DOOMSDAY IS A LUCKY DAY FOR THE WRITER OF ‘THAT DAY’
words by Samantha Milne
Adam Harris has always dreamt of making films. He began studying Education and Film at QUT almost 15 years ago, but deferred on account of family issues, and began working full time. On the 17th of October 2010, the night before his second child was born, he unknowingly suffered a brain haemorrhage. After a week and a half in hospital, Adam was told that he had a cavernoma in the back of his brain; and that while it was stable for the time being, the risks involved with operating were too high, and regular monitoring would be necessary. This information triggered him. He realised that life is too short to abandon your dreams; and he wanted something to show his children that it is never too late to chase those dreams. So he decided to write a short film. And Jack/El Productions (named after his children, Jack and Eloise) was born.
After a little over a year of brainstorming, one idea stuck. That Day.
“In the Bible, there is a passage that states: no-one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the sun, but only the Father. Well, that day is upon us. I’m so sorry.”
That Day is to be a short film about the world’s final moments. It centres around a remote group of individuals; one of whom is searching for answers, and searching for his identity along the way.
Adam’s friend Jeremy Trigatti guided and advised him throughout the project, and helped him to gather a cast of QUT students. Bryce Padovan helped to fine tune the script. Terry King came on board as Director of Photography and Film Editor, and Andrew King as Sound Technician. The crew consisted mostly of JB HI-FI staff and friends – it was a modest production. They shot once night per week over a period of two months, and editing began a couple of weeks ago.
A teaser trailer was put together and released via Vimeo, Facebook, and Twitter. Adam began to Tweet to people in the industry, to see if he could generate some hype. The result was an unbelievable success. Among those to ‘retweet’ the trailer include: David Koechner, Meshel Laurie, Peter DeLuise, Julia Morris, Michael Dupod, Jennifer Hawkins, James Callis, Paul McGillion, Adam Sharpiro, Julie McNiven, Corin Nemec, Shane Jacobsen, Andy Fickman, Josh Lawson, Peter Helliar, and many more and still growing interest.
Such exposure prompted David Arquette to approach Adam, and to introduce him via email to a producer in the US. The producer discussed That Day with Adam, and has offered to look over the rough cut of the film. The rough cut is currently about three quarters of the way towards completion. With such an encouraging response from so many credible industry names, Adam would love to have That Day made into a feature film.
Check out the video.
