Chris Moore, Anna Martemucci, Zachary Quinto
Chris Moore, Anna Martemucci, Zachary Quinto
NYTVF: Starz presents Inside Look at The Chair

(released 10/28/2014)


The Starz Network has an original filmmaking experiment being documented in the television series The Chair. Chris Moore, the producer of Project Greenlight, American Pie, and Good Will Hunting, is the creator of the filmmaker challenge. Moore thought he may be able to educate the viewing audience on what the studio experiences when giving one script to two different directors. The final product can be contrasting.

Moore collaborates with Zachary Quinto.  Quinto is mostly known for his breakout acting role as Sylar on NBC's Heroes and recently playing Spock in Star Trek.  But Quinto was chosen as a partner on the TV series by Moore for his ability to produce quality films on indie budgets through his Behind the Door Productions.

The directors chosen to produce the same source material were Anna Martemucci and Shane Dawson. Anna Martemucci is a NYU screenwriting graduate who has worked her way through the ranks on indie productions of her own as well as collaborations with others. Shane Dawson is a YouTube reflection of what he self describes as a character. The expressions of Dawson has millions of tween viewers attention. He started his YouTube journey in 2008 with a dream of making movies one day. After 7 years of entertaining his viewers, he now is positioned for a true filmmaking process.

A Pittsburgh native and Carnegie graduate, Zachary Quinto's advice helped establish both crews of filmmakers into their temporary indie production homes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Quinto acknowledged state film incentives as a strong factor to consider when creating the production budget.  For films that spend at least 60% of their total production budget in the commonwealth, Pennsylvania offers a 25% tax credit. Fee-free locations is another perk when using Pennsylvania state owned property.

Moore's new series further documents the filmmaking process and goes further to the audiences' understanding of content creation. Moore hopes he can show how the quality of storytelling contributes to the human experience.

Moore, Martemucci, and Quinto discussed their experience and showed a glimpse into The Chair at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea during the 2014 New York Television Festival.  Check out the PhotoSeen for photos from the red carpet and the theatre.

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