By Andrew Hackmack
Much of his feature-length work, "Hit to Right," was filmed in the village, and includes Valley Stream residents.
Schneier, who lives in Manhattan and is a law partner of Village Attorney Mike McKenna, did all of the filming in the summer of 2005. That was the easy part, he said: Shooting the movie took just 17 days. "The editing process took much longer," Schneier said, explaining that the film was not complete until the middle of last year.
In "Hit to Right," Schneier plays Sam Lewis, the district attorney of a fictional New York county who is running for the U.S. Senate. He is a widower, and coaches his daughter's softball team. His character also has a love interest - his daughter's teacher, played by veteran actress Laura Stepp.
The softball scenes were filmed at Firemen's Field. Schneier, who played baseball from Little League through college and then for a season in Florence, Italy, uses the sport as a metaphor. His character takes a cautious, defensive approach on the campaign trail, and preaches the same philosophy to the players he coaches. Eventually, Sam learns to be more open and honest and less rigid, Schneier said.
A member of the Screen Actor's Guild, Actors' Equity and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Schneier has made a few appearances over the years on soap operas, including "All My Children" and "As the World Turns." "I had a few lines - no big star," he said.
He began working on "Hit to Right" about eight years ago. The movie, which was privately financed, cost about $55,000 to make, which he said is low-budget by any standard. But he said he is quite pleased with the result. "The bang for the buck, I think, is OK in terms of the product," he said.
Village Clerk Vinny Ang, who has a small role at the beginning of the film, said he is impressed with Schneier's work. "The quality of the film does not look low-budget," Ang said. "The backdrop of Valley Stream to the movie I thought was great."
Ang helped Schneier arrange for the use of several village locations, including Firemen's field, a courtroom, the mayor's office and a Village Hall conference room. "It really worked out pretty well using the facilities," he said. "We didn't really close or interrupt anything."
One of the most exciting parts of the movie, Ang said, was an early scene in the courtroom. "Most of the people you see sitting in the audience are village employees," he said. "They got a kick out of it. They got to sit there and be in the clip."
Even Mayor Ed Cahill has a small role, with a few lines in one of the scenes at the field. When asked what he wanted his character's name to be, Cahill said he was a fan of John Wayne, so Schneier called him Duke. "It was very enjoyable," Cahill said of the experience. "We all have a little ham in us, including me."
Cahill said the most important part of a speaking role is to get the few words out flawlessly, then the rest of the line flows naturally. (For the record, Cahill made his acting debut in Blessed Sacrament School's production of "Shrek.")
The mayor described Schneier's films as a "nice, clean family picture" and was thrilled that he chose to shoot much of the movie in Valley Stream. "It was great for the village," Cahill said.
Schneier said that Valley Stream had everything he was looking for in a location. He wanted a suburban, middle-class area with available office space, schools and fields. Other locations included Blessed Sacrament, McKenna's house in Malverne, the Baldwin home of Schneier's former college baseball coach, and the Mineola train station.
"Hit to Right" has already attracted some attention, having been shown at the Big Apple Film Festival last fall. Schneier is hoping that the movie finds a buyer who would promote and distribute it - to move theaters, television or straight to DVD.
"There's no formula for success in terms of film release," he said. "You could have a damn good film that sits on a shelf and never sees the light of day."
Schneier said he has written a few more screenplays, and found the experience of making a movie very satisfying. "I think it's rewarding in terms of seeing something through, believing in it," he said. "The icing on the cake, objectively, would be if someone buys it. That'll be a nice day."
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
