Q: Can you tell us about Tyrone Atkins

A: Tyrone Atkins is a very interesting person, I came across his journal one day while taping the homeless in Lafayette Park. I had done about 8 hours of tape on his old girl friend Alicia, I call it "The story that tells itself" "the story we are living" and on that day she told me "Honey, I have just what you have been looking for."

It turned out to be the script for MP, her boyfriend Tyrone had been out of jail for 48 hours and been busted and returned and had left his journal of 352 pages with her. It was written in pencil and told (in journal form) his story.

Tyrone had been in jail for 8 months for using crack and had been put back in. I wrote to him telling him I had his "baby," and felt it needed to be told. I felt Tyrone's journal had an "authentic voice" when I read it. When he was paroled I picked him up and he headed right back to the park. He went into rehab for 90 days and was in and out of jail for over the next two years while I worked on a script.

Sundance was the turning point for him, he and 20 cast/crew members went to the festival along with his son Tysean and he felt he and his story were very well received and it was a turning point for him.

Q: Have you met any other characters from the film?

A: Yes, Kim the nurse is still straight and has a baby, Par and PT, some are doing fine, and some are back to their old lives. I am working on a documentary as a followup to the making of MP and of the homeless I have taped over the years.

Q: How did you get the park inhabitants to work with you?

A: Tyrone was very helpful with going back to the park and talking to his old friends and the people in the park. He told them the idea and storyline and many of them wanted to get the story out and agreed to participate in the filming.

Q: What is your connection with the homeless?

A: Growing up in a good neighborhood in NYC and my father was from the lower Eastside and very open to people and surroundings. I always felt the same way, as a kid when we would go into the country or around the city and I would see the homeless in the street I would wonder "what's up with that," "how did they get there?"

One year I was given my first video camera and from than on I started taping everything and everyone. When I was in a band I would tape that, family dinners, trips to Canada, Powwows, and I started stopping at the local Seven Eleven when buying cigarettes to stop and tape homeless I saw hanging around the store.

I would put my finger over the red light, and start talking to them, when I seemed interested in them as people they were very free with talking. I would later buy them food or give them money for their time.

Q: How did you connect with Maricel? How long have you two known each other?

A: Maricel came on board 2 years into the project and has been there for the past 4 years. I was working at the Gary Marshall Theater with a couple of other actors trying to raise money for a script that Maricel was going to produce. I asked Maricel if she could help me by doing a budget for me, she agreed and we started talking and she was stuck and has hung in there. It has been over 4 years since than. This project would not have been possible without her input.

Q: Is this your first feature?

A: Yes, I directed a Short Film two years before (Kismet) and it was because of this film I was able to get backing and support for a full length feature.

Q: Where did you cast the film and find such gifted actors?

A: I have been Blessed after living in LA as an actor for over 12 years I have made many friends and contacts. B-Real from the group Cypress Hills I ran into at a coffeshop and asked if he wanted to be in the film? He came in to audition, Balthazar Getty, Julie Delpy, Cynda Williams, Lori Petty, Glenn Plummer are personal friends and came on board right away after talking to them. Sydney Tamiia Poitier is the daughter of actor Sidney Poitier who I had worked with and I ran into her at a party, I also produced her first acting job. Her father Mr. Poitier looked over the script and gave me some feedback. David Faustino from Married With Children is a friend of Getty's and he came on board when Getty did.

Ellen Cleghorn was in my acting class and Robyn Reed Humes has been a casting director for Spike Lee films and came on our film bringing the talents of Thomas Byrd and Sticky Fingaz.

Beata Rosenbaum introduced me to Macy Gray two years before the filming and she agreed to do our opening song "Do Something" and the closing version of MacArthur Park. B- Real who plays Freddie is from the group Cypress Hill and he gave us "Super Star"

Q: What about your film editor?

A: I have been blessed to have the talents of Terri Breed. MP was her first full length film, we were both new to the editing process and went from a film of 2 hours 20 mins to the present 84 minutes.
Andrew Wagner a personal friend and up coming director sat down with me and after reviewing the film told me I could cut 50% of it and have a better film. How? I asked, just sit with it and dig deep so we kept cutting. Terri is also working on the editing of film for my documentary and has a new project.

Q: What did you shoot on?

A: We started with Super 16

Q: How many days for filming and what was your budget?

A: We shot in 20 days starting in December 1999 with 2 days six months later of pickups, and we came in under a million. I felt we need a shot with the character Linda and have her interact with Cody, and some additional shots with PT.

Q: Do you have a distributor?

A: As of St. Louis we have a small distributing company with 10 or so small theaters that will be doing a release for us, with a distributor who owns theaters you get a shot at the films getting more than a weekend play. We will have an LA Premiere that will be a fund raiser. We also have interest from Showtime Network and the Sundance Channel for cable rights and it is important for me to maintain the DVD/Video rights this is where we can make back some money.

Q: Will there be a soundtrack?

> A: We have the film festival rights for all the music, many of the groups you hear are unsigned groups, and we will want to release a soundtrack.

Q: I saw you dedicated the film to your father?

A: Yes, I loved my father very much, he died about one and half years ago but had a chance to see a rough cut of the film before. He supported me in in this project and I miss him.

Q: Do you feel music is important to a film?

A: Yes, Zalman King had a big influence on me with the use of music in film. Terri Breed and I worked very hard to make sure the music fits every individual scene. Zalman was also very kind about letting me use some of his production equiptment while editing MP and a Special Thank You to him for that. I feel that music is a integral part of the story and not just for background. I used a mix of hip hop, rap, jazz and a little hard rock.

Q: The character of Steve the white actor looked like Charlie Sheen, was that on purpose?

A: No, that was Balthazar Getty but he does look a little like Charlie.

Q: What are the odds on drug recovery?

A: I have no idea, but it is important for people to have a support system, to help them when they want out. There are many good programs out there.

Q: You mentioned that Tyrone objected to the storyline about his characters wife dying and how he meets up with his long lost son?

A: Tyrone objected at first to saying his ex-wife was dead in the storyline and didn't want to wish her any ill will. After we discussed the character and the father and son storyline he was comfortable with it.

Q: Did the writers and you come up with the dialogue and characters?

A: In the orginal journal it was in dialogue form but had between 50/60 characters when I first got it. We crafted a more structured screenplay of aobut 120 pages between writers Sheri Sussman and Aaron Courseault. In addition I called upon interviews I had done over the years with the homeless and actual park inhabidants. I would say 5% of the dialogue was improvised by the actors.

Q: Shooting a film in such a tight budget what was your time frame and how clear were you on what you wanted?

A: The set was very peaceful and a labor of love with all involved from the cast to the extras from the park. As for preparation I had all the actors locked, all the money, and as we started filming some of the money was not there and my director of photography dropped out.

I was lucky to get my first choice Kristian Bernier back and we set down some basic rules, the use of cameras, sets, etc. I work from instinct and feelings.

Q: How much time and rehearsal did the cast have?

A: We had less than two days before filming started. Tyrone was always there and walked Tom Byrd through the park to get the feeling and introduced him to characters that were still there. Other actors came to the park and each found their own way of working on their characters.

Q: The beautiful peaceful Arial views at the beginning and the end, where did you get them?

A: These were taken from the Park View Plaza Hotel

Q: Who played Cody's son? Where did you find him?

A: We auctioned over 200 young men for the role and Tom sat in on each of them. When Brandon Adams auditioned I knew there was something that worked between Tom and him. We signed him one day before filming started.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I have two projects I am working on now. One is a Urban Upbeat Love Story that I am pitching three days a week to the networks for financing the writing. The other is called Street Urchins is a modern day Oliver Twist storyline that I have been wanting to do for years.

Q: Do you feel you are doing sterotypes in your representation of minorities as crackheads and drug users?

A: MARICEL, as the Producer of MP I would like to answer this question, one of the things as a film maker when you find a project that has a heart and the voices are there, it is a Special Thing. And when Tyrone met Billy in those many years and really bought the script to life. It had been episonitic with no structure, no story, but what we did have when Billy brought me into the project was great wonderful characters. We are all flawed in one way or another and this is how we get through and that is what brought me into the project.

That is what make us as film makers or storytellers, or what ever your canvas is. When woriing with Billy it was important for us to remain sensitive and as we developed the project with the community we were protraying, we never lost sight of this, and we wanted to remain honest to the pereson who gave us the script and I feel we did and we made it and this is IT!

Q: Stereotyping from your point of view Mr. Wirth?

A: No, I agree that some films place minorities in drug related roles for no reason but the truth here is crack use is the addiction and it has to color code, black, white it is a disease. It is important to address this issue. It is about crack but also about family and the man and his son, it is important to be here for people when they need help.

Q: Was there a white character in the orginal journal like Steve?

A: Yes, in the original there was a guy from Boston who came to the park to buy. I thought it was a good character and making him a Hollywood actor would be interesting.

Q: What was your vision for MP?

A: My vision was not really to have a preconceived idea on what I wanted other than truthfully and delicately create an enviroment for the actors to bring what they could to tell the story. I wanted to be of service to the project.

Q: What did you want to accomplish?

A: I guess it was to see Tyrone and all the actors and crew in Sundance, and if we got there we had made a good movie. I consider it " an incredible experience" this journey from the day in the park to the screening at Sundance.

Q: Is there a message to this film?

A: The message is "never to give up" and "be there when someone is reaching out" and keep hope alive. If someone wanted help to be there for them. And in the end of this story Cody and his son find it.

Q: Lori Petty have you worked with her and what is she like?

A: Lori and Cynda Williams had worked with me on a film Relax It's Just Sex, so I had no problem talking to her, she is a professional and came ready to work.

A: You are a business man as well as a film maker do you look to make a profit?

Q: Independent Film Makers make films you care about and to tell a story and not worry about making money . If I want to make money I try and pitch a High Profile Urban Action Comedy like I am doing now. But I also need to get back the money of my MP investors.

Q: How did you come to making your lead actor a Jazz musician?

A: Up until the last minute I still had not come up with a background for Cody's character, one day driving into the valley I was stopped at a traffic light and in the car next to me the driver was listening to his music and pretedning to play the trumpet.... and it came to me a musician.

Q: You seem to have a passion for being behind the camera have you stopped acting?

A: No, I am still looking for that one big role, but do enjoy directing and will keep at it.

Q: What is it about directing that attracted you?

A: When I first started taping for my own interest I had no idea it would lead to directing but I LOVE DIRECTING.... it is like being the quarter back in the Super Bowl, The adrenalin rush and being in complete control really works for me!!

This is a collection of Questions and Answers given by Billy at many of the film festivals over the 2001 festival circuit some of the fans where able to cover. We hope it will give a little insight as to the nature of this film, the background behind it, and a look into the director/producer side of Billy Wirth. Our thanks to all the fans who went to these events and shared their thoughts and feedback with us.

built mm 1/7/2002