Slice of the Pie
Two low-level pizzeria employees break into a rival crosstown pizzeria to steal its famous secret sauce recipe - but nothing goes according to plan.
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Mike LindenmayerDirector
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Mike LindenmayerWriter
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Ryan McGillowayProducer
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Drew LockleyProducer
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Suraj SavkoorCo-Producer
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April AguileraCo-Producer
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Nicholas James WeyKey Cast"Buddy"
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Constance ZallerKey Cast"Bella"
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Savar StrongKey Cast"Rico"
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Allyson RobinsonKey Cast"Officer Esposito"
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Jim McIntyreKey Cast"Officer Lombardi"
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David KsiazekKey Cast"Paulie"
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Bruce CoenKey Cast"Sal"
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Comedy
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Runtime:17 minutes
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Completion Date:March 2, 2023
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Country of Origin:United States
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Language:English
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Aspect Ratio:1:85
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - Savannah College of Art & Design
Mike is a writer, director, producer, and pizza connoisseur currently pursuing his M.F.A. in Film & Television at SCAD Atlanta. Mike has directed and produced numerous award-winning shorts, and filled various roles in pre-production and production on several other projects. With a blended background in film, marketing, and architecture (Penn State B.Arch '17), Mike’s filmmaking roots are embedded in a love for design and emotion. He is always looking for a new story and a creative way to showcase it.
With this short film, I’m bringing in a plethora of aspects from my own life, including a strong sibling bond, quirks from my hilarious Italian relatives and my eternal love for cops-and-robbers stories, high-style heist films and delicious pizza – but above all, my ultimate goal is to put a smile on a viewer’s face for 15 minutes. My favorite kinds of movies are the ones that keep me hanging on the edge of my seat, smiling with enthusiastic anticipation, wondering if a character will make it out of a sticky situation unscathed. If I can give that experience to at least one person who watches Slice of the Pie – then I’ll be eternally happy.
While Slice of the Pie is comedy caper through and through, the heart of the story lies in the relationship between a brother and sister, Buddy and Bella. Since they are separated in age by several years, they have difficulty connecting at the start of the movie. Bella just wants to be included in Buddy’s antics, and he just sees her as an annoying little tagalong. Once Buddy is forced to include his sister in his unconventional sauce heist to save their skins, he begins to see how alike they really are, and how cool of a ten-year-old she is. This emotional core stems from my own personal life, as my sister is several years younger than I am. I didn’t fully appreciate how awesome she is until she was a lot older than Bella, so I’m ensuring that Buddy doesn’t make the same mistake that I did. Slice of the Pie is a dedication to my sister, and best friend, Kristen.