The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

Working as a stunt professional was a pivotal point in Cory’s career, which made him fall in love with storytelling, camera work and got him interested in directorial work altogether. After achieving everything he could in the stunt world, Cory embarked on another journey and decided to challenge himself as a filmmaker. “I wanted to show that we have value outside of our physical abilities, maybe not all of us are filmmakers, but the large majority of stunt pro- fessionals, men and women alike are filmmakers. We understand the process; that is why we can contribute so much more than through only physical activity.” Proof of his sincerity and passion is found in his direc- torial debut, Danny Boy. This 12-minute short film was shot in a precise, min- imalistic manner that focuses on the two characters’ gritty, raw and unfiltered dialogues, inviting us to feel the cool, airy Californian night weather and taking us for a ride to witness the heist. One of the robbers, Francis, picks up his partner in crime, Danny, and they embark on their journey to the final destina- tion. At first glimpse, it seems like your everyday noir film until the dialogue kicks in and you dis- cover the new and authentic world of the short film where the two characters start to unravel their dif- ferent points of view about life. There are no obvious action sequences, intricate camera angles, or support- ing cast; only two grown hero men expressing their thoughts and opinions out loud and giving us glimpses into the minds of human beings whose past decisions lead them to inevitable deaths. Danny Boy is a story focused on the essence of being human - making mistakes and living life to the best of our abilities and understanding, wrapped in uncen- sored language and violent actions. After watching the short, it’s clear to see that even though both char- acters are criminals, the director and writer do not encourage you to take sides and classify one charac- ter as better than the other, nor do they exploit their character traits; instead, they draw your attention to finding the goodness within the characters in a very subtle way. Cory revealed the first draft of Danny Boy was created nearly three years ago and was quietly waiting to be shot. The global pandemic was the so-called calm before the storm, forcing Cory and Sammy to finally say yes to their vision and commit to their goals. When Cory visited Los Angeles due to work com- mitments, they both decided to complete the project. Since the director only had two days off, they gath- ered up talented crew members, purchased the costumes for the characters, rehearsed for one night in Cory’s Airbnb (he admits, this is a testament to Jett and Sammy, who got ten pages off the book in one night) and ended up shooting the short film in only four takes on the streets of LA with a camera rig on the hood. The big idea was to create a very dialogue-driven nar- rative piece because, as Cory says himself, “We are stunt professionals, and we should be able to shoot action. And I think that is a given when you start making this transition in your career, so let’s show people that I can handle dialogue and that you [Sam] can write dialogue.” As a testament to this, they also made a conscious decision to only imply action, leaving room for imagination and surprises. The direc- tor shared, “You don’t need to show the robbery; you don’t need to show the gunshots unnecessarily, instead, let’s focus on the characters and story.” He further added, “We wanted to do something that felt like a heightened sense of reality [through the main lighting choices], but at the same time very grounded in the present moment. My whole idea was that I wanted you to feel like you were there; creating the illusion where you almost feel like you are a voyeur, flying on the windshield. Cory con- fessed he wanted to focus on traditional filmmaking and compare that to martial arts training. “It is like martial arts; you have to learn the foundations first, and once you master that, you can be creative inside with your movement.” Creative duo Sammy and Cory invite audiences to look at people’s lives from different perspectives - free from judgment and dismissal. “I think we shouldn’t dismiss people so quickly,” said Cory. “To change your beliefs is to change your identity.” In addition, screen- play writer and actor Sammy also opened up about his life experiences in one of the statements, which explained the importance of bringing up this way of thinking. “As a writer, I want to explore the unex- plored. I want to delve into the uncomfortable and talk about the things that many people today stay away from. Because of my background and the life I once lived, I am in a place where I now feel obli- gated to shed light on the dark places in humanity and society that often go unseen and ignored.” I am sure the majority of readers would be intrigued to hear more about Sammy’s story, but I guess it would have to be a continuation of our interview with the director and producer, Cory. With high anticipa- tion, I hope that one day, Danny Boy will be developed into a feature-length film shown on big screens around the world. As I wrote this, I felt the need to share a quote by author Charles Lee, who once said, “I don’t inspire hope—only shadows. It is up to you to find the light in my words.” As my time with Cory DeMeyers came to an end, I encourage you to always remember that there is light- ness and darkness, feminine and masculine, in all of us and it is no longer enough to look at the surface of what a ‘real’ (in this case) masculine man should be or do. On the contrary, thanks to Cory and Sammy, we are encouraged to explore a different, more har- monious side of masculinity and cultivate the static existence of the emerging opposites through brilliant storytelling. bitefilmreview