The Shoe People
Randy Prywitch is the highly acclaimed Director of Salad Daze, American Gothic, Loss For Words, and many short films. He started making movies when he was in 7th grade, and founded Be The Shoe Productions with Jason in 2002. He writes, directs, and edits all of his movies.
Jason Goldstein is the co-founder of Be The Shoe. As Executive Producer, he's deeply involved with script development, post-production, online presence, and technology research. Yet for some reason, very few people know what he actually does.
Jake Rubin started acting for the Shoe in Bad Day, and quickly became a key player in Be The Shoe. He's a producer on all of the group's features, took the lead role in Salad Daze, and returned to co-star Loss For Words.
Lauren Rubin first helped on the Shoe in 2003, and returned as a Special Effects Director, Art Director, and Script Advisor. In Salad Daze and Loss For Words, she continued her role as Associate Producer.
Emily Bates is a leading actress and Associate Producer with Be The Shoe. After joining the group as the star of American Gothic, she continued to stun audiences with her supporting roles in Salad Daze and Loss For Words.
Bradley Halpern started off as a technology consultant for Be The Shoe, but took on a pivotal role as the Assistant Director of Salad Daze and Loss For Words. He also helped launch Project Shoestring, and is responsible for the still photography used in artwork and promotional materials.
Gary C. Warren is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and a talented addition to the Be The Shoe cast. He appeared in American Gothic and Salad Daze, and returned as the lead of Loss For Words. In real life, he does not look like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
David Rosenfeld joined the cast of Salad Daze and became notorious for his Dark Knight impressions and distate for wicker chairs. He is returning to the silver screen in Loss For Words.
Daniel Shar, a standup comedian best known for his infamous El Rancho rap, joined the Shoe to in 2009 to work on a special project. After contributing to Loss For Words script, he drove in from North Carolina to steal scenes as the awkwardly hilarious Kenny.
Laura Barbiea joined the cast of Loss For Words as Natalie. On her second day of shooting, she learned the most important thing about being a BTS actress: how to rag on Randy. She's expected to return for future projects.
Matt Shepley joined the Shoe in 2008, when he starred as Shawn in our award-winning short film, The Girlfriend Claire. The following year, he co-produced and co-starred in the pilot of Higher Education.
Grant Harris was instrumental to Be The Shoe's revival in 2006. His the starring role as Miles in Bad Day turned him into an instant local celebrity, and he continued his work with the Shoe as a supporting actor in American Gothic and Salad Daze.
Peter Jacques first started with the Shoe in 2006, when he played Miggs in Bad Day. He returned as the drunken pedophile, Joey, in American Gothic, and again in Salad Daze as Shane.
Katie Barry became Be The Shoe's first Public Relations Officer in 2009. She hangs around Chicago, where she devises groundbreaking new strategies to bring Be The Shoe to larger audiences.
The Backstory
The Groundwork
The first camera started rolling in the spring of 2002. Randy Prywitch, 14 at the time, began work on a short film called Paid Programming with his friend and now producer, Jason Goldstein. It was a crude first effort -- a sloppy satire of late-night infomercials that was destined to die in post-production. But it was something.
So they tried again, and over the next year Randy and Jason created a handful of short films. Some of them worked out great. Some of them didn't, and they never received a wide audience. But these projects gave the filmmakers the experience that shaped their future as the founders and creative leaders of Be The Shoe Productions.
The Beginning
In 2006, Be The Shoe Productions came back —- big. Writer/Director Randy Prywitch, with the assistance of Producer Jason Goldstein, created Bad Day, their first succesful movie. The 26-minute wonder met local acclaim.
One year later, the filmmakers set their sights on a far more ambitious project: American Gothic. This feature-length drama told an edgy, original story about teenage love and loss of innocence. After a lengthy debate about whether the 100-page script could be brought to life, Be The Shoe filmed American Gothic over the course of the summer.
The film premiered at Plaza Frontenac in a sold-out theater. When the credits rolled, the audience turned to the back and gave the creators a standing ovation. Before the night was over, Jason and Randy had plans for distribution and additional screenings.
Rising Stars
In the months that followed, Be The Shoe Productions took off with full force. On November 9, American Gothic made its Columbia debut before an audience of 200 people. They released Tessler Pessler, followed by The Girlfriend Claire, a short film which won Best Comedy at the Silver Screen Film Festival.
By this point, the group was preparing to make second feature film. Their goal: to raise the bar with better cameras, clearer audio, improved lighting, an independent soundtrack, and a strong, well-written script with a compelling storyline and interesting, relatable characters. And so, with new equipment, an expanded cast and crew, and a big stack of HDV tapes, Salad Daze went into production in May of 2008.
The filmmakers completed post-production six months later, and after a long and difficult search for a premiere venue, they settled on a gamble. They booked the Missouri Theatre in Columbia for April 11, Easter weekend, started advertising, and held their breath.
On the day of the show the cast rolled into town, and the producers paced the floor. But as the final hour ticked away, a line formed in front of the box office. When the lights dimmed, and the crew stepped onstage, they looked out upon Salad Daze's first audience: 150 people.
Some of them had seen American Gothic, some of them had no idea what to expect. It didn't matter. Salad Daze blew them away, and when the credits rolled, the room echoed with applause.
Moving Forward
The world was starting to notice these "Shoe" people. The filmmakers found themselves talking to reporters from NBC, NPR, and local newspapers. People the crew had never met before were talking about their movies.
And Be The Shoe showed no sign of slowing down. As Salad Daze won entry into it's first film festival (The St. Louis Filmmaker Showcase), the filmmakers started discussing their next move.
Timing was a problem. Traditionally, Be The Shoe shot its features over the summer, but the core cast and crew was on the verge of graduating college. There were no more summers left. So they settled on something bolder.
After six months of planning, the crew launched into production of their third feature: Loss For Words. The catch? They were shooting the film over winter break, with only 25 days of production. They had new equipment that gave them more visual polish and flexibility, a small, dedicated cast, and a well-crafted script that took advantage of the winter environment. For a next four weeks, the cast and crew worked 12-hour days, often filming in bitter cold, trying new concepts and techniques to raise the bar once more.
Loss For Words wrapped in mid-January and is currently in post-production.
Of course, this is just the beginning...
Be The Shoe at the Salad Daze Premiere.
The original Shoemen: Jason Goldstein, Randy Prywitch, Jamie Prywitch, Brian Schlansky, and Dann Michelson.
The crew of American Gothic at Plaza Frontenac on the night of the premiere.
American Gothic returns to the big screen in Columbia, MO.
Executive Producer Jason Goldstein and Writer/Director Randy Prywitch at the St. Louis show of Salad Daze.
The cast and crew on the set of Loss For Words.
