Tinseltown (1997)

In Hollywood it's all about who you know, and the only person two friends know is a serial killer.

Director:

Tony Spiridakis

Writers:

Tony Spiridakis (play), Shem Bitterman (play),

Stars:

Arye Gross, Joe Pantoliano, Ron Perlman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arye Gross	...	Max
Joe Pantoliano	...	Arnie
Ron Perlman	...	Cliff
Kristy Swanson	...	Nikki Randall
Tom Wood	...	Tiger
John Considine	...	Wolfie
David Dukes	...	Jake
Nicole Hansen	...	Eugenia
Mark Neal	...	First A.D.
Nichole Pelerine	...	Opera Singer
Rebecca Gray	...	Artist's Model
Bryn Pryor	...	Cockney Musician (as Bryn Prior)
Ron Thomson	...	Policeman
Hershey Felder	...	Piano Player
Saleem	...	Belly Dancer

Storyline

Two down-and-out Hollywood screenwriters living together in a self-storage facility suspect that the man who rents space next to them is the infamous Costume Killer--a serial murderer who stalks the streets of Los Angeles decked out in ridiculous rented outfits. Using their neighbor's misdeeds for inspiration, the two friends desperately try to write a hit screenplay... at any cost.

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Plot Keywords:

hollywood | serial killer | costume | christmas | storage | 

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Taglines:

A plot to commit the act of moviemaking.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Self Storage

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$517 (USA) (22 January 1999)

Gross:

$3,169 (USA) (5 February 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tonik Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The picture of Ron Perlman that Max and Tiger shows to people when they are looking for him, is from 1990, when Perlman acted in "Self Storage".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max: [in phone booth] Ted! Are you home? Ted! Are you there Ted? It's Max and Tiger on the prowl. Ya home? You out drinking, you waste product? What, are you screening your calls? Ted. Ted. Ted!
Tiger: I'm going.
Max: No wait, hold it! Hold it! Hold it! One more. Just. Just. Just stay.

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Connections

References Natural Born Killers (1994)

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Soundtracks

"The Man With the Bag"
Music and Lyrics by Hal Stanley, Irving Taylor and Dudley Brooks
Performed by Kay Stark
Courtesy of Capital Records

User Reviews

It's time to make Hollywood squeaky clean.

A broke would be screenwriter and his would be agent (Tom Wood and Arye Gross) are forced to live in a self storage facility run by an eccentric and intimidating manager (Ron Perlman) whom they come to believe is the serial murderer that is terrorizing the city, the "Costume Killer" (so named because, after injecting his victims with Windex, he dresses them in silly costumes). They convince him his life story would make a great film and gather together a group of misfit wannabe film makers (John Considine, Joe Pantoliano, Kristy Swanson) and discover that the art of movie making can be murder.

There is more to this movie but it was unfortunately left on the editing room floor and it shows (rumor is the studio wanted a "lighter" dark comedy). Our loss (and the actors, who all do fine jobs and deserve better) as this has the makings of an exceptional black comedy but only rises to mediocre cute.

If you're a Ron Perlman fan this is absolutely worth getting just for his performance. His comedic timing is excellent and he has the chance to do some really great impressions (he wasn't kidding when he said on the Hellboy movie commentary that he needed an intervention when he gets into Jerry Lewis mode). He's just simply fun to watch in this one.

David Dukes also shines in a two-scener (but pivotal) role.