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THE FILM

In the dead of night, a recently unemployed insomniac wanders the streets of New York discovering a city beyond her wildest imagination.

Luci loses her job and times are tougher than ever.  Unable to sleep, she begins an after-hours journey embarking on a series of strange encounters as she wanders the dark metropolis.  During one unforgettable night, Luci comes face to face with her innermost fears and desires as she tries to find her way back home.  

Based on a concept by Jenn Dees and Gary King, WHAT’S UP LOVELY is a drama about the struggle to survive the city while battling the enemy within ourselves.

Drama (Feature) 
Country: USA
Release Year: 2010

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

As a filmmaker I want to experiment, try different things and discover who I am.   I feel that I am still early on in my development.   Prior to shooting “What’s Up Lovely” I had just completed two films that more or less dealt with multiple characters.  With this film, I wanted to scale back and tell a more intimate tale about one character -- something that could be more personal to both the audience and myself.

Influenced by the more abstract and experimental works of David Lynch, Maya Deren, Wong Kar-Wai and Steven Soderbergh, I aimed to create a film that does not have a straightforward narrative, but rather something a bit looser in feel.  I hope this film demands a second viewing (if not more) to grasp its carefully constructed framework.  For me, the ideal situation is for the viewer to draw their own conclusions on what happens with Luci (played by Jenn Dees) -- and whatever that is to them is indeed the film’s “correct answer”.  In fact, if people are to call this film unpredictable and uncategorizeable then I will be a very happy filmmaker.

With this film I also wish to show New York City and its neighboring boroughs as an empty place that I've experienced during the wee hours of the night (or mornings depending how you look at it) when most sane people have gone to bed.  The city is not always overcrowded and overpopulated as one would think.  I find it fascinating that there are many opportunities when you can find yourself truly alone in the big city.  One of the main goals of “Lovely” was to capture this feeling.  We explored and shot in desolate places that some people aren't familiar with -- as opposed to being in the middle of Times Square.  I wanted to walk along the outskirts -- just as the main character Luci does.

Finally, I really enjoyed exploring Luci’s sense of loneliness as I was making this film.  Protagonists who find themselves isolated and restless in their environment fascinate me.  I hope to examine this concept further with upcoming film projects utilizing different characters and settings.  Taking inspiration from works that operate as a collective (Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales”; Kieslowski’s “Three Colors Trilogy”; Kaurismäki's “Proletariat Trilogy”), I've decided to make "Lovely" the first part of the "Loneliness Trilogy".

“What’s Up Lovely” is a new stage in my continuing development and it excites me like no other project I have done yet.

Gary King

Writer/Director

THE PRODUCTION

“WHAT’S UP LOVELY” was shot over 21 days with 2 Canon HV30 cameras and a Nikon D90 Digital SLR.   Using this equipment, the team kept very mobile as they moved about the 40 locations in and around New York City.  

The film’s concept was conceived over a few conversations between Gary King, Jenn Dees and Jason Varner.  King wrote an 8-page treatment laying out the basic storyline, but the spine of the production is improv based.  The crew was comprised of mainly 4 people: Director, DP, Wardrobe/Make-Up and a Production Assistant.

You can read more details about it at the NEW BREED (a DIY Filmmaking Blog) as well as Gary's Filmmaking Blog.