In Conversation with Michael Oblowitz Director of Confidential Informant
Confidential Informant stars Mel Gibson, Dominic Purcell, and Kate Bosworth
Title: “UP THE 5”
Genre: COMEDY
Date: AUG 19th, 2019
Director: Gabriel Adam
Producer: Gabriel and Jesse Adams
Writer: Gabriel Adams
Cinematographer: Paul Toomey
Production Company: Adams Brother’s Pictures.
Case Study: The Making of Up The 5
indieactivity : What is your film about?
Gabriel Adam : “Up The 5” is a dark-comedy that takes place on California’s least favorite highway, Interstate 5. Phill Wexler is an LA Loner with 24 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco for his father’s funeral. It’s an easy drive up the Interstate until Phill’s beloved Cadillac is stolen by a seductive con artist, GRACE, and her sinister sister, ELSA. In pursuit, Phill catches a ride with the oddball PERCY in his lime green VW and ventures off into a wild adventure. The story follows all of these random travelers, and how they get along and how they don’t.
indieactivity : Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Gabriel Adam : We are currently under consideration at a number of high-profile festivals and are very excited to have a release date soon.
Up The 5 TRAILER from Gabriel Adams on Vimeo.
indieactivity : Dramatic Features?
Director: Gabriel Adams
Producers: Gabriel and Jesse Adams
Cinematographer: Paul Toomey
Budget: Small
Financing: Self-Financed by Gabriel Adams
Production: Adams Bros.
Shooting Format: 6K Red Dragon
Screening Format: 16.9
Website: https://www.upthe5movie.com
indieactivity : Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Gabriel Adam : PHILL WEXLER is an LA Loner with 24 hours to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco for his father’s funeral. It’s an easy drive on California’s straight-shot Interstate 5 until Phill’s beloved Cadillac is stolen by a con artist, GRACE, and her sinister sister, ELSA. In pursuit, Phill catches a ride with the oddball PERCY in his lime green VW bus. As the unlikely outsiders chase the women up the 5, every exit and detour leads to an episode of the absurd, the violent, the romantic, and above all the unexpected. A night-time climax in a desolate motel forces everyone to discover a little something about themselves — and it ain’t all good
indieactivity : Development & Financing?
Gabriel Adam : I didn’t want to be one of those people who always talked about a script they were never going to make. I knew it would be the most unlikely scenario for a financier to put his or her money into a project by a first time filmmaker, therefore I decided the only sure bet would be to fund it myself. So I spent the next two years saving every penny I had and working on the script.
Then I spend a year auditioning over 200 actors until we found our leads. I bought a Cadillac for the picture car, I found our locations, everything was set, and then one day during auditions it dawned on me to make my bad guy a women instead of the classic overpowering man. It opened up the story completely and the role reversal makes for something very different, far more fun and different. So the funny lame travellers are men chasing the over-the-top badass outlaw women. I liked the sound of that!
indieactivity : Production?
Gabriel Adam : Everybody focuses on the actual production of a movie, but it’s the years and months before and after that really matter. I had The Idea for “Up The 5” 3 years before I got to shoot it. I knew I wanted a movie that was half comedy and half drama. So I had an ensemble of characters that would work well. Now I just had to find a cast, and without a good casting director that can be very hard. So I spent the next year going through hundreds of auditions until finally I found my cast. I was lucky to stumble upon the small down of Buttonwillow, about two hours outside of LA at the foot of The Grapevine.
Related Story : Gabriel Adams breaking through with first feature, Up the 5
We found all out locations there and the locals were a huge help and several acted in the film. Our shoot was 21 days. We shot the first 10 days during a spring cold spell and the final 11 days during the blazing hot summer days. Circumstances on the grounds forced us to rewrite the last half hour of the film, which my brother/producing partner, Jesse Adams, and I did on set. It actually made the story stronger. We shot one camera and had a crew of only six. Really I am so amazed at the outcome of this picture. Jesse and I spent several months editing. He also scored the film; he had scored several films before and he’s the musical director of a breakout band called Royal Jelly Jive. Together we have joined together to establish Adams Bros. Pictures.
indieactivity : Advice from the Filmmaker?
Gabriel Adam : My #1 advice for anybody trying to make a film is to remember to have fun! It’s so easy to get bogged down with every obstacle that we forget why we are filmmakers in the first place. I also recommend pursuing the simplest ideas and finding the most talented actors to join your quest. You will also be needing to befriend an Audio Mixer who can record your shoot days, because the biggest difference between a student film and a professional film is good audio.
Tell us what you think of the Case Study for “Up The 5” What do you think of it? Genre? More genre? Lets have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Instagram! Or join me on Twitter @oladapobamidele
