New Year, New Projects

Welcome to the first Young Gerard Marzilli Chronicles post of the new year (took me long enough, huh)! Well it's been an exciting couple of weeks to say the least! At the beginning of last week I optioned the rights to produce the screenplay Heartsgaard by Tennyson E. Stead. I am incredibly excited about this story and its writer. Tennyson is very simply the most driven and visionary artist I have ever met. He has an energy and a confidence about him that most of us would be lucky if we had 10% of.

As a Writer, his stories are as varied as they are visionary. His scripts are not only ferocious page turners but also immediately human. As a Director, Tennyson has a calmness under pressure and a maturity that is second to none. I had the pleasure of assisting him on the set of his science fiction short film Farther and was deeply impressed by his professionalism. He also has an innate understanding of and respect for actors which is in extremely short supply in young directors.

Heartsgaard is the story of a man who meets the girl of his dreams...and then promptly sets about destroying his life. However, before his odyssey is over he will grow and change in ways he never suspected were possible.

The lead role of Conrad offers acting challenges, the likes of which I have never encountered, but which I humbly and respectfully take up. The script also features great roles for all of its supporting cast. It will be a boon to the career of those courageous enough to take on the material.

Although I have just gotten started on work for this project, I intend to be shooting it before the year is out. Big things are comin' down the pike for the kid in 09!