Talent - Director/Producer Maurice Moore

In earlier posts, I blithely mentioned Maurice Moore as "the director", without so much as the briefest explanation, as though you and he needed no introduction, but were already good friends from waaaay back.

Let's fix that.

I met Moe... I dunno, 4-5 years ago.  We've worked on different projects together, in a variety of capacities: I directed him in Mind Reader 8 (which he also acted as producer on), I edited his short film "In One Lifetime", he directed (the short version of) a script I wrote, "The Maid".

And those are just the projects I've worked with him on.  The man's got a ton of other credits to his name, in a bunch of other capacities.  He's been busy acting, writing, producing, and directing.  And not just movies, but plays, classes.  Etc.

As an actor, he started early:  When he was a kid, he had a speaking role in Spielberg's classic "The Color Purple".  He's since gone on to work for other high-profile directors:  Alan Parker ("The Life of David Gale" with Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet), Marcus Nispel ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with Jessica Biel, produced by Michael Bay), and Steve Mims ("One Eye Peeled", where Moe played five different characters).

As a producer, he founded ReelEyes Productions in Austin, then F.L.O.a.T Films in Los Angeles.  He's produced a number of short films (including the aforementioned Mind Reader 8) as well as a feature film (Alan Ray's Deadland Dreaming).

As a director, he's done plays (Athol Fugard’s "Master Harold and the Boys", Bruce Bonafede’s "Advice to the Players", and August Wilson's "King Headley II") and a run of music videos and short films for his F.L.O.a.T Films entity.

And I haven't even mentioned his writing.

Let's just say that, for every project I've seen him work on (both mine and other's), he was The go-to-guy.  The man gets it done.

So when Moe told me he wanted to option Sixufus?  I knew that it would get done, and by a man who would do it with excellence and professionalism.

And to close, it turns out that Maurice's (director's) demo reel is on the web.  Check it:

Preproduction: Concept, Part 3

Getting back to concept.  Thought about a lot of different things, but noir seems more my style, personally.  Love Raymond Chandler's stuff, and look at Mind Reader 8.

So, where are we?  1) Zero budget (priority one), 2) Minimal locations and actors, 3) Compelling; never seen before.

If we think further along the lines of being minimal:  Back in the old days (ie., Hellenistic Age), actors would cover their faces so they could play multiple parts.  So what if we get people to play more than one role?

First, thought "is this like a variety show?"  Our actor sings, then dances, then does a dramatic reading?

Hm.  Doesn't really play to my strong suit, really.  Meaning it would take me longer and I'd probably wish I'd spent my time doing something more interesting.

But the idea is compelling enough to explore a bit.  How to get one actor to play a lot of roles...

Hey, what about split personality, a.k.a., "Dissociative identity disorder"?!

So there ya go.  A noir-ish piece about a guy or gal with multiple personalities.  Add something of value that our characters are willing to do ANYTHING for (ie, loads of cash), and now we've got... Sixufus.

Next:  The script.  (Or maybe something else.  Don't hold me to that.)