The Strip (2009) - Filmed in Chicago - Directed by Jameel Khan

When you think of independent films, you envision ominous avant garde posters evoking dark images, people dressed in black who have unkempt hair and talk in hushed tones before and after the movie, sipping cappuccino and breaking down the thematic elements of their favorite film with serious intent.

It is true that many independent films are off the beaten path, but not all. In the middle of this stereotypical depiction is “The Strip”, an independent film that offers comic relief from more brooding offerings. It will open on December 4th in eight metropolitan areas including the Landmark Theater in Chicago. It is the creation of first time director Jameel Khan and he acknowledges that his film (gasp) may have commercial appeal.

“It’s tricky when you’re making an independent film that’s a mainstream film,” Jameel explains. “For example, some of the other movies playing at the Landmark right now are The Maze, The Road, The Serious Man and here we are, a relatively light comedy.” But The Strip has already far outpaced Jameel’s expectations since his original intent was simply to make a close to no budget film with his friends.

“I was writing and directing some sketches in Chicago. And to be honest, I was going to shoot this really, really low budget movie with some friends, but, we connected with some people out in California, and there was some interest in the script, so it kind of just started getting a little bit bigger.” Anticipation for The Strip is a wider release. “Even if we don’t go fully wide, we’ll expand maybe step by step in January and see how far we go.”

IMDB has a budget estimate of 1.2 million for The Strip. All in all, quite an accomplishment for a person who was writing comedy sketches in Chicago. Even Jameel is at a loss to explain the turn of events. “I wish I could tell you how it happened. I don’t know exactly what happened.”

Read the full interview with Jameel Khan on Examiner.com:

Is it possible you’ll get a wider release if there is a good reaction?

Jameel - I certainly hope so. It all depends on … it’s not all in our hands. Other theaters need to want it. The box office has to be there. There’s no set number. It’s all very fluid in distribution. But if we were successful in these cities, we’ll release wide. We’re hoping to release wide in January or February. We’ve already got, kind of how Paranormal (Activity) did, some demand. Even if we don’t go fully wide, we’ll expand maybe step by step in January and see how far we go.

Do you have a FaceBook page?

Jameel - Yes we do. Are you asking me personally or the film?

For the movie.

Jameel - Yeah, we do.

From what I gather, that’s how Paranormal Activity got a lot of their activity.

Jameel - Yeah. I know they used something called “eventful” as well, which is where they demanded it. I’m not sure exactly what they did. But whatever they did, it obviously worked.

Did you go to the festivals first?

Jameel - No we didn’t go to festivals. We thought about it and realized that Sundance is about the only one that really raises the value of your movie. Unless you want to put all the festival selection stickers on your cover, it doesn’t actually raise the value of the movie, it costs you a lot of money. So you know, Sundance and a couple others are worth it, but ours is more of a mainstream movie. I don’t know how Sundance would deal with our movie. So, we decided to just forego that and [write] up our own marketing plan and distribute it through True Indie. Once we decided we weren’t really selling, we didn’t think we would really get any value in selling it. We’d just have a better chance of getting our money back doing a partnership with something like True Indie. We didn’t do the festival circuit.

It’s a mainstream film that has the potential … and festivals just don’t seem to gravitate toward those.

Jameel - It’s tricky when you’re making an independent film that’s a mainstream film. For example, some of the other movies playing at the Landmark right now are The Maze, The Road, The Serious Man and here we are, a relatively light comedy.

It seems to be along the lines of Office Space, is that right?

Jameel - That’s definitely one of the ones we get a lot. We get Office Space, 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office and Clerks. We just had our press screening and audiences have compared it to all of those films.

This is your first directing of a feature film. How did you so quickly gather all of the pieces together? What did you do prior to this?

Jameel - I was writing and directing some sketches in Chicago. And to be honest, I was going to shoot this really, really low budget movie with some friends, but, we connected with some people out in California, and there was some interest in the script, so it kind of just started getting a little bit bigger. I wish I could tell you how it happened. I don’t know exactly what happened. The next thing I know …

Did you write the screenplay completely before you started the project?

Jameel - Yes, a couple of different times. Originally when I was going to do it extremely low budget, it all took place in a single store. And now it’s bigger than that. It’s still a small budget movie.

So as you went along, people started getting attached to it? Different actors or producers?

Jameel - No, actually the interest was on the production side. We didn’t actually go to actors until I had revised the script and we had already committed to a bigger budget at that point. I brought my dad in as a producer. He owns a glove company and I thought he would make a good producer. We just started out and found some way to get the funds. Ultimately we decided that we should fund it through our sources and banks. We didn’t get the cast until pre-production, because it’s hard to get a cast for a first time director. You know, name cast. Once we got Dave Foley, things were a little bit different.

The people that you got in the film all have fairly long resumes. Some of them are first time actors, but a lot of them have been around for awhile.

Jameel - There was an L.A. group and a Chicago group.

Who was in the Chicago group?

Jameel - Most the day players were Chicago improvisers and one of the main actors.

Were you part of that group?

Jameel - Me and one of the main actors were in an improv group together and a sketch group together. But there were various people I knew and had seen in Chicago improv that I love.

So basically you act, and you write and now you direct.

Jameel - Saying I act is a little bit of a stretch. I took improv to become a better writer. I did it and I wasn’t terrible at it, but that was never my intention.

Are you happy it didn’t go super low budget?

Jameel - I’m absolutely thankful that we got a bigger budget. We’ll get much more exposure. I think with a smaller budget, there’s not any real advantages other than I might have been slightly less intimidated during those first couple of days.

Did you have to scramble to get people on set to do lighting and sound?

Jameel - No. We shot it in the suburbs of Chicago and we got in good with some great people like Pete Biagi who was our cinematographer. He shoots so much in Chicago that the crew kind of fell into place when he was on board.

Which suburb?

Jameel - Glendale Heights, and then we shot on Lake Michigan, the northside of the city.

Where was the strip mall that you shot?

Jameel - I believe that was Glendale Heights, mostly an abandoned strip mall. I hope I’m getting the suburb right. We were all in that area and I can’t remember which was which. It was three years ago.

It’s a long process. So this is the culmination.

Jameel - Absolutely.

It’s great if you can do family financing because you have total control.

Jameel - We were told we were crazy for doing that, that we should risk other people’s money and we could have, but I’m glad we didn’t.

How long was the shoot?

Jameel - 21 days.

Did the L.A. actors come to you in Chicago?

Jameel - I auditioned them out here in California and we flew them to Chicago for the shoot.

Have you relocated to Los Angeles?

Jameel - Yes. I actually had relocated to Los Angeles one year prior to the shoot. I came back to Chicago to film.

Are you from Chicago?

Jameel - I lived in Chicago for four years. I went to IU. So Chicago is kind of my second home. I’m not really from anywhere, I’ve moved around a lot. Atlanta or Cincinnati is where I’m from.

It’s great to talk to you and I wish you a lot of luck.

Jameel - Thank you.