WSHU: Jon Sonneborn, welcome to WSHU.
Jon Sonneborn: It's great being here with you, Randye.
WSHU: We are so excited, and this is also a fundraiser for WSHU, and we know you're a great supporter of the station, and we so appreciate it. But tell me, I mean, full disclosure, you and I know each other for years, and we've been in other creative endeavors together. This is something I had never heard about. So tell me about Morton Meets the Eye.
JS: Well, it's a musical comedy, and it was made because I've gotten involved in the last 15,20 years producing low-budget horror films and low-budget thrillers, and I'm not crazy. My mother, if my mother didn't like something, she'd say, "I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy about it. I'm not crazy about horror films. And unpleasant situations. I've been thinking for some time: is it possible to make a low-budget musical comedy? And the answer is yes. We did it.
WSHU: It's more than a musical comedy, though. It's like a murder mystery, and I mean the trailer is so much fun, and you're in it as well, correct?
JS: Yep. Actually, disclosure: I'm Morton.
WSHU: Oh, okay.
JS: But I'm not going to be speaking as Morton here because we wouldn't get anything done.
WSHU:
And your daughter is in this as well.
JS: Yes, she is.
WSHU: Now, John, just a bit about you, because I know you're quite an eclectic person, and you've done a lot in your life. What got you into this creative field of theater and movie making?
JS: Well, I've always been involved in businesses. The last one, which we sold 11 years ago, was Really Good Stuff, housed in Monroe, it's a direct mail business which we sold.
WSHU: It was toys, right?
JS: It's products for elementary school teachers.
WSHU: Right.
JS: It became a large small business. But my love is film. And my graduate degree is in film history, and I've also always taught film history on the side,
WSHU: Like in universities.
JS: I've taught at Hunter College and at John Carroll University in in Cleveland, and University of Bridgeport way back when.
WSHU: Okay,
JS: But only a course here and a course there, always part time.
WSHU: The adjunct world, or right, or guest lecturer. J
JS: It's something you do because because you love doing it. And for the last three or four decades, and I'm not exaggerating, I've done a film program, regular film programs out in Easton at the public library. So we show classic movies and we have discussions about those classic movies. So I've always had a love of film.
WSHU: Okay, and so this is not your first production. Is this the first one you have starred in?
JS: This is the first one that I've starred in. I did direct one of the films in an anthology horror film called Happy Horror Days, which has eight holidays in it, and the person who was going to write and direct Hanukkah dropped out.
WSHU: Oh my gosh!
JS: And they needed someone Jewish to do a Hanukkah horror film in that anthology. All sorts of different genres. So I chose comic horror, and my eight minute film, which is called creatively Hanukkah is much much much funnier than it is scary.
WSHU: What happens to a short film after it's had its premiere, and what is the process like? You say, "Oh, I'm going to make a film. What are the next steps?
JS: This film, Happy Horror Days, is available on YouTube and on Amazon and on several places like that. I don't necessarily recommend the film, although Hanukkah is kind of fun.
WSHU: Of course, the best one. Right. Tell me about Morton meets the eye. Like, what was the concept, and how did you get it from in your head to on the paper to on film?
JS: We started with a story conference, and we batted around ideas, and one of the things you have to do if you're going to make a low-budget film is you have to contain yourself where you're going to be shooting. If if you can't be traveling to Paris and you can't have elaborate expensive sets. So we came up with a concept that would involve just one or two simple sets,
WSHU: Okay.
JS: And someone else did the first pass on the script. Actually on the first half of the script, and then I stepped in and completely rewrote it. Because I have a certain vision about comedy, and I'm not going to get into that because…
WSHU: Come see the film to see the vision.
JS: …I don't want to give you any spoilers.
WSHU: Okay. So, what do you want listeners to know about this film that I haven't asked you yet?
JS: I think that it's a film that is multi-layered. And this is not. I'm not going to give you any spoiler alerts. The butler did it. No, but I think that it's a film that you will enjoy the first time you see it, and then the second time you see it, you'll see some other things in the film. It's a multi layered movie.
WSHU: Like Easter eggs, what they call it. And and this could be a film for the whole family, right? Like if somebody wants to come to the premiere and bring kids,
JS: Absolutely. When we premiered at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in April at the Grauman's Chinese Theater, which was a big deal for me because I love film history. A lot of parents brought their kids, and it was interesting if the kids were having as much fun as the as the parents,
WSHU: And they were.
JS: They were, and there's something wonderful about seeing a comedy, especially in an audience with a whole bunch of people. Because laughter is contagious. Sitting at home you might smile, but if you're in an auditorium with people, then you laugh out loud. And that's good for a comedy, and it's good for a writer of comedy.
WSHU: Absolutely, there's nothing to replace the live in-person communal exchange. So, without giving spoilers, can you kind of share what the plot of the film is?
JS: Well, I can tell you a little something about it without giving spoilers. Morton is a very peculiar guy, and he's very obsessive. Now, the world's greatest detective, as everyone knows, is this elusive guy named the Eye.
WSHU: E-Y- E.
JS: E Y E. The Eye. The only thing people know is that he goes by Lombardi or the Eye, but no one knows who he is, and Morton is determined to find out. And he gets a hint because he knows that there's going to be a TV series based upon the Eye's greatest cases. So he gets himself invited to a lunch, where he's sure the eye is going to be, and all of a sudden people start dropping dead.
WSHU: My last question is: You're having your East Coast premiere.
JS: Yes.
WSHU: What happens to the film after this? What's your dream for it? Well, our
JS: Well, our dream is to get some limited theatrical distribution, and we're working on that now. There are apparently some avenues for independent film, getting into the places where Marvel and superhero and and Disney usually have exclusive reign to. So that that's that's our dream, and then of course to get some kind of a deal with either Netflix, Amazon, Apple.
WSHU: Disney Plus, Disney Plus. Why not? Why not? I mean, you're kind of guy that like has a dream and you and you make it happen and you rework it and rework it. So, just to mention July 20th, it's not only getting to see the film, but anybody who comes to the premiere and tickets and the trailer are available at wshu.org. There's going to be a talkback afterwards with you and with the cast, producers.
JS: Right, Several people in the cast will be there. The director will be there. I think that's going to be a lot of fun.
WSHU: If you have ever thought about making a film and you want to know about the process, it's good for you. If you just want to have a great night out with a really fun film, come see Morton Meets the Eye July 20. Tickets and the trailer are available on our website wshu.org. Jon, thank you for joining us.
JS: Thank you, Randye.
