MOVIES: Beach Pillows - How Debut Film-Maker Sean Hartofilis Landed a Dream Cast and Put a Personal Spin on a Classic Story

When it came to getting his debut film made - a long and serendipitous journey, it turned out - New York native Sean Hartofilis knew that he was perhaps not necessarily telling a ground-breaking tale. “I was very aware I wasn't inventing the coming-of-age or brother's keeper story. I was telling my version of that story about where I'm from and how I became an artist, just as my heroes had done with their first work.” The filmmakers obvious adoration for trailblazing truth-seekers and storytellers comes through not only in "Beach Pillows" uniquely honest and introspective tone, but in speaking to Hartofilis, it’s evident how heavily many of his literary and film heroes have impacted him. “I'm interested in how these tasks, our purposes on this planet, weigh on us, and how we carry that weight.”

“Beach Pillows” follows Morgan Midwood (Geoffrey Arend), a once-promising writer who has resigned to working at his father's furniture store. As Morgan’s troubles begin to mount up - an unfaithful girlfriend, an arrest, an eviction - his troubled long-time friend Nick (Vincent Kartheiser) begins to finally take interest in his own affairs, branding an inventive piece of beach apparel for sale at Morgan’s father's store. The film serves largely as a study of these two characters and is unflinching in depicting Morgan and Nick as uniquely flawed men, rather than simply a likeable lead and his wacky cohort. Hartofilis asks questions that follow every twenty-something as they search for their identity and grapple with self-doubt; he also allows Morgan to question his friends goals and decisions - and vice versa - without ultimately having them turn on one-another. “I was really living this story for about a third of my life,” Sean told me. “I moved back to New York about seven years ago and live below my parents in a building in Astoria. So it was based on my life in a lot of ways, but my life also became based on it.”

Hartofilis (right) with actor Richard Schiff

The movies sometimes dark depiction of its characters and honest situations doesn’t mean it’s without humor, though - on the contrary, one of the films great strengths is finding humor in the bleakest of places: real life. Kartheiser in particular is a riot, seemingly having a blast as the absolute anti Pete Campbell. Oddly enough, though, it was that role in “Mad Men” that caught Hartofilis’ eye and made him believe Kartheiser was so perfect for the role of Nick. To understand how he landed such a big name for his first project, though, you’d have to go back a bit further. “I had the first draft done about a decade ago,” he told me of the films beginnings. “The idea probably started brewing my senior year of college after a lot of thought and emotion about it the previous summer, sitting on the beach with my friend Brian Caslin and conjuring the idea of a Beach Pillow, which we both thought was pretty cool and novel.” Eventually the ideas lead to something bigger. “I started writing it after I graduated college in the summer of 2003. I wrote half the script at my parents' house on Long Island then finished the rest in Los Angeles … People responded to it, and it was optioned at a few production companies but never went. And I just used those ten years, writing other scripts and making films, to make the story stronger and richer.”

Hartofilis used the time between inception and execution to strengthen the script and work on smaller projects. “The general gist is pounding the pavement, or just showing up,” he told me of his journey. “I got the script to people I'd met who might be helpful toward getting it made. I assisted directors and producers and started to work my way up to contribute creatively on different projects. And, in terms of my own material, I just stayed productive.” Still, getting a film made for a first-time writer / director in Hollywood is no easy task. “I decided to attach actors to justify an investment and raise the money myself, to make the film independently, something like what the Coen Brothers did with "Blood Simple".”

Thanks to a fantastic script and some blind luck, the approach worked. “My friend and eventual producer Jesse Hoy was sharing some photos from his bachelor party. Geoffrey Arend was in one photo. I'd loved him since seeing "Super Troopers" in college,” Hartofilis said. “I thought this very dynamic comedic performer would be great for a quieter lead role, because he does so much physically and with his eyes. Jesse got him the script, and he read it on his phone and signed on immediately.” From there, the stars truly seemed to align. “I'm a tremendous fan of "Mad Men",” Hartofilis expressed. “I was a little late to the party, but my wife and I watched the first 2 or 3 seasons in a week or so, and I've been up to date ever since.” He noted Kartheiser's slimey Pete Campbell as an immediate standout. “I guess the character rubs some people the wrong way, but I always saw him as the everyman in that story. He may have done some objectionable things, but you always, or I always, understood him and empathized.”

“There were also two specific episodes where Vinnie danced, the Kentucky Derby and Christmas episodes, and the dancing just unleashed this massive, infectious smiles, and I thought, "That's Nick!"” Apparently Kartheiser felt the same. “So I asked Geoffrey, "Your wife [Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks] works with this guy Vincent, and I think he'd be great as Nick." Geoffrey knew Vinnie well, which I was unaware of, and he agreed he'd be great for the part. Vinnie told me he read the script on the beach, all the parts out loud, and he enjoyed it and wanted to do it.”

It’s a true testament to the quality of Sean’s script itself that two well-known, unarguably talented (and, I’d say, underrated) actors agreed to sign on for a first-time writer who also intended to direct the project. Watching the film, however, it’s obvious what attracted the guys to these parts. More so than any grand storyline or single moment, this film truly rides on the character journeys of Morgan and Nick. We watch their friendship, see them help each other and hurt each other, watch them struggle, and laugh with them. It’s the incredibly honest portrayal of male friendship and the struggle of early adulthood and independence that I loved the most about this picture. Rather than trying to make his characters unequivocally likeable, Sean gives us two men who are flawed and very recognizable. “I just think that's how you get to the heart of the matter, or the feeling of it. And I think that can make some people uncomfortable, even if they're not sure why, because they recognize certain darkness in themselves.” Heartofilis continued to explain his motivations telling me, “That's tremendously important if art is supposed to move the ball of civilization forward in any meaningful way. We have to look at the light and the dark and explore the why. What do these feelings and behaviors do to us? How do they affect others? That's all very important to me.”

While currently working to promote “Beach Pillows”, Hartofilis also has a few other cards up his sleeve, working on a proposed animated pilot that he hopes to shop around. Plus - he’s got his next film project written and ready to go. “With this next one my basic idea is, everyone's going to be forced to have an opinion,” he said of the script. “I can't say too much other than it takes place in upstate New York along the Hudson River.” Whatever Sean may do next, with such a strong debut under his belt, it's certain that we should all be eagerly anticipating it.

For more on Sean Hartofilis and "Beach Pillows" you can follow the film’s official Twitter page here. Beach Pillows is available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon.

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