The Tested
Encyclopedia
The Tested is a 2009
independent feature film written and directed by Russell Costanzo and produced by Melissa B. Miller of Shoebox Pictures. It is based on the award winning short of the same name.
Chosen to participant in the 2009 Narrative Independent Filmmaker Lab & Independent Film Week in New York City. The Tested is one of only ten narrative rough cuts chosen by the Lab for its artistic vision and outstanding promise.
One year ago while on duty as a plain clothes cop, Julian Varone gunned down an unarmed teen. In that time Darralynn Warren, the teen's mother, has spiraled into a pit of despair, while his brother, Dre, has gone another route... ganglife. As for Julian, it's time for him to get back to work.
It is a story about redemption, injustice of poverty, the cycle of violence and how these three lives, affected by a terrible tragedy, cannot find closure without the other.
It made me think about what causes someone to act so violently, or how terrifying it’d be to attend one of New York’s toughest high schools. How do you learn? How do you progress? When I went to high school my biggest concern was having to get through Beowulf… these kids have to worry about getting stabbed! he says.
After responding to a call for submissions by New York City based Clarendon Entertainment
for short story ideas, Costanzo and Executive Producer Rodney Parnther honed the script and went into production on the short film in August 2005.
The short took home the Best of Fest award at the 2006 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival beating out over 600 short films and went on to make its television debut on BET J. It was also awarded, Best Cinematography at the 2007 Vision Fest Film Festival.
In June 2008 after securing the necessary production funds, Shoebox Pictures quickly jumped into pre-production, hiring the award winning casting director Eve Battaglia and started securing talent and key crew for the film.
Principal Photography commenced in August 2008 and shot for 24 days in and around the New York City Area.
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
independent feature film written and directed by Russell Costanzo and produced by Melissa B. Miller of Shoebox Pictures. It is based on the award winning short of the same name.
Chosen to participant in the 2009 Narrative Independent Filmmaker Lab & Independent Film Week in New York City. The Tested is one of only ten narrative rough cuts chosen by the Lab for its artistic vision and outstanding promise.
Synopsis
Log Line: A life shattering tragedy sends three people on vastly different paths to a similar goal of redemption and understanding.One year ago while on duty as a plain clothes cop, Julian Varone gunned down an unarmed teen. In that time Darralynn Warren, the teen's mother, has spiraled into a pit of despair, while his brother, Dre, has gone another route... ganglife. As for Julian, it's time for him to get back to work.
It is a story about redemption, injustice of poverty, the cycle of violence and how these three lives, affected by a terrible tragedy, cannot find closure without the other.
Production
Writer/director Russell Costanzo's inspiration for the short film came out of the fascinating dichotomy between his Gramercy Park neighborhood in New York City and it being the home to one of the Top 12 Most Dangerous Schools in the entire city (according to the New York State Department of Education). This statistic, coupled with a horrifying incident involving a pregnant woman, who, while walking past the school, was struck by a stool thrown out of a 6th floor window, sparked his interest.It made me think about what causes someone to act so violently, or how terrifying it’d be to attend one of New York’s toughest high schools. How do you learn? How do you progress? When I went to high school my biggest concern was having to get through Beowulf… these kids have to worry about getting stabbed! he says.
After responding to a call for submissions by New York City based Clarendon Entertainment
Clarendon Entertainment
Clarendon Entertainment is a New York City-based film production and distribution company that specializes in films and documentaries with subject matter of interest to African-American audiences...
for short story ideas, Costanzo and Executive Producer Rodney Parnther honed the script and went into production on the short film in August 2005.
The short took home the Best of Fest award at the 2006 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival beating out over 600 short films and went on to make its television debut on BET J. It was also awarded, Best Cinematography at the 2007 Vision Fest Film Festival.
In June 2008 after securing the necessary production funds, Shoebox Pictures quickly jumped into pre-production, hiring the award winning casting director Eve Battaglia and started securing talent and key crew for the film.
Principal Photography commenced in August 2008 and shot for 24 days in and around the New York City Area.
Cast
- Aunjanue EllisAunjanue EllisAunjanue L. Ellis is an American actress known for her roles in Ray, in Undercover Brother, and on The Mentalist....
as Darraylynn Warren, the mother of a wrongfully slain son who must find it in her soul to forgive what has happened and be the best mother she can for her remaining two children. - Armando RiescoArmando RiescoArmando Riesco is a Puerto Rican film and television actor and voice artist.-Biography:Riesco was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico to Cuban immigrants who resettled there. He was raised in San Juan where he attended Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. Riesco then attended Northwestern University...
as Julian Varone, an NYPD cop who is facing the most difficult time of his life...getting back to work after nearly a year off duty due to an accidental shooting of an unarmed black teen. - Frank VincentFrank VincentFrank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
as Lieutenant Marino, the head of the police unit in which Julian has been transferred - does his best to give Julian some important advice as he acclimates back to life as a cop. - Michael Morris Jr. as Dre Warren, a teenager who is propelled onto a path of rage and loneliness by his older brother’s untimely death – joins a street gang as an outlet and a way to connect with other people.
- Nathan CorbettNathan CorbettNathan "Carnage" Corbett is an Australian Heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Urban Fight Gym, Gold Coast, Australia. He was the WMC Muaythai Cruiserweight World champion and K-1 Scandinavia 2007 tournament champion. As of April 2010, he is the number 1 ranked contender in the WBC Muay Thai...
as Curtis, Dre’s former childhood friend – recruits him into the Black Knights gang – learns a hard lesson about the pressures of ganglife. - Tobias TruvillionTobias TruvillionTobias Truvillion is an African-American actor.Truvillion was born in Flushing, Queens in New York City. He attended Parson JHS. He has appeared on such television shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in April 2006, joined the cast of the long-running soap opera One Life to Live as...
as James, a man who carries himself with a serene violence – the multi-dimensional head of the Black Knights gang – carries the weight of being the protector of his community. - Annie ParisseAnnie ParisseAnne Marie Cancelmi , known as Annie Parisse, is an American television, film, and theater actress, known for playing Alexandra Borgia on the television drama Law & Order, a role she played from 2005 until 2006 in 33 episodes. Parisse is also known for her role of Julia Lindsey Snyder on the...
as Lisa Varone, the estranged wife of tortured NYPD cop Julian Varone. Her life was torn apart with the tragic accidental shooting of Derek Warren, and now one year later she's forced to understand what her marriage has become.
Key Crew
- Writer/Director: Russell Costanzo
- Producer: Melissa B. Miller
- Executive Producer: W. Michael Weinstein
- Director of Photography: Chris Scarafile
- Editor: Michael Taylor and Russell Costanzo
- Production Designer: Alexandra Lynn
- Costume Designer: Rebecca Muh