Want to win some cool
stuff? We have a signed copy of The
Pineville Heist (signed by Lee
Chambers the author and director of the upcoming thriller and the star of the
movie) and an official Pineville Police patch that was used in the movie.
All you have to do is watch the recently released movie trailer and share it on twitter or facebook with @pinevilleheist in the post.
Here is the trailer:
Here’s the trailer link: https://youtu.be/z81JGqHrMFQ
All you have to do is watch the recently released movie trailer and share it on twitter or facebook with @pinevilleheist in the post.
Here is the trailer:
Here’s the trailer link: https://youtu.be/z81JGqHrMFQ
Q: For a few years you had Booboo Stewart attached to play
the lead in your movie. But he’s not in the movie is that right?
Lee Chambers: It was really exciting to have Booboo on board. He was a supporter even before the book came out and his fans were keen to see him take on this edgy role. Unfortunately in the movie business schedules don’t always match. I locked in my dates to shoot last June just after his XMen movie premiered and sadly I had to let him go. But we found an awesome star in the making with Presley.
Q: Tell us about Presley Massara. How did you find him?
Lee: A mutual friend introduced me to his family and I was struck by his maturity and energy. When we shot a test scene with the lead actress (Priscilla-Anne Forder) in Australia a year before shooting the movie, Presley stood in for the role of Aaron Stevens. As we got closer to production I realized that this young actors was perfect to play the lead if Booboo wasn’t available. It was a lot of weigh to place on the shoulders of a 13 year old. But… he did great! Presley undertook weapons training and months and month of accent training to sound like an American.
Lee Chambers: It was really exciting to have Booboo on board. He was a supporter even before the book came out and his fans were keen to see him take on this edgy role. Unfortunately in the movie business schedules don’t always match. I locked in my dates to shoot last June just after his XMen movie premiered and sadly I had to let him go. But we found an awesome star in the making with Presley.
Q: Tell us about Presley Massara. How did you find him?
Lee: A mutual friend introduced me to his family and I was struck by his maturity and energy. When we shot a test scene with the lead actress (Priscilla-Anne Forder) in Australia a year before shooting the movie, Presley stood in for the role of Aaron Stevens. As we got closer to production I realized that this young actors was perfect to play the lead if Booboo wasn’t available. It was a lot of weigh to place on the shoulders of a 13 year old. But… he did great! Presley undertook weapons training and months and month of accent training to sound like an American.
Q:
Tell us a little about The Pineville Heist?
Lee: It’s a thriller about a twelfth grade high school student who witnesses a murder, ends up with bag of stolen bank money and is then hunted down inside his school. It’s about greed and more importantly, it’s about a young boy’s journey to becoming a man.
Lee: It’s a thriller about a twelfth grade high school student who witnesses a murder, ends up with bag of stolen bank money and is then hunted down inside his school. It’s about greed and more importantly, it’s about a young boy’s journey to becoming a man.
Q: Where are you from? Because it
sounds like a mix of countries involved here.
Lee: I was born in Canada. Heavily influenced by America but clinged onto my British heritage. In fact, I moved to England for 8 years and now feel partly British. Not sure where I am from now… I’m so confused. Then I make the Pineville Heist in Canada, set the movie in the USA and fly in a bunch of Australian to help make it. I must be insane. But in some odd way… it worked.
Lee: I was born in Canada. Heavily influenced by America but clinged onto my British heritage. In fact, I moved to England for 8 years and now feel partly British. Not sure where I am from now… I’m so confused. Then I make the Pineville Heist in Canada, set the movie in the USA and fly in a bunch of Australian to help make it. I must be insane. But in some odd way… it worked.
Q:
How has your career led you to this point?
Lee: For me, I love telling stories and I shifted to telling stories on film, with actors, props and unique shooting locations. After more than a dozen short films under my belt, some made with support from Academy Award winners, I decided it was time I tackled a longer format.
Lee: For me, I love telling stories and I shifted to telling stories on film, with actors, props and unique shooting locations. After more than a dozen short films under my belt, some made with support from Academy Award winners, I decided it was time I tackled a longer format.
Q:
Can you tell us a little about how you turn a screenplay into a novel, it's
usually the other way round?
Lee: It is quite an unusual process. My book is based on my award-winning screenplay of the same name. I developed the plot and characters on my own, then completed the screenplay with Todd Gordon from Boston. This process took two years. Because finding millions of dollars for a movie takes years, I decided to turn the screenplay into novel format so that I could share the story with people. The general public doesn’t read screenplays. It’s just a blueprint to build a film and most of the emotional and descriptive stuff isn’t included. Crafting the book version took another 8 months. It allowed me to explore the setting and characters in more detail. Also, it becomes a nice companion piece until we shot the film. It gave actors more insight into what the heart of each character is all about.
Lee: It is quite an unusual process. My book is based on my award-winning screenplay of the same name. I developed the plot and characters on my own, then completed the screenplay with Todd Gordon from Boston. This process took two years. Because finding millions of dollars for a movie takes years, I decided to turn the screenplay into novel format so that I could share the story with people. The general public doesn’t read screenplays. It’s just a blueprint to build a film and most of the emotional and descriptive stuff isn’t included. Crafting the book version took another 8 months. It allowed me to explore the setting and characters in more detail. Also, it becomes a nice companion piece until we shot the film. It gave actors more insight into what the heart of each character is all about.
Q:
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
Lee: The story came from hiding under a canoe while I was a kid playing hide and seek. I could see them but they couldn’t see me. I watched and waited for them to leave.
Lee: The story came from hiding under a canoe while I was a kid playing hide and seek. I could see them but they couldn’t see me. I watched and waited for them to leave.
Q:
It’s quite a challenge writing a book and then directing a movie isn’t it?
Lee: It’s a massive challenge! But the
Pineville Heist was carefully crafted to be my break into directing feature films.
My role includes co-writing the screenplay and producing too. The beauty of it
is I can make a movie that closely resembles the book because I retained final
cut of how the movie was made and cast.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?
Lee: I got an email from a mom in Puerto Rico, she had been reading her book to her 13 year old son and they both loved it; her son didn’t want to go to bed until they had finished the book; and she wanted to read it again. That one single person had read the paperback, had been entertained and reached back to you acknowledging your work. That really puts a smile on your face to know that someone has really enjoyed your work, that you have engaged them and inspired them. And that’s just one story… there are more from the Netherlands, Austria, India and around the world. Pretty cool.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?
Lee: I got an email from a mom in Puerto Rico, she had been reading her book to her 13 year old son and they both loved it; her son didn’t want to go to bed until they had finished the book; and she wanted to read it again. That one single person had read the paperback, had been entertained and reached back to you acknowledging your work. That really puts a smile on your face to know that someone has really enjoyed your work, that you have engaged them and inspired them. And that’s just one story… there are more from the Netherlands, Austria, India and around the world. Pretty cool.
Q: Very cool… Do
you have any helpful suggestions for aspiring writers?
Lee: Be open to guidance and then decide for yourself if the advice works for you. Also check the credentials of the people who are offering it! Spelling and grammar aside, if you have a style and way of storytelling that connects with an audience, don’t be forced to write another way just because it is considered ‘more correct’ to do so.
Lee: Be open to guidance and then decide for yourself if the advice works for you. Also check the credentials of the people who are offering it! Spelling and grammar aside, if you have a style and way of storytelling that connects with an audience, don’t be forced to write another way just because it is considered ‘more correct’ to do so.
LEE CHAMBERS, a film production graduate from Leeds Metropolitan
University in the UK, has worked in England and Los Angeles writing and
directing drama shorts, music videos and commercials. His recent work includes producing duties on
two Australian feature films and he is currently in post-production on his
directorial feature debut with ‘The Pineville Heist’. Follow the Heist on
facebook and at www.pinevilleheist.com
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