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The concept

In 2007 two filmmakers (Matthew & Barnaby O'Connor) took an actor (Alex Price) to America to make a movie.

What no one (including the intrepid lead actor) knew was that they were making it up as they went along.

The idea was to see if it was possible to write the script as they went, sourcing locations on the way and even casting the movie on the fly. Could it be done and more importantly, would anyone realise what was going on?

Behind the scenes

All this was to be recorded in great detail for an extensive behind the scenes documentary. The thinking behind it was that with a documentary capturing what went on, should they fail in their task to make a movie they would at least come away with a potentially interesting 'making of'.

On a budget of $10,000 that the duo had managed to scrape together, they had 5 weeks to film their epic story - a plot that consisted entirely of 'boy meets girl starting on the East Coast of America and ending on the West Coast'.

A master plan, indeed…

Getting off the ground

In July 2007 the two man crew set off for America accompanied by their oblivious lead actor. Obviously, with such extensive preparation, what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot is the answer.

Upon arriving in New York, they find themselves hopelessly underfunded and incapable of getting anyone to commit to their project. They are unable to source locations, cast actors or generally get anything done.

There are places in the world where the arrival of a film crew, however small, is met with excitement and wonder. New York is not one of those places however. In the Big Apple, filmmakers with big dreams are a dime a dozen.

13 States - the documentary

‘13 States’, the documentary that follows their journey, is a frightening almost cringe worthy odyssey detailing what happened while trying to make their movie.

Forget the glossy, polished making of featurettes that come packaged with most DVDs, this is the brutal reality of filmmaking as you have never seen it before.

 

A Horse With No Name - the movie

Amazingly they managed to pull it off though and ‘A Horse With No Name’ is the movie that came out of the whole crazy experience. It follows a down and out English DJ Vince Vinyl (Alex Price), a high society American girl Sophie (Molly Ryman) and their quirky voyage of romance and discovery.

After a chance encounter one day in New York the pair unexpectedly hit it off and decide to spend the day together. Despite an inordinate amount of bickering, they somehow manage to get on and their friendship becomes something deeper.

When Sophie unexpectedly leaves for Los Angeles, Vince embarks on an epic journey across America to be with her again and so discovers himself, the price of gas and true love - kind of.

 

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Contact This Is A Long Shot

For more information please contact Raoul at This Is A Long Shot.

Full press pack and bios available on request.