Sure-Fire
SURE-FIRE is a fast-paced comedy short about a New York City con man, played by PJ Marshall ("Mindhunter," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), who stumbles into becoming a movie producer to pay off gangsters threatening to kill him and rewrites his own life's script in the process. Also featuring John Timothy (writer for TV's "Ghosts"), cinematography by Diana Matos (Netflix's "Go Off with Jess & Julissa"), costumes by Emily Gunshor ("Scream," "Halloween Kills," "Neighbors 2"), and production design by Kate Rance (Slamdance's "We Are Living Things").
Benny Boon, a New York City con man, needs to come up with $50,000 in 3 days to pay off a gangster--or else. Luckily, he meets a washed-up actress, Kitty Kinkaid, who's desperate for a comeback and claims to have the money to bankroll a screenplay. Benny then poses as a movie producer and hooks her with a script called "A Woman on the Edge." Problem is, the script doesn't exist, and Benny doesn't know how to write one. So he places an ad on Craigslist for a screenwriter and puts his scheme into high gear.
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Michael GoldburgDirectorAaron With 2 A's, What's Eating Dad?, Rye Manhattan, Happy Trails
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Michael GoldburgWriterAaron With 2 A's, What's Eating Dad?, Rye Manhattan, Happy Trails
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Dave ChanWriterWhat's Eating Dad?, Rye Manhattan, 8-Ball
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Michael GoldburgProducerAaron With 2 A's, What's Eating Dad?, Rye Manhattan, Happy Trails
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Dave ChanProducerAmbushed, What's Eating Dad?, 8-Ball
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P.J. MarshallKey CastMindhunter, American Horror Story, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
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Lué McWilliamsKey CastNaked As We Came; The Pill; The Brief, Existential Crisis of a Young Underwear Model
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John TimothyKey CastGhosts (writer), The Sisters Plotz, UCB Comedy Originals
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Michael Whalen - ComposerPost-ProductionVeronika Decides to Die, What's Eating Dad?, American Experience
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Luftar Von Rama - EditorPost-ProductionThe Mandalorian, Da 5 Bloods, The Book of Boba Fett, Egg, Triumph
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Emily Gunshor - Costume DesignerCostume and Wardrobe DepartmentScream, Halloween Kills, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
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Diana MatosCamera DepartmentGo Off with Jess & Julissa, The Farewell
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Kate Rance - Production DesignerArt DepartmentWe Are Living Things, The Chair, Front Cover, Go Down Death
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Project Type:Television
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Genres:Comedy, Crime
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Runtime:15 minutes 27 seconds
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Completion Date:April 4, 2017
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Production Budget:20,000 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, 2K
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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:No
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Chattanooga Film FestivalChattanooga, Tennessee
United States
April 8, 2017
North American Premiere -
River Bend Film FestivalGoshen, Indiana
United States
April 8, 2017
WINNER: BEST ACTOR - PJ MARSHALL -
Art of Brooklyn Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
June 10, 2017
East Coast Premiere -
Lighthouse International Film FestivalLong Beach Island, New Jersey
United States
June 9, 2017 -
Long Island International Film ExpoBellmore, New York
United States
July 14, 2017 -
Indy Film FestIndianapolis, Indiana
United States
July 15, 2017 -
Kew Gardens Festival of CinemaKew Gardens, New York
United States
August 5, 2017
NOMINATED: BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - JOHN TIMOTHY -
Williamsburg International Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
September 16, 2017 -
Eau Claire World Film FestivalEau Claire, Wisconsin
United States
September 28, 2017 -
Bushwick Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
October 13, 2017 -
Way Down Film FestivalColumbus, Georgia
United States
October 14, 2017 -
Santa Fe Independent Film FestivalSanta Fe, New Mexico
United States
October 20, 2017
New Mexico Premiere -
Adirondack Film FestivalGlens Falls, New York
United States
October 22, 2017 -
Crown Heights Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
October 27, 2017 -
Big Apple Film FestivalNew York, New York
United States
November 2, 2017 -
Williamsburg Independent Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
November 17, 2017
WINNER: BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY - PJ MARSHALL -
New York No Limits Film SeriesNew York, New York
United States
November 18, 2017 -
Et CulturaSt. Petersburg, Florida
United States
November 17, 2017
WINNER: BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY - PJ MARSHALL -
San Jose International Short Film FestivalSan Jose, California
United States
December 8, 2017 -
Queens World Film FestivalQueens, New York
United States
March 17, 2018
NOMINATED: BEST COMEDY & BEST SCREENPLAY -
Annapolis Film FestivalAnnapolis, Maryland
United States
March 23, 2018 -
Film Fest 52Bethel, Connecticut
United States
April 6, 2018 -
New Haven International Film FestivalNew Haven, Connecticut
United States
May 4, 2018 -
Portland Comedy Film FestivalPortland, Oregon
United States
November 10, 2018
NOMINATED: BEST DIRECTOR -
Arkansas Shorts Film FestivalHot Springs, Arkansas
United States
January 5, 2019 -
Dumbo Film FestivalBrooklyn, New York
United States
January 31, 2019 -
Roxy Underground Film FestivalNew York, New York
United States
March 26, 2019 -
Art SlopeBrooklyn, New York
United States
April 7, 2019 -
Milledgeville-Eatonton (ME) Film FestivalMilledgeville, Georgia
United States
April 25, 2019
NOMINATED: BEST COMEDY -
Roosevelt Island Film FestivalNew York, New York
United States
June 25, 2021
WINNER: BEST COMEDY
MICHAEL GOLDBURG is an award-winning writer/director who earned his M.F.A. at NYU's Graduate Film Program. His short films have screened in over 100 festivals, including his horror comedy, WHAT'S EATING DAD?, which screened in over 50 festivals, won multiple awards, and is featured on Amazon Prime. He was once offered compensation in pizza for a screenwriting job which became the inspiration for his celebrated comedy pilot, SURE-FIRE, which screened at numerous festivals and won or was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Comedy, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for PJ Marshall (TV's "Mindhunter" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"). The SURE-FIRE script also placed in numerous top screenwriting competitions, including ScreenCraft, Shore Scripts, and CineStory, and is a top-ranked script on Coverfly. Michael’s team for the SURE-FIRE series includes advisor Joe Pirro, Head of Production at Symbolic Exchange ("The Assistant"), founded by James Schamus (former CEO of Focus Features), who feels SURE-FIRE is one of the “funniest scripts he’s ever read” and Michael is “part of the next wave of emerging storytellers to break through to wider audiences.” Michael is also developing a feature adaptation of a darkly comic novel by the former book editor of "The Chicago Tribune,” which was accepted into Sundance Collab with Oscar-nominated screenwriter and advisor Naomi Foner. Michael has worked with creators from The Onion and Comedy Central and is a former script consultant with ScriptLaunch.
SURE-FIRE was born out of director/writer Michael Goldburg's own experience of having been conned - er, hired - by a shady hustler/producer in New York City who wanted to pay him literally in pizza for a screenwriting job. True story. Though the script was never realized, Michael knew the "producer" would make a better character in a story of Michael's own creation. Thus the seeds of SURE-FIRE were born. Initially, Michael brought on Steve Wisniewski, a Nicholl Fellowships finalist, and Dave Chan, winner of the Nashville Film Festival Screenplay Competition, to collaborate on the pilot script for SURE-FIRE with him. When several of Michael's frequent collaborators then suggested actually making a pilot from the script, Michael jumped at the chance.
Ultimately, Michael strove to deliver a pilot that could be enjoyed on its own terms while also establishing the main characters and the tone and style of the series. To that end, Michael assembled an amazing cast, led by PJ Marshall (TV's "Mindhunter" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel") and John Timothy (writer for TV's "Ghosts"), and a stellar crew, including Emmy award-winning composer Michael Whalen, costume designer Emily Gunshor ("Scream," "Halloween Kills," "Neighbors 2"), director of photography Diana Matos (Netflix's "Go Off with Jess & Julissa") and production designer Kate Rance (Slamdance's "We Are Living Things").
Stylistically, Michael wanted to ground the pilot in a gritty, New York City reality as well as depict the genuine distress of a small-time con man as he struggles to stay alive. His comedic influences were TV's "Barry," "Get Shorty," and "Better Call Saul" as well as Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and feature crime comedies like “The Big Lebowski” and “Pulp Fiction." Michael also wanted to infuse the pilot with a timeless, retro feel, mirroring Benny’s character being stuck in the past and struggling to find redemption. SURE-FIRE is finally a personal work for Michael who feels a kinship with Benny and the tenacity with which he throws himself into the process of making a movie and also connects to its universal story about second chances and how it's never too late to "rewrite your life's script."