P R O D U C T I O N N O T E S
NEO NED’s summation, while strikingly
controversial, does not really express the subtleties and
larger themes of what this most original film is about.
“It’s a slice of life story,” says
Director Van Fischer. “Of how two very different
people can have an everlasting effect on one
another.”
This movie goes beyond the basic
description of its plot, however. “You have to let
people know that NEO NED is not about neo-nazis, it is not
about Hitler,” producer David E. Allen points out.
“It is about two people who, although from totally
opposite ends of the spectrum, find a friendship and love when
they are least expecting it. Look at the film’s
title: Ned becomes a new or neo person because of a
fateful meeting with the one person in the world that can
change him.”
Lest one be too easily put off by
this description, Fischer says: “I think the
description of the film is what gives it a good hook.
Audiences may come in to see the movie with a
pre-conceived idea of what it's about, but once they see the
film and find it is so much more than what they thought it
would be, I think they will enjoy it. This film explores a
subject that is all around us but no one talks
about.”
And of course, there is the controversy of
the plotline. “Racism is in the eye of the
beholder,” says producer Mark Borman. “Ned is
racist in the beginning, because he was taught to be that way
by his father. But by falling in love with Rachael
– well – she breaks his heart. Racism is not
always what it seems. Hopefully the movie will cause a
stir and people will want to see what all the fuss is about.
It’s easy to say that NEO NED is a film about a skin head
who falls in love with a black girl who thinks she’s
Hitler,” says Borman, “and that’s okay.
But when audiences see the film they will be very much
surprised.”
About the Writer:
For screenwriter Tim Boughn, NEO NED marks
both the first screenplay that he has written as well as the
first one of his efforts to be made into a motion picture.
“I had, maybe naively, written the script and then
sent it to the Slam Dance Film Festival,” Boughn relates.
In addition to being a winner in the
screenplay competition, it created some serious buzz. One
of those paying attention was director Van Fischer, whose film
“Blink of an Eye” screened there the same year.
“He was the only director who
approached me about my screenplay,” Boughn says.
“The others were producers. And he was
willing to option it,” so that’s how the journey of
bringing NEO NED to the screen began.
“I wanted to tell a story about a
dysfunctional family,” says Boughn. “I had
worked at a group home for abused boys and this was the
inspiration behind NEO NED. They had very messed up
lives, very tragic lives. Their stories were very
compelling.”
But it would be wrong to strictly classify
this film as purely a drama. “The comedy in this
film erupts as it does in life. It can appear in any
given moment, just by natural happenstance,” director Van
Fischer points out. “Sometimes it’s there to
break the tension or divert attention, just as it is in life.
It’s important to note that in moments of passion,
people often say stupid things. And it’s amazing
how quickly audiences seem to like Ned, regardless of his
offensive nature.”
“I knew that I had just read one of
the best-written, most compelling stories that I had ever come
across,” says Producer David Allen, who financed the
film. “You read the script, and as great as it is,
you just know, that if you get the right people to play the
roles, it will transcend the written word and become a
masterpiece of entertainment that many people will
enjoy.”
“NEO NED is a coming of age
story,” producer Mark Borman adds. “In parts
it is a skewed, unlikely romantic comedy.”
About the Actors:
Starring as Ned is Jeremy Renner, whose
fine-tuned performance actually made viewers almost sympathetic
in his recent portrayal of the notorious serial killer Jeffrey
Dahmer, in the film DAHMER. “Ned’s journey is
full of adversity,” Renner says. “He’s
a mixed bag of short comings and illusions. But
he’s very committed.”
As Ned’s love interest, the alluring
Gabrielle Union adds a strong believability to her portrayal of
the traumatized and suffering Rachael. “I think
deep down inside Rachael believes that Ned is a good
person,” she says. “She’s been
searching for a good person and in Ned she sees someone who
likes her for herself. And that’s what she’s
been searching for. The human psyche is very fragile and
we should be kinder to each other,” Gabrielle Union says.
Watching these two actors play off each
other was a revelation. “We spent a bit of time
together before the cameras started rolling,” Union
details. “So when it came to the point where we
really had to connect it was easy. Jeremy was so amazing
that I forgot I was in a scene with another actor.”
“We were just playing off each other
and seeing what happened,” Renner concurs.
And as the person who must negotiate
the proper path to putting these damaged personalities back on
the right track, veteran actor Cary Elwes brings a fine
sensitivity to his role as Dr. Magnuson. “My
initial reaction when I read the script was that I was
impressed how original it was,” Elwes reveals.
“The story had a wonderful through-line.
Usually it’s so difficult to deal with a troubled
youth and not glorify him or make him unsympathetic. This
script is very clever.”
As a key member of the cast who must
interact with both the patients and the doctor, Orderly Johnny
is given cinematic life by Ethan Suplee. “This
movie is able to deal with heavy issues in a funny way,”
Suplee opines. “It’s a comedy with tension
and there’s a great relief when those comic moments
happen.”
Rounding out the cast are Sally Kirkland as
Shelley, Steven Railsback as Mr Day, Richard Riehle as Officer
Pendleton and Eddie Kaye Thomas as Joey, one of the mental
hospital patients.
About Jeremy Renner (NED):
Crass and foul-mouthed on the outside, Ned
is so much more than that. He is a wounded human being.
“Ned is about abandonment, love, loss and trying to
achieve something that’s very fulfilling in one’s
life,” reveals Renner.
“We needed someone who could
absolutely live in the part,” explains director Van
Fischer.
“I like characters that live
in their own world,” producer Mark Borman says.
Which, for Renner, was exactly how he approached the
role.
“I researched a little bit of
information about Neo Nazis,” Renner says.
“But not too much. I just wanted to be aware
as to what it was all about. I felt that Ned was much more of
an instinctual type of character,” he continues.
“There are no limitations with this guy, he’s
very disillusioned.”
“One of the best things about NEO NED
for me,” says David Allen, “was seeing Jeremy
entirely take on the character of Ned, body and soul. He
has the widest range of emotion in this film of anything
he’s ever done, and he was the only one who could have
pulled the role of Ned off.”
“Jeremy’s performance is
exactly how I had read it. And Van Fischer’s
direction captured the tone exactly as I had read it
too,” says Borman.
“Jeremy was amazing,”
Fischer says. “He jumped into Ned’s skin and
really became this person. To look a person you care
about in the face, repeating racial slurs over and over takes
unbelievable control.”
“He is truly a gifted and
compassionate actor,” McCaffrey observes.
“His eyes translate his soul.”
About Gabrielle Union (Rachael):
Who could have imagined the beautiful and
tough GABRIELLE UNION in the role of Rachael, a young woman who
has been molested, had a daughter from that traumatic
experience and who now suffers from post traumatic stress
syndrome?
“I just wanted a change from
romantic comedies and action films,” says the versatile
actress. “I wanted to try something completely out
of the box and take some chances to improve as an
actress.”
“Coming off of Bad Boys 2,
where Gaby is poised, beautiful and always confident, she now
shows us a different side of her, one that’s very
vulnerable,” Borman points out.
“Gabrielle’s challenge in
NEO NED,” according to McCaffrey, “was to find the
right balance all the while keeping her own
individuality.”
Now with Rachael, Union is indeed
able to create another memorable screen portrait for her
portfolio. “I wanted to play someone who had to
figure out how to get through the day and in the end be a good
mother to her child,” she says.
“Gabrielle was really
wonderful,” Fischer says. “She found the
perfect balance of emotional instability in Rachael. It
is so difficult to play the subtleties of mental trauma, and
she is able to convincingly pull it off.”
About the Filmmakers:
“When people see NEO NED,” says
producer David E. Allen, “I want them to be open-minded
and alert to stories about people in totally different walks of
life, especially when compared to the regular popcorn movies.
I want audiences to feel the love, the pain, the feelings
of the main characters and empathize with what they are going
through.”
“The real challenge was that we
actually got this film made,” producer Mark Borman
continues. “It’s hard enough to make
independent films, but to make one with this subject matter, on
this budget level and to have the cast that we had commit
themselves unconditionally to the material was a real
shocker.”
“What I want is for people to
walk out of the theatre and over dinner talk about it, how much
they want to see it again, this time bringing along ten
friends,” he opines.
“I wanted to make this movie because
I saw an opportunity to help put together a film that was
special in content,” says producer Valerie McCaffrey, who
cast the film. “Actors responded to this quirky,
character-driven story. It began with the script for me
and continued on with director Van Fischer’s undying
passion to make this movie.”
According to director Van Fischer,
“Making NEO NED was a labor of passion and love.”
After optioning the script, he worked on putting the
right cast together for over three years before the project
finally came together.
“The best part of making NEO
NED was, for me, watching it come off the page. After
three years of working on the script,” Fischer says,
“it was a gift to show up each day and watch the actors
breathe life into it”
“I think of myself as someone who can
read a piece of material and see a story in his head. And
I like to tell stories,” Fischer says. “And I
work with the actors, who have their own vision, to tell the
story. We all want the best performances that we can get.
In the end, we had an amazing group of very talented
people who worked together for very little money to create a
project that really deserved to be made.”