Motel Blue 19

Some children count license plates on long car trips -- Luther counts dead bodies. As they drive north, this Mother and son Bonnie and Clyde leave a trail of blood and candy that stretches to a decadent and mysterious seaside resort. Developed as a feature film project by the writer-director team of Joe Tripician and Merrill Aldighieri, "Motel Blue 19" is a short film taken from their screenplay. The screenplay itself was an adaptation from the original stage play by Edgar Oliver, which premiered at La MaMa Theatre in 1991. Taking scenes from their script, Joe and Merrill shot this short 16mm film to demonstrate the unusual blend of humor and terror in this twisted story of mother and son gone awry. The screenplay was optioned by veteran producer Ben Barenholtz ("Barton Fink", "Miller's Crossing", "Georgia", and "Requiem for a Dream"), who used the short as a pitch for the feature-length film version. The cast includes the playwright Edgar Oliver (with voice supplied by Tim Blake Nelson), and stage actress Mary Lou Wittmer (who has appeared in almost all of Oliver's works).