Damon Maulucci: Writer/Director, DETONATOR

1Q: Tell us a little about how you came to be involved in DETONATOR.

Keir had this idea about two old friends in trouble with a dangerously twisted old punk named, Dutch, who ended up being embodied by the amazing Robert Longstreet. Both of us had been working on each other’s scripts for years and were waiting around for things to get funded. Keir had a connection to a “name” actor who used to be in a well-known TV drama and was told to get the script ready in like 16 days.  We were talking about how he could do it and right then and there decided to write it together.  We wrote the first draft in about 14 days.  I don’t think it even found its way into the actor’s hands, but we both got really vested in the world and its characters. Around that time we were both talking about our lives and respective families and Keir was about to have his son, Lorenzo.  It all felt very personal and we decided we had to pool our resources and make it happen ourselves.  Long story long, we found two great actors (Lawrence Michael Levine and Benjamin Ellis Fine) and shot a preview trailer over a frigid night in Philadelphia.  We used that preview to raise the seed money and it grew from there.

Q2: Cinequest is proud to host the World Premiere of DETONATOR. Explain to the audience how you feel about bringing this film before audiences for the first time, and what do you think their reaction will be to your film?

I’m very excited to have people see the film, react to it and make some sort of connection.  I expect anything but indifference.

3Q: What was your best and/or worst experience while making DETONATOR?

My best experience was collaborating with our DP, Michael Cano and our great actors, Lawrence, Ben Fine, Sophia Takal, Dawn L. Hall, Robert Longstreet and Joe Swanberg to name a few.  Despite all the rumors and gossip about two directors 🙂 Keir and I are very close and it was fun that we both had our own relationships with everybody and got on as one big family. When everything was clicking it felt like a high functioning three ring circus.

There were gunshots and car chases on the streets of Philly, but my worst experience was, no doubt, driving around the city. I was staying in the cast house with many of our actors and because of the film’s budget I was not only a director, but also a driver. This compromised some of my relationships.

4Q: Festival audiences often have to make hard decisions about what to see, and the catalog descriptions sometimes run together. In your own words, why should people see your film?

This film’s got something I know some people will want to see because I know I’ve been waiting to see it.  It’s a punk rock thriller
about toxic friendships, high stakes, family and loss. Maybe people can check out our trailer.

Q5: There are now so many different ways in which to distribute a film; each has pros and cons. What are your hopes or plans for future distribution?

Surprisingly, after beginning my life in film shooting on 16mm and editing on a flatbed, a moviola to be specific, I feel more comfortable than ever with the new media landscape. I’m less discriminative of the size of the screen and just want to tell a story. Maybe I have to lie to myself, but I figure we found a way to make this film so now we’re gonna find an audience.  Feeling so personal about this film means I can live with it for a couple of years.