Passenger Side

Passenger Side
www.passengersidemovie.com
2009 / 85 min / 35mm / Canada
Written and Directed by
MATTHEW BISSONNETTE
Produced by
COREY MARR
Starring
ADAM SCOTT, JOEL BISSONNETTE & ROBIN TUNNEY
Press materials available for download at:
www.passengersidemovie.com/media
For general inquiries please email: [email protected]
Copyright © 2009 GREEN CAR MOVIE COMPANY INC. All Rights Reserved.
Passenger Side
“A thinking man’s Judd Apatow flick ... literate, amusing and unexpectedly
moving.”
- L.A. Weekly
“A brilliant film – smart, funny, a little disturbing and utterly original.”
- Montreal Gazette
“Canada’s Top Ten 2009”
- The Toronto international Film Festival
“A poignant portrait of sibling rivalry and affection.”
- The Hollywood Reporter

“It’s not like Sideways; it’s a lot better in fact.”
- The National Post

“It’s like a Richard Linklater movie from the mid-1990s”
- NOW Magazine
“an original young filmmaking talent coming into his own.”
- Variety
“Great dialogue, a fantastic soundtrack and excellent performances by
Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette.”
- Citytv
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
- Los Angeles Film Festival (WORLD
PREMIERE)
- Toronto International Film Festival
* “Canadaʼs Top Ten”
- Atlantic Film Festival
- Cinefest Sudbury International Film
Festival
- Edmonton International Film
Festival
* Winner: CityTV Award for Best
Canadian Film
- Calgary International Film Festival
- The Times BFI London Film
Festival
- Starz Denver Film Festival
- Whistler Film Festival
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
-
Bahamas Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
Portland International Film Festival
Cinequest
Wisconsin Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
Kingston Film Festival
Festival du Nouveau Cinema
Possible World Film Festival
Gimli Film Festival
Portland International Film Festival
CMJ Music Marathon & Film
Festival
- Canadian Mosaic, Moscow
2
Passenger Side
LOGLINE
Two brothers spend the day driving around Los Angeles County looking for the
meaning of their lives, or cheap street drugs, depending on who you happen to
believe.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Michael Brownʼs birthday begins with a telephone call from his estranged, drug
addicted brother Tobey. Tobey is totally unaware that it is his older brotherʼs
birthday, but he is very aware that his car is broken, and he begs Michael to drive
him on various apparently legitimate, vital errands. As the day wears on, it
becomes clear that this drive will lead them to some very unexpected
destinations.
SYNOPSIS
Michael and Tobey Brown are brothers. They were both raised by the same
mother, an eccentric, loving, over-bearing woman of questionable mental health,
who eventually found solace in the rock of Christianity; however, their odd shared
childhood has created two completely opposite personalities. Twenty years later
they both find themselves in Los Angeles a bit confused about what to do next.
Michael has eked out a living as an advertising copywriter, and has seen his one
novel, the major achievement of his life, published to deafening and total
indifference. Sadder than that, Michael has lived a life of observation, loneliness,
and distance; a scared little boy grown to a scared man with his nose
permanently pressed to the glass looking at the world through a window.
Tobey, on the other hand, has engaged life head on. A rather talented actor,
good-looking and charming enough to succeed, Tobey instead opted to flush his
career down the toilet, do a line off the lid, and then bang the cocktail waitress in
the bathroom stall; the little baby who only cared about what he wanted next,
grown into the big baby who only cares about what he wants next.
Not surprisingly, Michael has spent a good part of his life cleaning up after
Tobeyʼs messes, all the while secretly envious of his younger brotherʼs good
times; on the other hand, Tobey has spent his life feeling smothered and looked
down on by his self-righteous, cerebral older brother, and jealous of the
perceived intellectual gap.
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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On the morning of his thirty-seventh birthday Michael wakes up in Los Angeles.
He is at the end of the country, the end of his over-extended youth, and the end
of his literary luck. At this pivotal moment the telephone rings, and it is Tobey,
now ostensibly clean, and once again in need of help: his car is broken and he
has a job interview, needs to pick up his dry-cleaning, return library books, etc.
As Bruce Springsteen has astutely noted, A man who turns his back on his family
just ainʼt no good, and so Michael puts off his seemingly romantic birthday plans,
and with his brother embarks on a sketchy, meandering day long odyssey though
the mysteries of Los Angeles County. As the day unfolds the two brothers talk
about their past, present and futures; meet loads of strange characters; and,
cover many, many miles. It is also revealed that Tobey is actually looking for his
ex-girlfriend, a notorious junky and all around bad girl. Michael is understandably
upset about this grand deception regarding the missionʼs stated goals; however,
it is not until the brothersʼ last stop that it becomes clear just how just how much
Michael has to lose if Tobey succeeds.
DIRECTORʼS STATEMENT
Passenger Side is a story about brothers, and the strange, complex bonds that
are created when opposites are bound together by life, family and blood. It is also
about different ways that a life can be lived: from the supposed safety of the
sidelines, or deep in the middle of the mess, and about the benefits and costs of
those positions. Finally, it is about how difficult it is for people to change, and how
those hard fought for changes can, in the end, produce completely unforeseen
results.
The movie is set in Los Angeles, a city where you can see some very strange
sights and some very beautiful things. Itʼs also a city that is made for the
automobile, and a good deal of the film takes place in Michaelʼs beat 1975 BMW,
as the brothers' quest takes them from place to place. In the first scene Michael
drops a mixed tape into an old cassette player, and from then on music plays,
and in this way the film is very much a rock music road movie, and could be
explained as a mix of Two-Lane Blacktop, My Dinner with Andre, Gerry and
American Graffiti.
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Passenger Side
CAST
Michael
Tobey
Theresa
Man with Knife
Suspicious Man
Carla
Goofus
Alberto
Manuel
Henrietta
Laurie
Porn Director
Karl
Karen
Anna
Porn P.A.
Gas Station Attendant
ADAM SCOTT
JOEL BISSONNETTE
ROBIN TUNNEY
RICHARD MEDINA
MICKEY COTTRELL
VITTA QUINN
DIMITRI COATS
VICTOR MARTINEZ
ROBERTO ENRIQUE
PENELOPE ALLEN
KIMBERLY HUIE
GREG DULLI
GALE HAROLD
MAJA MILETICH
RACHAEL SANTHON
ADAM BALSAM
TRAVIS WALCK
CREW
Writer/Director
MATTHEW BISSONNETTE
Producer
COREY MARR
Executive Producers
ADAM SCOTT
COREY MARR
MATT BISSONNETTE
Director of Photography
JONATHON CLIFF
Editor
MATTHEW HANNAM
Costume Designer
MELISSA CLEMENS
Associate Producer /
Line Producer
MITCH GLICK
First Assistant Director /
Script Supervisor
PAIGE REINIS
First Assistant Camera
Steadicam Operator
MARLEN SCHLAWIN
HUGH BELL
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Passenger Side
Gaffer
SCOTT TREMBLAY
Key Grip
Daily Grips
CHUCK MAY
STEVEN CLARK
BRAYTON AUSTIN
Sound Recordist /
Boom Operator
Daily Sound Recordist
CARRIE SHELDON
ADAM DOUGLASS
JARED SIMMONS
Set Decorator / Props
Daily Props
APRIL GLOVER
VANESSA VELEZ BOSWELL
Make Up Artist /
Hair Stylist
RHIANNON WEBB
Production Assistants
ADAM BALSAM
CANDICE FAKTOR
RACHEL McINTIRE
EILEEN McINTIRE
KRYSTAL MAUGHAN
Assistant Editor
DUFF SMITH
Supervising Sound Editor MATT CHAN
Dialogue/ADR Editors
JAN RUDY
CHRIS GUGLICK
Sound Effects Editors
GEOFF RAFFAN
ROB HUTCHINS
Assistant Sound Editor
JENNIFER COSTA
Re-Recording Mixers
MATT CHAN
JAN RUDY
Foley Artists
Foley Assistant
STEFAN FRATICELLI
MARILEE YORTSON
RANDY WILSON
KEVIN SCHULTZ
RYAN LUKASIK
ADR Engineer
ADR Coordinator
GREG TAIEB
ROBIN HARRIS
Foley Recordists
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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Passenger Side
Visual Effects by
Compositing by
DARREN WALL
KERT GARTNER
Digital Intermediate by
Digital Intermediate
Colourist
Digital Intermediate
Producer
Digital Intermediate
Project Manager
Digital Intermediate Editor
DELUXE | EFILM | TORONTO
Music Consultant
MAC McCAUGHAN
Featuring Music by
ASEXUALS, CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN,
LEONARD COHEN, EVAN DANDO, DINOSAUR JR.,
D.O.A., GUIDED BY VOICES, ISLANDS, the
MEKONS, THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE NILS,
SILVER JEWS, SMOG, SNFU, SQUIRREL BAIT,
SUPERCHUNK, UNREST, CHAD VANGAALEN,
VOLCANO SUNS, WILCO, YOUNG MARBLE
GIANTS
CHRIS WALLACE
PETER ARMSTRONG
LEE HUGHES
DAVE MUSCAT
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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Passenger Side
THE PRODUCTION
In the fall of 2004 Corey Marr and I were preparing to shoot a movie in Canada
titled Who Loves The Sun. During a series of meetings in Toronto it became clear
that we were being a tad optimistic, that the money wasnʼt going to come
through, and that we werenʼt going to be shooting anything. I returned to Los
Angeles, sat down at my desk, and wrote a movie that we could make on the
cheap, there in Southern California. Then, just after the new year, Corey
telephoned to explain the money had suddenly re-appeared, and that we would
be shooting the film after all; I put my cheap LA movie away in a box.
In the winter of 2008 Corey and I were preparing to shoot a movie in Canada,
which will remain nameless. During a series of meetings in Toronto it became
clear that we were once again being a bit optimistic. I returned home to Los
Angeles, dusted off the Passenger Side script, and we got to work. With the help
of our friends at The Movie Network and Movie Central, and a bit later, Telefilm
Canada, Corey was able to put together the money for a spry three-week shoot,
and by April we were in pre-production.
In making this movie we aspired to a loose freshness, a certain lack of traditional
filmmaking professionalism and a total commitment to entertaining the audience.
Frank Capra said there is only one sin in filmmaking: dullness. I strongly believe,
in the way I think Truffaut and the early Goddard believed, that personal, or art,
or independent films, not be dull. Those were our intentions when we set out to
make Passenger Side, and they were reflected in the process. We shot the film in
fourteen days in May 2008. Our bare boned crew was comprised of a core six
Canadian filmmakers (producer, DP, editor, key grip, and a boy and girl Friday,
who all shared a two room house in Los Feliz), and six young American crew
members who signed on for the ride. Happily, our aspirations were realized: the
shoot was loose, fresh, entirely lacking in traditional filmmaking professionalism
and immensely entertaining!
We dipped our feet in the ocean, we forbid the crew from building bonfires in the
desert, we learned how to shoot nude scenes, we spent twelve, sober daylight
hours in The Little Joy, we had our wives make peanut butter sandwiches and
drive the camera convertible, we wrangled dogs and teenagers, we purchased a
selection of dildos, we pleaded with police officers, we watched Matt Hannam,
our editor, drive backward on the shoulder of the134 freeway, after missing his
exit, we spent four days in an East Hollywood studio shooting green screen while
police helicopters circled above, harassing the local ner-do-wells and tranny
hookers. I believe it was Robert Altman who recommended that the most
important thing in movie-making was to have fun, because the rest is a
crapshoot. I would add that a rare sense of loose fun found its way into many of
his pictures, and it is something we were hoping to achieve on Passenger Side.
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INTERVIEW WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR MATT BISSONNETTE
1. What inspired the story for Passenger Side?
In the spring of 2000, a friend and I drove my old Toyota Camry wagon from Los
Angeles to New York City. I made a video of the trip, titled Long May You Run,
which chronicled the dynamics of two old friends, stuck inside an automobile,
with a box of mixed tapes, while America unrolled outside. That experience got
me thinking about interior dialogues and exterior images, and as Iʼm often
thinking about brothers, that eventually led to writing the screenplay; also, and
obviously to fans of indie rock, I lifted the basic conceit from the song Passenger
Side, by the band Wilco, which concerns itself with one friend driving another,
who seems to have had his or her license suspended, around for the day.
2. Could you elaborate on some of the ideas in the film?
At the most basic and important level, that of the characters, Passenger Side is
concerned with a couple of themes: the nature of family, brotherhood, and sibling
rivalry; the merits of artistic success and failure; and, the likelihood of redemption
though sacrifice; that said, the movie is meant to be funny, and all of these rather
heavy matters are dealt with, hopefully, in a rather light manner.
On a social level, the film is concerned with outsiders passing through, and
offering some sort of reflection of, or on, a foreign culture; sort of like Leopold
Bloom wandering around Dublin in Ulysses, only a lot shorter, and much
stupider; or Odysseus making his way home through ancient Greece, only a bit
more epic.
On the geo-political level, I remember watching the film Crash, not the
Cronenberg one, the other one, and then thinking to myself: “well, that canʼt be
right, that canʼt be what driving around Los Angeles is about.” Then it occurred to
me that both these films were made by Canadians, and that I was Canadian, and
that I lived in Los Angeles, where I did a fair amount of driving, and since Iʼm not
one to turn up the stereo when the universe is clearly speaking to me, I realized
that Iʼd have to make a movie about Canadians driving around Los Angeles; so,
in a certain way, the film is a different cut on the Canadian cinematic view of Los
Angeles; that is to say, if the younger Crash were Nickleback, then Passenger
Side would be D.O.A.
Finally, on the ever pressing “meta-narrative/fictionʼs place in the end of the world
as we know it” level, the movie does take a few seconds to think about the how,
why and use of the story it is telling. Clearly, itʼs a dull question, and there is no
satisfactory answer, but as we travel ever further down the suck hole of
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contemporary events, on our way to that date with the apocalypse, as an
audience member you canʼt help wondering at which point - unending wars,
unnatural catastrophes, economic meltdowns, daily plagues, rains of toads, three
headed baby-a-thons – do we stop watching movies; conversely, as a filmmaker
you canʼt help worry that, for better or for worse, audiences are never going to
stop, that Huxley was probably right, and that youʼre probably just in the “Feelies”
business; concerns that, at a certain level, are probably shared by the film and its
characters.
3. Can you talk about the casting?
This was an easy film to cast. I had written the parts with Adam and Joel in mind,
and since, so far, neither have been very good at turning down my propositions
to work long hours for little money, we were, more or less, in business. Further, it
was pretty important that they have a strong, brotherly relationship, and since
Joel is my brother, and Adam is, sadly for him, in a bunch of ways, a lot like me, I
felt we were starting ahead of the game.
For a number of the other characters, I had friends in mind, and happily they all
agreed. And for the few roles I didnʼt have someone, we did an open casting call
at the FIND offices in Los Angeles, and some really wonderful, talented people
walked through the door. Adam is an executive producer on the film, and he
became pretty involved with the basics of cheap budget filmmaking, casting
being one of those. He read with the other actors for the auditions, and it was
helpful for me to have his opinions and perspective, and I think it was helpful for
him to be on the other side of the table, and experience what itʼs like to operate
as a complete asshole.
4. How important was the location to the telling of the story?
Los Angeles was built around the automobile, and so if you were going to make a
road movie that never leaves the city, itʼs a pretty good town to go with.
5. Can you talk about the music?
Sure, in general Iʼm against loads of rock songs in movies, particularly when they
are dropped like “cool” sprinkles on a “crappy” cupcake. The exception to this
rule is when the songs are part of the charactersʼ lives; American Graffiti and
Dazed and Confused are good examples of this, Footloose would be another;
that was the type of combination I was hoping for in Passenger Side. Also, since
Adamʼs character Michael is a bit of a Luddite, I wanted the music to have a
certain “mired in the mid-eighties to mid-nineties” vibe; conversely, there are
worse musical periods to be mired in, like, for instance, now.
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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Passenger Side
In terms of the specifics, I had a number of songs I wanted to use. Matt Hannam,
the editor is a young dude, and he threw in a couple of the less dusty tracks;
Corey Marr, our producer, had some suggestions; and then Mac McCaughan,
who scored my first two films, was involved as the music consultant, and he had
a bunch of good ideas. Happily, the bands involved were very cool, and very
easy to deal with, and, for me at least, it was a very good collaborative
experience.
6. What is the tone youʼre seeking in the film and how did you work to
achieve it?
I was hoping it would be funny; in general, we used humour to achieve this goal,
though sometimes we went with comedy; however, in a few critical instances, we
pushed the envelope, and combined them for maximum impact!
7. What kind of visual style did you settle on for the film, and how does that
speak to the themes youʼre working with?
There are a number of films and filmmakers that I was thinking of when making
Passenger Side. In general, I would see the film as some type of step-child of
eighties North American independent cinema (Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Alex
Cox, Bruce McDonald, Penelope Spheeris, etc). This period of filmmaking is
something Iʼve been referencing in my first three movies. I enjoy these films as
works of art, but I also have this idea that they stand as a sort of last gasp of
romance and mystery in popular North American cinema, and I strongly believe
that art, romance and mystery have a place in that arena, even in light of all
evidence to the contrary.
That said, this is my third film, and the second Iʼve directed by myself, and I was
certainly less concerned with the formal aspects of filmmaking than I have been.
In Passenger Side the difficulties were how, on a limited budget, to make a movie
that is set in a small static space (the car) feel visually dynamic. Another related
difficulty was the format used. Previously I had only shot on film, but for financial
reasons we shot on HD video, and this opened up a couple of cans of worms.
First and foremost, I think most movies shot on video look like a pair of old manʼs
pants. Video is good because itʼs easy and cheap and lends a kind of vérité, and
itʼs bad because itʼs easy and itʼs cheap and has the annoying habit of
announcing “hey, look at me, Iʼm real, just like Survivor: Papua New Guinea.”
Generally speaking, I donʼt think movies are particularly real, and I find realism a
pretty overused style. In particular, I wanted this movie to have a slightly trippy or
dreamy feel, since it ambles around like a dream; also, we would be using a fair
amount of green screen and on our budget that was never going to look very
real. To cut the lame “realness” of the HD video, and have that trippier/dreamier
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look, Jonathon Cliff, our talented DP, used an adapter and film lenses; sadly, this
further restricts your visual options, as the camera and adapter set-up are fairly
sensitive, and it becomes difficult to do hand-held work, and dollies are
expensive, and so camera movement becomes tricky.
My answer to these problems was to get out of the car and have dialogue play
over pictures. Goddard did this well, and quite a lot, Two Or Three Things I Know
About Her is a good example; also, there is a bit in Manhattan where a whole
scene plays in voice over as a car drives down a New York City highway, which I
always liked; finally, and obviously, Terrence Malick is an absolute master of this
gag. Anyway … the basic idea was to create a sense of movement and visual
variation while two guys sat in a car and talked; Iʼm not exactly sure how that
relates to the themes I blab blabbed about above.
8. What were some memorable occurrences during the making of the film?
We shot the whole thing in fourteen days, so I guess the end was the most
memorable, in the sense that it occurred.
In particular, on our first day we were shooting without permits by the banks of
the Los Angeles River, and someone called the cops, so this officer showed up,
but rather than roust us out, he gave us half an hour, and stood by while we
finished; then, on our last day we were shooting second unit stuff down at the
Long Beach harbor, Joel and I were in the green car, while Jonathon (DP) and
Marlene (1st AC) were in the van with a camera. Now the port is a strictly camera
no-go zone on account of terrorism, and Al Qaeda, and so on, and so the van,
with the camera pointing out the window, was quickly pulled over, and only then
did I remember that Jonathon was Canadian and Marlene was German, and that
they were probably going to get roasted, but again, the cops were totally cool;
and so, I donʼt know about the rest of the world, but from this little movie, the
LAPD gets a big high-five.
9. What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
The will to live.
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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THE CAST
ADAM SCOTT [ Michael ]
Adam Scott has crafted a distinguished career in theatre, television, and film.
Scott currently can be seen starring in the Starz original series Party Down, now
in its second season. Scott plays Henry, who is re-joining a catering team after
an 8-year attempt, and ultimate failure, at an acting career. NPR says that Henry
is "beautifully underplayed by Scott, he reveals himself in bone dry quips and
almost imperceptible inner crumples. He's Party Down's hero and melancholy
heart." The half-hour comedy, co-stars Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, and Martin
Starr. Scott produces Party Down along executive producers Paul Rudd, Rob
Thomas, Dan Etheridge and John Enbom. Scott will also star opposite Amy
Adams and Matthew Goode in the Spyglass romantic comedy Leap Year. He will
play the love interest of Amy Adamsʼ character who travels to Dublin to propose
to him on Leap Day.
Adam has the lead role opposite Elizabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, and Richard
Dreyfuss in the upcoming Piranha 3-D. The film, produced by the Weinsteins,
and directed by the acclaimed director Alex Aja, will be released in 2010. Other
upcoming projects include Rogue's Gallery, an ultra-violent action-comedy from
Richard Kelly and Darko Productions. The all-star ensemble includes Rob
Corddry and Ellen Barkin. Scott also recently wrapped production on Passenger
Side, a road movie that never leaves Los Angeles, with Joel Bissonnette and
Robin Tunney, in which he stars and serves as executive producer. The film
premiered to rave reviews at this yearʼs Los Angeles Film Festival, and will play
at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.
Adam also stars opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the HBO comedy pilot The
Wonderful Maladys, which revolves around the dysfunctional life of three siblings
who lost their parents at a young age. Scott plays Sarah Michelle Gellarʼs ex.
Scott recently starred in The Vicious Kind, a dramedy about a man who becomes
obsessed with the girlfriend (Brittany Snow) that his brother brings home for
Thanksgiving. Executive produced by Neil Labute, the film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival this year. VARIETY stated “Best known for his colorful
supporting turns, Scott proves more than up to the challenge of a juicy lead role:
his brilliant delivery, replete with tasty vulgarities and sarcastic asides, whets our
appetites for more.”
Last summer, Scott also co-starred alongside Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in
the blockbuster comedy Step Brothers for Columbia Pictures. As Derek, the
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egomaniacal younger brother of Ferrell, Scott garnered praise; The Los Angeles
Times said of Scott's performance, "it's the movie's plum part and Scott runs
mightily with it," while The San Francisco Chronicle added "Scott eats up the
screen...inspired."
The Washington Post called Scott's performance
"magnificently smarmy" while The New York Post said Scott's turn was "a
hilarious foil...not just a tool, but a power tool."
He was also recently seen in August, a drama that centers on two brothers (Scott
and Josh Hartnett) who fight to keep their start-up company afloat during the dot
com bust of 2001. August was featured at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In
addition, he appears in Lovely, Still, a holiday fable that tells the story of an
elderly man discovering love for the first time, with Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn,
and Elizabeth Banks. Lovely, Still premiered at the 2008 Toronto International
Film Festival.
Previously, Scott starred as Palek in the critically acclaimed HBO series Tell Me
You Love Me. In addition, he portrayed Johnny Meyer, Howard Hughesʼ press
agent, in Miramaxʼs Oscar-winning film The Aviator, alongside Leonardo
DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, John C. Reilly and Alec Baldwin for legendary director
Martin Scorsese. Additional film credits include the blockbuster comedy Knocked
Up, directed by Judd Apatow, as well as The Great Buck Howard, opposite John
Malkovich, Colin Hanks and Tom Hanks, as well as Art School Confidential,
directed by acclaimed filmmaker Terry Zwigoff.
Scott currently resides in Los Angeles with his family.
JOEL BISSONNETTE [ Tobey ]
As a theatre graduate of the prestigious Dawson Theatre Program in Montreal,
Canada, Joel received extensive classical stage training and was seen in roles
such as Orsino in Twelfth Night, Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Lysander in
A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, and The Husband in La Ronde.
Joelʼs Canadian profile increased when he was cast in the series regular role of
Mack on the CBC series Liberty Street. His work as the vulnerable exjunkie/convict trying to stay clean earned him a place in the hearts of the viewing
audience. On his hiatus from the series, Joel landed his debut film, the coveted
role of Misha, a young street violinist who is discovered by a famous maestro in
the feature film, Language of the Heart for director Jonathan Kaplan and
producer Norman Jewison.
Joel has accumulated an extensive feature film credit list that include three of
David Fincherʼs best films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac and
“Passenger Side” – Press Notes (April 2010)
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Fight Club. He also played the lead role of Luka in the independent film Looking
For Leonard, and starred in the Century Hotel for director David Weaver, P.C.U.
for director Harry Weiner, and Darkman II for Sam Raimi.
Joel recently completed the lead role in the independent film Passenger Side
alongside Adam Scott and Robin Tunney.
Other favorite film work includes the supporting role of Rick, Molly Parkerʼs
passionate husband with a dark secret in Lynne Stopkewichʼs Suspicious River.
Joel starred in the popular Sci-Fi television series The Invisible Man playing the
lead role of a handsome Swiss research scientist who leads a band of terrorist
mercenaries. Among his many TV credits, recent Guest Stars include The
Mentalist, The Eleventh Hour, House, Nip/Tuck, and Prison Break.
ROBIN TUNNEY [ Theresa ]
Tunney stars opposite Simon Baker in the breakout hit CBS series, The
Mentalist", about a hypnotist turned private investigator who uses his skills to
help the police. She also co-stars in Guillermo Arriagaʼs directorial debut The
Burning Plain, opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger. The drama weaves
multiple storylines about love, forgiveness and redemption that take place in
different places and time. The story focuses on ʻMarianaʼ, a 16 year old girl tries
to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town;
ʻSylviaʼ (played by Theron), a woman in Portland, undertakes an emotional
odyssey to redeem a sin from her past; and ʻGinaʼ (played by Basinger) and her
husband, a couple who must deal with a clandestine love.
Tunney stars in August a drama about two brothers fighting to keep their Wall
Street start-up company afloat a month before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The
film, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Festival, also stars Josh Hartnett,
Adam Scott and Rip Torn. It marked Tunney's seventh film to premiere at the
festival.
Tunney's first film was the teen cult classic Empire Records which featured an up
and coming cast including Renee Zellweger and Liv Tyler. She followed that up
with her first lead in Andrew Fleming's hit The Craft, which co-starred Fairuza
Balk and Neve Campbell. In an attempt to escape the teen genre, Tunney
followed the film up with Bob Gosse's critically acclaimed independent feature
Niagara, Niagara. Her performance as a young woman suffering from Tourette's
syndrome garnered her the Volpe Cup for Best Actress at the 1997 Venice
International film festival, along with a Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.
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Throughout the course of her career Tunney has balanced working in big studio
fare, such as Martin Campbell's Vertical Limit and the Arnold Schwarzenegger
vehicle End of Days, with smaller independent favorites such as Finn Taylor's
Cherish opposite Tim Blake Nelson and Alan Rudolph's The Secret Lives of
Dentists opposite Hope Davis and Campbell Scott. In 2005, Tunney starred in the
Fox television hit Prison Break opposite Wentworth Miller. In 2006, she also
landed the role of Leonore Lemon in Allan Coulter's critically praised
Hollywoodland, opposite Diane Lane, Adrien Brody, and Ben Affleck. That same
year, Tunney won best actress at Boston Film Festival for her performance in the
independent film Open Window also starring Joel Edgerton, Elliott Gould and
Cybill Shepherd.
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THE FILMMAKERS
MATT BISSONNETTE [ writer / director ]
Matt Bissonnette was born and raised in Montreal, where he studied English and
Film at Concordia University. He then read law at Queenʼs University, was called
to the Ontario bar, but retired two weeks later to write and work in movies. He is
also a Film Independent fellow.
Bissonnette has written and directed two feature films Looking For Leonard
(2002), and Who Loves The Sun (2006). His third feature, Passenger Side, will
be released in 2009.
His debut novel, Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock, was published in the
spring of 2008. The first two installments of his ongoing video project Your Home
Movies, entitled Nowhere Man and Long May You Run, have been shown at
Canada, a contemporary art gallery in New York City.
He currently lives in Los Angeles.
COREY MARR [ producer ]
Headquartered in Toronto, Corey Marr Productions was created in 2004 by
advertising executive Corey Marr, with the vision to develop and produce
entertainment for screens of all sizes. Always inspired by the innovative,
unexpected and fresh, Corey Marr Productions brings together a strategic
balance of business acumen and creative zeal.
Recent productions include Matt Bissonnetteʼs L.A. road-trip drama Passenger
Side starring Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette and Robin Tunney, and featuring
songs by Leonard Cohen, Wilco, Dinosaur Jr. and Evan Dando, among others.
Touted as “a thinking manʼs Judd Apatow flick” by L.A. Weekly and “a poignant
portrait of sibling rivalry and affection” by The Hollywood Reporter, Passenger
Side premiered at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival and screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival, The Times BFI – London Film Festival,
Whistler Film Festival, among others. Passenger Side was chosen by the
Toronto International Film Festival as one of “Canadaʼs Top Ten” of 2009, and
recently won the Citytv Award for Best Canadian Film at the Edmonton
International Film Festival.
The company also produced the Genie-nominated film Who Loves the Sun, also
directed by Matt Bissonnette, starring Lukas Haas, Molly Parker and Adam Scott.
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An L.A. Weekly “Criticsʼ Pick”, the film has played numerous film festivals
including London, AFI FEST, SXSW and Whistler before being released
theatrically in Canada and selling internationally.
Corey Marr Productions is currently developing a diverse slate of film, television
and new media projects. The company is also an active co-production partner
within Canada and abroad.
Corey recently participated in the 2009 Rotterdam Producing Lab and Film
Independentʼs 2009 Fast Track program.
JONATHON CLIFF [ director of photography ]
Jonathon Cliff came to cinematography through a background in stills
photography. His photographs have appeared in, amongst others, Rolling Stone,
Time, Elle, Mojo and The New York Times. He has honed his craft on dozens of
music videos, commercials and short films. Venturing into the wilds of rural
Mississippi with little more than a couple of cameras and an open mind, Small
Town Gay Bar represents his first feature length work in the documentary realm.
In addition to Passenger Side, he has lensed the narrative features Monkey
Warfare, which won a jury prize at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006,
Redacted for director Brian De Palma, and Leslie, My Name is Evil.
MATTHEW HANNAM [ editor ]
Matthew Hannam started his film career in Winnipeg where he attended the
University of Winnipeg film and theatre program, after graduating he began
editing, working for Winnipeg directors; Guy Maddin, Gary Yates and Sean
Garrity. He later attended the Canadian Film Centre's Editor's lab and decided to
call Toronto home. Since migrating east he has worked with Bruce McDonald on
The Tracey Fragments and various TV endeavors, Maddin again on My
winnipeg, Don McKellar on his Phonecalls from imaginary lovers series and most
recently Matt Bissonnette's Passenger Side. Matthew still lives in Toronto and
likes to ride bikes.
MAC McCAUGHAN [ music consultant ]
McCaughan made a name for himself from the late 80's through the early 2000's
as front man and chief songwriter for underground rock heroes, Superchunk. He
started Portastatic in the mid-90s as an outlet for his more acoustic and eclectic
material that didn't quite fit in the Superchunk rock-band mold. McCaughan has
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scored two feature films, both for director Matt Bissonnette: Who Loves the Sun
(2006) and Looking For Leonard (2002), and released both soundtracks on
Merge Records, the label that McCaughan co-owns with Superchunk band-mate
Laura Balance. The Merge roster includes artists such as: Arcade Fire, Spoon,
Robert Pollard, Lambchop, Magnetic Fields, Neutral Milk Hotel, M. Ward, Lou
Barlow and many many more. Mac McCaughan lives in Chapel Hill, NC.
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