Story: Justin Lee Peterson
Written: Gοrdoπ Μorεhoυsε, Justin Lee Peterson
Directed: Justin Lee Peterson
Director of Photography: Ray Wadia
Starring: Marco Pantoliano, Dave Shalansky, Scott Kelly, Mimi Ferraro, Andrew Marston, Ron Fabian

The Story

Not long after I arrived at New York Film Academy in 2001, I witnessed with my own eyes a pair of jets crash into the World Trade Center. Over the following weeks, the story for Stormy Weather began to take root in my mind.

With the media pumping up the hype on television, we often just saw the immediate physical images: the planes crashing, the towers burning and falling, and the terrorized crowds running for their lives. My apartment was less than a mile from Ground Zero. For days after the disaster, a fog of dust settled over my neighborhood. These weren't the images I wanted in my film.

Throughout Stormy Weather, there are a number of seemingly separate situations which twist and turn and weave together. In the course of our attempt to follow that trail, we are suddenly hit with a heartbreaking look at an ordinary New Yorker trying to come to grips with his loss on that fateful day. Just as it was for all of us, into the midst of his everyday hurdles came those planes and that horror and that grief.

It took six months after 9/11 to make the film a reality. I think the timing was about right; God knows I wouldn't want to display such a reminder to my fellow New Yorkers too soon.

The 15-page script was finished in the winter of 2002. The six-day production began in early March of the same year. Tragically, a week before production a dear life-long friend of mine passed away. She was only one week short of her nineteenth birthday. Her death was one of the worst things that I ever had to face. I've dealt with many issues in my life, but death was a new one, especially one this close to me. Production was set to begin ten days after the unexpected tragedy. It took all the will and strength that I had to continue my work on Stormy Weather while facing my own loss.

The days were long and the shoot was frustrating, but after several crane shots, 12 company changes, and 16,000 feet of film, production was finished.

The film was shot on 16MM color negative film stock, and had a $15,000 budget. The protagonist was played by Marco Pantoliano, the son of Joe Pantoliano, and the rest of the cast was made up of several S.A.G. actors.

Post-production didn't go as planned. I had an organized arrangement for how I wanted the film to be cut. But in filmmaking, nothing ever turns out the way you expect it to. When I went to the color timer for the first time, I discovered that nine out of ten of my crane shots were completely out of focus. Normally in this case a director would demand a re-shoot, but my production funding was limited and this particular shot cost $1800, and required hard-to-get permits.

Originally the film was going to begin with an opening crane shot, followed with a reverse crane shot at the end. Two of the opening crane shots came out, but unfortunately, none of the reverse crane shots came out at all. This may have been a blessing in disguise, as I think the ending of the film stands strong the way it is now.

Other than that, the problems were minimal. I spent the next three weeks syncing, and cutting the short together until I was satisfied.

At the final screening at The New York Film Academy, Stormy Weather was the only short to receive a standing ovation.

Click here to view the film.