Circle

All that stuff about how The Godfathers: Part Two was the final Danman Production? Yeah, that wasn't true. Circle, which utilized the same company of actors, was technically the last movie. I could've sworn it wasn't branded with the illustrious Danman seal, but the recent vault discovery revealed that I was only half-right. See for yourself:


"Aneurysm Films" was a sad little attempt to reinvent myself post-Godfathers. Yet I couldn't bring myself to totally abandon the Danman moniker. Thus, as the closing credits read, "A Danman Production of an Aneurysm Film."



The shift was supposed to mark a new kind of maturity, I suppose, but those serious line-readings? And that semi-serious script? Total disaster. Made when I was a college freshman, Circle kicked off three years of humorless, uninspired experiments. Compared to the rollicking ambition that was Godfathers Two, the movie was a minor effort.



So minor, in fact, that I remembered it incorrectly as a "short film." Clocking in at forty-some minutes, it's actually one of my longest pictures. Drained after the months and months of shooting Godfathers Two, I vomited up a story that I could shoot in just a few days. That's all I cared about anymore. Man, I was done.



Aside from Matt N. and Joe proving themselves impervious to bad scripts, Circle's only innovation was that my co-star Tony set me up with an editing booth so that I could add songs in post-production. Unfortunately, we screwed up the sound levels and the whole movie runs hot. No big deal, I thought at the time. Well, me, I hate to tell you, but it's a huge deal--it's yet another element that dooms this flick to obscurity.



And that's a wrap. I mean it this time. The Godfathers: Part Two remains the ultimate Danman statement. Circle stands as little more than a curious epilogue.



(Oh, and for those wondering if I'm going to post my college movies... I wouldn't do that to you. I like you too much.)