The Last Taxi Driver – Press Release
For Immediate Release Contact: Debra Markowitz
January 14, 2014 [email protected]
It Takes an Island to Make a Movie
Debra Markowitz and her partner, John Marean, of North Merrick always discussed amusing story lines and funny anecdotes when walking their rescue dog, Trippy.
When Debra Markowitz wrote the screenplay for the short film, The Last Taxi Driver, they discussed different people who would play the roles if it ever got produced. Then Debra spoke to her filmmaker friends, and the wheels started turning. Debra Markowitz and The Majors Productions (Marc Riou of Huntington, Nugent Cantileno of Mineola, Robert La Rosa of Valley Stream, Joshua Paige of Port Jefferson Station and Carrie Ferrante of Connecticut) explored the possibility of producing this dark comedic horror film on Long Island.
John Marean and his producing partner, Cecily Mihok-Trenka (Rapier Wit Films of Merrick) got involved in the production, and it became even more of a reality. Steve Sage of Steve Sage Productions (originally from Greenlawn, now of Rocky Point) jumped on the bandwagon with his Red camera. Kory Diskin (Roslyn Heights) came on as Production Designer. Regina Hardy (originally of Glen Cove, now of Hempstead) came on to assist as 2nd AD. Helene Schulman from Suffolk signed on as Set Photographer/Videographer.
As per writer/director/producer, Debra Markowitz, “The most exciting thing about The Last Taxi Driver is the collaboration between all the Long Island filmmakers. It’s wonderful to work with all of these talented, creative individuals on one project.”
In order to raise the money to shoot the film, acting friends Christina Wood (Coram), John Thomassen (Staten Island), Stan Adams (Roosevelt), Cheryl Martin (Huntington) and Ingrid Dodd (Baldwin Harbor) came out on the coldest night of the year and acted in the promotional video without even rehearsing to stir attention for the project.
The Last Taxi Driver is a dark horror comedy about one man’s determination to retain his career as a taxi driver and refuses to give up when most of his customers are eaten by zombies. The Last Taxi Driver will be played by Robert Clohessy (Blue Bloods, Wolf of Wall Street) and Violet will be played by Emily Jackson (Fringe, Incarnate).
Crew members, background and additional actors come from Hempstead, Farmingdale, Selden, Freeport, Massapequa and all over Long Island. The film will be shot in East Meadow.
The money for The Last Taxi Driver is being raised through crowdsourcing on indiegogo.com, and donations of any amount are appreciated to get this film completed and onto the festival circuit. For more information on The Last Taxi Driver, and to see the promotional video, please go to http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-last-taxi-driver/x/52224 or email [email protected].
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Pictures from the Promo
