My Big Break
Encyclopedia
My Big Break is a 2011
documentary film
directed by Tony Zierra
starring Wes Bentley
, Tony Zierra, Brad Rowe
, Chad Lindberg
and Greg Fawcett
. The film was produced by MBB Group, Elizabeth Yoffe and Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra
, an aspiring filmmaker with no money, stars or crew, resorts to filming the lives of his four struggling actor roommates. Three of the actors, Brad Rowe
(Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
, Shelter
), Chad Lindberg
(October Sky
, The Fast And The Furious
) and Wes Bentley
(American Beauty
, The Hunger Games
) quickly hit it big, while the fourth actor, Greg Fawcett
, is nearly driven insane watching the others get famous.
It doesn't take long for the unsettling reality of stardom to set in. Lindberg's hope of becoming a leading man is crushed when he’s repeatedly told he doesn’t have the right look; Rowe ends up typecast as a pretty boy and can't break past his uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt; while Bentley, who has the most explosive career launch in decades, is quickly drawn into the darker side of the L.A. lifestyle. As the actors struggle with life in the public eye, Zierra deals with constant obstacles while he tries to complete his film - including being scrutinized and blocked by the actors' nervous agents. Each of the subjects is tested and changed by their encounters with the film industry.
The documentary ends with a follow-up Zierra filmed when he returns to Hollywood after a five year absence to find out what happened to each of his former roommates.
, Chad Lindberg
, Brad Rowe
and Greg Fawcett
, who were struggling actors. He thought that their pursuit of success in the film business would make an interesting story. At the time, in the 1990's, the concept of "reality" media was virtually unknown so Zierra's idea was considered by the actors and others in the industry to be unusual. He self-financed the production through the money he made at various jobs and by other means such as holding garage sales.
Zierra ended up filming almost every aspect of his roommates lives. He thought that it was possible that one of them might beat the odds and get some kind of break but more likely they would all end up leaving Hollywood discouraged. Whatever happened, Zierra felt that it would make for an intriguing film. However, three of the roommates ended up becoming successful quickly. Brad Rowe was cast as the love interest in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
, an independent gay-themed romantic comedy that was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival
. The film launched Rowe's career, he was featured prominently on the cover of US Magazine and labeled "The Next Big Thing". Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss also launched the career of actor Sean Hayes
who played the main character, Billy, in the film and went on to play Jack McFarland
on the long running television series Will & Grace
.
Chad Lindberg was cast in the film October Sky
and in many television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER
and The X-Files
.
Wes Bentley won the coveted part of Ricky Fitts in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty
and became an overnight sensation. Zierra ,who had already been following his roommates lives before they got their break was able to capture their success on camera as it happened.
Once the actors became successful, Zierra's project began to draw interest from the media and film industry insiders. However, that interest didn't immediately translate into financial backing which, as years passed, made continuing to film increasingly difficult. Additionally, the interest also brought problems as the people who handled the business end of the actors' burgeoning careers began to worry about the content of the footage that Zierra had of his roommates. The representatives of Wes Bentley at the William Morris Agency
were particularly concerned. Zierra refused requests to show the footage to anyone until he had finished filming.
In 2001, Zierra began to edit the 200+ hours of footage into a film titled Carving Out Our Name, a name taken from a line in the Counting Crows
song Round Here
. At the time, there were no non-linear editing systems that could allow independent filmmakers a way to edit their projects on a modest budget. Editing costs were exorbitant, so from week to week Zierra had to find a variety of ways to raise money to continue with post-production. He bartered, negotiated percentages of ownership in the future finished film and borrowed on credit cards, After dealing with repeated obstacles he finally completed Carving Out Our Name with backing from his friends Alex Ebert
and Tim Anderson of the band Ima Robot
. Ebert and Anderson became the executive producers and wrote most of the score for the film.
Carving emphasized the friendship among the roommates and their personal relationships with the women in their lives. The documentary was completed at a relatively high point in the actors' careers so it didn't show a full range of highs and lows in their lives. Carving was accepted into the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival
and premiered on the evening of September 10, 2001. It was extremely well received by the audience of 1000 people and generated a great deal of interest from the media and potential distributors.
At the film's afterparty Zierra's agent, Cassian Elwes
from William Morris Independent wanted to discuss the deals that were being offered by distributors but Zierra felt he should honor the friendship that Carving had captured over the years and just let everybody "enjoy themselves"; he decided to wait until the morning to discuss business with Elwes. The attacks on America the next day, September 11, 2001, brought everything to a halt and emotionally devastated all of the festival attendees. The Toronto International Film Festival was cancelled.
Carving Out Our Name was never released due to a combination of factors, including changes in the market after 9/11 and concerns by insiders in Hollywood that the film might have a negative impact on some of the actors' careers. In the early 2000's, filmmakers in Zierra's position were completely dependent on the tightly controlled Hollywood distribution system. There were no alternatives for independent filmmakers to distribute or market their own films because online outlets didn't exist. An independent film without Hollywood backing had no chance of being seen by the audience.
Zierra was extremely affected by the experience and suffered an emotional breakdown. He destroyed all copies of Carving Out Our Name, left Hollywood, and cut ties with everyone he had known there, including his former roommates.
Years later, Zierra decided to take the original footage out of storage and begin editing another film that would include his own experience making Carving. By this time, editing a film had become much more cost effective because of the introduction of the user friendly and affordable non-linear editing system Final Cut Pro
. Still, starting the film over from the 200+ hours was a massive undertaking. Whereas Carving focused on the success of the actors and their personal relationships, the new film, My Big Break, focuses on the and the ups and downs of the film business and how fame - or the lack thereof, affected all of them.
After contacting his former roommates, Zierra shot an update with Lindberg, Rowe and Fawcett, each of whom had gone through disappointments and setbacks in the film business. Despite Zierra's repeated attempts, Bentley wasn't willing to see him and communicated only through text messages. Bentley was reputed to be struggling with severe drug addiction but Zierra couldn't verify this.
Zierra ended up re-editing My Big Break numerous times. During the process he once again found himself dealing with the emotional impact of delving deeply into the story and had to put the film aside for periods of time. The ending of the film proved particularly difficult to lock down because the unresolved tensions between him and Bentley required him to construct Bentley's "update" in ways that never fully satisfied him.
In 2010 Bentley came forward and admitted to the press that his sudden rise to fame had sent him into a spiral of drug addiction from which he was now recovering. Zierra felt that the story finally had closure. He cut an ending that he was satisfied with and completed the documentary. From start to finish, My Big Break took 15 years to finish.
, who had been his friend, died in 2008. My Big Break is dedicated to Ledger.
but hadn't yet heard if he got the part. In My Big Break, Bentley discusses the experience of screen testing and his hope that he will be cast in the movie. Once Bentley landed the part, Zierra filmed him going to the Los Angeles premiere of American Beauty before the actor had any idea how the film or his performance would be received. The filmmaker was given rare access by Dreamworks
to film the premiere from the vantage point of the red carpet. Zierra subsequently filmed Bentley attending the film's premiere in Toronto as well as the media frenzy that surrounded Bentley after American Beauty became a critically acclaimed hit. My Big Break then follows Bentley through his fast rise to fame and his misgivings about the pressures of the film industry. The final cut of My Big Break incorporates Bentley's admissions to the press, a decade after American Beauty, that he became a heroin addict after his initial success and how his career is now getting back on track. Coincidentally, Ricky Fitts, the character Bentley played, became an iconic figure in popular culture because of his unusual habit of filming everything and everybody with his digital camera. At the time, the concept of people filming everything around them was strange and new. While Bentley was playing a character that represented the advent of a new digital media generation, his own life was being digitally chronicled by Zierra.
, HBO's fictional series about four friends living in Hollywood. Although Tony Zierra began filming his project long before Entourage, parallels exist between the two. They're both portraits of male friendship, Hollywood, stardom, and the ups and down of the film business. In My Big Break, Greg Fawcett's outspoken, often outrageous personality is similar to the character of Johnny Drama in Entourage. Wes Bentley and the fictional Vincent Chase
have a number of striking similarities. They both shot to stardom quickly and were viewed as "potentially the best young actor of his generation", they both angered high-powered Hollywood insiders by their unwillingness to "play by the rules", they both ended up struggling with severe substance abuse problems and were arrested while in possession of drugs. Perhaps the most direct similarity is that Bentley had a well-known feud with mega- producer Harvey Weinstein
while on Entourage Vincent Chase had a similar feud with Harvey Weingard, the fictional version of Weinstein. According to Entourage executive producer Mark Wahlberg
, Entourage was originally conceived of as a documentary about him and his friends but he chose a fictional approach to keep the content more satirical. Whereas Entourage is mostly light in tone and focuses on the flashy perks of Hollywood, My Big Break is much grittier. The documentary directly takes on the darker side of celebrity and the consequences of pursuing success and fame in the film business.
convention) in Florida. Other pre-2011 cuts have screened at George Washington University
, Bryn Mawr College
, Bennington College
, The Popular Culture/American Culture Conference, Artsfest Film Festival, The American Cinematic Experience Festival, the Boston Film Festival
and Raindance Film Festival
in London.
The film was also nominated for Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival in London.
2011 in film
The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra is an American director and producer. He has directed three movies: Carving Out Our Name, USA The Movie and My Big Break in which he also appeared,- External links :...
starring Wes Bentley
Wes Bentley
Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
, Tony Zierra, Brad Rowe
Brad Rowe (actor)
Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
, Chad Lindberg
Chad Lindberg
Chad Tyler Lindberg is an American actor. He is best known for his film role as Jesse in The Fast and the Furious and for a rape scene in the 2010 remake I Spit On Your Grave.-Life and career:...
and Greg Fawcett
Greg Fawcett
Greg Wendell Fawcett is an American film and television actor who began his career with the 1993 movie Naked Instinct...
. The film was produced by MBB Group, Elizabeth Yoffe and Tony Zierra
Plot
Filmed over ten years, this controversial documentary follows five roommates trying to make it in Hollywood who face the unexpected consequences of fame.Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra
Tony Zierra is an American director and producer. He has directed three movies: Carving Out Our Name, USA The Movie and My Big Break in which he also appeared,- External links :...
, an aspiring filmmaker with no money, stars or crew, resorts to filming the lives of his four struggling actor roommates. Three of the actors, Brad Rowe
Brad Rowe (actor)
Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
(Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss is a 1998 American independent, gay-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Sean P. Hayes, Brad Rowe, and Meredith Scott Lynn...
, Shelter
Shelter (2007 film)
Shelter is a 2007 American film directed and written by Jonah Markowitz. It stars Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, and Tina Holmes. It was the winner of "Outstanding Film – Limited Release" at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards, Best New Director and Favorite Narrative Feature at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film...
), Chad Lindberg
Chad Lindberg
Chad Tyler Lindberg is an American actor. He is best known for his film role as Jesse in The Fast and the Furious and for a rape scene in the 2010 remake I Spit On Your Grave.-Life and career:...
(October Sky
October Sky
October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who...
, The Fast And The Furious
The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)
The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 street racing action film starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. Directed by Rob Cohen, The Fast and the Furious was the first mainstream film to feature the Asian automotive import scene in North America. It is the first film...
) and Wes Bentley
Wes Bentley
Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
(American Beauty
American Beauty (film)
American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
, The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games (film)
The Hunger Games is an upcoming science fiction action drama film directed by Gary Ross and is based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth...
) quickly hit it big, while the fourth actor, Greg Fawcett
Greg Fawcett
Greg Wendell Fawcett is an American film and television actor who began his career with the 1993 movie Naked Instinct...
, is nearly driven insane watching the others get famous.
It doesn't take long for the unsettling reality of stardom to set in. Lindberg's hope of becoming a leading man is crushed when he’s repeatedly told he doesn’t have the right look; Rowe ends up typecast as a pretty boy and can't break past his uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt; while Bentley, who has the most explosive career launch in decades, is quickly drawn into the darker side of the L.A. lifestyle. As the actors struggle with life in the public eye, Zierra deals with constant obstacles while he tries to complete his film - including being scrutinized and blocked by the actors' nervous agents. Each of the subjects is tested and changed by their encounters with the film industry.
The documentary ends with a follow-up Zierra filmed when he returns to Hollywood after a five year absence to find out what happened to each of his former roommates.
Featured individuals
- Wes BentleyWes BentleyWesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
as Himself - Chad LindbergChad LindbergChad Tyler Lindberg is an American actor. He is best known for his film role as Jesse in The Fast and the Furious and for a rape scene in the 2010 remake I Spit On Your Grave.-Life and career:...
as Himself - Brad RoweBrad Rowe (actor)Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
as Himself - Greg FawcettGreg FawcettGreg Wendell Fawcett is an American film and television actor who began his career with the 1993 movie Naked Instinct...
as Himself - Tony ZierraTony ZierraTony Zierra is an American director and producer. He has directed three movies: Carving Out Our Name, USA The Movie and My Big Break in which he also appeared,- External links :...
as Himself - Lee DanielsLee DanielsLee Louis Daniels is an American actor, film producer, and director. He produced Monster's Ball and directed the film Precious, which received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director; the film won two of the awards.-Early years:Daniels was born on Christmas Eve, 1959, in...
as Himself - Michael Testa as Himself
- Ivana ChubbuckIvana ChubbuckIvana Chubbuck is an acting coach and author and is the founder and director of the Ivana Chubbuck Studio. Her students included Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Terrence Howard, Elizabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Djimon Honsou, America Ferrera, Eva Mendes, Kate Bosworth, Ian Somerhalder, April Bowlby and...
as Herself - Mark Skelly as Himself
- Jennifer Quanz as Herself
- Andrew TsaoAndrew TsaoAndrew Tsao is an American theatre and television director.His television credits include Home Improvement, Friends, Caroline in the City, Suddenly Susan, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, George Lopez, Working, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Wizards of Waverly Place.In 2000, Tsao directed the short...
as Himself - Mark SchallerMark SchallerMark Schaller is a psychological scientist who has made many contributions to the study of human psychology, particularly in areas of social cognition, stereotyping, evolutionary psychology, and cultural psychology. He is Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia.Schaller was...
as Himself
Production
'The production of My Big Break was fraught with setbacks and challenges. Tony Zierra originally intended to shoot a fiction film but while trying to find a script and secure financing he decided to film his roommates, Wes BentleyWes Bentley
Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
, Chad Lindberg
Chad Lindberg
Chad Tyler Lindberg is an American actor. He is best known for his film role as Jesse in The Fast and the Furious and for a rape scene in the 2010 remake I Spit On Your Grave.-Life and career:...
, Brad Rowe
Brad Rowe (actor)
Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
and Greg Fawcett
Greg Fawcett
Greg Wendell Fawcett is an American film and television actor who began his career with the 1993 movie Naked Instinct...
, who were struggling actors. He thought that their pursuit of success in the film business would make an interesting story. At the time, in the 1990's, the concept of "reality" media was virtually unknown so Zierra's idea was considered by the actors and others in the industry to be unusual. He self-financed the production through the money he made at various jobs and by other means such as holding garage sales.
Zierra ended up filming almost every aspect of his roommates lives. He thought that it was possible that one of them might beat the odds and get some kind of break but more likely they would all end up leaving Hollywood discouraged. Whatever happened, Zierra felt that it would make for an intriguing film. However, three of the roommates ended up becoming successful quickly. Brad Rowe was cast as the love interest in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss is a 1998 American independent, gay-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Sean P. Hayes, Brad Rowe, and Meredith Scott Lynn...
, an independent gay-themed romantic comedy that was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. The film launched Rowe's career, he was featured prominently on the cover of US Magazine and labeled "The Next Big Thing". Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss also launched the career of actor Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
who played the main character, Billy, in the film and went on to play Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
on the long running television series Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
.
Chad Lindberg was cast in the film October Sky
October Sky
October Sky is a 1999 American biographical film directed by Joe Johnston, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern. It is based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the launch of Sputnik 1 to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and who...
and in many television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
.
Wes Bentley won the coveted part of Ricky Fitts in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty
American Beauty (film)
American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
and became an overnight sensation. Zierra ,who had already been following his roommates lives before they got their break was able to capture their success on camera as it happened.
Once the actors became successful, Zierra's project began to draw interest from the media and film industry insiders. However, that interest didn't immediately translate into financial backing which, as years passed, made continuing to film increasingly difficult. Additionally, the interest also brought problems as the people who handled the business end of the actors' burgeoning careers began to worry about the content of the footage that Zierra had of his roommates. The representatives of Wes Bentley at the William Morris Agency
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
were particularly concerned. Zierra refused requests to show the footage to anyone until he had finished filming.
In 2001, Zierra began to edit the 200+ hours of footage into a film titled Carving Out Our Name, a name taken from a line in the Counting Crows
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
song Round Here
Round Here
"Round Here" was released in 1994 from Geffen Records as the second single from the Counting Crows' debut album, August and Everything After ....
. At the time, there were no non-linear editing systems that could allow independent filmmakers a way to edit their projects on a modest budget. Editing costs were exorbitant, so from week to week Zierra had to find a variety of ways to raise money to continue with post-production. He bartered, negotiated percentages of ownership in the future finished film and borrowed on credit cards, After dealing with repeated obstacles he finally completed Carving Out Our Name with backing from his friends Alex Ebert
Alex Ebert
Alex Ebert is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.-Early life:...
and Tim Anderson of the band Ima Robot
Ima Robot
-Band history:Ima Robot formed in the late 1990s, after vocalist Alex Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, and became successful in the early 2000s after signing with Virgin Records. The band's other original members were Timmy "the Terror" Anderson, Oligee, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and the prolific...
. Ebert and Anderson became the executive producers and wrote most of the score for the film.
Carving emphasized the friendship among the roommates and their personal relationships with the women in their lives. The documentary was completed at a relatively high point in the actors' careers so it didn't show a full range of highs and lows in their lives. Carving was accepted into the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and premiered on the evening of September 10, 2001. It was extremely well received by the audience of 1000 people and generated a great deal of interest from the media and potential distributors.
At the film's afterparty Zierra's agent, Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes is an independent film producer and agent, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the independent film industry.-Biography:...
from William Morris Independent wanted to discuss the deals that were being offered by distributors but Zierra felt he should honor the friendship that Carving had captured over the years and just let everybody "enjoy themselves"; he decided to wait until the morning to discuss business with Elwes. The attacks on America the next day, September 11, 2001, brought everything to a halt and emotionally devastated all of the festival attendees. The Toronto International Film Festival was cancelled.
Carving Out Our Name was never released due to a combination of factors, including changes in the market after 9/11 and concerns by insiders in Hollywood that the film might have a negative impact on some of the actors' careers. In the early 2000's, filmmakers in Zierra's position were completely dependent on the tightly controlled Hollywood distribution system. There were no alternatives for independent filmmakers to distribute or market their own films because online outlets didn't exist. An independent film without Hollywood backing had no chance of being seen by the audience.
Zierra was extremely affected by the experience and suffered an emotional breakdown. He destroyed all copies of Carving Out Our Name, left Hollywood, and cut ties with everyone he had known there, including his former roommates.
Years later, Zierra decided to take the original footage out of storage and begin editing another film that would include his own experience making Carving. By this time, editing a film had become much more cost effective because of the introduction of the user friendly and affordable non-linear editing system Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
. Still, starting the film over from the 200+ hours was a massive undertaking. Whereas Carving focused on the success of the actors and their personal relationships, the new film, My Big Break, focuses on the and the ups and downs of the film business and how fame - or the lack thereof, affected all of them.
After contacting his former roommates, Zierra shot an update with Lindberg, Rowe and Fawcett, each of whom had gone through disappointments and setbacks in the film business. Despite Zierra's repeated attempts, Bentley wasn't willing to see him and communicated only through text messages. Bentley was reputed to be struggling with severe drug addiction but Zierra couldn't verify this.
Zierra ended up re-editing My Big Break numerous times. During the process he once again found himself dealing with the emotional impact of delving deeply into the story and had to put the film aside for periods of time. The ending of the film proved particularly difficult to lock down because the unresolved tensions between him and Bentley required him to construct Bentley's "update" in ways that never fully satisfied him.
In 2010 Bentley came forward and admitted to the press that his sudden rise to fame had sent him into a spiral of drug addiction from which he was now recovering. Zierra felt that the story finally had closure. He cut an ending that he was satisfied with and completed the documentary. From start to finish, My Big Break took 15 years to finish.
Portrayal Of Drug Use
My Big Break includes scenes of drug use as the aspiring actors and filmmaker get caught up in the negative side of the Hollywood lifestyle. The film deglamorizes what is euphemistically referred to as "partying" by showing the destructive consequences that substance abuse has on the careers and personal lives of those who become famous. In the film, Professor Mark Schaller, author of "The Psychological Consequences of Fame", discusses how celebrities often turn to the excessive use of drugs and alcohol to "escape the fishbowl of Hollywood" when they feel overwhelmed by pressure and scrutiny. Zierra decided to directly address the problem of substance abuse in Hollywood after Heath LedgerHeath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
, who had been his friend, died in 2008. My Big Break is dedicated to Ledger.
My Big Break and American Beauty
When Zierra first began filming his roommate Wes Bentley, the young actor had recently screen tested for the coveted of Ricky Fitts in American BeautyAmerican Beauty (film)
American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
but hadn't yet heard if he got the part. In My Big Break, Bentley discusses the experience of screen testing and his hope that he will be cast in the movie. Once Bentley landed the part, Zierra filmed him going to the Los Angeles premiere of American Beauty before the actor had any idea how the film or his performance would be received. The filmmaker was given rare access by Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
to film the premiere from the vantage point of the red carpet. Zierra subsequently filmed Bentley attending the film's premiere in Toronto as well as the media frenzy that surrounded Bentley after American Beauty became a critically acclaimed hit. My Big Break then follows Bentley through his fast rise to fame and his misgivings about the pressures of the film industry. The final cut of My Big Break incorporates Bentley's admissions to the press, a decade after American Beauty, that he became a heroin addict after his initial success and how his career is now getting back on track. Coincidentally, Ricky Fitts, the character Bentley played, became an iconic figure in popular culture because of his unusual habit of filming everything and everybody with his digital camera. At the time, the concept of people filming everything around them was strange and new. While Bentley was playing a character that represented the advent of a new digital media generation, his own life was being digitally chronicled by Zierra.
My Big Break and Entourage
My Big Break has repeatedly been referred to as 'a real-life EntourageEntourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, HBO's fictional series about four friends living in Hollywood. Although Tony Zierra began filming his project long before Entourage, parallels exist between the two. They're both portraits of male friendship, Hollywood, stardom, and the ups and down of the film business. In My Big Break, Greg Fawcett's outspoken, often outrageous personality is similar to the character of Johnny Drama in Entourage. Wes Bentley and the fictional Vincent Chase
Vincent Chase
Vincent "Vince" Chase is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series Entourage. He is played by Adrian Grenier.-Personal life:...
have a number of striking similarities. They both shot to stardom quickly and were viewed as "potentially the best young actor of his generation", they both angered high-powered Hollywood insiders by their unwillingness to "play by the rules", they both ended up struggling with severe substance abuse problems and were arrested while in possession of drugs. Perhaps the most direct similarity is that Bentley had a well-known feud with mega- producer Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
while on Entourage Vincent Chase had a similar feud with Harvey Weingard, the fictional version of Weinstein. According to Entourage executive producer Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
, Entourage was originally conceived of as a documentary about him and his friends but he chose a fictional approach to keep the content more satirical. Whereas Entourage is mostly light in tone and focuses on the flashy perks of Hollywood, My Big Break is much grittier. The documentary directly takes on the darker side of celebrity and the consequences of pursuing success and fame in the film business.
Screenings
The 2008 cut of My Big Break screened on September 26, 2008 at EYECON (the SupernaturalSupernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
convention) in Florida. Other pre-2011 cuts have screened at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
, Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
, The Popular Culture/American Culture Conference, Artsfest Film Festival, The American Cinematic Experience Festival, the Boston Film Festival
Boston Film Festival
Boston Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September....
and Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
in London.
Reception
My Big Break has traditionally received strong support and glowing reviews from its fans. The film won Best Documentary at the Boston Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Artsfest Film Festival 2009. It was also an official selection of The American Cinematic Experience Festival (Acefest) 2009, and Raindance Film Festival 2009 where it was nominated for Best Documentary.Multiple Versions
In order to build a buzz and test audience reaction an early cut of My Big Break was given an extremely limited release on DVD in 2008. This longer version is no longer available and did not include Wes Bentley's admission that he had been struggling with drug addiction. In 2009 a tightened cut of the documentary was shown at festivals, universities and conferences but was not made available to a wider audience. The final cut of My Big Break released, in 2011, deals directly with issues of substance abuse. It also includes a text update of what the main subjects of the documentary are doing as of the release.Awards
- Best Documentary (Artsfest 2009)
- Best Documentary (The Boston Film Festival 2009)
The film was also nominated for Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival in London.