Designed by Daniel Michael DeLuca

Writer/Director/Producer Daniel Michael DeLuca has blessed all of us with the opportunity to make an extremely controversial and budgetary challenging project with his film Night of the Special ED.

Daniel Michael DeLuca first wrote the film as a 30 minute short film. Around that same time, Daniel, Trey A Simmons and Aaron Sweeting became a nearly inseparable trio.  Aaron and Trey were soon asked to help as both cast and crew for Daniel‘s controversial film. Aaron is a producer, the editor and playing the role “Jesus Christ.” Trey is a producer, production designer, a writer, 1st AD and playing the role “Dr. Brown.” In early 2009, Daniel asked Trey to improve and tighten the screenplay for ‘Night of the Special Ed’ so Daniel could submit the film into the greenlight approval process through the Los Angles Film School’s Production Office.  Trey spent a week on the computer polishing up Daniel‘s screenplay without toning it down much. Trey’s edit reconstructed scenes, smoothed out the story-arch structurally and tightened the story into something resembling exactly what the school claimed they expected from the screenplays. Daniel had sent Trey a bizarre twenty-four pages that had been transformed to 13 pages when Trey and Daniel submitted the film for approval.

One week later, all the other directors in Daniel‘s class recieved e-mails and/or letters from the Los Angeles Film School Production Office. Each message from school said  say yes or no to the school producing the film.  After the answers, the production office green light panel would give the writer notes.

A few more days passed and still no response to Daniel‘s film appeared. Daniel, Trey and Aaron believe the school will not agree to green light the script due to the controversial subject matter. The day Daniel received his letter. The three guys shake with excitement as Daniel opens the note. The production office sent Daniel a one word message saying, “NO!” Not one note,  nothing but a big ‘No!’

This just made the need to actually make the film even more important to the three morally uninhibited filmmakers.  As discussion of the film continued, Daniel began working on a new story to do through the school. For school Dan will make a much more simple film that will challenge the audience, only with more subtly. With Daniel planning to shoot a different story as his thesis short film, this meant Night of the Special Ed could continue to be worked on and developed into a full feature length film, as early as Spring 2010.  On Wednesday, June  17th, 2009 in the late afternoon, Trey began expanding the Night of the Special Ed script, reintroducing several ideas previously abandoned. The expansion allows for the inclusion of several brand news ideas from the minds of Daniel, Aaron and Trey. (NOTE 1: Trey finished the first rough draft of the script on June  19th, 2009) (NOTE 2: Script has 140 pages as of June 20th, 2009).

THE ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS!

Daniel created a myspace page for Night of the Special Ed a while back. On the page he included a beautifully direct logline:

“Jesus Christ is sent back to Earth to fight an army of mutated retards, but to get the antidote and save mankind, he must break all 10 Commandments before the sun rises.”

<< DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ & UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS BEFORE MOVING ON! >>

I believe I have already mentioned that the film is controversial. The LAFS has a no censorship policy but would not go anywhere near the film. The LAFS gave Night of the Special Ed the big “no” during the same month they agreed produced a 20 minute film about Child Molestation. There is only other time the LAFS said “no, never” based on the subject, was a student who wrote a pornographic film.  Now, moving on. We, the producers of Night of the Special Ed, (Daniel Michael DeLuca, Trey A Simmons and Aaron Sweeting) want to make sure you the reader hereby, have run, understand and accept that some topics mentioned below are generally socially inappropriate and/or controversial. Again, we remind you, Night of the Special Ed is a controversial film that does not tiptoe around subject matter like a tease. Instead the film seems to revel in the glory of its controversies much like a Roman Emperor bathing in the jewelry and gold of Rome’s conquered subjects, the film cannot help but giggle coyly at itself at points, for so, well… naughty.

::end disclaimer::

::Synopsis::.

(NOTE: I didn’t include a story synopsis. Dan covered it, so I wrote a literary analysis)

The story of Night of the Special Ed is structurally deceiving. complicated and offers the hero, Jesus Christ, four simultaneous struggles he must face and overcome before the sunrise the next morning.  Jesus is antagonized almost immediately by a man named Steve. Jesus must not become a victim of the R-Tardian plague, at least long enough to reverse the virus’ spread. Jesus finds countless obstacles at everyone extreme. Finally, Jesus struggles greatly with himself throughout the film because he must act against the man he was born to be…

The four distinct struggles blend into one story about Jesus Christ having to physically, get through impossible odds and he must emotionally risk his image in the eyes others, on Earth and Heaven alike, but he has to some how keep himself grounded and self-aware.  Jesus is like ‘Malcolm X‘ even because he knows the end is coming, he knows he has to leave the fight behind as his “students” characters personal end would not be affect by the rest of the story. But, that why we tell those stories, its the meaning behind their repeated struggles against stronger force, but something

The next layer, just below the top surface,  contains many smaller and more particular details. Specifics of actions, mannerisms, the filth on the road, food to sustain over the shoot, the light levels in a car,  a park, a hallway and also the movement.  This layer is where we will face the most targeted questions, where we will gain the most exposure and we may get threatened with said items. This layer mixes two highly stylistic film styles. The lighting uses them together but two types set independently of one another. If the moment becomes about the shock, slock, gore, blood, or sex, then a more 1970s explotion it appears like in style.

The final layer to the story is the comedy, whuc bebt shoe…  A great deal of research has been completed by Daniel and Trey, with more do to. They search for items or events that the pinpointing specific historic events, religious, political, wars, and even popular culture things the right time…

Technically Night of the Special ED, in regards to its genre would be… um… well… A satirical, post-apocalyptic, erotic, religious, thriller, sci-fi, horror, comedy… I think.

Designed by Daniel Michael DeLuca

The film has a crew and cast filled with close friends, aiming to help create and bring to life the unique visions and unbelievably imaginative ideas buzzing around in mind of Christopher Ippolito.

Christopher ‘Ippy’ Ippolito is a native of Washington State. He moved to Los Angeles in the Summer of 2008, along with his girlfriend Sarah Yerkan, where he began attending the Los Angeles Film School. It was at the Los Angeles Film School where  NIR Media’s Trey A Simmons met and quickly befriend the eccentric, random and yet brilliantly creative Ippy.

The short film About:Blank is a dramatic, suspensful and experimental science-fiction filled with symbolism, hidden messages, hidden themes, dynamic images. The story follows a heart-broken mid-20s insomniac named David, who makes his living at a company protecting satellite systems. His at-first-glance mindless job offers him opportunties that allow him to fuel his personal interest in technological systems. David creates a  virtual reality program that is fed through the satelite system with offers the insomniac David a way to dream and ecscape his fate.  Sarah, a beautiful young woman who has an office just doors away from David, ends the seemingly serious relationship that had been blossoming between the herself and David. After the heart-break David feels when Sarah ends their relationship, he logs more and more hours into his vitual reality world. He hides in the virtual world so much that his mind finds it harder to distinguish between the two.

There is so much more to the story, but I dare not even try to begin explaining more.  I do not assume to fully understand it and he has been explaining and explaining. I know he sees it, I know we can create what he sees and I know he is quite versitle.

This particular project will be significantly different during the production period, when compared to traditional productions and the other productions we’ve working on.  Ippolito has a unique approach, but it works for him.  For those of us hired or asked to help him make his vision real, you just have to trust Ippy, stay open-minded, relaxed and be perpared for anything.

Persons involved in the project:

Christopher Ippolito – Writer, Director, Producer Production Designer, Director of Photography, Costume Designer and more.

Sarah Yerkan – Performing as “SARAH,” CoWriter, Assistant Director, Producer, Photography, and more.

Trey A Simmons – Performing as “DAVID,” and Whatever tasks Ippy asks, actual position names to be determined later.

Aaron Banks - Performing as “JOHN” and Whatever tasks Ippy asks, actual position names to be determined later.

Daniel Michael DeLuca – Whatever tasks Ippy asks, actual position names to be determined later.

Aaron Sweeting – Whatever tasks Ippy asks, actual position names to be determined later.

Antonio Valle – Whatever tasks Ippy asks, actual position names to be determined later.

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We begin shooting About:Blank tomorrow afternoon and I am quite excited. Its going to be a strange experience for me to be on set, where I am playing the lead role. I did not really think I  would be acting much out here. On that note, I need to get back to tightening up my lines for the scenes tomorrow.

-TreyASimmons