The Project

A man finds the genuine side of life when he decides to live his life as a clown, just as his daughter is to be married and wants him to walk her down the aisle.

The Inspiration

One of the first films we tackled, Nobody’s Laughing was inspired by the diversity of expression Dave experienced when he first moved to San Francisco — from clothing to tattoos to attitude. But all of these were either a mask to hide who we really are or a mask to reveal who we really are.

The Making

While a comedy, the film found its heart in the father and daughter relationship in unexpected ways, much to the credit of the actors Jeffrey Weissman and Erin Brennan.  

“One of my favorite scenes to direct so far in my career was the reveal,” Dave says, “when Curry the Clown sheds his ‘mask’ and his daughter sees her father in a whole new way.”

Goldie Chan, our casting director, was amazing in her ability to bring in talent. That was where Dave and his longtime business partner for the Bay Area Film Mixer, Marcus Sams first met. We were casting at Off Market (another example of small world syndrome: Rob Ready, who owns PianoFight our current home for Bay Area Film Mixer, rented the audition space to us) and Goldie ran into Marcus in the hallway. He was there for a rehearsal. Goldie dragged him in to audition for the role of the fiance. While he wasn’t a fit for that role, Dave loved what he saw from him so much we created a character for him — the boss, and he crushed it.

The Result

That set was something special, and the results are something we are all very proud of. We won Best Screenplay at Epidemic Film Festival, and from there placed in several other festivals, screening across the country. Inspired and challenged by the cast to write it as a feature, Dave did. Someday when the time is right, we’ll tell the rest of Curry the Clown’s story.

Grab some popcorn (not microwave, that thing will kill ya!) and enjoy the show: