Filmmaker Andy Viner took a calculated risk by putting a provocative name on his indie romantic comedy/thriller - no doubt intriguing and souring equal amounts of potential viewers on his movie.
"It's helped us in some places and hurt us in others. Whether it falls on one side of the ledger, I don't know," the 1997 University High School graduate said in a phone interview. "That's been a question ever since we put it out with that title. We knew we were taking a risk, but we also knew that we liked the title."
Those who shy away from the film because of its title, "Dick Night," will miss out on a witty, engaging romp from an emerging filmmaker.
Jennifer June Ross plays Rachel, a jilted single woman who lives in an isolated house stacked with wedding presents she received as she was stood up at the altar.
A friend convinces her that she needs to have sex with someone - anyone - in order to get closure and move on. What starts off as a romantic comedy about Rachel juggling potential suitors takes an abrupt shift into horror territory when vampires somehow get involved.
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Viner, a 34-year-old who lives in Los Angeles, shot the movie on a $25,000 budget he put together with producer/cinematographer Charles DeRosa in three weeks in and around Tucson in May 2010. About one third of the cast and crew came from Tucson.
Now that Viner's debut feature is ready to release - you can stream it from several places, including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, CinemaNow and Vudu - Viner hopes viewers offended by the title will still give it a shot.
"It's both an attention grabber and it does describe the movie," Viner said. "But I knew that it's probably a title that people have to watch the movie to kind of get what kind of movie it is."
Inspired by films with abrupt tonal shifts such as "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "Something Wild," Viner called upon his cast to make what seems like two movies in one.
Ross, whose performance carries the movie, said Viner was an immense help.
"I thought he was amazing," she said. "He had a really great handle on everything and everyone involved. He was super-patient and gave us a lot of room as actors to really make the characters."
Viner signed with distributor FilmBuff to make the movie available on streaming platforms. He said he doesn't plan on getting rich off the film, but hopes to make enough money to help get other projects off the ground.
Viner, who graduated from USC film school in 2007, has lived in Los Angeles for nine years. He makes ends meet by taking various movie industry-related jobs, many involving editing and post-production. One notable project he edited was "Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables,' " which was included on "The Expendables" Blu-ray.
Viner's dad, homebuilder Bill Viner, helped him find the Marana High School-area house to use for the shoot. Andrew Viner said it was nice to get back to Tucson. He usually only comes back a couple times a year.
He's focused on continuing his career momentum.
"The biggest thing to me is just to keep making stuff," Viner said. "Ideally, that's movies for me. … I'll see if I can make a career out of it."
