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For Immediate release:
Austin Premier Screening of Indie Psychological thriller
DEEPER and DEEPER followed by live movie soundtrack performance After-Party
The Award Winning Independent erotic suspense thriller “Deeper & Deeper” returns home for an Austin Premier Screening at The Violet Crown Cinema, 434 W 2nd St. (512) 565-8841 on Monday, June 20th at 6:30pm, $7 tickets available in advance at AusTix.com. A smashing sultry after-party (free to the public) will follow from 8–10pm at Lamberts, 401 West 2nd St. (512) 494-1500 with stars and director in attendance. Audience members and party guests will be treated to “A night of Sultry Seduction Through Song” featuring a live performance of the movie’s soundtrack by award winning composer Rick Dejonge and his band with vocal guests David Lago (star of Deeper and Deeper and Emmy award winner of “The Young and the Restless”) Austin’s own Mandy Lauderdale, Sydney Barrosse and Naomi Emmerson. The night is sure to get any heart pumping with unbridled desire. Lethal passion and perversion will prevail!
DEEPER AND DEEPER was directed by Mariusz Kotowski and Produced by Bright Shining City Productions with Executive Producer Heidi Hutter and Producers Mariusz Kotowski and Gilda Longoria. The film stars David Lago (The Young and The Restless and 7th Heaven), Cyndi Williams (Room) and Lisa Marie Lamendola (Prison Break). The writer is Cyndi Williams and Director of Photography is Leon Rodriguez. Picture editing by Brian Burrowes and original soundtrack is by Rick Dejonge. 93 minutes.
The award winning Deeper and Deeper starring David Lago and directed by Mariusz Kotowski is a suspense thriller by Austin Indie film company Bright Shining City Productions and is a story of a young, lonely bank teller who falls into a bizarre infatuation with an aloof, sexy customer, which leads him on a voyeuristic voyage of obsession, erotically charged and tragically fatal.
The film had its World Premier in Los Angeles at the Polish Film Festival in April 2010 and has been making the rounds at Film Festivals across the country ever since its completion last year winning 1st Place in the “Suspense Thriller” Category at the International Indie Gathering, Best Actor and Honorable Mention for Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival, and was winner of the EMPixx Award (Platinum), JamFest Honorable Mention Award (Bronze), The Award of Merit at the Accolade Competition and the Award of Merit at The Indie Fest. The film’s soundtrack by composer Rick Dejonge, is sultry and evocative and features vocal performances by Austin’s Mandy Lauderdale and Sydney Barrosse. It is available on Amazon and CD Baby. Visit www.deeperanddeepermovie.com for info and trailer.
THE FILM:
Obsession and lust are a recipe for disaster in this psychological thriller directed by Polish born Austin Director Mariusz Kotowski. Ryan (David Lago) is an insecure, lonely bank teller who is fated to always want what he cannot have. When the power driven, sexually aloof Angelica (Lisa Marie Lamendola) struts into his bank, his bizarre infatuation is set into high gear. Desperate to know everything about her, Ryan stumbles upon the perfect opportunity to position himself in a place of power and silent possession. He is hired by the needy, empty-nester Dolores (Cyndi Williams) to be her part-time maintenance man and surrogate son as she sets him up in her dead son’s apartment with a window directly across from his obsession. From this new voyeuristic vantage point, Ryan’s passion plummets safely down the barrel of a telescope. At a coward’s distance, he witnesses the revolving door of suitors unqualified for his beloved’s affections. Finally, convinced he is the only one to bring Angelica true happiness, he makes his move only to realize that he himself has unknowingly been the object of obsessive examination, which results in a tragic final escape. A provocative sexually charged game of cat and mouse where one never knows who laid the trap.
Deeper & Deeper marks the third film for the Austin based, Independent film company Bright Shining City Productions, but the first in the genre of “suspense thriller” for producer and director Mariusz Kotowski. “It was an obvious progression for me after making a documentary (Pola Negri: Life is a Dream in Cinema) and then a dramatic narrative (Esther’s Diary)”, says Kotowski as he explains that he was just attempting to follow in the footsteps of his film-making heroes such as Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder, who is also from Kotowski’s native country Poland. “What really interests me in making movies is getting inside the character’s mind; exposing their emotional life…where you have a character who is very strong or a character who is weak, and at some moment, for some reason, they change right in front of your eyes. But, the character doesn’t even know why they are changing. We, as the audience, understand that everyone can grow. I really enjoy watching this kind of transformation.” Director Kotowski, who is also credited with the story, smiles, “Deeper and Deeper is a highly provocative and voyeuristic film, where you can never be sure who is watching, or who is pulling the strings.”
Mariusz Kotowski, a 43 year old Polish born dance choreographer come film director has made three films in Austin since 2006 with his company Bright Shining City Productions (BSCP) and has used all Austin talent and crew. His first film, “Pola Negri: Life is a Dream in Cinema” was a documentary about silent film legend Pola Negri, who, also from Poland, paved the way in the early years of Hollywood for other actresses such as Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. Kotowski has also authored a biography about Negri and it is published in Polish by Prozynski Media. BSCP is currently developing a soon to be released DVD Box set of 4 of Negri’s early silent films which have been re-titled in English and re-scored with a beautiful original piano score by Rick DeJonge, also the composer of Deeper & Deeper’s soundtrack.
Rick Dejonge has recently been recognized for his outstanding career in the music industry with the 2011 Music Industry Award given by the Texas Bandmaster Association. He will be in San Antonio to receive the award in July. Kotowski says about the score of Deeper and Deeper, “It is a scintillating score reminiscent of the 40s and 50s that helps to create a stirring edge-of-your-seat suspense throughout the movie.”
Leon Rodriguez, Austin Director of Photography, creates the film’s tone via mirroring the lens quality of a telescope with its soft focus and saturated, sometimes muted colors. The darker tones and grainy quality reflect the lead character’s state of mind and psychological breakdown. The stark set design of Ryan’s apartment, for example, emphasizes his feeling of alienation and isolation; a single-mindedness in his task for he wants no distractions from his obsession.
Cyndi Williams who plays Dolores, the nosey, lonely building manager, is also the film’s screenwriter. She uses a “verite” style in the dialog creating a natural almost improvised quality, which further supports the “spying” voyeuristic intent. Cyndi is a founding core member of Austin Script Works, her plays include “A Name for a Ghost to Mutter,” “American Arcana,” “Where Are They Now?” and “Dug Up.” She starred in the independent film Room which garnered her a nomination for Best Lead Actress in the Independent Spirit Awards. She received the Karen Morley Award from the American Women Film Critics for her performance. She has made numerous stage appearances, including “The Assumption” for Refraction Arts Project, for which she serves as Managing Director.
David Scott Lago is an Emmy Award-winning actor and celebrates over a decade of achievement in the entertainment industry with five Emmy Nominations, in addition to his Emmy win for his portrayal of Raul on the number one rated CBS soap opera, “The Young and the Restless.” Lago is most often recognized by fans for his memorable recurring role of “Jeremy” on the classic, long-running Aaron Spelling television show, “7th Heaven.” In addition to his two television roles, the Cuban-American actor has starred-in and/or produced several independent feature films for the past five years while away from the small screen. Most notably among Lago’s film roles, is the highly-acclaimed thriller, The Commune which was just selected as a Finalist in the prestigious Hollywood filmmaker’s competition “Dances With Films” in June 2009. He is currently portraying Elvis in the stage production “Million Dollar Quartet” in Chicago.
Lisa Marie Lamendola originally from Rochester, New York, has hosted over 2,400 Live TV hours for the CDN shopping network. She has also been seen hosting for fitness shows such as the “Torso Tiger” and “Lasting Straight”, to name a few. Some Independent Film projects include, “Echo of Blue” and “Archie Lee”. Her TV work includes FOX’s, “Prison Break” and “Friday Night Lights”. She also played the role of Mrs. Ramos in “Kings of Appletown”, directed by Bobby Moresco (Academy Award Winner for the screenplay, Crash.)
