WORDSPEAKER 'Full of rage and spit and static...'
Synopsis: An isolated radio talk show host makes his last stand as the dystopian world around him collapses.
Tagline: "I haven't had my damn coffee."
Producer statement: This short film illuminates the effects of isolation on the human psyche. We live as a community -- or risk dying alone.
I cast the lead actor Clyde Lewis, but the writer/director was highly doubtful that I had actually found a national radio talk show host to play that part. After the script was written, a reluctant Clyde Lewis was convinced to perform the role, even though filming was just set for a few days before his scheduled cancer surgery. It could've been his last screen appearance.
The camera operator (DP) had the only copy of the video scenes he shot and wouldn't hand it over for editing, claiming that the actor was satanic . I finally forced the issue, driving to the mortuary one night, where the DP worked as an undertaker. He meekly handed over the DV video cassettes, saying they’d been available all along where he kept them, in the glove box of his hearse.
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Dennis SparksDirectorNightbumpers, Reunion, Wrong Shoes, Wordspeaker
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Dennis SparksWriterA Krampus Christmas
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Dave PaullProducerRoswell Revisited 'From wacko to serious to fun'
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Clyde LewisKey Cast"Roger 'mad dog' Welles"Toxic Avenger, Cage in Box Elder
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D F HudkinsEditorWORDSPEAKER, REUNION, THE COOPER CAPER, SEARCHING FOR SASQUATCH
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Clyde LewisCo-editor
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Kris SundholmCamera
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Erik MeharrySound
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Sadie GreggOpera singer
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:14 minutes 56 seconds
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Completion Date:November 9, 2008
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Production Budget:100 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Premiered 2008 at Ross Island Grocery & Cafe ~ Portland, Oregon
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American Dreamscreen Film FestivalSalt Lake City
United States
October 28, 2023
No
Best Science Fiction Film -
Dispatches of War Film FestivalKyiv
Ukraine
June 13, 2024
Official Selection -
Berlin New Wave Film FestivalBerlin
Germany
August 11, 2024
Best Sci/Fi Short
Distribution Information
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N/A
Dennis Sparks is a writer/director with a primary background in theatre. He is based in Vancouver, Washington. He is a patron of performance art, helping to support encourage young talent.
He is also known for NIGHTBUMPERS, WRONG SHOES and REUNION.
"My motto while filming is - fix it NOW because we can't always fix it in post."
Sparks is grateful for the recognition his film has earned:
"Wordspeaker" becomes more than a film; it transforms into an immersive experience."
Best Science Fiction film
~ Berlin New Wave Film Festival
WORDSPEAKER shows the effects of isolation on the human psyche. We live as part of a community - or risk dying alone.
Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone TV program was my Bible for writing growing up. I want WORDSPEAKER audiences to be absorbed into this isolated world as they try to figure it out.
This is a black and white film, to show stark contrasts in a world full of destruction which briefly reverts to color. That's when a fast-paced photo montage illustrates the history of life on earth, including warfare through the centuries. We are left with images of mankind reduced to mere survival, using junker cars as wagons pulled by horses. Then back to stark black and white.
This is truly a low-budget film. Crew members, including me as the director, the video crew and the editor all worked for free. Expenses totaled about $100, including the cost of pizza. Principal photography was completed in one long day.
In reality, the actor hosts a nightly radio show: Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis, a nationally syndicated paranormal program.
* Of special note is mezzo-soprano Sadie Gregg, who performs an evocative sound track, singing 'Adieu.' She has performed with the Boston Lyric Opera and the Seattle Opera, among many others.
