So let's start off by having you introduce yourself and give everyone a little background info so they can get to know Jay Jennings.

I was born in North Hollywood with a Super-8 camera attached to my left hand (since I’m a lefty) and began watching old black and white movies on TV at a very early age. By the time I was 16, I ran the 16mm film club in high school. Later, I went on to Columbia College Of Film and attended The Hollywood Film Institute. After that, I started making short films with a bunch of actor friends of mine and then started to write short stories and ultimately full-length screenplays, all the while, working as a production assistant on studio-made features, such as “Basic Instinct”.


Is Loanshark your first film, or have you done some other projects in the past?

“Loanshark” is my first feature, although I’ve directed a few short films and documentaries.


What inspired you to make this film? So many people sit around wishing they could make a film, but they never do it. What made you finally decide to just go for it.

Since I’m a big fan of old gangster films from the 1930’s and 40’s like “Scarface”, “The Roaring Twenties and “Little Caesar”, as well as, the more modern gangster films such as “Mean Streets”, “Fingers” and “Death Collector”, I decided it was about time to make my own gangster film, but instead of trying to make it grandiose and epic like, “The Godfather” or “Good Fellas”, I went the other direction, attempting to tell a more intimate story about one, lone, money collector and how he goes about collecting debts from all the deadbeats who owe him money.


What led to the decision to do the film in black and white? Was it to give it more of a documentary / day in the life kind of a feel?

Precisely. Plus the fact, “Loanshark” pays homage to various black and white movies of the 1960’s like “Breathless” and “Alphaville”, two classic examples of the French New Wave which were shot in black and white and utilized a “cinema verite/documentary” style which I am very fond of.


While you were going through the writing process, what were some of the things you wanted to convey to the audience about the main character? He really had more than one dimension to him. I mean, he wasn't just a thug. He actually had some people in his life he cared about outside of his world of loansharking and violence.

“Loanshark” combines elements of “Faust”, with a dark edge to it which is mostly found in the tragedies of a Shakespearean play. The lead character, Teddy Greene, is a ruthless, bitter loanshark who does his job very well. He intimidates people and roughs them up until they pay him. The irony of it all is, he’s got a nagging ex-wife, a no-good father, an obnoxious girlfriend, a wise-cracking uncle and an ex-con for a friend who all seem to be hitting “him” up for money as well. It’s a never-ending cycle of anguish, desperation and the yearning for a better life and that’s the paradox of it all. Teddy does what he does in the hope that one day he can just run away from it all, but he can’t, he’s trapped in hell and the exit is slowly closing.


There were a lot of locations in this movie. How much trouble did you have coming up with locations and getting the scenes shot there without the casual observers interfering?

Most of the locations were scouted way in advance to avoid casual observers, nosey police, traffic noise or interference from outside sources. On the other hand, we shot in many places where I “wanted” people walking by and cars driving by, to give “Loanshark” that realistic look.


So many people think you need thousands and thousands of dollars to make a film, but that's not always the case if you're smart about what you're doing and learn how to improvise. What kind of a budget did you have to work with in this film? Did you have any investors / contributors or did you self finance it?

“Loanshark” was completely self-financed without any outside contributions. This was the only way to ensure creative control throughout the whole “production” and “editing” process. In the future, I will definitely be looking for financial backing from outside sources, but for my first feature, I had to cough-up the budget all on my own and it took me about a year to save up the $5,000 it cost to make “Loanshark”.


What kind of equipment (cameras, sound, etc...) did you use in the making of Loanshark?

We used a Sony mini-DV camera with a small lighting kit and sound package. Since we shot alot of “Loanshark” on-the-run, I needed a durable, yet simple camera to shoot all over L.A., sometimes in tight and difficult situations. What kinds of technical problems did you run into during production? Were there any problems that were particularly difficult to overcome? Not really. When you’re shooting “on-the-run” with mostly a small crew, you’re not stuck in one place long enough for anyone, not even a cop, to complain about what you’re doing. We were very lucky.


This film had a huge cast. Where did you find all these people?

Some of the actors were friends of mine who I wanted to showcase, while most of the cast were picked from the 500 submissions I received after placing a casting call in Backstage West magazine.


Did you have any problems with cast members flaking on you and backing out of the film after they had committed to doing it?

Not at all. During the interviewing and audition process, I made sure that all the actors and actresses we cast in the film were fully committed to this project. Once again, I was extremely lucky.


What plans do you have for the film? Any showings, film festivals, etc...?

I plan to submit “Loanshark” to a plethora of big and small film festivals in hopes that it gets screened in front of enthusiastic audiences that are looking for something “new” and “different”. Perhaps down the road, outlets such as HBO, Showtime, Sundance Channel and IFC will show interest in broadcasting it so it can reach a larger audience. Keep your fingers crossed.


What's next on the agenda for you? Do you have plans for another film or one actually in the works at the moment?

Currently, I’m developing my second feature based on an original screenplay of mine entitled, “Dream Factory”. It’s a film-within-a-film about the rise and fall of an independent movie producer who wheels and deals to make it to the top. It’s similar to Robert Altman’s “The Player”, but with a touch of “Pulp Fiction” and “Swimming With Sharks”.


What's the best advice you could give to someone that's about to start working on their first film?

Take a few deep breaths and then dive right in. Expect a lot of sleepless nights, both during the shooting and editing process. Have plenty of coffee ready on the stove. You’ll need it. What do you like to do when you're not making films? I’m also a musician. I compose soundtracks and lots of instrumental music. One never knows when you’ll need it for a film. Is there anything else you'd like to mention before we wrap this up? Life’s too short to sit back and watch the world go by. Decide what you want to do in life and make that your number one priority.


If you'd like to find out more about Loanshark, or to purchase a copy for yourself, you can visit the film's website at http://www.loansharkmovie.com.