Vanessa McMahon

Gary M. Lumpp is the writer of the film Serbian Scars (2009), an action/thriller that takes place between Belgrade, Chicago and Kosovo about two divided brothers, Alex and Peter, who reunite in America. This is their story of war, discord, ill-fated love and the heavy price of freedom. 

I asked Gary to tell us about his film Serbian Scars as well as to share with us what he is working on now, between Ballad of Broken Angels (2010/1) and Harmony (unknown).

GARY: Well, Ballad of Broken Angels - the feature film - hasn't been made yet. We shot Harmony as a short film for possible financial people, which is what's listed online. However the short didn't drum up enough interest so we're still looking for a way to get the feature done. 

ME: Hi Gary, can you tell us a something about each of your films and the journey of putting them from script to screen?

GARY: As for me and your questions, Serbian Scars is an action/drama that I wrote a few years back. It was basically a page one rewrite based on a rough treatment the producer came up with. The making of the film could be its own movie, but despite all of the behind-the-scenes drama I think director Brent Huff accomplished a lot more than I expected. Michael Madsen and Mark Dacascos star, the film looks and sounds fantastic, and it was nice to finally get to see my name up on the big screen when it had a limited theatrical release last Fall.

Ballad of Broken Angels is a bit closer to home for me. I had written and directed a shot-on-video
micro-budget horror film in 2002 called "When Heaven Comes Down" (distributed worldwide by Brain Damage) and was looking for a follow up -something more action oriented. I wrote the script, sort of a cross
between "Kill Bill" and "Thelma & Louise," with locations and actors in mind that I had worked with on WHCD. However I couldn't pull the financing together and before I knew it a few years had passed, so I rewrote it with an eye towards a bigger budget. In 2008 I worked with a director who pulled together the short film "Harmony," which I wrote as a scene that could be in the movie to give the money people an idea
what they could expect, and what we could deliver on a small budget. Masiela Lusha, from "George Lopez," liked the script and came out and helped us make the short. Sadly the economy took a downward spiral and it got tougher to make an indie action film, so I've had to put it off to the side for the time being. I'm currently looking at producing a web series starring one of the lead characters, since I think there are a lot of entertaining stories that can be told in the world of "Broken Angels."

Now, I'm working on a few spec scripts right now, including an indie horror idea called "Liv" as well as a big budget fantasy spec with the working title "Nine Unknowns." 

ME: Awesome, Gary! I'll be rooting for you. Hope to see your scripts on screen at a theater near everyone sometime soon! Happy writing, my friend! ;-)

Written by, Vanessa McMahon August 2, 2010