Howard Libov, an associate professor at the College at Florham, showed his film,“Favorite Son,” at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park on April 5.
Libov directed and co-wrote the film, and will be also be screening it at the Houston WorldFest on April 23.
“Favorite Son” is the story of a loner and minor league baseball player David Paxton who becomes obsessed with his childhood friend Joan and her troubled teenage son Ross. David is quickly rejected by Joan, but becomes friends with her son. David eventually goes after Bill Houston who threatens to get between him and Ross. It all leads to a violent confrontation that brings out unlikley character traits in David, according to a press realease on FDU.edu.
The 90-minute film was made with Screen Actors Guild (SAG) actors and crew largely comprised of current and former FDU film students. “Favorite Son” was produced and shot under the SAG Ultra Low Budget Agreement.
“This agreement is pretty new in the industry; it allowed us to hire union actors at low rates,” said Libov.
Libov co-wrote the movie with Michael Stewart. Stewart also co-wrote the screenplays for feature films, “Bad Dreams” and “Eye of the Storm.” Also with Libov, Stewart co-wrote “Midnight Edition,” Libov’s first feature film.
“The script of ‘Favorite Son’ was ultimately written for a film project in New York City,” said Libov. “We kept tweaking it to make the final product. The overall project took two years.”
“Favorite Son” took 30 days to shoot. “Thirty days is a little long for an independent film, but I considered it would be better work with more days and less hours per day especially with a younger crew,” said Libov.
The film was shot in a 50 mile radius around New Jersey, according to Libov. “Two or three scenes were shot in Madison and Jones’ house was shot in Chatham,” he said. “Some other shots were taken in Boonton and Bridgewater.”
“Favorite Son,” stars Pablo Schreiber, best known for his portrayal as Eben Cabot in “Desire Under the Elms,” which opens on Broadway this month. “Favorite Son” also stars Conner Paolo, who can be seen on HBO’s “The Wire” and in Woody Allen’s 2008 film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
“Feature films have more character development and deeper story lines,” said Libov. “Overall, directing ‘Favorite Son,’ the crew was terrific and worked very hard ’til the end.”
The movie is based on an earlier short film by Libov, “Little Man,” which starred Frankie Muniz of the popular television show “Malcolm in the Middle.” “Little Man” played at over 25 film festivals and earned several awards, including Best Dramatic Short at the World Festival of SportFilm, and the Silver Illumination Award at The Crested Butte Reelfest.
Libov also directed and co-wrote the award-winning feature film “Midnight Edition” and directed the nationally-syndicated comedic short “Men Will be Boys.” He also filmed the documentary “Fourteen Stations” about Madison, N.J. artist Arie Galles’ ten-year quest to complete a series of drawings he anticipated finishing in only a year.
“I always felt my successes and failures drive me in the classroom,” said Libov.
He also said his experiences with filmmaking have allowed him to relate better to his students.
“I have had many frustrations while film making, with that said; it allows me to identify with the students when they are faced with stress and frustrations in the classroom.”
SAMANTHA BOYCE
Assistant Editor
