cos the toys are here...

...actually, first things first, the actors are here too but that fact didn't lend itself to a parody of '70s sitcom theme tune lyrics.

Enough of that. Tim here with a quick bloggage of updates I've made to this site.

Firstly, I've uploaded some choice pics of Selective Listening's brilliant cast.

You can find them here: Cast & Crew

And secondly, here's a page to introduce you to the toys and the role they play in the film... The Voices 

More soon!

Tim