ON THE SET: Close-Up on Club-Kid Life With "Party Monster"
by Eugene Hernandez
(indieWIRE: 06.21.02) -- It is day 19 of 25 on the set of "Party Monster" as co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, working on their first feature, are pacing around the tight set -- a small apartment in a decaying tenement building on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The duo chat casually with a few key crew members in the cramped living room set, considering a few options for a dining table that will be the site of a holiday dinner scene. After making their decisions, actors Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Dylan McDermott and Wilmer Valderrama are called in to block the scene. Producer Ed Pressman pops in at one point to survey the set and pay his respects to cast and crew before a break for lunch. Key crew offer indieWIRE a behind-the-scenes look at the New York indie production as the afternoon progresses.

"Party Monster," a new film about legendary club kid Michael Alig, wraps principle photography in Manhattan this week. Macaulay Culkin stars in the lead role, with Seth Green on board as celebutante James St. James. The film, adapted from St. James' book, "Disco Bloodbath," is being directed by doc filmmakers Bailey and Barbato, with Killer Films on board as producer of the film."

Ultimately, this movie may be truer than the doc," co-director Bailey told indieWIRE last week, referring to the non-fiction version of the story that he and co-director Barbato debuted at Sundance in 1998. Calling the doc "invaluable research" for this feature, Bailey explained that while the filmmakers were limited by the actual words of those they interviewed in the doc version, the narrative film gives them the chance to collapse events and dialogue into scenes that capture the true essence of the club-kid life and the tragic events surrounding the Michael Alig story. "Everyone has their version of these stories," added Barbato, echoing the feeling that there are so many renditions of the outrageous life of Alig and his band of club kids.

Alig is an infamous downtown New York figure who rose to the top of the underground club scene (at places like Tunnel and the Limelight) as a prolific promoter in the '90s. Yet, his world collapsed after he began to brag about murdering his drug dealer, Angel Melendez, and the victim's dismembered body was found in the East River.

Offering his own take on the look of the picture, Bailey intends to capture the "hyper-reality" of the club kid's existence with layering technique. He added that the look of the effect evokes the work of painters Pierre et Gilles. "I haven't seen anything like it before," added cinematographer Maniaci.

The low-budget movie has been in development for years. Bailey and Barbato backed James St. James as the writer of "Disco Bloodbath" (the book was published in 1999), intending to someday tackle a narrative version of the story. Brad Simpson developed the project at Killer Films and the project was jumpstarted about two years ago when colleague Jon Marcus sold the filmmakers on making the movie on video. Sofia Sondervan brought the movie to Ed Pressman and Content Film joined on last year to put up financing for the movie along with Fortissimo Film Sales.

"I am so glad that we are shooting it this way," producer Marcus told indieWIRE, referring to the decision to make the movie on video. Reflecting on the picture during a rare quiet moment, sitting on the sidewalk outside the Ridge St. location, "This is not a club movie, its an intimate buddy movie." Pausing for a moment, Marcus brightened, laughing, "I mean, it's a period costume drama!"