One airborne missile. Two hours to live.
Samantha is a successful attorney, yet personally unhappy. Following her mother’s death, she grew apart from her father, and their relationship was never the same. The question she now faces is what to do, knowing that she only has two hours to live.
The film started as a pitch I had in the back of my head. I knew I wanted to talk about time, life and death. We usually live our lives thinking we want to live it to the fullest, after hearing the cliché we all know: “What would you do if today was your last day?”
I started thinking about it and could not find a definite answer. What does this question really mean?
After much thought, I ended up realizing that you would probably do what you love the most. Which takes me to my next question: What is that that you love the most? Eventually I came up with my answer. Family.
The title makes reference to the Doomsday Clock, which represents how close we are to a global disaster that is caused by mankind. And just in case you were wondering, we are at two minutes and a half as of today. So I thought, what would the people be like if we were only seconds away?
Based on this concept, I began developing the story, to which I ended up with an outline and a presentation. Ready to pitch. After a selection process, my story was one step closer to reality. That also meant I needed to write a script, to what I have to say: I have a very mechanical and methodical mind, properly assembled for a cinematographer or producer job, yet I don’t think I’m wired to be a screenwriter. Therefore I knew I needed a differently wired mind. Bryan Suarez, the director and co-writer, decided to come on board and jump into the abyss of this crazy yet amazing voyage.
Not much after that, we got an amazing crew who worked like a well-oiled machine. They were ready for the long hours of what production was going to be.
After that, we needed faces, faces that would give life to the characters we had in mind. Casting was a very enjoyable process, and we ended up finding very talented people. Ashley Brown, who plays the main role, brought our character from paper to real life. In a subtle, beautiful, and emotional way – all that we were looking for. But she wasn’t the only one, Rachel Schueg, who played the role of her assistant in the film, brought a delicate and beautifully executed performance. Both their characters were on the extremes of the spectrum – with Samantha being tough, self-protective, and active; while Rachel was sensible, open, and receptive.
The rest of the cast was fabulous. Steve Buck and Chris Croley did a magnificent job playing Samantha’s father; Jennifer Savage, played a terminally ill mother in a fantastic way; and to top it off, our young talent on set, Ellie Koch played a young Sam beautifully.
I knew that we were going to need some money for production so I ran an Indiegogo campaign while we preproduced. We successfully found a way to get the budget that we needed and shot it in three days.
It all came together in what I like to think is my best project so far. The crew and cast poured all of their hearts and souls and you can see that in the end result. I am thankful for the opportunity of telling the story I wanted to tell. It would’t have been possible if it wasn’t for them.
Samuel Romero
Executive Producer and Cinematographer – Three Seconds to Midnight
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