Break a
Leg is an independently produced sitcom, released
online through various video hosting and user profile websites such
as
MySpace and
YouTube. The story
revolves around a sitcom writer named David Penn (Yuri Baranovsky),
who struggles to get his new show,
Groommates, produced and aired. In order
to do so, he must overcome neurotic network executives, a deluded
director, and a kaleidoscopic host of actors ranging from a porn
star to a mime. All the while, a dark dramatic tension lurks
throughout the comedic happenings, as it is revealed in the first
scene that David will eventually be murdered.
The stylistic
elements of the show are reminiscent of a documentary film, with
omniscient voice over narration, frequent cutaways to fake file
footage and photos, and location shooting.
The show was
written by Yuri Baranovsky and his brother Vlad Baranovsky. Yuri is
an accomplished writer, known well for his plays
11
Variations on Friar John’s Failure and
Back to Eden. Vlad is the lead
singer/songwriter and co-founder of the band
Fall in
March.
Origins
Break a Leg first
began as an entry in the FX/MySpace.com
It’s
Always Sunny in Philadelphia contest. Inspired by
the origins of the tv series of the same name, the contest was
designed to attract ideas for new shows, with the prize of $50,000
to fund the creation of a full length pilot episode, and a possible
contract for the series with FX. While
Break a Leg did not
receive much recognition by the judging panel, it was an instant
hit with the fans, and quickly became an internet phenomenon.
Support continued to grow long after the contest ended, and lead to
the independent production of a full length pilot
episode.
Synopsis
BREAK A LEG is the story of
DAVID PENN, a writer who just got his first sitcom deal.
GROOMMATES, his show about three ex-grooms living with their two
ex-wives, replaces the previous hit, SWAMBLERS – a rollicking story
of gambling cowboy swingers roughing it in the Wild West,
Swambler-style. The writer/creator died – which is good news for
David, because now he gets his own show.
Besides the regular
trials and tribulations that come with shooting a sitcom, David has
one other problem – he’s going to die at the end of the season.
How? That remains to be seen. Why? That’s another important piece
of information that David has yet to figure out. But as he narrates
his story from beginning to end, one fact remains -- he will die,
in the storage room, with a gun to his head and the sounds of a
fake laugh track in his ears.
Will GROOMMATES be a hit? Will he
win the hand of the feminist
ex-SWAMBLER-turned-secretary-turned-GROOMMATE? Will he get the
respect he deserves from the likes of Jennifer John Bradley, the
director and Sebastian Windlethorpe III, the producer? Will Andy
Corvell, the network head who has never actually been seen, keep
GROOMMATES on the air? And finally, will David, in fact, survive
this ordeal?
A show not only about show business, but
relationships, fame, entertainment, and death – BREAK A LEG is a
mix of The Office and Arrested Development with a bit of murder
thrown in, just for good measure.
Characters
The plot of
Break a Leg follows the production of the fictional sitcom
GroomMates.
David Penn (Yuri Baranovsky) is new to
the wild world of sitcom writing. He is often manupulated,
sometimes bullied, and always confounded by the people he must work
with for the show. He is a sympathetic underdog, trying to survive
the showbiz world without getting dragged into it himself. However,
the allure of Amber Turnipseed (Alexis Boozer) makes it hard for
him to stay focused. <br>Chase Cougar(Justin Morrison)
-- a celebrity of sorts due to his stint on Swamblers -- Chase's
significant resume also includes such hits as, C**K WARS, **** GOES
TO TOWN, and THE C***TEASE FALCON. A nice guy, always ready to lend
a hand, Chase often makes those around him uncomfortable with his
throwing around of adult film titles -- to him, however, sex is as
natural as Swambling.<br>Amber Turnipseed (Alexis Boozer)
-- Amber was also on Swamblers, though she, unlike Chase, was
traumatized by the experience. She's a strong woman, a feminist
and, as rumor has it, possibly a Communist to boot.
<br>Francesca Scala (Daniela DiIorio) -- Francesca Scala
wouldn't hurt a fly unless that fly said something that bothered
her -- then she would destroy it and its family. A nice girl with a
temper, Francesca has a complicated, mysterious past that has
something to do with the circus, and certainly something to do with
miming. She is a huge fan of Swamblers and an even bigger fan of
Amber Turnipseed.<br>Mint (Dustin Toshiyuki) -- Mint is
the boom pole operator -- though he isn't sure how or why that
happened. <br>Claudio Ciccone (Daniel George) -- a tough
guy, Claudio is more suited for an action or mafia film than a
sitcom -- he takes what he can get, however, even if it means not
being able to carry a gun in-character. Claudio has never really
seen Swamblers -- he has, however, seen all the other films Chase
Cougar's made, and he absolutely loves them -- almost as much as he
hates mimes.<br>Humphrey Franklin Archibald (Daniel
George) -- bearing extreme similarities to Claudio, Humphrey
claims, nevertheless, to be an actual person. And what a person he
is -- depressed, filled with angst about the world, Humphrey
Franklin Archibald is possibly the saddest man alive.<br>
Jennifer John Bradly (Chad Yarish) -- the director of Groommates
and Swamblers before it, Jennifer John Bradley is as director as
director can be -- from the beret on his head to the apple in his
hands. Jennifer (it's Scandinavian) has a mysterious past as well
-- and all that is known about him is his father's death at the
hands of the Writer's Guild -- killed by a writer's apprentice.
<br> Sebastian Windlethorpe III (Skip Emerson) -- the
Producer of Groommates and Swamblers before it, Sebastian
singlehandedly convinced Andy Corvell to do Groommates -- though,
not much is known about why that is, exactly. Sebastian used to be
the richest men in Hollywood -- until the Guild Wars happened. Now
he is near ruin and hoping to use Groommates as his chance to get
back on top. <br>Larry Gibbons (Flynn Kelleher)-- Not much
is known about Larry -- except that he was hired by Andy Corvell to
be David's bodyguard and assistant, and that sometime at the end of
the season, he will kill David Penn.<br>Crew Guy (Dashiell
Reinhardt) -- A crew guy with a definate dislike of
David.<br>Andy Corvell (Eric Bergmann) -- Andy Corvell is
the President of CNC -- the network that picked up Groommates. The
network is huge and Andy Corvell is partly the reason for it. With
no one seeing him for the last fifteen years, Andy runs his company
using phones, MySpace, and other sources. Andy is one of the most
powerful men in Hollywood, and early pictures of him show a
distinct similarity to Satan.<br>Jezebel (Laura Secour) --
Andy Corvell's assistant.<br>Anna Cinnamon (Jessica
Robles) -- Fan of Swamblers and specifically, Chase Cougar, Anna
Cinnamon owns thousands of copies of the Swambler DVD and is a huge
part of Swambler's profitability. <br>Laugh Track Man
(Duane Schirmer) -- His identity is yet to be
known.<br>Trivia
No legs were broken in the
filming of this series. Anna Cinnamon, Chase Cougar's biggest
fan, was actually named after real life Anna Cincera, one of
Break a Leg's first and biggest fans. Anna Cinnamon's
cut-away scenes were not part of the original script, but later
added due to unusable sound in the fundraising scene. This is a
false statement. The voice actor who played Andy Corvell also
did the voice for Captain America in a recent Visa check card
commercial. In the storage room scene, Jennifer (Chad Yarish) is
missing his moustache, as the actor had shaved it for a show he was
in. Because time was of the essence, the crew decided to shoot
anyway, and even put in a crack about the moustache (which never
made the final cut). He has his moustache in every other scene.
Jennifer wears a fake moustache in a few later scenes, in part
because it's easier, and in part because of the previously
mentioned fiasco. David and Amber actually kiss in the Pilot,
but the scene was scrapped. The actor who did Andy Corvell's
voice (Erik Bergmann) is an accomplished voice-over actor and
brother of one of the crew/actresses (Hillary Bergmann) -- he did
the entire voice-over in New York and sent it, via the Internet, to
the editors. Yuri Baranovsky (David Penn) and Daniela DiIorio
(Francesca Scala) are actually dating in real life. As is Justin
Morrison (Chase Cougar) and his stalker, Jessica Robles (Anna
Cinnamon.) The whole crew and most of the cast have previously
worked on a film called LIFE NOIR -- written and directed by Yuri
Baranovsky. The film is currently in post-production. Some of
the music was done by a gypsy jazz band in San Francisco called
Hot Club SF. The picture of Stan
Marley was taken by Yuri Baranovsky in an elevator when the actor
was visiting SF from Los Angeles. The actor's name is Claudio
Brescia and had a lead role in both LIFE NOIR and a short made by
the same group for the 48 Hour Film Festival. He will be in the
second episode.Links
The
Break a Leg Official Website The Break a Leg Myspace
Site
Wikis
Search