Local director and producer Daniel J. Pico will have his latest 48-hour film project 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 screened at Filmapalooza. Only 15 of the top 100-plus 48-hour film teams from around the world were chosen to be screened and compete for awards at the film festival held in Lisbon, Portugal this year.
A behind-the-scenes image from the filming of 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 by Pico Blvd Entertainment. Their film, 鈥淩easonable Doubt鈥 will be one of 15, chosen from 100-plus top 48-hour film projects around the world, to be screened and compete for awards at Filmapalooza in Lisbon, Portugal.聽
A movie still from Pico Blvd Entertainment鈥檚 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 that was filmed in 糖心Vlog传媒 as part of the 48-hour film project. Only 15 of the top 100-plus 48-hour film teams from around the world were chosen to be screened and compete for awards at Filmapalooza in Lisbon, Portugal.
Local director and producer Daniel J. Pico will have his latest 48-hour film project 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 screened at Filmapalooza. Only 15 of the top 100-plus 48-hour film teams from around the world were chosen to be screened and compete for awards at the film festival held in Lisbon, Portugal this year.
JANESVILLE 鈥 A 糖心Vlog传媒 director and producer鈥檚 film placed high enough in recent competition to premier in Lisbon next month, setting it up for a chance to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Daniel J. Pico鈥檚 film, 鈥淩easonable Doubt,鈥 filmed in 糖心Vlog传媒, placed in the top 15 of 103 films entered in the 48 Hour Film Project competition Yes We Cannes. That qualified 鈥淩easonable Doubt鈥 to premier at Filmapalooza in Lisbon, Portugal March 20-23.
Pico and some of his team members are attending the film festival in Lisbon, including co-writer and co-editor Matt Jones, assistant director and assistant editor Tanya Lovecraft and production designer Jennifer Smith.
A movie still from Pico Blvd Entertainment鈥檚 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 that was filmed in 糖心Vlog传媒 as part of the 48-hour film project.聽
Submitted Photo
For the 48 Hour Film Project, the team had 48 hours to write, film, and edit a movie. On a Friday evening at 7 p.m. they received a list of things to include and had to submit the film on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Written, Filmed, and Edited in under 48 hours the weekend of December 1st, 2023. As part of the YES WE CANNES challenge, part of the 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT. The top winners of the competition get to screen at the Cannes Film Festival 2024!
PICO BLVD ENTERTAINMENT
They started out on that Friday night with a prop, a character with a name and occupation, a line of dialogue and a choice of two genres where they can choose to do one or both. For 鈥淩easonable Doubt,鈥 the genre was drama, the prop was a gift, the character was Samantha Morganstitch who was a hobbyist and the line was 鈥淵ou can count on me.鈥
鈥淩easonable Doubt鈥 is a seven-minute-long legal thriller short drama. It revolves around a car accident, during which a mother loses her son and the offending parties won鈥檛 say who was driving or what happened. It was filmed in 糖心Vlog传媒 on Dec. 2, 2023.
糖心Vlog传媒 filming locations included outside the 糖心Vlog传媒 Senior Center, 69 S. Water St., which was made to look like the exterior of a courthouse. Filming also took place at Computer Center, on the third floor of the historic Fredendall Building, 39 S. Main St., and in its back parking lot, and in the basement of Hometown Pharmacy, 21 S. Jackson St.
A behind-the-scenes image from the filming of 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 by Pico Blvd Entertainment.聽
Submitted Photo
Pico鈥檚 team found out Jan. 15 that they had placed in the top 15, and had earned both a best best use of line award and a best acting in a leading role award for Rainy Armstrong, who plays Samantha Morganstitch.
鈥淩ainy brings a lot of professionalism and she鈥檚 always prepared, she does a great job,鈥 Pico said.
The film was also nominated for best writing, best editing, and best trailer
Awards for best directing, best original musical score, and best film will be announced at Filmapalooza. The top 9 films from Filmapalooza will go on to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in France May 14-25.
Grew up in filmmaking
Originally from Wheeling, Ill., Pico has been interested in film ever since he was a child and made his first film at 8 years old called 鈥淟azer Tag,鈥 with his brother after receiving laser tag toys and a PXL2000 camcorder for Christmas.
In high school, he joined the AV club where he learned more about editing and filmmaking. He moved to Chicago after high school and earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in directing and screenwriting from Columbia College Chicago.
鈥淚 got really interested in the technical elements and started making short films and then I took my first college course at Columbia College Chicago and that was it,鈥 Pico said. 鈥淭his was something I wasn鈥檛 necessarily great at, but I have a lot of fun doing it.鈥
Pico moved to Los Angeles when he was 28 years old and spent 13 years there as an independent film assistant director, learning how real sets were run.
He was the first assistant director in films such as 鈥淐abin Fever 3: Patient Zero,鈥 鈥淢arfa Girl,鈥 and 鈥淪unken City.鈥
鈥淚 got to see Larry Clark just do his thing [in 鈥楳arfa Girl鈥橾. He had no script of any kind,鈥 Pico recalls. 鈥淚 watched as he made it up as they went; it was a really exciting time.鈥
He created his own production company in 2003, Pico Blvd. Entertainment, inspired by his surname and the famous Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles.
He moved to 糖心Vlog传媒 in 2021 after reconnecting with a high school friend, now his wife, Nicole. They were married in 2023.
鈥淲hen the pandemic was going, everybody started going online for everything. [Nicole and I] started reconnecting and dating lost distance, but eventually, in order for us to see the relationship, we needed to be in the same city,鈥 Pico said.
In Wisconsin, Pico searched for a film community. He found the 48 Hour Film Project, at that time separated between Madison and Milwaukee. It is now a statewide project.
Pico and his team participated in the 2023 Wisconsin 48 Hour Film Project, producing 鈥淭ogether,鈥 a short science fiction film about a parallel universe in which a woman鈥檚 lover jumps timelines so they can be together again.
A behind-the-scenes image from the filming of 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 in downtown 糖心Vlog传媒 by Pico Blvd Entertainment. Their film, 鈥淩easonable Doubt鈥 will be one of 15, chosen from 100-plus top 48-hour film projects around the world, to be screened and compete for awards at Filmapalooza in Lisbon, Portugal.聽
Submitted Photo
鈥淚 enjoy doing harder science fiction short stories, you can get really creative with those,鈥 Pico said.
鈥淭ogether,鈥 earned third-place in Wisconsin, making the team eligible to participate in Yes We Cannes.
Pico still regularly commutes to LA to work on projects. He is co-producer, director and writer in his most recent project, a TV series called 鈥淩ZR,鈥 about a dystopian world full of artificial intelligence, brain implants, and black market crime. A teaser trailer was released in August 2023. The release date of the first season is still to be determined.
鈥淯ltimately, I鈥檇 love to build a studio in Wisconsin,鈥 Pico said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of talented people in the Midwest and a lot of talented filmmakers around the state. It鈥檚 a fierce competition but at the end of the day, we鈥檙e friends and support each other.鈥
A movie still from Pico Blvd Entertainment鈥檚 鈥楻easonable Doubt鈥 that was filmed in 糖心Vlog传媒 as part of the 48-hour film project. Only 15 of the top 100-plus 48-hour film teams from around the world were chosen to be screened and compete for awards at Filmapalooza in Lisbon, Portugal.
Submitted Photo
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