An Interview with Ray Crew

Ray Crew has been a storyteller for many years and his current project starts the next chapter of his journey

Ray Crew is a writer, director, actor and filmmaker. He got his start when he was nine years old with a Brownie 8mm camera. After discovering Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock a few years, later, he was hooked on the idea of telling stories.

Over the years, he has achieved his storytelling in commercials, television, news, corporate projects, and documentaries. Along the way he has done both theater and film. He’s written more than 15 plays during that time. His current film, The End of the Run, opens a new chapter in the life of Ray Crew.

INFLUX: What are you currently working on that you can share with us?

RAY: I have several projects in the works. I’m putting the finishing touches on a new screenplay called Miranda’s Way which will be in production later this year. I’m also directing Possum Pictures second project, Loveliest of Trees which begins principal photography in August and is scheduled for release in December.

INFLUX: What are your hopes for your current project?

RAY: I’ve been living with The End of the Run for twenty years. It began as a one act play that won a couple of festivals back in 2004. People encouraged me to add a second act but I couldn’t figure out how.

Then, a couple of years ago, ironically inspired by the amazingly talented actors in the Delaware theatrical community I realized that the The End of the Run wasn’t a play after all, it was a movie. Now that it’s done and has had it’s sold out theatrical premiere I certainly hope it finds the largest audience possible. It’s entered in five festivals so far … fingers crossed.

Additionally, The End of the Run is the film that launched Possum Pictures, a new production company fueled by the talent, energy and dedication of people who have spent most of their lives on stages and are now inspired by the screen.

INFLUX: I’d love to hear more about the play. What can you tell us about the experience of bringing this to life on stage first?

RAY: While I had written for the stage before, The End of the Run marked the first time someone else directed my work. I met with her and the actors she cast before they began rehearsals and some of the questions they asked really made me think. For example, they wanted to know who I was in the story. I had never thought about that before. I think they expected me to say Billy, but my immediate response was Angela. She’s more like me than any other character. After finishing the tale twenty years later I still think that. After that meeting I didn’t see the cast again until I watched them perform onstage. It was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Half of me felt like I was seeing a play I knew nothing about, and the other half felt like I was standing naked in front of the audience. Some members of that original cast have followed the progress of the film and they’ve been very supportive of the project.

INFLUX: After this multi-decade journey, where does The End of the Run go next?

RAY: There are two ways to answer this question…where does the film go? And where does the story go? As for the film, it had a very successful theatrical premiere thanks to enthusiasm and support of my partners at Possum Point Players. It’s been entered in five festivals so far with many more to follow. Like any filmmaker I hope it finds the widest audience possible and I hope they find something in the story that touches their hearts. As for the story, yes, I left the door open for a sequel. I can’t help thinking about Maureen and what impact her mother’s morally ambiguous choice will have on her life. One thing is certain, when The Narrator said, “the work goes on” she meant it.

INFLUX: You’ve mentioned how personal this was to you. Is there any more you can tell us about the personal journey you went on to finish this?

RAY: Since you asked, here’s the whole story. In early 2004 I’d been cast in the role of Dr. Lyman for a production of William Inge’s Bus Stop. The Dr. Lyman character wasn’t included in the film starring Marilyn Monroe as a chanteuse being pursued by a rambunctious cowboy. Dr. Lyman was left out of the film because he was too dark for Hollywood in the 50’s. He’s a failed English professor, alcoholic and pedophile. He’s the most challenging character I have ever played.

As I struggled to find his humanity the director kept telling me his character had no humanity … that he was just a monster. As rehearsals went on I became more and more depressed, questioning why the hell I was doing what I was doing. Driving home one night the song “Waters of March” came on the radio. It’s a Brazilian song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and rather than tell a story it presents a series of seemingly disjointed images and phrases.

One of them is “A sliver of glass, a life, the sun, a knife, a death, the end of the run” For reasons known only to my imagination that series of lines sparked a synapse somewhere and my current plight merged with images of my dead first love and the plot literally fell into my head. The rest, as they say is history.

INFLUX: You mentioned you wore many hats to complete The End of the Run. Was there a particular role you found particularly rewarding when you didn’t expect it to be?

RAY: I’ve been editing as long as I’ve been making films. From my days in $300 an hour postproduction rooms to learning the magic of Final Cut Pro I always valued the finishing process but taking on the editing of a full length feature completely on my own was a whole new experience.

It forced me to take my game to a whole new level. I learned how to do many new things out of sheer necessity, like rescuing bad audio tracks and doing real color balancing. I also learned that those many hours alone in the little room staring at my work on the screen were the most enjoyable part of the whole process for me.

INFLUX: What have been your greatest challenges as an indie filmmaker?

RAY: With this particular project my greatest challenge was wearing many hats and trying to wear them all well. Being the writer, director, cinematographer and editor of a film may sound like an auteur’s dream but that dream can become a nightmare sometimes.

I think my greatest challenge going forward will be continuing to create and attract original scripts that are compelling but that can be produced within reasonable budgets. What I don’t want to become is a film maker who spends more time raising money than making films.

INFLUX: What has been your most significant accomplishment as a filmmaker?

RAY: The End of Run is certainly one of my most significant accomplishments. But, no less an accomplishment is the unique partnership it created between a theater company (Possum Point Players) and our new film company, (Possum Pictures) From the earliest days of film, the theater and the movies have inspired, challenged and contributed to each other. Possum Pictures gives me and my colleagues the opportunity to carry those tradition forward. It also presents an opportunity for me to teach a craft I’ve been learning and re-learning all my life.

INFLUX: Can you tell us a little more about your upcoming projects, Miranda’s Way and Loveliest Trees? What they are each about? Anything notable about them? Timelines?

RAY: Loveliest of Trees is the touching story of a disillusioned college English professor and the students he encounters during a mandatory summer session. One of those students, his oldest, teaches him and the rest of the class a lesson about life and relationships that changes all their lives. It was written by Tony Gerdes who played Billy in The End of the Run and I’m looking forward to bringing it to the screen.

We’re casting it now, plan to begin principal photography this fall and release it early next year. Miranda’s Way is a story based on my early career in community mental health and the sanity I encountered in the people society labelled as crazy. It’s still very much a work in progress. My next project after (or contemporaneous) with Loveliest of Trees is adapting another one of my plays for the screen. I wrote and produced Sherlock Holmes and the Avenging Angels in 2018. It’s historical fiction that portrays the famous consulting detective in 1899 as he is drawn into a case that involves the assassinations of Lincoln and McKinley, the rise of Emma Goldman and of course the machinations of Dr. Moriarty.

But it’s more than an historical whodunit. Along the way the story takes a deep dive into Holmes past, his deepest fears, his addiction and his friendship with Dr. Watson. The story seems more relevant and worth telling to me now than it did six years ago.

INFLUX: Tell us about some of your past projects and where we can watch them if they’re available.

RAY: Most of my original entertainment projects were realized on the stage. And, while I’ve produced hundreds of hour of film and video, up until now it’s been in the service of clients. But my greatest projects are in my future.

INFLUX: What goals to you have for yourself moving forward?

RAY: When we started Possum Pictures our goal was to produce at least one, full length feature a year but we’ve had such an outpouring of enthusiasm and creativity I think we’ll accomplish far more. My personal goals moving forward are to teach the art & craft of film and to keep telling my stories on the screen until I have nothing left to say.

INFLUX: What advice would you give to your younger self just starting out?

RAY: Say yes more than you say no. The most unlikely roads can take you to the most remarkable places.

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