Q&A; With A.W. Vidmer, director of High Roller
Jon Eaton
March 1st, 2005
I recently had a chance to talk a bit with A.W. Vidmer, the writer/director/producer of High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story. You can see the film on Starz! as well as ordering it when it becomes available on DVD March 15th.
I was going to write this interview into a nice piece about the film when I realized that I had already written a review! There was little reason to write much about the movie, so I decided to present to you my Q&A; session with A.W. and let everyone see what he had to say as is.
Jon: Tell me a little bit about how you got started in filmmaking and your background.
AW: I made a lot of Super 8 films when I was a kid-really pretty ambitious stuff. But somehow I never thought it'd be useful, so I gave up filmmaking for "real work." So I started my career in advertising and corporate communications, and eventually had the opportunity to make some pretty big-budget commercials and industrial films-but it wasn't terribly creative. The 11-year-old filmmaker inside me kept screaming "This sucks! Claymation and stories about your dog are much more fun!" And at a certain point I listened to the voice-and came full circle, I suppose.
J: What got you interested in doing a film about Stu Ungar's life?
A: I got invited to play in a much higher-stakes poker game than I was used to playing-and got killed. So I bought a bunch of poker books, and started noticing sidebars and anecdotes about Stuey. So I started researching, including traveling to Vegas when he was inducted posthumously into the Poker Hall of Fame, playing in tournaments, playing in ring games for three days straight, traveling to New York, and all the while asking about Stuey-and EVERYONE had a story to tell about him... Amazing stories.
J: How did you get interested in poker?
A: I actually started playing poker with my friend's parents when I was about twelve. It was kind of bizarre, in retrospect. My friend's parents were both alcoholics, and they would drag my friend and I in to play 7-stud, 5-draw, Baseball and Chicago while they sat there smoking and drinking at 3 in the afternoon. I loved it, actually. Made me feel grown up.
J: How was working your first movie ever with an actor like Michael Imperioli? Did it make it much easier that you had a veteran in there and not a nobody?
A: Michael is an amazing actor. He was actually best on the first take, and then lost some intensity during retakes. So I would try and spend time rehearsing with the other actors who needed more takes to get up to speed, and bring Michael in when they were ready. We hardly ever did more than two or three takes for anything, which kept us on schedule, too.
J: Where did you film the movie? What locations did you use for the casino shots?
A: All the New York scenes were filmed in the Nashville area, because that was the cheapest thing to do, and we found some great locations that seemed frozen in time there. The Vegas scenes were filmed in Vegas, using Binion's mostly, who were big supporters of the movie, and a bit frozen in time as well. We also used the actual location of the '97 Series on Fremont St., as well as the entrance to the Stardust Casino. The only set was the motel room, which we built in Nashville.
J: What was the hardest part about making your first big film?
A: The money, beginning to end. Getting it, spending what we got wisely, and now trying to get it back. It's a long haul, and it's not for the faint-hearted. So buy the DVD, please!
J: I really enjoyed Imperioli's acting in this movie... he really made me believe he was Ungar. How did he learn the role? What did he use to get inside of Ungar and play the character?
A: Michael actually went to Vegas with Steve Schirripa (who plays Anthony), and spoke with a lot of people who knew Stuey and his mannerisms. He also buried himself in the culture like I did to get the feel of it. In fact, when we were shooting, he said at times he felt like he was "crossing over" in a weird sort of way.
J: What poker players assisted the making of the film?
A: The late Andy Glazer (the "Poker Pundit") was our technical advisor, and we depended on him to make sure we got things right. I know he spoke with a number of people, including Nolan Dalla and Mike Sexton. I also had email conversations with Mike, who was very helpful. Also, Vince Van Patten was and is a big supporter of the film from the outset. Of course, as time went on, we got input from any number of players, but Andy really corralled all that.
J: Are there going to be any special features on the DVD?
A: There's a feature-length commentary from me and Michael and Renee Faia, as well as Vince Van Patten that's really pretty interesting-it gives an insight to just about every scene. There's a music video from Marc Eric, too, who did a lot of the music for the film-excellent musician. And there's other stuff, too, that I'm forgetting....
J: Do you have any other plans to make more movies about the world of poker?
A: Andy was talking to me about one when he died, but other than that, I have no immediate plans. But the poker world is definitely interesting to me, so something may pop up, or flop up, or whatever....
J: Let me ask you, how many times a week do you get told "I have a great idea for a movie..." ?
A: 4,262, on average.
J: Was there anything you learned about Ungar that you chose to withhold from the movie? You don't have to give specifics, obviously...
A: The thing about a character like Stuey is that he generates legends, and it's often difficult to tell fact from fiction. We heard some pretty horrible stories about him that we avoided for a number of reasons. But for me, Stuey represents our struggle to figure out what's important in life, and what makes us who we are. And that's the story we wanted to tell.
J: Thank you for your time, AW!
A: My pleasure, Jon.
