"The Intimmydator"

A movie by John Henley and David Rutter

This is a 2007 ACTRA Co-op competition "More Cut, Less Action" entry

The maximum length for these competition movies is 90 seconds. With all the various events we wanted to include, we knew it would be a tight fit but with some ruthless editing we just scraped in.

This is the second co-op competition for John and the first for David, and despite the cold weather we had an interesting and enjoyable time ably supported by our lead actor Doreen Spencer and supporting actor Richard Russell.

John Henley

Normally in front of a camera, John has had the opportunity, through this co-op project, to do something that he really enjoys - get behind a camera and shoot the movie. The icing on the cake was being able to do the editing too!

Doreen Spencer

Probably best known for her role in a series of Leon's Furniture store "Ho, Ho, Ho" Christmas commercials, "Empty Bedroom" and "Empty Diningroom". Doreen brings a sense of mischief to her role in "The Intimmydator". An active dancer-tap - jazz and clog - she performs annually at the Oakville Theatre, Ontario.

David Rutter

An experienced director and actor from the theatre stage, David has taught drama for 35 years and has spent the last 10 with ACTRA and Equity. Improv experience and a love of comedy hopefully show up in this short.

Richard Russell

When an actor, required for one scene, became ill the day of the shoot, Richard stepped up to the plate to help us out. The mark of a true professional!

SYNOPSIS:

The requirements of the competition restricted the subject to the need for more Canadian content in movies made in Canada, and less reliance on the work that comes to "Hollywood North" from the production companies in the U.S.A.

The second requirement was that the movie should not be any longer than 90 seconds.

One of these days, when ACTRA gets its act together, they will realise that they are asking people to get involved, produce more "Canadian" movies and even support this Co-op competition. But does anyone see the entries? Do they encourage the creators, cast and crew by providing a congratulatory pat on the back? Like hell they do! What is the point of having the competition if even the winners get minimal exposure.... forget about everybody else who spent hours working on a project.

If they don't show a degree of respect to the people who, with encouragement, might actually go on to produce films that would employ Canadian actors, then the competition is doomed.

The 2007 winner's film ran for more than the specified 90 secs but because a couple of "names" were attached to it no one had the guts to reject the entry for not complying with the rules.

They can't even be bothered to show the winning entries at the Awards show in the evening of the February conference as an entertaining interlude. Why not be like the Academy Awards and show a number of entries (they only last 90 seconds each so it is not as though showing them will make a big demand on anyone's time!)? Exposure of that ilk brings pride to all involved, amusement to the audiences, and encouragement for those who didn't win, to do better next time.

Is that really too much to expect?

To view this "chef d'oeuvre" Click Here and enjoy the late Doreen Spencer's legacy.