'Chasing the Blues' is a movie that should be filmed in Chicago â and so it was
Guilfoile â Smith
But  it  was not  as some might have come to believe  born in a Grant Park festival or a North Side club.  It  came up from the Mississippi Delta and was raised in Memphis before exploding in the smokey small South and West side bars of Chicago.
The film was born in 2007 when  Smith  was given a copy of a Guilfoile short story titled âO Death Where Is Thy Sting?â It was contained in a collection titled âChicago Bluesâ (Bleak House  2007). Edited by Libby Fischer Hellman with an introduction written by me  it contained 21 stories. The man who reviewed the book for the Tribune  Dick Adler  called Guilfoileâs story âspooky.â
âI thought the story was great â says  Smith   a longtime creative director for advertising agencies such as Element 79 and Leo Burnett and the co-founder in 2009 of a film/commercial production outfit called Fulton Market Films (fultonmarketfilms.com) with John Fromstein  this filmâs executive producer and the man who gave  Smith  Guilfoileâs short story). âI immediately saw it as a feature film.â
He called Guilfoile  whom he had met before  since  Guilfoile  too toiled in the ad business before devoting himself to writing full time  and asked  âWant to collaborate on a script?â
âI was flattered â says  Guilfoile . âThough there has been some movie interest and deals involving my novels (2005âs âCast of Shadowsâ was followed by 2010âs âThe Thousandâ) but no one had ever asked me to collaborate on writing a script. I was excited to work with Scott. The structure of a screenplay is so different. This was a great learning experience for me.â
Happy with their collaboration â even though âwe must have rewritten the ending seven times â says  Guilfoile â Smith  began the arduous process of getting it on screen.
The script sat around and was passed around for years. âI had almost forgotten there was a script when  Smith  called and said we might get the movie made â says  Guilfoile . But eventually the project took flight  getting not only attention but  more crucially  financing and a couple of names  not huge name but names nonetheless: Jon Lovitz and Steve Guttenberg.
âYou donât want to use actors just for their names but it helps â says  Smith .
âHe was awesome â says  Guilfoile .
âHe was very serious about the role â says  Smith . âAnd he was filled with good ideas.â
Though  Smith  had been a top-three finalist in the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck TV competition âProject Greenlightâ (projectgreenlight.com) for a comedy short  he  directed in 2007   his  only previous feature length work had been the delightful 2009âs âBeing Bucky â about the seven people who play the University of Wisconsinâs mascot.
âIt was a very tight schedule and with 30 people or so in the cast and crew sometimes a bit of chaotic  but I couldnât be more pleased â said  Smith .
 Guilfoile  was reluctant to visit during shooting.
âI did visit the set for one day â  he  says. âBut that was it. I thought that because of my days working in advertising that I would know just enough to be really annoying.â
In the meantime   Guilfoile  is working with producers/writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan of âGreyâs Anatomyâ success on developing  his  novel âCast of Shadowsâ into a TV series.
But  it  was not  as some might have come to believe  born in a Grant Park festival or a North Side club.  It  came up from the Mississippi Delta and was raised in Memphis before exploding in the smokey small South and West side bars of Chicago.
The film was born in 2007 when  Smith  was given a copy of a Guilfoile short story titled âO Death Where Is Thy Sting?â It was contained in a collection titled âChicago Bluesâ (Bleak House  2007). Edited by Libby Fischer Hellman with an introduction written by me  it contained 21 stories. The man who reviewed the book for the Tribune  Dick Adler  called Guilfoileâs story âspooky.â
âI thought the story was great â says  Smith   a longtime creative director for advertising agencies such as Element 79 and Leo Burnett and the co-founder in 2009 of a film/commercial production outfit called Fulton Market Films (fultonmarketfilms.com) with John Fromstein  this filmâs executive producer and the man who gave  Smith  Guilfoileâs short story). âI immediately saw it as a feature film.â
He called Guilfoile  whom he had met before  since  Guilfoile  too toiled in the ad business before devoting himself to writing full time  and asked  âWant to collaborate on a script?â
âI was flattered â says  Guilfoile . âThough there has been some movie interest and deals involving my novels (2005âs âCast of Shadowsâ was followed by 2010âs âThe Thousandâ) but no one had ever asked me to collaborate on writing a script. I was excited to work with Scott. The structure of a screenplay is so different. This was a great learning experience for me.â
Happy with their collaboration â even though âwe must have rewritten the ending seven times â says   [TGT] began the arduous process of getting  [TGT]  on screen.
The script sat around and was passed around for years. âI had almost forgotten there was a script when   [TGT] called and said we might get the movie made â says  Guilfoile . But eventually the project took flight  getting not only attention but  more crucially  financing and a couple of names  not huge name but names nonetheless: Jon Lovitz and Steve Guttenberg.
âYou donât want to use actors just for their names but it helps â says  Smith .
âHe was awesome â says  Guilfoile .
âHe was very serious about the role â says   [TGT]  . âAnd he was filled with good ideas.â
Though   [TGT]   had been a top-three finalist in the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck TV competition âProject Greenlightâ (projectgreenlight.com) for a comedy short   [TGT]   directed in 2007    [TGT]   only previous feature length work had been the delightful 2009âs âBeing Bucky â about the seven people who play the University of Wisconsinâs mascot.
âIt was a very tight schedule and with 30 people or so in the cast and crew sometimes a bit of chaotic  but I couldnât be more pleased â said   [TGT]  .
 Guilfoile  was reluctant to visit during shooting.
âI did visit the set for one day â  he  says. âBut that was it. I thought that because of my days working in advertising that I would know just enough to be really annoying.â
In the meantime   Guilfoile  is working with producers/writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan of âGreyâs Anatomyâ success on developing  his  novel âCast of Shadowsâ into a TV series.