Peter Facinelli: Did you get to see Loosies?

PR.com (Allison Kugel): Yes, I watched the film on VOD the other day. There’s a big trend now with independent films debuting on video on demand before their theatrical release. Tell me about that.

Peter Facinelli: The game is changing. Indies used to platform movies in five or ten theatres and hope that people go to those theatres to then get a wider release. Now what we’re doing in the industry is starting to utilize the VOD and other sources like iTunes to actually get the movie out to people and get a buzz going, and then put it into theatres.

PR.com: I recently spoke to Edward Burns who also followed that business model for his last film (Nice Guy Johnny). He explained that he partnered with VOD for a better financial return. Is that the route you’re going with this model?

Peter Facinelli: It’s definitely good for financial return, but for me, you make a movie and you want to get it out to as many people as possible. People right now are very finicky on where and how they see movies. Little indies, sometimes they hit the theatres and then they end up going straight to DVD. So I’d rather have it go out, where it’s like a theatrical release in the sense where you’re not buying it, you’re just renting it to watch. But instead of driving to a theatre and spending money on popcorn and soda and getting in your car, you’re getting to watch it from the comfort of your own home. And then there are other people who want to see it in theatres, so they’ll wait and when it comes out in theatres they get to check it out there. But, at that point, hopefully, it’s in twenty million homes so people have seen it and they’re talking about it, and they’re saying, “Hey, have you seen Loosies? I hear it’s playing down the block.” And then at that point other people, by word of mouth, will go see it.

PR.com: Let’s talk about the plot in the film, Loosies. Your character in the film, Bobby, compartmentalizes his morals and he is on the wrong side of an ethical dilemma. Since you wrote the screenplay for Loosies, where did you get this character from?

Peter Facinelli: For me, this is like movies from the 1970s that had these characters that were anti-heroes. They weren’t exactly heroes, but they were anti-heroes that you rooted for. The world isn’t black and white. They’re not always doing the right thing, but you root for them anyway because they have more good about them than bad. I remember just riding the subways and thinking that it would be really fun to do a movie about a pickpocket on the subways. And then I thought, “What does his world look like? Why would he be stealing?” I started asking those questions and then I created this character, Bobby, and gave him a lot of moral dilemmas. Somebody wrote a comment, like, “Why would Peter write a movie where he gets the crap beat out of him for half the movie? It’s very masochistic.” (Laughs). But it’s a movie where [the character] deserves to get his ass beat up a couple of times. He needs to learn a couple of lessons before he can actually grow.

PR.com: Do you like the character of Bobby, as a person?

Peter Facinelli: I really do like Bobby, because he does learn and he does grow. I think he is likable. He just does some things that are unlikable, but he thinks he’s doing them for the right reasons. People think Loosies is a romantic comedy, but it’s a love story with comedic elements. It’s also a coming-of-age story for this thirty year old guy. He’s finally got to grow up.

click to read interview with Peter Facinelli