This being my first visit to Mr. Flores’ apartment it was as I had imagined – cluttered - but necessary clutter. “Organized chaos” as he terms it. Those in the know don’t need to know what that means. For those who aren’t - we’re talkin’ loaded ceiling to floor with books, CDs, collectibles and movie memorabilia from the farthest reaches of Nod, more books, more CDs and of course DVDs. Tons of ‘em. What would you expect from a “sledge” (to quote Svetlana, the poetic, bad ass, crossbow wielding female assassin from Liar’s), who has dedicated the past twenty years preparing for a career in film. He’s tall, handsome, athletically built and charismatic – characteristics that would seem better suited for someone interested in a career in front of the camera than behind it. Below his modified Vandyke nestled amid a couple of days worth of stubble he’s wearing a form fitting gray tee, faded denims and scuffed up black Corcoran jump boots that have spent most of their lives trekking the battered pavement of New York City. His eyes are deep brown and penetrating. Normally I don’t notice a dude’s eyes but when Andrew speaks to you he looks at you right in the eyes, into your soul, the passion apparent, rarely straying - his focus completely on me and the questions the whole time. In this instance, it’s not distracting but rather comforting. He’s amicable and warm and receptive to questions. I feel right at home. His girlfriend Christina Werkmeister, Andrew’s right hand man, production designer and fellow producer for their production company Pistolero hovers nearby busying herself with the day to day – and the minute to minute. They’ve been tirelessly preparing for Liar’s premiere at next month’s Staten Island Film Festival. In fact, they’ve been tirelessly preparing for that moment for ten years. Since they met. They haven’t had a vacation in seven years – part of the sacrifice that must be made to lasso an elusive dream. Especially, when you work a full-time job that allows you to sustain a good part of that dream. At least until, someone else can. If I’ve gathered anything from Andrew and Christina in the time I spent with them it’s that discipline, organization and a strong love are the keys to their success. And of course, an incendiary passion for what they’re doing. That passion comes through in every frame of Liar’s Pendulum and everything they do in the name of the film.

NM: Hey man, nice digs thanks for having me.

AWF: Pleasure’s all mine – thanks for the flowers.

NM: They’re for Christina.

Andrew laughs – a pseudo-sadistic guffaw.

AWF: That what you’re gonna tell your friends? No need to be shy - it’s cool man. Look at you blushin’! There’s no sin in giving a dude flowers as long as everybody knows his place on the mattress.

Did I forget to mention that he’s a ball buster. For the record – the flowers are for Christina, I gave Andrew an autographed batting glove from Nomar Garciaparra – his favorite player, playing on his favorite team - the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not that I’m insecure about my place on the mattress. Just wanted to clarify those facts for the sake of journalistic accuracy.

NM: You ever give a dude flowers?

Andrew grins mischievously.

AWF: Only at his funeral.

I chuckle. We’ve settled in – at my expense. Whatever. It’s all in the name of good copy.

NM: What was the inspiration for Liar’s Pendulum?

AWF: I shot a short, Cinderdrift, a couple of years back about a woman blessed and cursed with paranormal powers. Basically, when she’s menstruating she gets visions of the evil deeds committed by the unsavory individuals around her.

NM: Sometimes I think my girlfriend’s got a touch of that. Think she’s gotten glimpses of some of my evil doings and she’s not happy.

AWF: You’ll be surprised what they can do and they’re not telling us.

NM: That’s a pretty fascinating concept – not something you’d find on Heroes but –

AWF: Yeah, I thought so. I’d always kind of envisioned Cassandra – the female lead in Cinderdrift – meeting a male with paranormal powers of his own and the two would embark on a mission to save America in a near-future dystopia. So I started with that idea and the character of Alaric grew out of that. The story followed shortly thereafter.

NM: Did you envision them meeting in a future film?

AWF: At first, yeah. I thought it would be cool to have them meet in a feature film but both films, especially Liar’s, are inhabited by so many interesting, really cool characters that I’m now pushing to develop a cable network series instead. I think the only way to do the story and the characters proper justice would be to develop them over the course of four or five seasons on cable. TV wouldn’t cut it. There’s a lot of cursing, some nudity and some pretty graphic stuff in this material that’s better suited for cable.

NM: Would you completely rule out a feature?

AWF: You never rule out a feature - or TV for that matter. I just think cable would be the ideal home for this kind of thing.

NM: Liar’s is full of fascinating visuals – what was the key?

AWF: Pre-vis(ualization). Painstaking pre-vis – years in advance of the shoot. I storyboarded L.P. to death. Overkill really – but in the end I’d say that was the key.

NM: The film is absolutely stunning. I mean hands down one of the best-looking indies I’ve ever seen.

AWF: Thank you. We also created some very cool environments for these characters to inhabit. That was a combo of quality production design and location scouting and great cinematography by Eric [Giovon] that added depth to the characters and the story. I won’t bullshit you – it was hard work. Backbreaking. Well, for a lesser man that is.

He grins, a hint of alpha male in the glimmer of his teeth.

NM: There’s quite a bit of symbolism in the film – you don’t see much of that in today’s cinema – American cinema anyway - can you talk about that?

AWF: Telling a story purely on its face is uninteresting to me – and not worth the effort. For me, in order for a film to be worth telling its gotta be designed for re-viewing. The symbolism acts to add texture to the story not detract from it or become an obstacle. The stuff that’s there has been carefully chosen. It helps fill out the world of Johanna.

NM: On that subject, there’s an awful lot going on in Liar’s Pendulum and you use a variety of stylistic techniques to bring certain points across. At times it can be overwhelming. Was that a conscious choice?

AWF: Absolutely. I think as an audience we’ve been dumbed so to speak, completely lost our ability to think independently - to be challenged by cinema. Nowadays everything’s gotta be spoon fed to the audience out of fear that they “won’t get it.” We live in an age of disposable cinema. No sooner do you get to the parking lot – you’ve forgotten what you just saw. Nothing lingers with you. The best films, at least my favorites, have always lingered with me a couple of days after I’ve seen them, prompting me to want to see them again - and again. Little of what’s out there now does that. My hope with Liar’s is that the audience will want to see it again because they couldn’t digest everything the first time. It’s impossible to. So by design, it’s meant to be viewed more than once - hopefully five to ten times.

NM: Despite all that’s going on, the film manages to tell a great deal in a short time - 94 minutes and it moves quickly, doesn’t get bogged down by the weight of its ambition.

AWF: That’s because at its very core, L.P. is essentially a chase film and is edited as such. It strives to do more than your average chase film and I believe on many levels it succeeds, without sacrificing entertainment value for greater ambition.

NM: It certainly is like nothing I’ve seen - no doubt a unique viewing experience.

AWF: Audiences just need to be patient and trust their instincts. An audience doesn’t have to be pounded over the head and told what to think – they have to have the courage to find it them selves. As an audience we’ve become Manchurian Candidates – manipulated into when to laugh, cry, be incensed, etc.
It’s time to put a stop to the indoctrination! Rise up brothers and sisters!

He raises his hands as if in gospel church service and laughs heartily before taking a sip of his tea. I take a sip of mine before continuing.

NM: One of the many things that jump out at you when viewing Liar’s Pendulum is the slick, unorthodox dialogue. Really cool stuff. For an actor, especially the lead - the language must have presented some real challenges.

AWF: It did. There’s no way the actors would have been able to pull it off without extensive rehearsal. I believed they were pretty well prepared when we we’re originally scheduled to shoot, but the additional two months of rehearsal got the actors in a greater comfort zone with the material. They did a great job - especially David [Winning]. As another actor so aptly put he had the Mount Everest of fuckin’ dialogue and he conquered it. He definitely kicked ass.

NM: Dialogue is obviously important to you and you obviously have an ear for it – does it come easy?

Andrew laughs.

AWF: Nothing comes easy. If it does you better take a closer look and tread lightly cause there’s a mine somewhere in that dirt road. It takes a long time to hone the dialogue, to get it to a place where it flows naturally and poetically without sounding forced. Yeah, it takes work a good deal of work to get it there.

NM: Who are some of your influences?

AWF: That’s always a tough question - too many to list.

NM: Whose on the short list?

AWF: Joe Paterno and Tom Waits.

NM: Wow, that’s gotta be the first time those to names were mentioned in the same sentence.

Andrew chuckles.

AWF: Probably the first time in the same conversation.

NM: Why those two?

AWF: They’re not the only ones on the short list but they’re at the top of it. Paterno’s been doing it with class and integrity for almost sixty years. Waits has been doing it his way for almost forty. Each has a unique style. Neither one has actively sought the limelight. Neither one has been involved in career crushing controversy. They’re both institutions, their names synonymous with quality and integrity – having done it their way the whole way in industries that demand victories and/or commercial success.

NM: Have you met any of them?

AWF: No, but we’ve chatted telepathically.

NM: So, Liar’s is having its world premiere at the Staten Island Film Festival – in your hometown. That’s got to be pretty exciting.

AWF: Yeah, it’s fitting - the entire film was shot here and a good deal of the people that worked on the film are from here. So, it works.

NM: So, what’s next?

AWF: We’ll do the festivals for a year or so and shop the film around – try to create a buzz. Hopefully someone will spot it and love it enough to pick it up.

NM: And if no one does – are you prepared for that?

AWF: Yeah, of course. I mean you never want that kind of thing to dominate your thinking – and it’s a very real possibility - but you know what? At the end of the day we set out to do something and did it - on our terms. We achieved what we wanted to achieve. We made a feature film. At the very least we’ve got something to break out at a boring dinner party. I’m proud of every frame. More importantly, I can live with every frame.

NM: Are you working on other material?

AWF: Yeah, I’ve got two scripts I’ve been working on the past year and have two more that I’m developing and close to getting to a point where I can begin writing. I’m hoping to get started on one of them before the end of this year. I’ve basically got the next ten years charted out - of films that is.

NM: Pretty prolific. How do you get it all done – I mean, you’re still working full-time correct?

AWF: Yeah, been at the same place almost eight years. Got zip in my 401K, so some one other than ornery collection agents best come knockin’ soon. As far as getting it all done – it’s like any passion. It requires discipline and focus. You just gotta want it. If you want it, you’ll find a way to make it work.

NM: What are the other scripts about?

AWF: One of them is a police detective slash crime film in the vain of The French Connection and Heat. The other one’s a war film.

NM: Iraq War?

AWF: Yeah, well, my take on it. It makes a statement but not an obvious one – it whispers instead of screams - despite the climate and setting. I won’t be re-treading the obvious. I’m sure we’ll be up to our ears in films about the war over the next five years or so. Political statements don’t interest me. Not overt one’s anyway.

NM: There is some of that going on in L.P., particularly in the voice over of the president’s inaugural speech.

AWF: Yeah, the voice over of the president is just a vehicle for giving the audience information about the state of the nation as a whole – what’s going on outside of the insular world of Johanna. I thought it was cool to have this omnipotent, omnipresent voice popping up at strategic points throughout the film.

NM: It certainly adds greater resonance, gives the film a bigger feel. Do you have any advice to filmmakers attempting to make their first feature?

AWF: Take your time. Make it good. Make it unique. Plan ahead and plan for everything. Leave nothing to chance when the camera rolls. Oh yeah, and buy fresh flowers for all those special dudes working on set. It’ll take you a long way.

So will having a sense of humor.

Nathan McNamara