My Big Break - Production

Production

'The production of My Big Break was fraught with setbacks and challenges. Tony Zierra originally intended to shoot a fiction film but while trying to find a script and secure financing he decided to film his roommates, Wes Bentley, Chad Lindberg, Brad Rowe and Greg Fawcett, who were struggling actors. He thought that their pursuit of success in the film business would make an interesting story. At the time, in the 1990s, the concept of "reality" media was virtually unknown so Zierra's idea was considered by the actors and others in the industry to be unusual. He self-financed the production through the money he made at various jobs and by other means such as holding garage sales.

Zierra ended up filming almost every aspect of his roommates lives. He thought that it was possible that one of them might beat the odds and get some kind of break but more likely they would all end up leaving Hollywood discouraged. Whatever happened, Zierra felt that it would make for an intriguing film. However, three of the roommates ended up becoming successful quickly. Brad Rowe was cast as the love interest in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, an independent gay-themed romantic comedy that was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. The film launched Rowe's career, he was featured prominently on the cover of US Magazine and labeled "The Next Big Thing". Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss also launched the career of actor Sean Hayes who played the main character, Billy, in the film and went on to play Jack McFarland on the long-running television series Will & Grace.

Chad Lindberg was cast in the film October Sky and in many television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER and The X-Files.

Wes Bentley won the coveted part of Ricky Fitts in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty and became an overnight sensation. Zierra,who had already been following his roommates lives before they got their break was able to capture their success on camera as it happened.

Once the actors became successful, Zierra's project began to draw interest from the media and film industry insiders. However, that interest didn't immediately translate into financial backing which, as years passed, made continuing to film increasingly difficult. Additionally, the interest also brought problems as the people who handled the business end of the actors' burgeoning careers began to worry about the content of the footage that Zierra had of his roommates. The representatives of Wes Bentley at the William Morris Agency were particularly concerned. Zierra refused requests to show the footage to anyone until he had finished filming.

In 2001, Zierra began to edit the 200+ hours of footage into a film titled Carving Out Our Name, a name taken from a line in the Counting Crows song Round Here. At the time, there were no non-linear editing systems that could allow independent filmmakers a way to edit their projects on a modest budget. Editing costs were exorbitant, so from week to week Zierra had to find a variety of ways to raise money to continue with post-production. He bartered, negotiated percentages of ownership in the future finished film and borrowed on credit cards, After dealing with repeated obstacles he finally completed Carving Out Our Name with backing from his friends Alex Ebert and Tim Anderson of the band Ima Robot. Ebert and Anderson became the executive producers and wrote most of the score for the film.

Carving emphasized the friendship among the roommates and their personal relationships with the women in their lives. The documentary was completed at a relatively high point in the actors' careers so it didn't show a full range of highs and lows in their lives. Carving was accepted into the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival and premiered on the evening of September 10, 2001. It was extremely well received by the audience of 1000 people and generated a great deal of interest from the media and potential distributors.

At the film's afterparty Zierra's agent, Cassian Elwes from William Morris Independent wanted to discuss the deals that were being offered by distributors but Zierra felt he should honor the friendship that Carving had captured over the years and just let everybody "enjoy themselves"; he decided to wait until the morning to discuss business with Elwes. The attacks on America the next day, September 11, 2001, brought everything to a halt and emotionally devastated all of the festival attendees. The Toronto International Film Festival was cancelled.

Carving Out Our Name was never released due to a combination of factors, including changes in the market after 9/11 and concerns by insiders in Hollywood that the film might have a negative impact on some of the actors' careers. In the early 2000s, filmmakers in Zierra's position were completely dependent on the tightly controlled Hollywood distribution system. There were no alternatives for independent filmmakers to distribute or market their own films because online outlets didn't exist. An independent film without Hollywood backing had no chance of being seen by the audience.

Zierra was extremely affected by the experience and suffered an emotional breakdown. He destroyed all copies of Carving Out Our Name, left Hollywood, and cut ties with everyone he had known there, including his former roommates.

Years later, Zierra decided to take the original footage out of storage and begin editing another film that would include his own experience making Carving. By this time, editing a film had become much more cost effective because of the introduction of the user friendly and affordable non-linear editing system Final Cut Pro. Still, starting the film over from the 200+ hours was a massive undertaking. Whereas Carving focused on the success of the actors and their personal relationships, the new film, My Big Break, focuses on the and the ups and downs of the film business and how fame - or the lack thereof, affected all of them.

After contacting his former roommates, Zierra shot an update with Lindberg, Rowe and Fawcett, each of whom had gone through disappointments and setbacks in the film business. Despite Zierra's repeated attempts, Bentley wasn't willing to see him and communicated only through text messages. Bentley was reputed to be struggling with severe drug addiction but Zierra couldn't verify this.

Zierra ended up re-editing My Big Break numerous times. During the process he once again found himself dealing with the emotional impact of delving deeply into the story and had to put the film aside for periods of time. The ending of the film proved particularly difficult to lock down because the unresolved tensions between him and Bentley required him to construct Bentley's "update" in ways that never fully satisfied him.

In 2010 Bentley came forward and admitted to the press that his sudden rise to fame had sent him into a spiral of drug addiction from which he was now recovering. Zierra felt that the story finally had closure. He cut an ending that he was satisfied with and completed the documentary. From start to finish, My Big Break took 15 years to finish.