Private Project

The Wrong Crowd

Three hapless Australian criminals; calling themselves A, One, and C, kidnap a rich American for ransom, but they can't get his wife to respond to their messages. As tensions flair, C starts a conversation with the American to help calm his nerves, without the others knowing, and the two soon begin to bond.

  • Jake Cook
    Director
  • Michael Moen
    Director
  • Jake Cook
    Writer
  • Michael Moen
    Writer
  • Jake Cook
    Producer
  • Michael Moen
    Producer
  • Andrew Lowe
    Producer
  • Andrew Lowe
    Key Cast
    "'A'/Aaron"
  • Jack McGirr
    Key Cast
    "'C'/Brodie"
  • Rita Artmann
    Key Cast
    "'One'"
  • Ian Coleman
    Key Cast
    "Ricky"
  • Carmel Savage
    Key Cast
    "Kelly"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Crime, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 9 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 19, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jake Cook, Michael Moen

Michael Moen (Picture Right) and Jake Cook (Picture left) met, as most filmmakers typically do, at film school. Oddly though, they were not part of the same class. In fact, Michael was taking the acting course, while Jake was busy studying the filmmaking process. After working with each other on various student films and many lunch times spent talking and debating about movies and shows they like, they inevitably said the words that most typical film students say: "We should make a film together!".
This turned out to be more than an empty promise though, as this boy from the sunny Gold Coast and the man from the wrong side of Logan with three kids, worked together to craft a film they both wanted to see and make. What they ended up with was "The Wrong Crowd". The first film that either would attempt to make, but certainly not their last!

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Director Statement

When Michael and I started this projected we had no idea just how much suffering would go into crafting it into the best film it could be. Nor did we realise how long that suffering would last. We spent over a year crafting the script into something we were both happy with, changing one of our characters to a women midway through casting after becoming unsatisfied with any of the male performers we auditioned, and realising it would add more layers to the character and the film. While the actual filming was a short nine days, trying to film an entire feature in that time proved to be excruciatingly stressful. But we pulled it off, and will never stop boasting about that fact. Editing has proved to be the longest and most arduous task, as the film has gone through many incarnations and re-edits over the almost 3 year period it took to get all the colour grading, sound design, and VFX completed to our satisfaction. What we have ended up with at the end of that process is something we are both incredibly proud of. Now comes the hardest part for both of us. Admitting that it's done. Indeed, after everything, we did not think this would be the most difficult part of making this film. We've watched it grow from nothing into something far better than even we expected. Now it's time for us to let go. It is time for us to put it out into the world and hope that people will love it just as much as we have loved making it. So for your consideration, we present "The Wrong Crowd", directed by Moen and Cook. Thank you for you time and please enjoy!