"Hostage Person" Leaked

No, this isn't some marketing scheme. Brian Ackley's short film Hostage Person was literally leaked by one of the actors in the film. There are a couple reasons why this short may not be online long, the first one being that Brian used a song he didn't clear the rights to, and the second one being that the upcoming, official Uptown DVD release will have the short film in the "special features" section. At the request of One Way or Another Productions, who produced Uptown, this short may not be viewable online for long.

Now let me back up a bit. Brian and I met in the spring of 2005, while I was in pre-production on my short film Phish, and was trying to decide on a suitable digital camera to use, as well as the appropriate sound set up. Cinematographer Roy Nowlin Jr., who shot the film, suggested we use his Canon XL-2 and run the mic directly into the camera, similar to what he had done on a previous film. He told me to watch the DVD he gave me, and it would simultaneously give me a reference as to what the camera would look and feel like, and whether or not the sound set up would work on Phish.

The DVD he gave me was for Hostage Person, written, directed, and starring a guy by the name of Brian Ackley. Jace Nicole (Phish, Cookies & Cream) happened to come over to hang out that day, and she and I watched the film together. 5 minutes into the film I had made my decision that Roy's plan to use the XL-2 with the mic going into it sounded like the perfect plan for Phish, which it was, and I was pleased with what it looked and sounded like for my short.

But we were still hooked on the film long after the decision was made. Partly because the short itself is so delightful, but mainly because of the Brian's performance. There is a particular beat about 3 minutes into the second clip that really stuck out to me, one Jace and I remember to this day.

As it so happened, I was still looking for an actor for my short, and I immediately connected the dots in my head. But the role in Phish was a very small part, one consisting mostly of words, since the character's face is partially hidden throughout the entire scene. So it wasnt about just Phish. I had found my guy - Phish was just one project I wanted to work on with Brian. In my mind, Phish would just be a segway into our working relationship, as I wanted to go on making tons of movies with this guy.

But as a talented director, would he really want to be directed by another filmmaker? I asked Roy this question, and he told me in no uncertain terms that Brian is simultaneously an actor and a filmmaker. No one position served his interests particularly less than the other. He gave me Brian's number, we met in person about Phish, and the rest is history. Its like the story PT Anderson tells about seeing John C. Reilly's performance in Casualties of War and wanting to "cast him and hang out with him, and be his best friend."

A few years later I cast Brian in Cookies & Cream, and then completely confident in his abilities, produced his first feature Uptown, which has its East Coast Premiere in NYC at Anthology Film Archives on June 2nd. I am also producing several of Brian's upcoming features.

I got my wish. I got him in my movies, I get to work on his, and we make sure to try to catch up, have some beers and a laugh as often as we can.

- Princeton

To view Brian's short film Hostage Person, go exclusively to our Facebook group HERE.