FAIRHAVEN
A FILM BY TOM O’BRIEN
OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL “VIEWPOINTS” SECTION
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Synopsis
Jon, a former high school football star and one time college athlete, has landed back in
the place of his youth – Fairhaven – a small fishing village on the Massachusetts coast.
Jon is at a crossroads in his life and is inspired by a television interview with his football
hero Tom Brady, who proclaims that, even after three super bowl wins, “There’s got to
be something more than this.”
Jon tries to express what he's feeling to his old buddy, Sam. Sam is a single father who
never left town and is secretly still in love with the mother of his child and the girl
everyone loved in high school, Kate.
Jon and Sam are awaiting the return of their best friend from high school, Dave, who is
returning to Fairhaven for the first time in ten years for the funeral of his estranged father.
Dave is forced to revisit everything he left town to get away from. The funeral weekend
turns into partying and debauchery and old feelings rise to the surface and secrets are
revealed in this funny touching small town reunion tale.
Director’s Statement
This project began 6 years ago. Chris Messina and I were in a theater company in New
York, The All Seasons Theater Group. It was at All Seasons founded by John
McCormack, where Chris and I not only met but acted together, directed each other,
wrote and developed work for the stage, had the space to try and fail and fall on our faces
and also got the chance to develop a working relationship and learn a shorthand that
served us well as we developed, "Fairhaven". Over the years, as we worked on the script,
a few script sessions actually took place in a Tribeca loft, we talked about the kinds of
movies we love and the kinds of movies we'd love to make one day. We were inspired by
the improvisational films that have been happening recently but we also loved beautifully
shot movies. We talked a lot about the Nicholson movies of the seventies, "Five Easy
Pieces", Cuckoo's Nest". How Nicholson was improvising back then and we thought we
would love to try and combine the freshness and spontaneity of an improvisational film
within the structure of a beautiful frame. That was the goal when we brought on our
cinematographer, Peter Simonite. Our conversations with Peter led to us using the brand
new Arri Alexa to shoot "Fairhaven". It was tough to get on our small budget but our
amazing producer, Massoumeh Emami, somehow made it work out. Peter's work and the
fact that we were able to shoot on the Alexa really gave us the look that we wanted. That
combined with all of the actors beautiful work and the amazing job of our editor Nick
Houy has produced a film that we're all proud of. We were lucky enough to be accepted
into the postproduction program at The Edit Center in New York City run by Alan
Oxman. The same program that the films "Winter's Bone" and "Frozen River"
participated in. It was a great experience and we are excited to begin the festival circuit
with the film.
About the Filmmakers
Tom O’Brien- Writer/Director
Tom O'Brien is an actor, writer and director living in New York City. He is originally
from Medford, Massachusetts. "Fairhaven" is Tom's first feature film. He has made
several short films and directed theater as part of the New York theater company, "All
Seasons" where he met and became friends with actor Chris Messina who directed the
first play that Tom had produced, "The Group" at the Ensemble Studio Theater. Chris and
Tom developed the script for "Fairhaven" over the past six years including several script
sessions in a Tribeca loft. Tom's acting work includes plays at Lincoln Center Theater,
The Zipper Theater, The Access Theater, Naked Angels, The Actors Theater of
Louisville and the Chester Theater in the Berkshires.
Massoumeh Emami – Producer
Producer Massoumeh Emami learned filmmaking as a script supervisor on such high
profile and Oscar nominated projects as The Kite Runner (director, Marc Forster), Rachel
Getting Married (director, Jonathan Demme), My Blueberry Nights (director, Wong Kar
Wai), Margaret (director, Kenneth Lonergan), The Great New Wonderful (director,
Danny Leiner), and The Squid and the Whale (director, Noah Baumbach).
After working with such noted filmmakers, Massoumeh moved on to producing. Her
credits include How I Got Lost, which premiered at Dances with Films, and Point &
Shoot, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She co-directed and produced the
documentary feature, Who is A.B.? and has also produced a number of shorts, pilots and
commercials. She is currently in development on the feature film adaptations of the
novels, The Miracle Letters of T Rimberg and Stupid Fast.
Sam Osterhout- Associate Producer
Sam Osterhout is the creator, writer, and host of Radio Happy Hour, a live comedy
show centered around a murder mystery. Osterhout wrote parts for guests including Jesse
Eisenberg, Norah Jones, Michael Showalter, Jessi Klein, Arden Myrin, and Max
Silvestri. Radio Happy Hour ran from June 2009 until August 2011, and earned praise
from publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Time Out New
York.
Osterhout is currently writing a feature length adaptation of Geoff Herbach’s, The
Miracle Letters of T Rimberg and his latest young adult novel, Stupid Fast. His web
series, Geocachers, will be airing its second season spring 2012.
Peter Simonite- Director of Photography
Fairhaven is Peter’s second feature as Cinematographer. He began his career
shooting music videos and working as a camera operator in his hometown Austin, Texas.
He has shot a number of commercials and music videos, most notably for indie rock band
Spoon, and for Nike. His first film Skateland premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film
Festival in the Dramatic Competition. His other credits as a Director of Photography
include shooting 2nd unit for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. Peter has worked as a
2nd unit cinematographer for Emmanuel Lubezki a.s.c. Daniel Pearl, a.s.c., David Mullen
a.s.c., and Eduard Grau, amongst others. Another recent film, The Brass Teapot, starring
Juno Temple and Michael Angerano is due for a 2012 release, as well as Terrence
Malick’s next untitled film for which Peter contributed additional photography.
Nick Houy- Editor
Nick Houy is a New York City based film editor, who has collaborated on such films
as Solitary Man, Tokyo!, and last year’s acclaimed Warrior. He is currently editing
alongside the directors of American Splendor, honing their newest film Imogene; a
comedy starring Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening. He is also currently directing and
editing the feature-length documentary, Big Brutus.
CAST
Chris Messina………Dave
Rich Sommer……….Sam
Tom O’Brien……….Jon
Sarah Paulson………Kate
Natalie Gold………..Jill
Alexie Gilmore……..Angela
Maryann Plunkett…..Maddy
Phyllis Kay…………Rita
Paul O’Brien…….....Gary
Danielle Muehlen…..Jenny
Tim Haber…………..Chet
Ted Reinstein……….Steve
Alicia Racine………..Stacey
Dana Collyer………..Dana
Grace Collins………..Cara
Donna O’Brien……...Mrs. Drake
CREW
Produced by
Massoumeh Emami....Producer
Darren Goldberg…….Executive Producer
Chris Messina……….Executive Producer
Tom O'Brien………...Producer
Dennis O'Neill………Executive Producer
Sam Osterhout ………Associate Producer
Original Music by
Blow Up Hollywood
Cinematography by
Peter Simonite
Film Editing by
Nick Houy
Casting by
Hillary Missan
Angela Peri
Production Design by
Jennifer Gerbino
Costume Design by
Honah Lee Milne
Makeup Department
Nichole Plea - Makeup Department Head
Production Management
Emily Richards - Production Manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ramses Del Hierro Ericstam - first assistant director
Matthew Lee 'Ziggy' Einzig - second second assistant director
Stuart Valberg - second assistant director
Art Department
Aimee Butterfield - property master
Sound Department
Josh Allen - sound recordist
Tim Haber - boom operator
Allison Jackson - sound mixer
Daniel Ward - assistant sound editor
Camera and Electrical Department
Noura Al-Salem - second assistant camera
Robert Bullard - first assistant camera
Katherine Castro - still photographer
Jesse Goldberg - gaffer
Robert Kelly - grip
David Kruta - digital imaging technician
Ed Lalli - best boy lighting technician
Teresa Rhinehart - grip
David C. Romano - best boy grip
Editorial Department
Will Cox - colorist
Matthew C. Levy - assistant editor
Owen Rucker - on-line editor
Caitlin Tartaro - post-production coordinator
Ben Watts - on-line editor
Music Department
Suzanne Hilleary - music supervisor
Katherine Gordon Miller - music editor
Other crew
Greta Methot - production assistant
Cameron Morton - key production assistant
Abbe Novack - script supervisor
Irene Wachsler - independent auditor
Joshua Youman - location manager