Horizon/Father of Invention Story from T-P

Company is keeping Tom Benson's promise of local film production

Posted by Mike Scott, Movie writer, The Times-Picayune June 15, 2009 5:00AM

Less than a year after Saints owner and local businessman Tom Benson relocated an Atlanta production company to town and vowed to deliver a feature film project to New Orleans with it, his Horizon Entertainment is weeks from making good on that promise -- and with some big-name help.

Two-time Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey ("American Beauty," "The Usual Suspects," "21") and actor/daredevil Johnny Knoxville (of "Jackass" and the locally shot "Dukes of Hazzard") are among the first cast members to sign on for the indie comedy "Father of Invention."

Pre-production is under way, and cameras will roll for five weeks starting June 29, with a potential release in spring or summer 2010. Trent Cooper ("Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector") will direct, and Horizon will produce with partners Sunrise Films and Spacey's TriggerStreet Productions.

Horizon exec Jason Sciavicco said the movie will be the first in a series of feature films shot in town by Horizon. A plan is in the works, he said -- with an announcement expected within days rather than weeks -- for a partnership between Horizon and London's Future Films that could see three to five features come to town during the next two years.

But first, "Father of Invention." Sciavicco said almost everything his company has done for the past 10 months -- including producing the football-oriented reality series "Two-A-Days" and providing production support services for the big-budget Sylvester Stallone feature "The Expendables" -- has been building up to this.

"Mr. Benson said it, and he kind of set the table for us, to find something and find it quick," Sciavicco said Wednesday afternoon in his office at the Benson-owned Fox 8 studios on South Jefferson Davis Parkway, just a stone's throw from the Superdome.

"We were hoping to make an announcement sooner after we got here, but it's a lot of work," he said. "It's been important to us to find that right project, with the right people attached. ... The films we make, we're going to proud of."

That means you won't see Horizon cranking out low-budget, high-return slasher films or boozy, low-brow teen comedies any time soon. Instead, as with "Father of Invention," its projects will have a more family-friendly vibe.

"I'll bet you I've easily read over 100 scripts. I've easily been in L.A. 20 times, just trying to get with the right people and the right group, and this is a film that we're excited about," Sciavicco said.

"Father of Invention" is described as a fictional character-driven comedy about a successful entrepreneur and TV infomercial pitchman (Spacey) who loses his fortune, his family and his freedom when one of his products maims customers. After a stint in prison, he finds himself forced to reinvent his business -- and his family.

Horizon's 5,000-square-foot soundstage will be home to the production for a couple of days while the faux infomercials are shot, but the majority of the film will be shot on location, around town. And even though the movie isn't expected to play up its New Orleans pedigree -- the story is set in an unnamed town -- Sciavicco said supporting the local film industry is a big part of Horizon's mission.

"The film originally was going to Atlanta," Sciavicco said, "and when we got involved, we made a big statement in saying we are not going to be involved in a film unless it fully shoots and edits in New Orleans. If it can be done in Louisiana, it's got to be done in Louisiana."

He added: "Some of the bigger films, we've had to pass on because they refused to do the edit here, but I think we've proven that we can do the edit here. We've purchased well into the six figures of equipment for 'The Expendables,' and they've been doing their post-production work here while they're in town. That was a big step for us."

Another big step was the decision to shoot during the summer, which coincides with hurricane season. Ever since Hurricane Katrina chased the Kevin Costner film "The Guardian" to Shreveport in 2005, major productions have been reluctant to shoot in New Orleans during storm season because of the potential disruption an evacuation would bring.

Case in point: Two of this year's biggest local productions -- Stallone's "The Expendables" and the Warner Bros.-backed supernatural Western "Jonah Hex," starring Josh Brolin -- have timed their shoots to end within the next couple of weeks, before storm season hits its height.

In addition to getting first pick of local crew base by shooting during the summer -- as director Werner Herzog did without incident last year with his indie cop drama "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" -- Horizon is hoping to send a message that New Orleans is a fine place to shoot, year-round.

"What we wanted to say was, you can do these films in July, you can do them during this time. Is there a little bit of risk? Yes. But they can be done. Katrina's not going to hit every year," Sciavicco said.

Besides, Sciavicco and company are too busy to worry too much about the weather. In addition to "Father of Invention," they're preparing to crank up on an as-yet untitled weekly TV show featuring Saints head coach Sean Payton. That one will bow around the start of football season on Fox 8. They've also got a pilot in the works for foodies, featuring chef Brian Malarky of Bravo's "Top Chef" series, as well as other projects.

"You hear people say this a lot, but I wake up every morning and can't wait to go to work," Sciavicco said. "I love what I do. It's a lot of work, we put in a lot of hours, but, come on, we're in a great city. I love what I'm doing."