Photo courtesy of Jeanne Marie Spicuzza
The cast of Night Rain
Unsolved murders, lurid crimes—those are topics with a long history as fodder for the press and a disturbing tendency to become a form of pornography. The killing of aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short was material for both after her mutilated body was discovered in Los Angeles in 1947. She was dubbed the “Black Dahlia” by reporters and because of her loose connection with the movie industry, her death received national publicity. Somehow, the Black Dahlia has remained as one of America’s most notorious cold cases, inspiring a shelf of reporting and fiction in the decades since, including director Brian De Palma’s 2006 adaption of James Elroy’s novel.
Milwaukee-born filmmaker Jeanne Marie Spicuzza’s Night Rain is her meta-take on the story. It’s told in the form of an indie director trying to make a film about the Short’s murder as dictated by a mysterious patron—a fan-donor with sinister purposes? Night Rain is a film about being stalked and trolled by unwanted admirers, a situation aggravated by the digital connectivity of contemporary life.
Night Rain debuts (virtually) at the LA Femme International Film, 8 p.m. CST on Thursday, October 15. I spoke with the director recently about filmmaking during a pandemic and the ongoing relevance of the Black Dahlia.
Was work on the film complete before COVID hit? If not, how did you responded to filmmaking in a time of plague?
The majority of the principal photography and pickups were shot prior to COVID. We did need an insert shot of stunt hands—this will make sense in the upcoming screening. We filmed outside in an alley near downtown Los Angeles with masks and social distancing. We’re prepping for the next feature, Making Angels, and shooting exteriors without actors right now. I'm very conscious of wanting everyone to be safe.
Any thoughts about debuting a film virtually as opposed to cinematically?
Not what I expected! I feel like Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard, when he tells Norma Desmond, “Last [script] I wrote was about Okies in the Dust Bowl. You’d never know it, because when it reached the screen, the whole thing played on a torpedo boat.” The screenplay for Night Rain was written over four years, and production began in late 2016. I couldn’t have even begun to imagine what's happening now!
Ironically, one very important aspect of the plot involves the challenges of being sequestered in a small space. I love the cinematic experience, visually and communally speaking, so we’re doing our best to create a sense of that virtually. It does allow us to debut Night Rain globally, which is great. People who want to watch it anywhere from California and Wisconsin to the U.K., Italy and Poland can do so. The version we’re debuting is the festival cut. We’ve also completed a theatrical cut, and my favorite, the director’s cut, both of which have not yet screened.
The Q&A that follows (at LA Femme International Film Festival, which also selected my first feature, The Scarapist) will include me, composer-drummer Guy Hoffman of BoDeans and Violent Femmes fame, L.A. Times’ writer-editor and Black Dahlia authority Larry Harnisch and more.
What does Night Rain’s story say to us in 2020?
More than ever, there is such an importance to bond together, even when we’re physically separated from each other, and in the most trying or dangerous conditions. I think that this message is even more important today. Value the people in your life. Allow healing to take place. Reach for the stars and keep reaching. Life is meant to be lived.
For more information on the LA Femme International Film Festival, visit https://www.lafemme.org/
To read more film previews and reviews, click here.
To read more articles by David Luhrssen, click here.
