THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on IMDb

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327854/

The Final Webisode of THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS

Well, there you have it. The big season finale of 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' has finally arrived!

Watch THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 6 "Time To Pretend" now at www.thegreatlapretenders.com in HD and enjoy the ride, the climactic ending is well worth it.

Don’t miss 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' Season Finale

With THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS Season finale coming out soon at http://vimeo.com/channels/thegreatlapretenders, I thought I’d take a moment to thank Renaud Fouilleul (co-creator of the show), the entire crew for all their hard work, and everyone who made our Web Series possible. Special thanks to the actors: Dan Shirey, Nathan Marlow, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Gary Edward, Kara Chaput, Owen Williams and Sherry Romito for giving us all that their characters had to give.

— Thank You. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last time we get to enjoy the (mis)adventures of the THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS.

Djamel Bennecib
Co-creator, Producer, Writer, Director, Editor

Djamel Bennecib's comedy Web Series Online

http://vimeo.com/pretenders/videos

SEASON 1:

The Webisodes

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”—Kurt Vonnegut

Meet The Pretenders (#1.1)
Original post date: 7/05/2008

The first webisode of the webseries 'The Great L.A. Pretenders', introduces the different characters (the pretenders) in a fancy way and fuses opposed concepts such as fiction and reality, real and fake or truth and lie. Funny and witty.

Fakeness (#1.2)
Original post date: 7/05/2008

The second webisode of the webseries 'The Great L.A. Pretenders', is clever, witty, involving and engaging. Great performances led by the excellent Dan Shirey and Garikayi Mutambirwa.

Ups And Downs (#1.3)
Original post date: 7/09/2008

The third webisode of 'The Great L.A. Pretenders', is worth watching for the funny and brilliant performance of Gary Edward as Mr. Adams…

Drunk (#1.4)
Original post date: 8/06/2008

In the fourth webisode of the webseries 'The Great L.A. Pretenders', you’ll see drunk pretenders in good form! Dan Shirey is the ‘prosecutor’, Garikayi Mutambirwa is the troubleshooter, Kara Chaput is the victim/culprit, Sherry Romito is the lesbian latebloomer and Nathan Marlow, very convincing as the drunk pervert.

The Rules Of The Game (#1.5)
Original post date: 8/31/2008

The fifth webisode of 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' Web Series, is funny and dark… Dan Shirey and Kara Chaput intensely capture the subtlety of their respective character.

Guaranteed to be entertained.

Time To Pretend (#1.6)
Original post date: 10/22/2008

The big season finale is packed with many different, funny, and exciting events. Enjoy the ride, the climactic ending is well worth it.

Watch now "The Great L.A. Pretenders" webisode 5!

Funny and dark!

Click here: THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 5 'The Rules Of The Game'

Description: While having a mini-get-together at Sherman's, the pretenders play a movie quote trivia contest - "what do you mean I'm funny" - and then discuss the stupid rules to follow when dating in L.A...

Guaranteed to be entertained.

PRETENDERS ANONYMOUS By Graeme Black

Djamel Bennecib, 27, French, sits on a lush verandah, with a cappuccino in one hand and a Wall Street Journal in the other. His wistful demeanor, coupled with a sort of childlike, wide-eyed eagerness, bespeaks a certain dedication to his craft and love of cinema. Rubbing his 5 o’clock shadow and staring smoky-eyed at the passing pedestrians, Bennecib is a precise and observant gentleman.

Ask him about his latest project (the sublimely droll web series “The Great L.A. Pretenders”) and he will not fail to describe, in detail, how the culmination of his lifelong experience in film, has produced the sort of “web-com” he would have loved growing up
(as a child in Flers de l’Orne). “The future of entertainment,” proclaims Bennecib “is not television, as more and more people choose Internet over TV... I’m telling you right now: in 5 years, maybe 6, you will see shows as popular as “Lost” created for, and viewable only on the internet.” There is an unmistakable pattern here, seeing as Bennecib has mentioned “Lost” seven times in the past fifteen minutes: “Lost!” screams Bennecib, “is by far, the best show I’ve seen in the past 20 years... and it’s actually a weird, offhanded influence in the way I’ve developed ‘Pretenders’ because we see characters interacting in such a way as if Hollywood were an island. For them, there is only this dream of Hollywood, and they will stop at nothing to realize it. Of course my technique in the way I choose to shoot it is always as cinematic as possible, like “Lost,” you will see in webisode 4 which is called ‘Drunk’” Bennecib chuckles, “I used an extreme close-up of Sherman’s eye. If you pay attention to ‘Lost’, almost every episode uses this close-up to focus the story line from an ensemble piece to one individual for that specific episode. For me...” he goes on (in detail), “It is important to know my influences and pay respects to them, but at the same time, try to make them my own. But I cannot help that I love ‘Lost’ immensely and many other great films like ‘Goodfellas’ and Scorsese films in general.”

Childlike enthusiasm for movies is one of Bennecib’s endearing traits. It cannot be a mistake, that like his contemporary Quentin Tarantino, immeasurable love and knowledge of cinema has proven a very helpful crutch in making fine, well-crafted films.
“Everyone steals from everyone, but as long as it is polite stealing, it is flattering as opposed to pissing off the creators.” The French spin Bennecib seems to be using to coin the term ‘polite stealing’ is another of his quirks that only serves to enrich the wry, offbeat dialogue of “The Great L.A. Pretenders.” “If I had some American writing my show, we would miss a lot of the charm in my Raymond Queneau-esque perspective on
life. So in this sense, we choose style over correctness. I mean, polite stealing is funny, no?”

I tell him it appeals to my own warped-sense of humor, but Djamel Bennecib doesn’t seem to be listening, instead he’s yelling at a lady walking her dog... “Comment vous appelez-vous?!”

Yes! It's online dudes!

Watch the full length webisodes on Shooting People:

http://shootingpeople.org/cards/thegreatlapretenders

Watch "The Great L.A. Pretenders" now and avoid the rush!

"People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles."
Bret Easton Ellis

Unfortunately, they're not afraid to fake it until they make it, to take you for granted, to lie and talk behind your back... and we have seven good examples of that weird breed of people...

Sometimes dark, often comedic and always witty "The Great L.A. Pretenders" strives for not only the glitzy Hollywood wannabe lifestyle and what lies underneath, but also the dreamers' relentless passion for money and fame and how psychologically unstable they become when they fail to reach their American dreams.

You know you got to know more about our web series at www.thegreatlapretenders.com

Now you may talk about us, because, as filmmakers, we want our work seen by audiences...

Djamel Bennecib

Q and A session with director Djamel Bennecib

So Djamel, how did the shoot go?

It went really bad. No, really I’m not kidding; at least, in the beginning. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. And we didn’t get really lucky on top of everything else. We shot it with a skeleton crew because of budget barriers, which didn’t help either. Talking about skeleton crew is not even quite close to be the actual truth. We could definitely say that we shot our Web Series with a decomposed crew. I guess like most of the projects I’ve shot so far, we made it with a crew reduced to a strict minimum: I was the director, Kyle Stryker was the DP/camera operator (he did a marvelous work, especially considering the whole range of elements we had against us) and Danton Dabar was the sound mixer. We did have from time to time some extra help for booming, or moving the equipment around or some kind of grip work like that; but not enough to make the shoot very smooth and easy. I had planned on shooting those six episodes (or webisodes) in 7 days.

You gave yourself just seven days of shooting?

Yes, seven days for me was a realistic time frame for an independent Web Series. Actually, I didn’t have a choice anyway; the more days of shooting, the more expensive it would be. And money we didn’t have. I just tried to write the script to be practical to make... But another disruption came up to make it harder on me: the three actresses I had cast for the roles of Beverly, Holly and Monica, happened to be fake (for real!), undisciplined, hard to work with, not motivated and not even nice at all. After one day of shooting with those three ‘we think we're big Hollywood stars’ divas, I knew I would not stand another day like that one. I had to let them go. A nightmare. You add this to a few other technical problems that occurred, I don’t even want to think about that cruel technical chaos, and the first three days of shooting happened to be a disaster. I couldn’t use any of the footage. Three days wasted. And four days left for me to shoot the series. No way I could add seven more days. How could I find more money? And by more money, I mean less than $400! I know, pretty pathetic, huh? But when you want to make a project you believe in, when you can’t help but shooting something, anything, like a drug addict losing it, doing whatever it takes to stay in his addiction, you just go for it without procrastinating or giving up. Obstacles must be overcome. So, yes, even $400 was an amount of money we couldn’t get (we're all broke, what can I say?), but still I wanted to bring our project back in shape. So, as hard as it seems, I talked to Kyle Stryker, and asked him if he thought we could shoot six webisodes equivalent to a script of about 70 pages, in just four days; and knowing that the crew was composed of only three people, and that our equipment list was as anorexic as our crew... But Kyle thought we could make it though, and so did I. Kyle is a machine. He can work at the same pace forever, at least 12 hours in a row, taking just quick breaks before being ready and happy to rock again. He had good ideas, was never complaining or being negative; a true professional. He really made my life easier in a very rough, complicated world. I really thank him because he really was 110%, and it allowed me to complete my project in just four days. And again, with all the elements going wild on us.

So finally, I re-cast very quickly. It took me just a couple of days. I found Kara Chaput to play Beverly and Sherry Romito to play Holly thanks to Owen Williams (Glen). I decided to get rid of Monica’s character because I really wanted to work with Gary Edward with whom I had shot a short film right before called “Seized”. He’s amazingly talented, and trustful. He wouldn’t flake on me and would give me his A game the whole time. So, Monica from Santa Monica being out for now, I wrote a new part; Mr. Adams from West Adams, the project’s boss. The characters are the heart of this Web Series... I therefore needed great actors, and I didn’t want to make mistakes during the casting process, especially after the mess I had had a few days before with the divas, remember? So, I mentioned Kyle Stryker being the driving force behind an easier shoot by working fast and very efficiently, but I want to conclude about the shoot by mentioning that the actors were so dedicated to the craft as well, that it did help the project to be finished on time, and as far as I’m concerned, to be worth watching. Garikayi Mutambirwa, for example, with his energy, experience and professionalism brought a constructive dynamic to the shoot, throwing his positive power all over the sets. Dan Shirey, the lead role, always arrived on set (on time, wonderful, thank you Dan, I love you so much right now) more seriously with (great) ideas, sharing thoughts about his character, having done his homework in detail, creating a back story that would make Sherman’s character more profound, etc. They all knew their lines and even if it seems almost irrelevant to bring this up, it’s definitely not. The divas from the now famous ‘The Great L.A. Pretenders Horror Three Days Of Shooting Show’, barely knew their lines, and had even sometimes the script on their laps, looking at it in the middle of a take, or they would just play their own lines; unacceptable. Thankfully, the ‘final’ cast were professional enough to learn their lines and if they wanted to add a word, a line or something like that, or even improvise a little, they would ask me first, and then would go for it if I accepted. Those last four days of shooting were consequently more pleasant. A few months later, I can just say I’m happy we made it. Because when I think about it, it wasn’t quite in the bag with no trouble; or in the can I may say.

I think perhaps the most significant thing was demonstrating what you can achieve with limited resources. Would you agree?

I agree. Working more than 10 hours a day for four days in a row was a challenge. But you know we weren’t really surprised about the issues involved and encountered. I mean we knew it was going to be a difficult shoot. When I talk about the reduced equipment list or the skeleton crew, it seems like I’m talking about a student (third grade) short film project. But don’t get me wrong; even though I know I have yet to get more experienced, this isn’t student homework. There is a tremendous sense of ambition in the web series, and in my very modest, humble opinion, I think it’s well realized. We somehow managed to navigate around the huge budget constraints. I’m never satisfied with my work and always think I could have done better. Obviously, I do believe that with more money, more time, more professionals around us, the result would have been more competent. But I don’t want to feel like the work wasn’t accomplished; because it would be wrong and inaccurate. We all worked our asses off for this, and looking back and appreciating every aspect of “The Great L.A. Pretenders”, I can say without blushing, that it paid off. Really. Now, let’s see what we will be able to do when we actually have a budget to work with. And I’m confident it will happen very soon.

Why this Web Series and why now?

Well, I had been willing to make an episodic series (sitcom, drama...) for a long time. Last year, after helping auditioning actors for an upcoming Web Series to be shot in Hollywood, it just made me think about shooting my own. I would not need a huge budget; I would not need to have to sell it to a TV network, with the long process it involves, and I could show it to a lot of people from all around the world. Why now? Well, like I said to Graeme Black when he wrote the article “Pretenders Anonymous”, I truly believe the future of entertainment is not television, as more and more people choose Internet over TV... So, even if “The Great L.A. Pretenders” doesn’t create a big buzz, we wanted to experience this new medium for (TV) shows when we still have a window of getting our stuff out there before the web becomes too saturated with Web Series.

What inspired you to begin writing “The Great L.A. Pretenders” Web Series?

My inspiration was the three years I spent in Los Angeles as a film student, as a wannabe filmmaker and as a human being. So, my own experience of L.A., my interaction with the people, my ups and my downs, my loneliness and my happiness, my will to reach the American Dream to my homesickness, my disappointments, my troubles, my needs, etc.

So you mean that your life, your own experience of Los Angeles is reflected in the series?

Absolutely. You know, Los Angeles is definitely not what I expected. It was a childhood dream to come to and work in Hollywood. And I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but what I didn’t know is how fake, superficial and unbearable people would be. You can’t trust anybody; you can’t rely on nobody but yourself, everything seems to be controlled by stupid rules, even dating. Women of Los Angeles made me love French girls that I found cold and distant. Well, so be it. I’d rather mix with cold people than with hypocritical ones. Oh and by the way American people, French women do shave their armpits... At least, since the 1920's!

I wanted to make fun of some aspects of Los Angeles - the fuckin' L.A. Pretend Game - of its people, its wannabes, its posers in an ambiguous way. In fact, I didn’t want to make a lazy, obvious comedy with for instance cats farting or babies eating flies or dumb teenagers talking about their lame sex lives or experiences - even though that’s definitely what YouTubers (for example) enjoy the most, or I didn’t want to have a character talk directly towards camera to tell a story either (what YouTubers like as well) or to make very short videos from 1 to 3 minute long (what YouTubers love very much indeed). I wanted to make a Web Series as cinematic as I possibly could. I wanted to write witty, sarcastic and ironical scripts. I wanted to use lots of sub-texts and references. But to be completely honest with you, I’ve never been really attracted to comedies. My favorite genre (as a filmmaker and as a viewer) is definitely mystery/thriller/suspense. It’s totally my cup of tea. But comedies are cheap to make because they don’t necessarily require special effects or things like that. Plus, people prefer watching on the Internet funny videos than scary ones.

So, anyway, I finally did several sessions with a script writer called Benton Eshoei (we co-wrote a couple of webisodes together) a few weeks before we shot, because I wanted to go through the scripts with somebody who would challenge me in certain thematic areas, and Benton is also one of my friends who ‘introduced’ me to Los Angeles and its ‘values’, its way of life, so that was very helpful and a productive work and experience.

Last but not least, my cooperative work with Renaud Fouilleul was very predominant. As a matter of fact, when we created the series together, establishing its concept and direction, we shared numerous ideas, themes we should tackle, even lines some characters should deliver. We wrote down all our thoughts and feelings about L.A., tore them out, scrapbooked them, packing a lot of rough papers around beers and glasses of milk. A beautiful cocktail for a striking team work!

What projects are you working on at the moment, Djamel?

Right now, I’m finishing up the “The Great L.A. Pretenders” Web Series. Renaud Fouilleul and I are working on its promotion...

Ideally, I would have loved to expand more the concept of this web series, to go deeper into the characters’ background; for instance why would Sherman and Felix as secret agents end up working on a mission involving wannabe actors of Los Angeles? Who really is Mr. Adams? And obviously, I would also have wanted to develop more of the interaction between all the characters: how could Sherman’s extreme dislike toward Beverly evolve to strictly opposed or different sort of feelings? Same thing as far as Fernando is concerned; his attraction to Holly appears to be meant to fail as she seems to be really attracted to Beverly, a coming out that could lead to a weird love triangle. But who knows in L.A.? Majority of the people have an ambiguous sexuality. And what about our Frenchman Felix? Is he going to be able to control Sherman’s bad attitude any longer? Or is he just looking forward to meeting the new pretender Monica... from Santa Monica beach? So, yes I’d love to be able to make more episodes or even to start over again with more developed scripts and back stories (why not making more webisodes but shorter, 5 to 7 minute long) with a bigger budget, or just a budget, please. I’m not interested in making any more projects working without money. It’s really pointless on the long run. But it is indeed a good experience and it usually allows you or forces you to excel yourself - otherwise you might just want to throw away your footage immediately.

Otherwise, my other projects are simple: I’m trying to get involved in as many productions as possible, and I will be working soon on the writing of a feature length film called “L'Ombre Noire” ("The Black Shadow") a psychological thriller/drama. This time, in opposition to how I proceeded for “Pretenders”, I’m going to navigate the major steps involved during pre-production; that is to say going to move heaven and earth to get financing.

Well Djamel Bennecib, it was really cool talking to you. One last word?

Watch 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' at www.thegreatlapretenders.com and let me know your thoughts!

Watch full length webisodes in HD

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 2 Fakeness from THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on Vimeo.

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS Webisode 3 Ups And Downs from THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on Vimeo.

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 4 Drunk from THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on Vimeo.

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 5 The Rules Of The Game from THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on Vimeo.

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS webisode 6 Time To Pretend from THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS on Vimeo.

Watch the 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' Web Series at http://vimeo.com/channels/thegreatlapretenders and follow the new undercover mission of Sherman (Dan Shirey) and Felix (Garikayi Mutambirwa): play the 'L.A. pretend game' in the dangerous world of wannabes...

'The Great L.A. Pretenders' Comedy Web Series

Genre Situation comedy
Created by Djamel Bennecib, Renaud Fouilleul
Starring
Dan Shirey
Garikayi Mutambirwa
Nathan Marlow
Kara Chaput
Sherry Romito
Owen Williams
Gary Edward

Country of origin United States, France
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 6

Production

Writer/Director Djamel Bennecib
Co-Writer (webisodes 5 and 6) Benton Eshoei
Director of Photography Kyle Stryker
Sound Mixer Danton Dabar

Executive
producer Djamel Bennecib

Editor Djamel Bennecib
Sound Designer Djamel Bennecib
Location(s) Los Angeles, California, USA
Camera setup Single camera
Running time approx. 12 min.

Original website www.thegreatlapretenders.com
Picture format HDV 1080i
Original run July 05, 2008

Future Cast Projects

What’s up next for you?

DAN SHIREY

I'm currently living in Kansas City, MO finishing my degree. Then picking up and moving forward.

GARIKAYI MUTAMBIRWA

I just finished shooting an episode of "House M.D." (season 6).

Also trying to establish some contacts with Nigerians to do some "Nollywood" projects.

Making moves, making moves.

NATHAN MARLOW

Well I just wrapped a movie about the Nixon Watergate scandal. I play a psychotic agent that turns dark. I really enjoyed this role, the movie has a lot of action and drama and it’s always a blast to play the bad guy! It was difficult with the energy of this guy, he was very intense and psychotic so having to bring that to set everyday was challenging. It should be out by Thanksgiving. I’m on to my next project as we speak, heading to NY for a week to start production. It's about the war of 1812, English invading and how we as Americans joined forces with a tribe of Indians and my character Jack helps one Indian out after he is shot in battle and the story revolves around Jack and the Indians relationship. The English find out that I help him and they try to kill me for treason and all that fun stuff. It’s a fun period piece and shooting on one of my favorite cameras: the RED!





KARA CHAPUT

I am currently working on my original comedy “twisted.” It is about two average girls looking for love, seeking fame and landing somewhere in between…website will be up very soon at twisted-tv.com

SHERRY ROMITO

Well, I have already shot both a pilot presentation and a short and am getting ready to shoot a feature.

OWEN WILLIAMS

Working on our webisode "Van Man." We just shot a short film that I directed and acted in called, "Rebound Girl." And I have a feature film that we’re about to shoot the trailer for and start looking for some funding.

GARY EDWARD

God knows.

A closer look at their experiences on the set...

How did you get comfortable with this character and know whom he/she was?

DAN SHIREY

The environment was extremely creative. From the moment we walked on the set to home cooked meals. Djamel has a way of making his actors feel at ease, and has enormous insight on the characters. Where we can play around with ideas and improve. Sherman is a very quiet, but rude character. So for me it was about confrontation. Confront as many people as you possibly can. Episode 6 is by far my favortite as because it sets the tone for next season. There is more to Sherman.

NATHAN MARLOW

Fernando was an interesting character that I felt could have a lot of different sides and layers to him. When Djamel first approached me with him I was wondering how I could bring to life a guy that pretends about so much, but still has to be likeable and able to come across somewhat a serious guy. So it was a bit challenging to say the least. I just finished a movie where I was a completely different character and it was a challenge to find Fernando in such a quick time…I did some research on some actors that I liked and got some style ideas but I didn’t want to recreate anybody again. So I felt Fernando should come to life organically and I felt throughout the shoot he did. So needless to say it was a work in progress! (laughter)

KARA CHAPUT

Living in L.A. for the past 6 years I already felt like I knew Beverly. It was important that I understood her vulnerabilities and why she acted the way she did. Like most things in life, there is always more than meets the eye...

SHERRY ROMITO

Well I am an actress so I do know a little bit about where she is coming from. So although I am not too much like her, I do know what she goes through.

OWEN WILLIAMS

I’ve been pursuing acting with the intention of being a good actor in LA for a few years now, so I know what it’s like to wait tables.

GARY EDWARD

For me, it was pretty much in the writing, and collaboration with the director. The encouragement from him to constantly experiment and to try different things with the character helped me immensely.

... on working on 'The Great L.A. Pretenders':

DAN SHIREY

Only Fernando and Sherman saw it through to the end! It was tough at times, memorizing the dialogues and getting thrown with surprises. But we are actors and that’s what we do and I think Djamel did an excellent job of understanding where we were coming from and his approach was very clear of to what he wanted from each character.

NATHAN MARLOW

I had a great time working on The Great L.A Pretenders. I felt we had a few set backs in the beginning, but I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. The cast was amazing and the little budget we had and the style of the shoot, I felt the acting had to be great and it was! Everyone on set were professionals and amazing, so I felt it made everyone step up their game. It's fun to see the webisodes come out now because we had such a quick time to shoot them because of everyone’s schedules and at times I think the biggest concern was wondering if we got the shot, typical actor in all of us! (laughter)

KARA CHAPUT

Was a great experience…a lot of fun and freedom to explore the characters relationships.

SHERRY ROMITO

The cast was great so it made it easy to come to set.

OWEN WILLIAMS

The comfort level was already there for me when I arrived on set. Everyone was extremely nice and professional.

GARY EDWARD

It was an interesting concept from the beginning. And the script being what it was. The story. It made me take a hard look at what it was that I was really trying to accomplish in this town. Overall, the experience was nothing short of enlightening.

... on Working with Writer/Director Djamel Bennecib:

NATHAN MARLOW

I love working with Djamel. He is a very actor friendly director. I really enjoy shooting these types of projects! Djamel allows us as actors to improve if were in the moment and he lets us have freedom with the lines, which is always an actors dream come true. He approached me with this idea last year and about how the Internet and the content could reach a global market and there wasn’t really any webisodes out there at the time, and we bounced this idea off one another and a few months later he emailed me the script I really enjoyed these characters and how funny it was. He did a great job coming up with the different characters and how they interact with one another and there different background, etc…

KARA CHAPUT

Djamel was great to work with because he gave us a freedom to experiment with different ideas. But he also is a very honest director and if something did not work, you could tell but a simple look on his face!

SHERRY ROMITO

He was very helpful. Djamel was fun to work with he was easy going but was there for when you needed him.

OWEN WILLIAMS

Djamel is very easy to be around and has a clear idea of what he wants. He’s a fun director with a flexible mind.

GARY EDWARD

As I mentioned earlier, being able to have access to Djamel while he was still doing re-writes and last minute touch-ups on the script was priceless. It usually never works that way. He was all about making it as painless as possible for the actor. If I came up with a new idea for the character at the last minute, he would always encourage me to try it. He was like that with everyone. Very personable. I had the opportunity to work with him on a previous project, so I feel very fortunate to have had that advantage coming into this one. Everyone told me that I should never work with a French director. Too arrogant, they told me! But it really wasn't that bad. I hope I get the chance to collaborate with him on future projects!

... on Working with 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' Cast/What was the atmosphere on the set?

DAN SHIREY

It was fun and sexy. Sherman and Beverly definitely had a connection on the set, who knows what happened off set...

NATHAN MARLOW

The atmosphere for the most part was pretty relaxed! I felt once Djamel had the right actors in place the project finally came together. Most of the show took place in the house so by the end of the shoot I don’t think I ever want to go back to the house ever again. Also I must add and everyone on set could account for this I’ve never seen cats that weight 100 pounds! I swear I thought these things ate a few kids or something who knows, and I don’t know how many times we had to cut because of this damn rooster! I thought we might have to shoot the thing just give it some screen time so it would shut up! (laughter)

KARA CHAPUT

Everyone got along really well on set, most of us coincidentally already knew each other so it made for a very comfortable place to play.

SHERRY ROMITO

Joyous.

OWEN WILLIAMS

Atmosphere on set was loose and professional. People were having fun but taking the project seriously. It was nice.

GARY EDWARD

I had minimal shooting days, so I didn't get to spend any consistent time with the cast. While I was there, the atmosphere seemed to be pretty relaxed.

Sticking to the Script:

DAN SHIREY

Boy, where the hell do I fucking start!? I didn’t change a fucking word, period or explanation point. When the time to improve was there, of course I did it but. I can say that Sherman was all book, so for me as an actor I try to find the character through the writing and mix it with my homework (HOURS) and a lot of work and focus.

NATHAN MARLOW

Well like I was previously stating for the most part I felt everyone stayed pretty close to the script. Djamel did let us improve a little but still using the script as an outline. Which I’m a huge fan of, I love living in the moment and just being true to what your saying!

SHERRY ROMITO

Not difficult at all...

OWEN WILLIAMS

Sticking to the script is always a little difficult for me, because I like to improvise. But for the most part, we did stick to the script and it was fine.

GARY EDWARD

I think some writer/directors are very specific about that- sticking to the script. Which I can truly appreciate and respect. It takes alot of time and hard work to put a script together. Other writer/directors allow you to deviate from the written text to make it more "real" or make it your own. The same with actors.. some like to go word for word. Others like to improvise and keep it loose. It was nice to be able to have the best of both worlds. I always try to stick to the script, but if the director and fellow actors are comfortable with a little improvisation, then I would usually prefer that.

Could you possibly be one of the pretenders?

DAN SHIREY

Fuck no.

NATHAN MARLOW

(laughter) I was joking with Djamel about this, why everyone was so good maybe we all have a little pretender in us! Just kidding! But on a serious note I really enjoyed working with everyone. The professionalism on set was a relief, cause I've worked on a few sets where it was a nightmare! So I would love to work with everyone again.

KARA CHAPUT

I could in no way be one of the pretenders…none of them...not even Glen!

SHERRY ROMITO

Maybe but it would be a bit of a stretch.

OWEN WILLIAMS

No sir. I’m one of the good guys.

GARY EDWARD

There's a little "pretender" in all of us. Especially in this town.

Characters

Daniel Shirey plays the role of Sherman.

Sherman is a talented undercover agent that works with Felix on undercover missions all over the world. Sherman is a smart ass, quick to judge, and always gets himself in over his head. He is a cameleon when it comes to his work. He gets over possessed about his roles and forgets his boundaries. (that is where the comedy comes in) Sherman smokes weed to get through the situations and his mind drifts, but when he gets together with Felix, Felix is pretty uncomfortable, so he has to look out for his only friend. Sherman has been working with him for years and pretty much knows what he is thinking when Felix doesn't even know. Sherman keeps the ball moving forward and all the undercover missions on track. Sherman has a reputation for being a brawler, the heavy hand in situations but the most reliable source of information to relay back to the bosses. Sherman finds himself in trouble and high all the time but manages to get the job done.

Garikayi Mutambirwa plays the role of Felix.

Felix is a young Frenchman loving his life in L.A. He and Sherman are good friends, working on a secret project titled "L.A. Pretenders". Felix has the difficult task of maintaining his sense of self, and not falling into the "L.A. Pretend" game. He also faces the challenge of keeping his friendship with Sherman and making sure everyone on the project is happy. Felix is a good natured, optimistic young man.

Nathan Marlow plays the role of Fernando.

The character of Fernando is complex. He was born a white boy, but raised in Mexico by a Mexican family. Fernando is a wanna-be actor/wanna-be businessman who is still deeply rooted in his adopted Mexican heritage. He is very eccentric and naïve when it comes to life in general. Fernando’s wardrobe consists of business suits, panchos and santiags. Fernando wants to become a successful businessman, but his passion lies with acting. This dichotomy could present some interesting challenges.

Kara Chaput plays the role of Beverly.

Beverly is the quintessential wannabe Hollywood starlet. Thanks to daddy's endless support she is able to spend her afternoons shopping at Kitson, dining at The Ivy, getting mani/pedis and killing time with the other great pretenders. She is a huge advocate of the lemon water diet or simply eating nothing at all. She wore all black Channel for 3 straight days while mourning Heath Ledger's death; even though she had never actually met him. Beverly prides herself on her innovative fashion sense, as she was the first to wrap a sterling silver fork around her wrist and wear it as a bracelet. She is deeply intrigued by Sherman as he is the only male around her who does not kiss her ass. She gets what she wants and takes any attention she can get. But like many situations in life... things are not always what they seem.

Sherry Romito plays the role of Holly.

Holly is a girl just trying to make it in Hollywood by any means necessary. She has talent but feels the only way to make it is by playing the game, which she can sometimes thrive at when she ignores her morality. A little lost in the Hollywood maze, Holly is searching for an identity, and trying to get famous while she’s at it.

Owen Williams plays the role of Glen.



Glen is fresh off the boat. Naïve to the Hollywood game of stardom, he comes off “green” and vulnerable. His intentions to be an actor are truly for the joy of acting, rather than the pursuit of fame and fortune, which makes him an easy target in a town that thrives on shallowness, selfishness, manipulation, and greed. He is a little lost and hungry, searching for his dream and sacrificing his hunger for his cause. He’s a good guy, and good guys never win.

Gary Edward plays the role of Mr. Adams.



All bark, no bite - Mr. Adams is the project’s imposing, fake godfatherlike boss.

Of course, it's on YouTube too...

CHECK IT OUT!

THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS set pics

Actor Owen Williams and director Djamel Bennecib on set filming the last sequence of webisode 3 "Ups And Downs"

Director Djamel Bennecib and DP Kyle Stryker on set filming webisode 5 "The Rules Of The Game"

Actors Nathan Marlow, Garikayi Mutambirwa and Kara Chaput on the set of webisode 4 "Drunk"




DP Kyle Stryker with actors Garikayi Mutambirwa and Dan Shirey on the set of 'The Great L.A. Pretenders' webisode finale "Time To Pretend"



Actors Dan Shirey and Kara Chaput



Director Djamel Bennecib with DP Kyle Stryker and Sound Mixer Danton Dabar on set filming webisode 4 "Drunk"



Director Djamel Bennecib with actor Dan Shirey on the set of webisode 1 "Meet The Pretenders"



Actors Nathan Marlow, Garikayi Mutambirwa and Kara Chaput with director Djamel Bennecib on the set of webisode 4 "Drunk"



Garikayi Mutambirwa, Kara Chaput and Dan Shirey, on set rehearsing webisode 4 "Drunk"



Actor Dan Shirey and director Djamel Bennecib on set filming webisode 1 "Meet The Pretenders"



Actors Dan Shirey, Nathan Marlow and Kara Chaput with DP Kyle Stryker and director Djamel Bennecib, on the set of webisode 5 "The Rules Of The Game"



Actors Dan Shirey and Owen Williams on the set of webisode 3 "Ups And Downs"



Actors Garikayi Mutambirwa and Sherry Romito on the set of webisode 6 "Time To Pretend"



THE GREAT L.A. PRETENDERS star Dan Shirey as Sherman (on the set of webisode 4 "Drunk")



Actors Sherry Romito laughing, Nathan Marlow thinking and Garikayi Mutambirwa smiling at Sherry on the set of webisode 4 "Drunk"