Vanessa McMahon

Writer/Director/Producer Alyssa Rallo Bennett of The Pack (2009) speaks about the film that is closest to her heart. The Pack raises the question of 2nd hand smoke and its fatal consequences. Being a hot debate, no doubt this film will raise questions and bring awareness to viewers worldwide. In a riveting scene of the film, a man throws a steak knife onto the table next to a 'pack' of cigarettes and at the top of his voice screams: 'Are you gonna tell me these are the same?' Well, the implication in the film The Pack is, yes, a steak knife and cigarettes both prove brutal murder weapons.

In The Pack, a chain-smoker wife is accused of murdering her husband who dies of lung cancer, having lived with her and her smoke for thirty years. On the prosecution side is her own twenty year old son who blames his mother for his father's death. During the film a split jury must decide acquittal or guilty for Eleanor Jordan; during their debate, they face their own mixed ideas over this seemingly irresolvable fiery conflict. 

Alyssa and I spoke on skype with her in NY and I in Frankfurt. She recounted to me her experience of making The Pack. 

ALYSSA: I believe the whole world can relate to this because it is a huge part of people's lives. It's a film that gets in everyone's shoes without taking sides. How do you deal with a subject that is so heavy like this, where something so addicting is killing so many people? Well, in The Pack it looks at things from a different perspective. It intertwines hands from one side to another without really giving a solution or taking a side. The film stars Lucie Arnaz as the guilty smoker mother Eleanor (daughter to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz). Her husband dies of lung cancer and the D.A. charges her on three counts of murder, based on her son's accusations. Painstakingly researched, this film is legally sound and that is why I wanted to film it like a homestyle movie; because it is an everyday issue for everyone everywhere. Other familiar names featured in the film include: Roger Robinson (Rubicon), Carlos Leon (Empire), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, Girl, Interrupted) and Jennifer Merrill (Taking Woodstock). 

ME: Can you tell us in a sentence what you want to say to the world with this film?

ALYSSA: Sure. The Pack is a film ultimately about personal responsibility and 2nd hand smoke. It raises the question: If you are a smoker, can you be a murderer too?

ME: You were telling me that you had some great contributions to the script. Can you share?

ALYSSA: Yes, in the beginning Paul Sorvino had a lot of ideas to contribute to the story and helping me. Also, James Earl Jones read the script and contributed to these great lines that ended up in the film- 1) The smoker says this to the others in the room- 'If you dont like it, dont breathe it!' and'Hollywood is tobacco'.

ME: How did you manage to film this with so many great name actors and on such a reasonable budget?

ALYSSA: Well, incredibly, we got lucky enough to be the last film, really the LAST, under the SAG budget deferred agreement that has now changed. Now, all actors under SAG must get paid up front but ours was the last film to get made where actors could be hired and work first while getting paid later. So, that helped us a lot.

ME: Alyssa, thank you so much for making this film that confronts a vital global issue. I can tell you that Ive been living overseas for over six years and I have watched first-hand as the European countries one-by-one took note and made all indoor smoking illegal, resulting in significant lowering of smokers in general. But of course, the problem of 2nd hand smoke will only go away when smoking does and the activity of smoking is nearly 5,000 years short of the invention of agriculture!!! ... According to Wikipedia, the act of smoking dates back to 5000 B.C. in shamanistic ceremonials. So, we can say this is a debate that has been with us for a while and may be with us for some time to come. But at least we can raise awareness of the dangers on all sides of smoking and continue to make a change. 

ALYSSA: One last note! Our production company, Jamaad Productions and Viteli Entertainment are currently developing a diversified slate of five full-length feature films, budgeted between $3 mm and 7mm. The tentative genres include romantic comedy, murder mystery, vampire romance, sci-fi thriller, comedy, and horror/thriller. All films will be packaged with marquee talent.

The DVD for The Pack and more information is available:

http://www.thepack.info/press.html

a must see add from 1940's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCMzjJjuxQI  

Interview by, Vanessa McMahon

July 23, 2010