Local filmmaker to debut his feature film at the Tower Theatre this Saturday

We’re all about local film here at Dumb Drum, and we recently chatted with local filmmaker Michael Alexander Lopez, who is screening his debut feature-length film “The Life of a Stranger,” here in Fresno at the Tower Theatre on Saturday, July 9 at 7 p.m.

Dumb Drum: Hey Michael, congrats on finishing your film! Tell us a little bit about it.

Michael Alexander Lopez: The film is about a brilliant writer, John Felix, who suffers from agoraphobia. One night while working the graveyard shift as security guard he saves Alison Marcus, a young business woman from an attempted rape. Sometime later Alison wants to help John out of his condition and in doing so overcomes her own arrogance. Love and trust starts to bloom when out of nowhere John’s brother, David, shows up looking for safety as he tries to allude Mexican gangsters.

DD: How did you come up with the idea for “The Life of a Stranger”?

Michael: I had to chose between a screenplay I wrote called “The Rapture Within” which was about a highly moral dishwasher who shoots up his restaurant because he fears the second coming/end of the world. I didn’t want to see or invest my time in something so dark as a first film. “The Life of a Stranger” was born out of trying to tell a realistic yet dark contemporary love story. I just thought making a love story would be more challenging. The Life of a Stranger was born out of feeling isolated. Kind of just my writing process.

DD: How did you get started in filmmaking?

Michael: I have been making videos and short films since I was about 11 years old. I used to watch HBO and behind the scenes stuff on TV. Later I became a slave to the screenplay, which can be difficult. I got a scholarship to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena (Michael Bay, Tarsem Singh alumni) in 2000. Plus I just watched movies again and again and studied my favorite filmmakers through commentaries.

DD: What other filmmakers inspire you and your work?

Michael: My two favorite films are Schindler’s List and The Insider. I am a disciple of Stanley Kubrick. “The Life of a Stranger” is dedicated to French new wave director Francois Truffaut. Films in my top 20 include: The Godfather Trilogy, Heat, Wag the Dog, Raising Arizona, The Life of Brian, Rushmore, Bullets over Broadway, Mullholland Dr. , JFK. Just to name a few. I’d have to say that Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson are great. But I am a huge admirer of Martin Scorsese. I grew up loving his films and his absolute love of cinema and it’s history. There are plenty more but I’d be talking with you for hours!

DD: Funding is always a concern for indie filmmakers. What was your budget like and how did you raise funds?

Michael: The total budget was $15,000. I made this over a couple years, working at CBS47 as a 6 p.m. television newscast director. My father, Michael John Lopez (co-producer) also helped.

DD: Tell us about the Central Valley locations you used for “The Life of a Stranger.”

Michael: We mostly shot in Fresno and Madera counties. The Fresno Film Commission allowed me to use the spiral parking garage downtown, Tanna G. Boyd at the Madera Board of Supervisors allowed me to use a nice stretch of road. Ray Johnson at the African-American Museum allowed me to use a parking garage for a mural I wanted in the film. My house, a friends house, The Bar via Lisa Hiatt and MVF Financial which my uncle allowed me to use.

DD: Do you think Fresno has the potential to be an indie filmmaker’s mecca, like Austin, TX?

Michael: I think so. This area has plenty of amazing locations. It depends on politics, but I will shoot here again. My crew was great. They are great people. Justin, Nicole, Ian, Blake, everyone at Blare Media, and my family as well.

Thanks Michael for taking the time to chat with us! We highly encourage everyone to get out there and support Michael’s film and local filmmaking in general. “The Life of a Stranger” screens this Saturday, July 9 at the historic Tower Theatre in Fresno. Doors open at 7 p.m., the film starts at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 559-485-9050.