Behind the Scenes

The idea for A Long Time Filming came largely from Michael Martin and Chris Cairo. Daryl had always enjoyed behind-the-scenes documentaries and the elaborate making-of features that filled DVDs, but rarely had the patience to assemble one at feature length himself. Dead Right II changed that. The production had been such an undertaking, particularly by Dollars & Donuts standards at the time, that documenting the effort felt justified.

For the documentary’s main interviews, Daryl, Michael, Cairo, and Ray Revello gathered in the garage of Michael’s parents’ house. A print of the Dead Right II poster was positioned behind them at Michael’s insistence. He liked the idea of the four filmmakers sitting together in front of the artwork as though they were on some kind of press tour.

It was not necessarily how Daryl would have staged the interviews himself, but he liked the result. It gave the documentary a slightly more official air than the circumstances probably deserved, which was part of the fun.

The harder part was getting everyone comfortable enough to talk naturally. Daryl in particular was not yet accustomed to sitting in front of a camera and discussing the work seriously. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s was kept nearby to loosen everyone up. It worked possibly a bit too well.

The finished documentary ultimately ran forty-two minutes, only seconds longer than Dead Right II itself. For a production that had often seemed impossibly large while they were making it, that felt strangely appropriate. The story of making the movie had become almost as substantial as the movie.