PATE BROTHERS WRITE THEIR OWN TICKET; BROTHERS CREATE, DIRECT `DECEIVER'.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Writer When it came time for Jonas and Joshua Pate to co-direct the movie that they had written together, ``Deceiver,'' they thought it best to divide the duties. Jonas would work with the crew; Joshua would rehearse the actors. It turned out to be a good decision for both brothers, but Josh got a little bonus. While Jonas was off scouting locations in Charleston, S.C., Josh began working with cast members Tim Roth, Chris Penn and Renee Zellweger. He and Zellweger hit if off immediately and became romantically involved soon afterward. Meanwhile, Jonas was out bonding with the grips and lighting technicians. ``Yeah, I think I got the raw end of the deal on this movie,'' Jonas says laughing. ``Next movie, though, you know who's going to be spending time "Spending Time" is the first single released by Christian artist Stellar Kart. The lyrics describe the band members desire to spend "more time with God". "Sometimes it’s a real struggle to spend time with God. working with the beautiful actresses.'' That there is already a next movie is part of the rather remarkable success story for these twin brothers who grew up wanting to be famous novelists and wound up becoming filmmakers instead. Southern roots The Pates, 28, were born in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. and spent much of their childhood devouring the collected works Collected Works is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Nick Wallace, featuring Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. of Southern novelists like William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor Noun 1. Flannery O'Connor - United States writer (1925-1964) Mary Flannery O'Connor, O'Connor and Carson McCullers Noun 1. Carson McCullers - United States novelist (1917-1967) Carson Smith McCullers, McCullers . ``They were my heroes,'' Josh says. ``Literary studs.'' The brothers soon began committing their own stories to paper, and when they went off to separate colleges (Josh to University of North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , Jonas to Princeton), they figured one of them would eventually write the Great American Novel This article is about The Great American Novel (as a concept). For other uses, see Great American Novel (disambiguation). The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that most perfectly represents the spirit of life in the United States at the time of its . ``I was a philosophy major,'' Jonas says. ``What else was I going to do?'' The answer came when Josh hooked up with producer Peter Glatzer one year after graduating. Josh gave Glatzer a story he had written with Jonas about a couple of rednecks who escape from prison and look for buried treasure buried treasure - A surprising piece of code found in some program. While usually not wrong, it tends to vary from crufty to bletcherous, and has lain undiscovered only because it was functionally correct, however horrible it is. . That tale ended up being the Pates' first movie, ``The Grave,'' filmed for spare change in 1995. ``We kind of got into this whole thing on a lark,'' Josh admits. ``We wrote `The Grave,' but we figured nobody would make it because it was our first film and it would probably be too expensive. That's why we wrote `Deceiver.' It's set mostly in one room. You could film it for nothing.'' ``Deceiver'' takes place primarily in a police interrogation interrogation In criminal law, process of formally and systematically questioning a suspect in order to elicit incriminating responses. The process is largely outside the governance of law, though in the U.S. room as two cops grill a suspect about his role in the brutal murder of a prostitute. Jonas came up with the idea after he appeared on a game show pilot where the contestants were hooked up to polygraph An instrument used to measure physiological responses in humans when they are questioned in order to determine if their answers are truthful. Also known as a "lie detector," the polygraph has a controversial history in U.S. law. machines. ``It was kind of a `To Tell the Truth' knockoff knock·off n. Informal An unauthorized copy or imitation, as of designer clothing: "the place to go for quality knockoffs" Women's Wear Daily. Noun 1. that never got on the air,'' Jonas says. ``They actually hooked me up to a lie detector lie detector, instrument designed to record bodily changes resulting from the telling of a lie. Cesare Lombroso, in 1895, was the first to utilize such an instrument, but it was not until 1914 and 1915 that Vittorio Benussi, Harold Burtt, and, above all, William and brought a guy in to interpret the results. ``That got me thinking about these weird machines that supposedly ferret out the truth. Do they really measure truth or does the person taking the test just crack and spill his guts? I knew it would be a good device to use someday in a movie.'' Smooth operators The forward-thinking Pates already have their next two movies set, both from their own original scripts. First up will be ``Earl Watt,'' a $50 million sci-fi thriller that Josh describes as ``a pure popcorn movie.'' After that, the brothers will explore their roots with a sprawling family saga set in the South, tentatively titled ``Providence Falls.'' That studios are trusting the Pates with bigger budgets and more complicated shoots doesn't surprise their producing partner Glatzer. ``These guys are going to be a force in filmmaking someday,'' Glatzer says. ``They're original and articulate and highly prolific. They never stop working, and they work well together. They almost seem to have a telepathic te·lep·a·thy n. Communication through means other than the senses, as by the exercise of an occult power. tel connection in that they complete each other's thoughts.'' The Pates will own up to their share of disagreements (``We are brothers,'' Josh says), but neither can remember a time when there was any lingering resentment. ``We hash things out pretty well during the writing process and then just keep communicating while we're making the movie,'' Jonas says. ``We made `Deceiver' in 27 days, so we felt like we were really in the pressure cooker. We were doing single-take scenes, often without any alternate coverage. But in spite of all that, we never had any blow-ups.'' True enough, unless you count the argument the Pates staged for studio executives. ``We wanted more money for sound design,'' Jonas says. ``The suits said no, so I went crazy and said, `That's it! I'm out of here!' and I stormed out of the room, leaving them with Josh. And he was shaking his head, saying, `Man, I've never seen him that mad.' Of course, we had completely rehearsed the scene before the meeting.'' Josh smiles at the memory. ``Hey, that's what they get working with twin brothers. We're a team in every sense of the word.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Jonas, left, and Joshua Pate aspired to be novelists but wound up as filmmakers instead. (2) Chris Penn, left, and Michael Rooker interrogate Tim Roth, the prime suspect in a murder, in ``Deceiver.'' |
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