Psychic Richmond crimefighters might be going places

Mechelle Hankerson
Assistant Spectrum Editor

Joseph Weindl had a goal to make a feature-length film by the time he left Richmond but had no idea about what.

He enlisted the help of some friends at work to help him decide.

“It was a slow night at work, and by the end of the night, the basic concept of the movie was in place,” Weindl said.

Thus was born the feature-length film “Antihero,” which premiered at the Byrd Theater on Jan. 25.

The movie, which Weindl wrote, directed and edited, follows a Richmonder named Pork Rind (played by Brian Gartland) who discovers he has psychic powers. Upon this discovery, he and his best friend Weezie (played by VCU graduate Joe Carlson) embark on a burglary spree and find themselves as accidental heroes.

“They’re the best of friends and partners-in-crime and occasionally fighting crime,” said Carlson, who has been acting professionally for five years. “Just another pair of average Richmond layabouts with awful haircuts and a great appreciation for cheap beer and good people.”

“In all seriousness though, it’s like a summer love poem to Richmond and the kind of free-wheeling, fun-loving, party animals it serves as home to.”

“Antihero” was shot entirely in Richmond during a one-month span during the summer of 2010 on a minuscule budget of $1,000.

“Even for an independent production, that’s ridiculously small,” said Weindl, who only took one official class in filmmaking. “… I think we made a movie that, in terms of sheer entertainment value, rivals movies with greater budgets.”

“We had terrific acting (in the movie),” Weindl said. “It’s sad but true that most low-budget indie productions are kind of lacking in this department, and that’s very unfortunate.”

While Weindl said he struggled to balance his multiple roles in the creation of the movie, Carlson said that for the actors, Weindl’s flexibility was what really propelled the acting in the film.

According to Carlson, Weindl welcomed the actors’ input and encouraged them to take risks and follow their intuition.

“I feel very fortunate to have filmed this movie in Richmond,” Weindl said. “VCU has a very strong theater department, and I think it really shows in this movie.”

Weindl worked with many of Carlson’s friends from his undergraduate studies and wrote the script with those actors in mind. Once those actors relocated to Chicago, Weindl turned to Ryan Asher (casting director and actor who played Jhoanna) who helped Weindl cast Gartland and Carlson in the lead roles.

“Me and Brian (Gartland) have been friends for years, collaborating on a few projects, but never anything of this size,” Carlson said.

Weindl said he plans to enter the film in as many festivals as possible in order to distribute the film either in theaters or on DVDs. He hopes to have more screenings of the movie and considers the possibility of screening at VCU, but said he wants to focus on submitting the movies to screenings first.

“This was a huge task to complete,” Weindl said. “For more than the past year, my entire life has revolved around this movie … I like the movie that we’ve made,  and I feel optimistic at the opportunities that might lay around the corner.”

“If the reception is anything like the showing at the Byrd Theatre, a full theater constantly roaring with laughter, then ‘Antihero’ has an extremely big future ahead of it,” Granger said.