By Tom Jordan
"Smiling Fish and Goat On Fire," an independent film directed, produced and co-written by Rockville Centre's own Kevin Jordan, opens in New York theatres on August 25.
The release of his first feature-length film is just one highlight in Mr. Jordan's now-blossoming career. Already, at the age of 26, his work has earned him several awards, a degree with honors from New York University's School of Film and a stamp of approval from legendary movie director Martin Scorsese. His career has taken him to Los Angeles and Morocco, but it all started in Rockville Centre.
"Smiling Fish," a romantic comedy, won the prestigious Discovery Award at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released nationally through Stratosphere Entertainment later this year. Mr. Jordan collaborated on the project with fellow Long Islanders and grade school chums Steven and Derick Martini, who portray 20-something brothers, Tony and Chris Remi, searching for true love and much-needed direction. The film brothers are studies in contrast, and the film title, we learn, comes from their nicknames -- Tony, known as Smiling Fish because of his carefree attitude, and Chris as Goat On Fire for his pensive and pessimistic approach to life -- from their grandmother. The movie is a funny, touching and witty take on brotherly love and romantic destiny.
And just getting it made was a study in determination.
Filming took place over 12 days, and cost approximately $40,000 to complete. That investment paid for the shooting on Super 16 film, because Mr. Jordan wanted the picture to have a grainy look to it. When money was especially tight, another commodity usually proved valuable in funding the film -- lobsters. Mr. Jordan's family owns a Long Island lobsterhouse -- The Lobster Dock. In times of need, Mr. Jordan's father Bill would Fed-Ex a few two-pound crustacians to the investors his filmmaker son was trying to charm. It must be harder to say no on a full stomach.
Before striking out on his own, Mr. Jordan enjoyed a distinguished career in New York University's film program. His debut in writing and directing came with the production of "The Ride Inside the old Guard," a five-minute short which earned him the Eastern region's Student Academy Award. That distinction brought him perhaps a greater one: the recognition of renowned director Martin Scorsese.
Mr. Scorsese awarded Mr. Jordan the first-ever Young Filmmaker's Scholarship through a program he established to assist up-and-coming actors. The legendary director even treated Mr. Jordan to lunch, which Mr. Jordan now says "was a thrill." Later, Mr. Jordan was invited to travel to Morocco with Mr. Scorsese to work as an apprentice on the film "Kundun."
"I didn't have to work," said Mr. Jordan, "just sit next to him and observe. It was surreal."
What the young filmmaker found most impressive about his mentor, he said, was Mr. Scorsese's "passion and energy. The second he walked onto the set he was on fire to get every shot. I was so impressed that he had every detail worked out with a vision so clear."
Mr. Jordan would return to school and receive an unprecedented second Student Academy Award for his senior thesis, "Enter the Cypha," and graduate from NYU with honors. He was given the Continued Excellence in Direction award.
With his first film gaining such recognition and enjoying such success, one might think it will be difficult for Mr. Jordan to top his debut. But he'll give it a shot; he's already begun shooting for his next film, "'87."
