Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin, both 30, will soon begin directing The Battle of Shaker Heights because they won the directors contest of Project Greenlight at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Designed by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck partnering with Miramax, Blockbuster Video and HBO to give young director an opportunity to direct a $1.7 million budgeted film of the script that wins the parallel screenwriting competition The pair were among more than 9,000 screemwriters and directors who entered the contest.
Nine months ago, Rankin and Potelle left Portland, ME for Los Angeles after a decade of making small films in Maine and failing to hit the big time. Now they are scheduled to begin shooting The Battle of Shaker Heights in March. The film is already scheduled to be in theaters nationally in August.
The first film made under Project Greenlight, STOLEN SUMMER, has not created much buzz. So Rankin and Potelle think the future of Project Greenlight depends heavily on how well their film does. From now until the film is finished, Potelle and Rankin will be followed by HBO camera crews for a 13-part documentary series, The Making of The Battle of Shaker Heights, to begin airing in June.
"There's a lot of pressure on us, but it's exciting," Rankin said after the win. "Both Efram and I feel strongly we wouldn't be here now if it weren't for the support we got in Maine. Hopefully we'll come back soon with a budget."
Rankin said he and Potelle have an ultimate goal of someday making a major film in Maine. He said the pair would have liked to make this Project Greenlight film in Maine, but since shooting begins in March, the cold and snow are obstacles.
The film they will direct was written by Erica Beeny of Cleveland, Ohio, who won the screenplay portion of the contest. The film is a coming-of-age story about a high school student who is a World War II battle re-enactor. Rankin has said the story reminds him of some of the better teen comedy-dramas of the 1980s. "It makes me wish John Cusack was still young," said Rankin.
The two Mainers will be paid a salary for making the film, but the two directors won't say how much.
Rankin, a York native, and Potelle, from Fairfield, met 15 years ago as contestants at the Maine Student Film and Video Festival. They started working together soon after. In 1996, they collaborated on a full-length psychological drama titled REINDEER GAMES shot in Portland.
Potelle and Rankin also made a 30-minute comedy called PENNYWEIGHT and a shorter comedy called THEY CAME TO ATTACK US. Both films got national exposure on the Sci-Fi Cable Channel. While living and working in Portland for more than a decade, they also hosted a controversial and sometimes-crude public-access TV show that often shocked viewers.
Potelle and Rankin submitted a stunt scene in which Potelle pretended to run over Rankin and his dog with a car. When they were picked as finalists, both Damon and Affleck called to say how much they like the stunt. "We wanted something memorable, and apparently it was," Rankin said.