The Waiter

Don't let the studio looks or stars fool you. The Waiter is a labor of love "indie" style. Shot outside the confines of LA and overblown budgets of the millions with similar results...this LOW six figure production takes...and clearly makes it's mark with a stellar cast (unheard of for the budget constraints) and helmed by the very able Producers including Jason Konopisos on his Directorial debut. With his remarkable and seasoned crew, Mr. Konopisos takes the audience on a journey into the viceral elements of the human soul. "The Waiter's" crippled take on redemption through the eyes of this true anti-hero is one only Dante could relate to in the midst of Purgatory. A sweet blend of mythology and modern Western society. Joseph Campbell fans...this is a must see. Filmmakers...this is a true lesson in making an indie film.

In the past 3 years I have heard a lot of hype about several Houston local low budget films. Due to the hype I had to check them out! All of them didn't live up to the hype, but finally this one did. Now keep in mind when you go to an indie and there is hype it still is an indie with no money. A lot of people hear hype about an indie and they expect Lord of the Rings.

I saw "The Waiter" at WorldFest Houston along with about 5 other films. It was really cool to see parts of Houston used. Other parts of Houston I didn't recognize, but it said it was entirely filmed in Houston. Before I saw the film I really didn't hear much about it. The plot was cool, but the main thing was IT LOOKED LIKE A REAL MOVIE!!! I was like wow, this is a real movie. I heard the budget after the film and was pretty impressed. The acting was really strong and I recognized almost the entire cast from other stuff, including the priest from EveryOne Loves Raymond. There were a couple cool effects that you don't expect on the budget and all in all I would say if you are an indie film buff it is a must see!

After the film the director thanked us all for coming, and shook my hand. He seemed really nice and humble. Which none of the other directors I have met seemed to be. I would highly recommend this film. Don't expect a huge blockbuster action film, but you get a lot of bang for your buck!

THE WAITER was a SOLID film with a great and recognizable cast that delivered amazing performances. Totally an underdog that surprised me. I was also impressed with this new writer/director JASON KONOPISOS, I've never heard of this dude but he sure as hell did an excellent job with making the film. Especially after I read about all of the obstacles they faced during the production of the film, I'm amazed with the result. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of this guy's work. Not only does this movie serves it's pure purpose with entertainment but it's interesting as well cause it makes you think. Which this kind of genre of film sometimes lacks, but not THE WAITER.

I met the director via a good friend of mine in Austin. We were able to see one of the last cuts of the film, the director said there was one more round of edits to be made. I typically don't take the time to put my two cents into the world, but we asked him to see the film and I promised I would give him an honest review of the film. Overall the film was very interesting, I am a big conspiracy theory buff. The film requires a great deal of attention and deliberation, but for those who aren't into that there is some flash and a TREMENDOUS amount of killing. The sound had some problems, but he said that that was being taken care of, it didn't strike me as anything that someone with experience couldn't fix. For the budget I thought the film was very impressive, the locations, the look, and especially the cast. I really was pretty blown away by the cast, really well constructed and solid actors. Didn't care for the lead female's acting, but she was eye candy 'enough' for the part. Probably the best part of the film is the story behind it, and the making of the film. I suppose this will get some sort of distribution and they will include the extras about how they made it, and if they do I would recommend that highly. The director talked to us for about 3 hours about it and it put the film in an entirely different light. Judging the film among it's peers that I have seen from the Austin indie world in this budget range, I would say it's a strong 9... or maybe a 10.

I attended a private screening of this film in Los Angeles last week. The screening went very well and the director took time to talk to everyone that was willing to talk to him. I was very impressed with the overall production of this film. Many of the people attending were a bit over the top with praise of the film. However, this is not to say that I think they were wrong in this level of praise. The film was a good film, very deep yet still entertaining. The most remarkable aspect of the film was the budget and the conditions by which these filmmakers completed this monumental task. I have been in production for nearly 15 years and the only comparison I could draw would be that of El Mariachi. I would say that this film wins out in acting performances and level of talent they were able to attract for little money. The look and production value also were outstanding. With that said, the film had the typical low budget production flaws. The lighting was good, the picture the camera gave was great, sound was good (however they said it hadn't been completed yet so I expect it will be very good), coverage could have been better, however the shots were at times very captivating. The thing that struck me most about the film and the reason why everyone seemed to be jumping on the band wagon was more about the charisma of the director. The film at times was vague and obtuse and demanded the audiences full attention. Many attendees I literally saw light bulbs appear above their heads during the Q&A. The director had a very strong vision and was extremely articulate in his answers. All in all, I would say that this film will probably have a strong DVD release, there is some dark humor so maybe even a cult following. I do think that the director and his partners will be very successful given the projects to come that he presented at the screening. I recommend any aspiring film makers or students rent this film, or buy it, it will show you a lot about how to do it right the first time.