Category: Getting Steamed - Dan Fiorella: Writer @ large

Dan Fiorella

Getting "Steamed!", Part 9

6/28/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

Beverly selected what she felt was the perfect night for the premiere of the horror/comedy short, "Steamed": October 31, 2019, Halloween night! Which, of course, would be. I was a little upset (as I usually am). I'm a Halloween geek. I decorate my house. I write sketches about it. I wrote a screenplay and book about it. So, if I wasn't going to be home Halloween, what was even the point of decorating? I mean, you put up decorations to lure children to your home to give candy, right? It was going to be a lackluster homefront for All Hallow's Eve. And, I kinda pulled my punches about inviting people. I wasn't sure how the movie turned out, so I didn't really put the word out amongst friends and families. However, I did invite my writer friends for the show and they came to support me! I did remind them about the whole Beverly Sketch Show thing years ago and they came anyway!

Another thing; I finally got around to watching "Basket Case." I knew she had been in contact with the director, Frank Henenlotter, who was still a friend. I knew she got him to do a cameo in the film. And he might be at the premiere. I figured I would finally have to bite the bullet and see the movie. I told her I saw it. I told I was glad I didn't see it before we did the movie because I would have been too influenced by it. It's a weird little film and I get why it's a cult classic. And watching a younger Beverly was a revelation. She had chops.

Getting "Steamed!", Part 8

6/21/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

The film was in the digital can. Beverly was very excited about how it turned out. It was time for a public viewing!...

Getting "Steamed!", Part 7

6/14/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

Finally, filming began! Beverly assembled a crew, hired background actors, called in some favors and friends and was up and running. She filmed a lot in her neighborhood in New Jersey, using her own apartment for many of the scenes. The one day of filming that I actually attended was in the Broadway Comedy Club. It was the opening scene. She had decided early on that her character would be a struggling stand-up comic (like herself), and after a draft or two, the noir voice-over narration evolved into an opening with her preforming her set onstage, doing her act before a sparse and disinterested crowd. It made perfect sense, she had an arrangement with the club and was able to use their basement room, their secondary stage, as a set. I told her I'd be there. So, she asked me if I wanted to be in it. I could be the club manager! I agreed. I once was invited to be part of the on camera cast for "Where's the Party" and I turned that down because I had to "go home." I was a wimp even then. A chance to be on TV and I walked away because I wouldn't take a day off from work. Not again.

Getting "Steamed!", Part 6

6/7/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

Okay, slight detour... back when she was readying for her birthday fundraiser in 2017, she decided to put together a sample of the movie by filming a scene. Frankly, this made me nervous. They took the cops scene in Beverly's apartment and turned it into an interrogation room scene. Technically, it worked fine. It's just that the actors were in street cloths and not the actors we would be using. They were friends doing Beverly a favor. But now it was something tangible, something that made the movie seem real and it did the job.

This scene contain one bit of business that I loved, but Beverly didn't. When the cops come in, they ask if Beverly knew the landlord:

Getting "Steamed!", Part 5

5/31/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

Getting "Steamed!", Part 4

5/24/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

So, Beverly Bonner gives me a call; "Do you want to write a movie?" (Now I keep hearing this to the tune of "Do you want to Build a Snowman?") I was wary of her, but I was also wary about passing up an opportunity, any opportunity...

Getting "Steamed!", Part 3

5/17/2021

The horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come together?

Ever on the look out for a new venue for my sketches, I responded to another Craig's List ad in December of 2013:

COMEDY REPERTORY CO. SEEK SKETCH COMEDY WRITERS

The next day I get a response:

Getting "Steamed!", Part 2

5/10/2021

This horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come to be?

Previously on "Getting Steamed:"
I met Beverly Bonner as she prepared to use some of my comedy material for a stage show she was producing. I had invited friends and family to the show. My spider-sense was tingling, because I wasn't sure that the show was going to be good. In the end, it was what it was.

I wrote a long email to one of my writer friends, one who hadn't been able to attend the show, to vent:

Getting "Steamed!", Part 1

5/3/2021

This horror/comedy film, STEAMED!, co-written by Beverly Bonner and Dan Fiorella, is making the rounds on the film festival circuit. How did it come to be?

One of the things about my writing "career" is just how random it is. I'm not an aggressive person. I'm not a go-getter. I'm easily dissuaded. Yet I keep thinking I can pull this off. One of the odder adventures was getting involved with a movie short, a project that went from a creating a spark of hope to winding up as a memorial for a horror icon.

Technically, this tale starts back in 2009, when I first crossed paths with Beverly Bonner, only I didn't know what that meant. In early 2009, I answered an ad on Craig's List:

Seeking Sketch Comedy Writers for Baby Boomers Sketch Group (New York City)

I responded as I always do;

Okay, I've got a hard drive full of comedy sketches that can use a home. So, what's up?

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