March Update

Man, making a movie is a slow process!   Thanks for your patience everyone.

Time for an update.   A few people have been asking how it is going.  We are actually finishing up the final mix and final picture over the next 2 weeks.   And then that's the last of it.   We had hoped to have it all done by now but because we are depending on the kindness of others and their time and talent, the movie-work gets put off for paying-work when it comes to finishing.

We have been completing themusic and sound mix over the past few weeks and I have to say it sounds great.  Certainly takes the overall feel of the film up a couple notches.   

Next week we spend three days finishing the special effects and the color correct, final picture, end credits, and then the film will be locked and done.

Our goal still is to Premiere MIDDLE MAN at a top festival.  We had been sending rough work-in-progress cuts out along the way and have gotten into a number of good festivals but not the ones we want as a Premiere ( we only get one) so we decided to pause and wait until we had a final finished film before sending any more cuts out to festivals.   At least then we're putting our best foot forward.

There are no dates set yet but we also plan to try and do invited screenings as part of our Kickstarter program for those who bought pledge packages for a screening.   Hopefully we'll do these in April/May. 

Thanks again for your continued support.    We hope to wrap this sucker up end of month and then start up the festival push again.   We'll keep the news coming as it comes in.  In the mean time, please enjoy the shots of me staring at the back of the sound mixer's head.   Ned

Middle Man New Years Update

Happy New Year Middle Man supporters.

Just a quick update to let you all know where we are in the process.

We will be finishing the cut this month and hope to have a final polished film by Feb 15.

In addition to the festivals we have said that we will also be planning a couple of showings and premieres for the Kickstarter supporters who bid for that prize.  That will likely happen in March or shortly thereafter.  Again, we will make sure you get the info in time to make plans.

On our last update we asked that anyone who believes they did not receive the prizes they signed up for to get in touch with us.  We are in the process of fulfilling those.  

the posters have not been printed yet.  And there is no digital download as of yet as the film is not done.  Other than those, the only things outstanding are the premiere screenings.

If you haven't let us know you are missing something, now is the time.   Please respond to this or send an email directly to

mediaenhancementleague@gmail.comand  nedcrowley63@gmail.com

Thanks again for all your support.  We think we have a pretty good product on our hand and now comes the hard work.

Team Middle Man

A Post about Post

Hi everyone.

Here's a quick update on the film so you don't think we forgot about you.

We've been cutting furiously since we wrapped. We also did a number of pick up days to get the rest of what we needed. In fact this weekend we have one last night of pickups in the desert.

We've seen about 98% of the scenes roughed together. Still a lot of finessing to do but all, and I mean ALL the performances are strong. Each individual scene works, the tone is right, and the film overall looks amazing.  We are very lucky and excited.

As I said before, we still don't know what we have until it all comes together so that's the next step. But all the pieces are there and that's huge.

We hope to either have a rough cut in the Fall shortly afterwards and some sort of premiere for invited friends and guests and select Kickstarter supporters in both LA and Chicago.

In addition to the festivals we will also be pursuing straight to distribution as an option. Either way our goal is for it to get out there to a wide audience.

So that's it. Just wanted to keep everyone looped in. Still lots of work to do.

Lastly here's a little taste of the kind of things that goes into independent filmmaking.   There was a scene we had to pick up last week.   Jim's car has it's tire shot out and the rim scrapes on the road causing him to crash.   In a normal film.  A $100,000 stunt.  In our film we needed to find a way to make it look like the rim was dragging for ten dollars.   So we built a rig out of wood, barbell weights and skateboard "flint sparkers".

Here's the test from the night before we shot.  
 Desperation is the mother of invention (and no cash).   BTW -- it worked great on film.

Thanks for the support.

Postscript from Jim

Now that things have slowed down I’ve had some time to reflect on everything’s that’s gone down over the past three months.

As you all know Middle Man is the brainchild of one of my closest friends, Ned Crowley. Ned wrote this script with me in mind and sent it to me years ago. Because we didn’t have any way to make it happen then it was just something we would talk about every now and again.

I’ve been a very blessed actor over the years and have worked steady doing roles on television and in film. My lucky break came when I was cast as Jerry Gergich in Parks and Recreation. The power of television is pretty amazing.

Because of Parks I was in millions of households every week for seven seasons. I went from being “oh…you look so familiar” to “OMG…It’s Jim O’Heir (or Jerry)”. When that happens in the film and TV biz it changes the projects you get to work on. Ned received a call from producers he’s worked with in the past who had read the script. They wanted to make it happen. Next thing I know I’m at a meeting with them and we’re talking start dates. It was all very surreal.

Jump to a year later when we started the Kickstarter campaign. I can tell you that this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever worked on. I know there are really famous people who do a crowd funding page and within a few weeks they’ve raised millions of dollars. Unfortunately for Ned and the producers I was their biggest “name”. lol

That being said…we were BLOWN AWAY by the generosity of the people who donated. We had family and friends who jumped right in but we also had hundreds of strangers who believed in us and our project. We had shot a teaser for the film so people could get a look at what we were going to do. We wanted to let you know that we planned to make the best film possible with the limited budget we would be working with.

We reached our goal on the final day of the campaign. I’m pretty sure I broke a promotion record during that month. I was on every talk show and podcast that my publicist could schedule. Everything we all did (everyone worked non-stop) to fund the campaign was worth it. After seeing the dailies we have achieved our goal. This film looks GOOOOOD!!!!!

Ned directed the hell out of it and Dick Buckley (Director of Photography) made it look like a multi-million dollar film.

Each and every actor brought their A game. Andrew J. West is terrifying as Hitch. On top of being one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with he’s a truly fantastic actor. I know he made me up my game.

Anne Dudeck brought such heart and warmth to the role of Grail. She’s my love interest in the film and is as sweet off screen as she is on. 

We also had Josh McDermitt on board to play T-Bird. He scared the shit out of me. If you’re a fan of his on Walking Dead you won’t believe what he does in this film. He also happens to be just a sweet sweet man. There’s a scene the two of us have in the film that both of us are still talking about.

Actors really connecting in a scene is what makes us love what we do. I could go on and on about each actor in the film but I’ll let their performances speak for themselves. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

We shot a lot of the film in the desert….at night. That in itself was an awesome experience. It’s a little disconcerting when you’re at the safety meeting and you’re being warned to look out for snakes, scorpions and mounds of red ants. I’m happy to say that other than the red ants I didn’t run into anything too scary.

Now that the film is wrapped we’ll be getting out all of the incentives. There are calls to be made and shirts/posters/headshots/screenshots to be delivered.  Oh.....and buttons!

There’s a lot of work still to be done in post production. We have to edit, colorize, sound mix and have a score written. I wish I could just snap my fingers and watch the finished product but we’ll all have to be patient.

I know that “thank you” doesn’t cover the gratitude I have for each and every person who helped make this film happen.

I can only hope that when you see the film you will be happy that you took this journey with us. More to come as it happens. Jim.

That's a Wrap

Last night we wrapped our co-star Andrew J West.  Or Andy as we now know him.  I have to just say, not only is this guy an amazing actor, but he is just one of the sweetest most earnest, down to earth guys I have ever met.  The stuff we put him through -- blood and rainstorms and 50mph winds, and he never broke stride.  I couldn't have asked for a better experience with an actor and he and Jim were just an amazing comedy team.  A twisted Hope and Crosby, Lewis and Martin, Laurel and Hardy.   I will truly miss spending time with them and as depraved as his character Hitch is, I will miss that lug.

Keep an eye on this young man.  I hope our film does his acting justice.   More news to come supporters!  Thanks again for all the kind words.

One Night Left

Welp.....all good things must come to an end.  It's been a blur of a shoot and tonight will mark the last night of our principal photography.   It's been 17 days of shooting over the last 20 and I have to say I wish we could back and do it all again.

Sad daysas one by one we had to picture wrap our amazing and talented lead actors. 

Tracy Walter,  a gem of a guy.  One of the kindest and sweetest guys you's meet with a thousand Hollywood tales.   Told me on his last night this was the best experience in film he's had in the last 15 years.  How great did that make us all feel?

Josh McDermitt wrapped the other night after an incredible and terrifying performance.  Any walking Dead fans will not even recognize him in this thing.

And then last night we wrapped one of our brightest stars.  Annie Dudek, who I think we put through almost as much turmoil as Jim's character Lenny.   I was not familiar with her work but she is an amazing nuanced actor who brought such depth and heart to the role of Grail.

And we finally got to see Andy West in the famed nose and glasses last night.   It was a surreal sight as he held up a local convenience store.

We have one final big scene to shoot tonight....rolling at midnight.    And then we have to bat clean up and beg Jim and Andy to help us grab some stray shots over the next few weeks.

And Jim?   Well I have to say I've known the guy for 30 years and he continued to surprise and amaze me on a day by day basis with his subtle, funny, sad, and heartfeltperformance.   And absolutely amazing actor who will leave you breathless by the end of this film.

And I have to say he has also trulybeen the backbone of this production.   Even though it appears to be a very tiring job.

We'll try and keep the info flowing.   Thanks for all your kind words of support throughout this process. 

We have a long road ahead of us as we head into post and editing next month.  But with one night to go we couldn't have asked for a better start.

Pictures tell 1000 words

Where to begin. There's too much to tell. There have been shoot outs, black outs, rain outs and shout outs. The actors have all been amazing. Such an amazing group of people giving great performances.

Kickstarter supporters have also come from far and wide to attend the set and join in on the filming.

I know we have incredible performances and stunning film. If we don't have a great movie it's on us the filmmakers not the actors and top talent and technicians we have assembled. Fingers crossed. Here's a smattering of some behind the scenes pics without giving too much away. Enjoy the pics.

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...and Action!

So tomorrow we begin our first day of principle photography and then 20 days of back to back mind-numbing shooting.

So I thought this would be as good a time as any to announce some of our amazing leads.  

I think most of you know that we cast Andrew J West as the malicious force playing opposite Jim in this film.   Andrew skyrocketed after his short but scary star-turn as the creepy Gareth in Walking Dead.  And more recently starring opposite William H Macey and Neve Campbell in the hit comedy film "Walter"

 We are also graced with the soulful presence of another amazing actress, Anne Dudek who plays the love interest and brightest spot in the film.  Anne comes to us from her regular stint on Mad Men, House, and Big Love and she just completed a new series for HBO directed by Gus Van Saint.

 You may not know him but you know him.  Tracey Walter plays the burned-out desert-rat priest Fr. Rickey in the film.  Tracy is a veteran of over 170 films and you know him from his great character turns in everything from Repo Man, to Tim Burton's Batman, Silence of the Lambs and over 9 Nicholson films.  Tracy is the real deal.  Has great chops and great Hollywood tales.

Lastly is a last minute gift to us.  Mr. Josh McDermitt.   Josh met Andrew Weston the set of the Walking Dead where he currently plays Dr. Eugene Porter on the hit ACM series.  Josh heard about our little adventure and wanted in after he read the script.  It's a complete 180 from his character on WD and we have been fortunate enough to be able to fly him up from Atlanta in between takes to have him throw his talent into the troublemaking T-Bird..

So that's a start.  There are also a dozen other great characters who you will recognize from the big and small screen who all come in and out of the film.

We couldn't be happier and feel more lucky than to have this cast.  
And a crew, producers, DP,  and design team who have all been working 24/7 to take on this monumental feat.   It all kicks into high tomorrow.  We'll try and keep you posted on the mayhem as we move forward.

Thanks again for all the support.  Over and Out for now.

Team Middle Man

A Gathering of the Fellowship

So, we will be soon posting our cast list, but for now I thought this would be a nice tease.  We met at Jim O'Heirs for a read-through of the script the other day.  A beautiful day and almost all the leads were there.   Unlike a play it might be one of the few times everyone will see each other together.   It was a great day and everyone can't wait to shoot!

Here are a few pics from the day.  I won't name names but you might recognize a few people here from, Walking Dead, Mad Men/Big Love, Repo Man/Silence of the Lambs, NCIS, Justified.    More coming soon!

Hello from LA

Been a crazy couple of weeks but all falling into place.   Spent the last couple of weeks trying to scout and piece together the small dying desert town that Jim's character Lenny gets trapped in.   In the Hollywood world we would go build this town in the middle of nowhere, but we don't live in that world so we are trying to find awesome looking exteriors in the middle of nowhere and then looking for interiors closer to LA to make it affordable for us.

Here's a taste of the town....

Isolated gas stations...lonely diners...deserted motels...

We're still searching for places and probably will right down to the wire. The cast is coming together.   We hope to do a table read May 2 which will probably be the first and only time the entire cast is together.   And then a week later start rolling some film. We hope to have the schedule together this week.   And then shortly after will be in contact with backers who selected the "on camera extra" and "set visit" prizes, to give you options for coming out if you can. Other prizes are in the works. We're also going to try and switch over to a standing blog so we can post more regularly. That's it for now. I will be posting a full cast list soon.  Have some wonderful actors on board but until they sign their contracts I am reluctant to post their names just yet.

More to come and thanks as always for your support!

Team Middle Man.

...and so it begins!

Spent 3 days last week driving the 2000 miles from from Chicago to Vegas, the exact route Jim's character, Lenny, will drive in the film.  Then onto LA where we set up base camp for the production and dove in hard.  Lots and lots to do but it's all starting to come together.  Had a 10 hour prep meeting with all the heads of state on Saturday -- Producers, Production designer, Director of Photography, Effects Director.   All amazingly talented guys who are giving of their time and talent to get this thing done.    This week we will be scouting locations and also doing callbacks and starting to lock in talent and places to shoot. 

Hopefully next post we will be able to share some more of the detail.   In the mean time keep sending good vibes our way as we are officially off and running.

Write here...

The Journey Begins

Sorry we've been quiet for a while but after the month of Kickstarter we were frankly exhausted.   So here's the plan.   We officially begin and intense month of prep beginning April 3 (which is the day Ned will arrive from long drive in LA).

That's when location scouting and callbacks and shooting schedule starts to lock in.   We will begin rolling cameras May 9th.   And are talking about a 19-22 day shoot.  Depending on where the budget lands.

So for those who are looking to join us on the set, we will be providing dates and options in the next month.   We will also be working towards fulfilling the other requests and putting out options for T-shirts etc.

So from here on out we will plan to send out weekly updates about casting, locations, productions, the good things and the bad things we run into.

And then we will do the same through productions. Fingers crossed. Looks like we're on our way.