Did You Hear Jake And Courtney Broke Up?

Kew started in the acting program, but graduated from Humber College in the film making program. "I enjoy acting, but I really wanted to be behind the camera. I had so many ideas and wanted to see them come to life." After a few years working freelance and making short films he wanted to start working on a bigger project.

"'Did You Hear Jake And Courtney Broke Up?' is my first feature and it didn't start that way. One of my friends was getting married, another moved in with his girlfriend and lastly another friend broke up with his girlfriend. It all happened at the same time and I just started getting all these ideas so I started writing."

"I wanted to explore several different relationships at the same time, make a series of shorts, but have them all tied in together by one event. When Michael came on board, that all changed. He helped me focus on making a feature and we started making the best MOVIE we could."

The filming process lasted about eight months. "I worked with the actors closely and only let them read the script once, to give them the idea behind the scene. Then I would have them say the lines in there own way and Michael and I would keep them moving in the right direction. I wanted the dialogue to feel as natural as possible."

"Editing such a large project was a lot different then I thought it would be. It was great that the movie is divided into chapters as it really let me explore many different ideas within the same theme. We wanted this film to be very different and I think we achieved that. It starts with someone speaking directly to camera and inviting the viewer into the world then it quickly introduces the characters and then we hit the brakes and have a chapter that is slower and dialogue focused. I didn't want a SAVE THE CAT movie. There are some little laughs and once the audience is in, then we can go wherever we want." From Woody Allen to French new wave. David Lynch to Wes Anderson. In tiny pieces, the influences are everywhere.

"I want people to want to watch it again. I want it to connect with different people at different times. I want people to see the worst in people and to look at themselves."

PRODUCTION NOTES

Two Guys, Two Years and Two Hundred Dollars.

After deciding to make their first feature film together, Director Kew and Producer/Actor Michael Bennett Leroux dove head first into the project. Kew continued to work on the script while Michael focused on casting and securing locations. Casting came mainly from the Toronto Improv scene and talented friends. Locations varied from neighbours apartments and family homes to local restaurants, used during slow times of the day.

When filming began on "Did You Hear Jake And Courtney Broke Up?" scheduling conflicts and securing the best locations were challenges that tried to stop the film from getting made, but everyone involved was doing it out of love for film, so it got done. During the filming process subway fares and pizza was where the $200 went.

Kew began editing while Michael found talented friends to help polish the project with sound and colour correction. Two years later they finished their first feature and are already working on their second and third films.