Private Project

TURNER RISK

Turner Risk has been the victim of bullying since a young age. One day he decides to strike back by clearing out all the negatives in his life to effectively reboot his world. When his deadly plan becomes clear, his only friend, Robbie Cruz, jobless and struggling to make ends meet, teams up with his new companion Seth and high school nemesis Conner to stop Turner – but first they have to find him. Thus begins their longest journey together: a day of sudden tragedies and, ultimately, of unexpected revelations.

Turner Risk features a diverse cast of rising stars, including Nick Fink (Legacies, The Great and the Small, Sweet/Vicious), Carlin James (Better Call Saul, Dear White People, Criminal Minds), Rory Hart (Hawaii Five-O), Peter Adrian Sudarso (Power Rangers Ninja Steel), and Toru Uchikado (Heroes Reborn), as well as established Australian actress Ann Henderson-Stires (Sons and Daughters).

1.78:1 / Dolby Digital 5.1 / 1 hour, 52 minutes

  • Michael Dailey
    Director
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Michael Dailey
    Writer
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Morgan Lintz
    Writer
    The Strain
  • Michael Ha
    Producer
  • Morgan Lintz
    Producer
  • Michael Dailey
    Producer
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Dean Thompson
    Producer
  • Nick Fink
    Key Cast
    "Turner Risk"
    The Great and the Small, Sweet/Vicious, The Fosters, Criminal Minds
  • Carlin James
    Key Cast
    "Robbie Cruz"
    American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Better Call Saul, This Is Us, Dear White People,
  • Sean Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Seth Hsu"
    Rude Boy
  • Rory Hart
    Key Cast
    "Conner Hudson"
    Hawaii Five-O, Roomies
  • Michael Huey
    Key Cast
    "Joey Riago"
    HR 805, Bound
  • Maria Trinidad Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Bree"
  • Peter Adrian Sudarso
    Key Cast
    "David Hudson"
    Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Power Rangers Hyper Force, Grownish
  • Quron Keith
    Key Cast
    "Brian"
    Riding Justice, White Tea
  • Minsoo Lee
    Key Cast
    "Park"
  • Toru Uchikado
    Key Cast
    "Toshi"
    Heroes Reborn, The Mask of Sanity
  • Ann Henderson-Stires
    Key Cast
    "Caldwell"
    Sons and Daughters, The Window
  • Shirl Gregory
    Key Cast
    "Brian's Mom"
    The Last Great Romantic Comedy, Trapped: Haitian Nights
  • Derek Allison
    Key Cast
    "Brad"
  • Aries Sanders
    Key Cast
    "The HR Lady"
    Ready 2 Die
  • Aimee Lee Lucas
    Key Cast
    "Bree's Friend"
  • David Williams
    Key Cast
    "Police Officer"
  • Susan Taniguchi
    Key Cast
    "Conner's Mom"
  • Paz Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Seth's Mother"
  • Albert Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Seth's Father"
  • Kazuto Shiojima
    Key Cast
    "Boy"
  • Dara Taylor
    Music
    Baywatch, Bad Moms, Pitch Perfect 3, Lost in Space
  • M. Sean Brodie
    Cinematography
  • Morgan Lintz
    Editing
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Michael Dailey
    Editing
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Hailey Milford
    Casting
  • Brianna Lazatin
    Production Design
  • Stacie Schaffer
    Set Decoration
  • Frank Emis
    Production Manager
    The Black String, Mia
  • Frank Emis
    Assistant Directors
    The Black String, Mia
  • Charlie Magdaleno
    Assistant Directors
    The Backpack (Short), The Human Project
  • Kevin Chhann
    Sound Department
  • Eugene Kang
    Sound Department
    The Amazing Spider-Man, The Backpack (Short)
  • David Kim
    Sound Department
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Christopher Pan
    Sound Department
  • Evan Hayashi
    Sound Department
  • Sean Garrity
    Special & Visual Effects
  • Max Lee
    Camera & Electrical Department
  • David Soliven
    Camera & Electrical Department
  • Andrew Thompson
    Camera & Electrical Department
    The Backpack (Short)
  • Analiese Yu
    Camera & Electrical Department
    Sam
  • M. Sean Brodie
    Colorist
  • Kyle J. Hartman
    Music Department
    Freaks, Supernatural
  • Vladimir Podgoretsky
    Music Department
    Equalizer, Act of Valor
  • Alissa Park
    Script Supervisor
  • Trevor Wall
    Production Assistant
  • Thanzin Naing
    Cataloguer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Adventure, Coming of Age
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 52 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 10, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    70,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    2K, HD (NTSC)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78:1 (USA)
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Olympus Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Feature Film
  • Anaheim Film Festival
    Anaheim / Long Beach, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Feature Film: Thriller
  • Los Angeles Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    Winner - Honorable Mention: Thriller Feature
  • Hollywood Sun Awards
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Narrative Feature
  • Hollywood Sun Awards
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Director: Michael Dailey
  • Hollywood Sun Awards
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Actor: Nick Fink
  • Hollywood Sun Awards
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Editing: Michael Dailey & Morgan Lintz
  • Hollywood Sun Awards
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Cinematography: M. Sean Brodie
  • Florence Film Awards
    Florence
    Italy
    Winner - Best Director Feature Film
  • Dumbo Film Festival
    Brooklyn, New York
    United States
    Official Selection
  • jellyFEST
    North Hollywood, California
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • AFIN International Film Festival
    Brisbane
    Australia
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles CineFest
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Sherman Oaks, California
    United States
    November 23, 2019
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • AFIN International Film Festival
    Brisbane
    Australia
    Nomination: Best Ensemble Cast
  • AFIN International Film Festival.
    Brisbane
    Australia
    Semi-Finalist: Best Feature Film
  • Open World Toronto Film Festival
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    Official Selection
  • New York Cinematography Awards
    New York City, New York
    United States
    Winner - Best Film (USA)
  • New York Cinematography Awards
    New York City, New York
    United States
    Winner - Best Cinematography (USA)
  • Open World Toronto Film Festival
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    November 10, 2019
    Canadian Premiere
    Winner - Best Feature Film
  • Hollywood Independent Filmmakers Awards & Festival
    Hollywood, California
    United States
    Winner - Best Feature Film: Drama
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    United States
    Winner - Best Narrative Feature
  • Vegas Movie Awards
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    United States
    Winner - Best Thriller
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Sherman Oaks / Los Angeles, California
    United States
    November 23, 2019
    Winner - Best Screenplay (Produced): Michael Dailey & Morgan Lintz
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Sherman Oaks / Los Angeles, California
    United States
    November 23, 2019
    Winner - Best Actor in a Lead Role: Carlin James
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Sherman Oaks / Los Angeles, California
    United States
    November 23, 2019
    Winner - Best Performance by a Cast: Feature
  • Sherman Oaks Film Festival
    Sherman Oaks / Los Angeles, California
    United States
    November 23, 2019
    Winner - Audience Award: Feature Film
Distribution Information
  • Gravitas Ventures
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Michael Dailey

Michael Dailey is an Irish-American director, editor, and screenwriter best known for his short “The Backpack” and premier feature Turner Risk. Dailey filmed his first award-winning shorts at an early age: “Twister,” about a tornado sweeping through a summer camp, and “Quietus,” which focused on youth gangs during a small town religious conflict. Recently, while teaching film to future filmmakers, Dailey studied with screenwriting gurus Syd Field and William Goldman. Soon afterwards he began designing his first independent productions, including the short "The Backpack" (2012), in which two innocents inadvertently become involved in the fallout of a domestic terrorism attack. But Turner Risk (2019), his first feature, would prove to be the culmination of all his filmmaking experiences. In 2011 Dailey co-founded Phenomenon Filmworks – an independent film studio created by 2 actors, 2 screenwriters, and 2 directors – its mission to develop projects that embrace open, diverse casting and thoroughly original storylines showcasing intensive acting. Dailey is currently in the planning stages for several upcoming short and feature films.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Turner Risk began in a walk home from kindergarten with a classmate I’ll call, well, Turner Risk. He was a very thin, nervous fellow, bespectacled, bucktoothed, socially awkward, and prone to unintentional quivering. But I didn’t care. He was one of my first friends. In kindergarten, he functioned naturally, his idiosyncrasies virtually unnoticed by our classmates. But as one grade subsided to the next, other students picked up his quirks and decided he was not “normal” by their standards. Turner was then thrust into a tornado of intolerance, simply because he was deemed different. Our relationship is the core of the film.

Turner Risk focuses on a single eventful day in the lives of Turner and Robbie Cruz, Turner’s only friend. Both are at a pivotal point in their lives: Turner seeks to re-boot his life by removing all the negative forces in it, while Robbie struggles to find a job and sustain his independent lifestyle. Both make decisions that ultimately interconnect – as they have for years – but now they are mostly reaching for change, unaware of the exponential impact change can cause.

Turner Risk is my first feature as writer/director after years of creating short films. I approach each film with the idea that a unique design is needed to support its story. Turner Risk, for example, reflects a modern spin on the bold, innovative works of the 1970s, so I chose to capture their essence in a neoclassic way. I have also been fortunate to participate in real industry film productions and learn the intricacies of screenwriting from Syd Field and William Goldman. The fusion of these experiences contributed to every stage of this project.

But Turner Risk is the product of many – and our collaboration was electric. Each day was profoundly fun and productive, my creative team working tirelessly to support a vision we all shared. In that way, each of them was a leader, and their efforts can be seen in every shot, every scene, every stage of production. The young actors performed with an energy that can only be described as “nuclear”: they were hungry to play characters that pushed their limits, produced real laughter and tears. And Dara Taylor’s beautiful score perfectly captured the sensitivity of our story. Simply put, Turner Risk is all of us.

The overall experience I'm most trying to communicate through Turner Risk is that life is an adventure that can never be calculated. Instead, it is impulsive as hell – and how we confront the many challenges it brings fuels our endurance and affirms our independence. With that in mind, Morgan Lintz and I built our script on the belief that each of the character’s triumphs and failures are universal. Authenticity was key, so we relied on personal experiences and meticulously crafted our characters as hybrids of real someones we knew.

While this film can sometimes be brutal, it’s rooted in beginnings, change, and how inadvertently funny life can be in even the most trying times. At its core, I wanted the film to connect with a big audience, to assert a progressive and innovative way of promoting one of the most essential human attributes: Tolerance.