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Burn, Baby, Burn | Dark Romantic Comedy Short Film | New York City, NY

Burn, Baby, Burn is a dark romantic comedy about a chef who is hired by his ex to cater her wedding party. The film is about letting go of things that you love, but are holding you back.

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It is inspired by my decision to leave behind a career as a playwright, which I followed for twenty years. Theater was the main driving force in my life, and one of the decisions I made was to drop out of college to pursue my dream. At 35, after almost twenty years, I felt that I was giving theater a lot more than I was getting back. I went back to school and eventually got into the Film and Television program at NYU, and Burn, Baby, Burn is my thesis film! In May I will have a BFA in film and television production, with a focus on writing and directing.

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Since production began there have been some setbacks for sure! I lost producers early on. I replaced them with a very strong producer, but lost him to an acting job in Florida. I was finally approved for the project at NYU, right before Christmas break, which meant anyone who could work on it, went away or was completely on vacation mode for a month.

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Once the ball was finally rolling, the person who promised us the main location for our film, a restaurant in Brooklyn, ghosted on us, so we had to find a new location. Luckily, one of our actresses worked in a place that is used as a wedding venue, so we were saved. At the last minute, the actor I had cast as the star of the film was diagnosed with bronchitis, and even though he really wanted to do it, I had to re-cast him two days before shooting!

However, as I write this, we are halfway through production, and things have been going great! The footage looks nice, and the remaining rehearsals have been inspiring.  I am still dealing with the always present funding problems. I’ve taken out a high-interest loan to produce the film!

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If you would like to find out more about the project, or to donate to production cost, visit janthonyroman.com! After production, I will try to submit it to as many festivals I can afford to. I hope Burn, Baby, Burn will become a calling card to help launch my career!

Website:www.janthonyroman.com 

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