Shoot Me Nicely (Short)
Elias Plagianos’s “Shoot Me Nicely” was created as a pilot for a TV series, and it works best as one. Characters are introduced, and storylines are put in place for a continuing narrative, and it’s certainly an entertaining one. John Behlmann stars as Sean Wheeler, a photographer who recently lost a long-time job at a magazine and has been forced to take paparazzi work to make ends meet. Early on in the film, he is outside with other photographers waiting to catch a glimpse of conservative talk show host Roy Barnes (William Sadler) out on the town. Well, Sean gets the exclusive, and it takes Barnes by surprise, and with his pants down (literally), but while he hopes it will be a boon to his career, it starts a chain reaction of events that will likely result in some twists and turns along the way.
Part of the problem, inherently, with releasing a pilot as a short film is a natural one- by virtue of its structure, it will not be a self-contained story, and a typical conclusion will not be in the cards. That is certainly an issue with “Shoot Me Nicely,” but the film is an enjoyable one to watch, with good performances (especially by Sadler and Linda Hamilton, who plays Wheeler’s agent) and a solid hook of an idea. I don’t know that I would watch more than a few episodes of it, personally, although I would give this story a try to see where it heads, as I can see it going in a couple of interesting directions, but the long-terms prospects, like the short-term idea of a pilot being equivalent to a short film, are not as obvious as one might think. That being said, I was engaged and entertained by the 20 minutes that Plagiano and co. have to offer here.
SHOOT ME NICELY Official Trailer #1 (4K UHD) from espfilms on Vimeo.
