“On the Same Lily Pad”
Cody Jarrett’s innate enthusiasm appears to have affected every aspect of the production. Actor Todd Malta, who plays the Clark Kent-like EPA Agent Steve Saunders, is so effusive he almost one-ups Jarrett in the hyperbole department, inventing at least two new words in the course of praising Jarrett.
“Cody is amphibi-insane… He knows what he wants and doesn’t settle until he gets it — and the best part of him getting what he wants is the enthusiasm that he delivers his satisfaction with. Other directors settle for a subtle ‘good …and moving on.” Cody explodes with excitement, saying things like ‘Yes! Yes! F**king awesome!’ ‘Genius man, genius!’ And you know how much we actors need our reasurements.”
“There is something about working on lower budget feature that people believe in that creates a sense of family and camaraderie,” the bespectacled Malta continues. “I felt like we were all mentally on the same lily-pad. One big happy family of tadpoles.”
The Frog-g-g Man Cometh — to a Drive-in Near You
With it’s post-production now complete — including an original score by Will Flint and Blake Neely (an Emmy nominee for his work on the WB’s “Everwood”) and a memorably rocking Jarrett-penned-and-performed theme song, “The Frog That You Love,” “Frog-g-g!” is finally getting ready to enter that most fateful stage for all independent productions – the search for distribution.
The response from audiences and industry types is going to be interesting, to say the very least. Sure, there are marketable elements – a monster, nudity, lots of humor and the lingering love for the American B-movie canon. It seems safe to say that these remain highly saleable elements, even in our jaded age of super-realistic SFX.
On the other hand, its premise of a “rapist super-frog” isn’t like to earn it any screenings at NOW fundraisers. However, dissecting “Frog-g-g” reveals nary a misogynist or cold-blooded bone in its green-but-good natured little body. Like the pair of young lovers who find their first tryst interrupted by an unwanted emerald visitor, Cody Jarrett’s first feature might be naughty, but it ain’t hurtin’ nobody. In our jaded, yet oddly puritanical, times, “Frog-g-g!” just might make the leap into the hearts of moviegoers.
Want some more? Check out the “Frog-g-g” website.
