Kissing Cousins?

Kevin Desmond on Sunday, April 19, 2009 1:44PM

Got your interest. Nothing perverted, this is just a new indie movie which is going to be released soon and I think if you guys have a chance to go check it out. I did see this movie at the LA Asian Film Festival last year and was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was. It was well written and had a very effective cast. I am usually skeptical while watching an indie movie because independent directors usually only care about the lead and the supporting cast is usually ignored. In this case, the supporting cast is what made the movie, especially Gerry Bednob and Jalleel White who steal every scene they are in.

Q & A with Director Amyn Kaderali

What was the genesis of your script? the concept is pretty funny with a relationship termination specialist who cannot find love.
I got the idea for Amir’s job as a heart breaker after hearing a story on the radio about people in Japan who work as breakup specialists. i thought it was such an interesting job and wondered why we don’t have that job in America. when i started writing the script a few years later, i wanted my main character to be cynical about love and i remembered that job and thought that would be a funny job for the movie.

You have a pretty well known supporting cast with David Allen Grier (In Living Color), Jaleel White (Family Matters), Lauren Stamile (Grey’s Anatomy) Zack Ward and Gerry Bednob (Zack & Miri Make A Porno). What was your casting process like and how did you choose the leads Samrat Chakravorthy and Rebecca Hazelwood who were also pretty good.
I had two great casting directors, Meg Morman and Sunday Boling, and we worked for a few months on casting. I saw their favorite picks and some of them were not quite what i had in mind originally, like Zack ward and PJ Byrne, but they were so funny i had to cast them. Others, like Gerry Bednob and Jaleel white, we sent them the script and fortunately they wanted to do it. As for Samrat and Rebecca: I had never met Samrat and was unfamiliar with his work but other actors kept recommending him so we tracked him down and he was just right. As for Rebecca, she came in and was so charming and was exactly the kind of woman i had in mind. She’d only been in la for two weeks so it was pretty lucky that she walked in and auditioned.

You’ve had a great festival run and how was it winning your first award?
Our festival run was amazing. We sold out almost every show and there’s nothing more gratifying than a room full of strangers laughing at your film. Winning the audience choice award in NY was also quite a surprise and an honor.

What is next on your plate?
I’m working on a buddy film set in india and a few tv pilots.

Where else will the movie be playing and how can people get a hold of the DVD or online if not playing in their area?
The movie is playing in Fremont and Artesia starting on April 24th. If that goes well and people come out and support the film, it’ll make it easier for us to open the film in other cities. We are working on a distribution deal for the DVD and expect to have it available by mid-summer.

KISSING COUSINS OPENS IN CALIFORNIA ON APRIL 24TH FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT!!!!
Where: Fremont (Bay Area) and Artesia (So-Cal)
Naz 8 Cinemas
Fremont: 39160 Paseo Parkway, Fremont
Artesia: 6440 South St, Lakewood
FRI-SUN SHOWTIMES: 5PM, 7PM, 9PM & 11PM
Ticket Info: www.naz8.com

WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE AWARD AT THE 2008 ASIAN AMERICAN INT’L FILM FESTIVAL!!!

Don’t miss your chance to see this hilarious “relatively” romantic comedy written and directed by Amyn Kaderali, produced by Manish Goyal and Amyn Kaderali, and co-produced by Rahul Haria.

The hilarious cast includes Samrat Chakrabarti, Rebecca Hazlewood, Zack Ward, Jaleel White, Gerry Bednob, Lauren Stamile, Manish Goyal, Nikki McCauley, Anoush Nevart, Meena Kumari, PJ Byrne, Rachael Smith, Amy Rider and many more!!!
http://kissingcousinsmovie.com/