The Sisyphus of Niagara: A Dark Comedy's Eternal Struggle

Description

Filmmaker Joe Maggio joins Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider to resurrect The Fall, a dark comedy about a moral Niagara Falls attorney whose life spirals out of control after he commits a terrible sin and is unexpectedly rewarded with everything he ever wanted. The project, originally conceived as an existential drama inspired by Kafka and Joe's vicious, domineering grandmother, almost became Joe’s breakout film during the early 2000s Indie Boom.We are also joined by Tom Hall, Artistic Director of Montclair Film, who lends his expertise as a film festival programmer and "walking encyclopedia of film" to assess the project's concept and casting.Joe shares the incredible saga of The Fall’s near-production: from writing the script on his honeymoon and securing his dream lead, John Turturro, to the painful collapse of the deal. John Turturro perfectly captured the chaos, calling the process like "holding on to the horns of a bull and I'm wearing roller skates".We present Joe with a modern pitch deck for The Fall—complete with Paul Dano as the lead and a hot take from an AI film executive—forcing Joe to confront his “biggest regret” and consider if the bittersweet film that was not made is now ready for its resurrection.Tom Hall's Back Row Manifesto https://backrowmanifesto.substack.com/Joe Maggio's Incidental Films https://www.incidentalfilms.com/Go to https://filmsnotmade.com/ for info on the show, transcripts and more.Follow the show on https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMadeSubscribe to our https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade