HOLLYWOOD, November 2011

Max Gold directs STEP ONE, a pivotal conversation in the recovery process of two addicts. The short film is currently being edited, to be finished in the next month.

Writer: Allison Burnett

“Like Truman Capote, Allison Burnett knows how to pull up a chair and whisper a juicy story into his lucky reader’s ear.” -Vanity Fair

Allison Burnett’s screenwriting credits include RESURRECTING THE CHAMP starring Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson (2007), AUTUMN IN NEW YORK starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder (2000), UNTRACEABLE starring Diane Lane (2008), and FEAST OF LOVE starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear (2007). Burnett currently has two new films due out in 2012 including GONE, starring Amanda Seyfried and Jennifer Carpenter. His latest film UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, starring Kate Beckinsale will hit theaters on January 20. His most recent novel, Death By Sunshine (2011) has been hailed as a “masterpiece of dark fiction.”

Director of Photography: Daniel B. Gold

Daniel B. Gold won the Sundance Excellence in Cinematography Award for his work on BLUE VINYL (2002), which he also co-directed and co-produced. His documentary EVERYTHING’S COOL (2007) was an official entry in the Sundance Film Festival and winner of the Audience Award at the Eckerd Film Festival. His cinematography work on BORN SWEET (2010) garnered the Short Filmmaking Award- Honorable Mention at the Sundance Film Festival. In summer of 2011, Gold shot two one-hour specials for the BBC, and has several new documentaries due out in 2012. Among these is FINDING NORTH, which will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Producer: Ben Kuller

Ben Kuller graduated from Wesleyan University in May and just moved to the west coast.  He worked on the set of the feature film AMERICAN GANGSTER directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe (2007). Following GANGSTER, he worked in the development office at New Line Cinema.  STEP ONE is the second short he’s produced. Ben met Max at The Maine Media Workshops in Rockport. They reconnected in Los Angeles and teamed up to make this project happen.

Starring: John Fantasia

John most recently starred in the feature film PROJECT LONDON, due out in 2012. He also starred in the thriller THE COLLAPSED (2011), for which he was nominated for Best Actor in the Buffalo Screams Film Festival. His other credits include A/V (2011) and REGULATE (2011), NYPD BLUE (NBC) and LAW AND ORDER (NBC).

Starring: Ben Palacios

Ben graduated in 2011 from Vassar College where he starred in Web series and short films, including CLASSIC OF CHANGES and FOURTH FLOOR MAIN. His stage credits include Tom in FAT PIG, The Lecturer in REEFER MADNESS, and Kabe in ONE FLEA SPARE. Ben is also a graduate of Prague Film School’s acting program.

STEP ONE was shot at Groundwork Coffee, using the Canon 5D Mark 2 with L series lenses. 1st AC Hannah Watson goes into greater detail with her blog post. The sound technicians were Michael Moore’s collaborator Jayme Roy and Iryna Kucherenko.

STEP ONE‘s entire budget was pledged by generous Kickstarter backers. Among them was Associate Producer Michael Aaron Gallagher, who explains his involvement in an interview.

See some behind the scenes footage here.