Synopsis: “Love, Sex & Missed Connections” is a comedic romance about a guy named Neal. Neal’s been trying to get over a traumatic break up with his ex-girlfriend by doing what anyone would do… tricking women on the Internet. Neal’s plan is going amazingly well, until he meets Jane, who just may be as devious as he is.

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A couple years ago, I opened a fortune cookie and got this fortune… “Among the lucky, you are the chosen one.” I stuck it on my fridge for all to see. It didn’t feel particularly apt, however. I had my share of good and bad luck. I thought of that fortune, though, when Love, Sex & Missed Connections came to me. I was a first-time feature director who had been handed a smart, charming, hilarious script and every role had already been cast with someone extremely funny and talented.

Kenny Stevenson wrote the script for himself to star in. He cast his wife as the female lead and all of his friends as supporting roles before I came on board. That could have been a massive disaster. I was terrified that one of them would be awful and wow, how awkward would that be? Happily, there were no weak links. Everyone was not only perfect for their roles; they were all so generous and hard working despite us paying them in nothing but food (although the food was damn good). Thank you, fortune cookie!

Kenny’s script was delightful in so many ways but it appealed to me in a very particular way. I’ve always been a huge geek and I find myself drawn to stories about the ways technology affects our lives. The internet has had a profound effect on dating and I loved the idea of someone tweaking its mechanisms for semi-nefarious purposes. I also love genre movies… thrillers, mysteries and the like… and my favorite sub-genre of film is the heist movie. Bizarrely, there’s something almost heist-like about this little romantic comedy; guys getting together to pull off a scheme. I tried to play that up as much as possible. I was always saying to my amazing composer, Paul Thomson, “Make it more heist-y!” I think he got tired of hearing that.

Making this film was a dream. We shot for 10 weekends and while it was often exhausting, hard and grueling it was also the most fun I’ve had at work in my life. I’ve long believed in the importance of fun on set. I’ve been on so many miserable sets and it’s exponentially harder to be funny when you’re surrounded by miserable people. Somehow, despite the lack of money, resources and time, we managed to create a set filled with laughter and stories and new friendships. It’s the thing I’m most proud of.

Once it was “in the can,” that’s when I was most in my element. I’ve been working as an editor for the last 11 years and I’ve learned a thing or two about post production. It was incredibly exciting to put all my post knowledge to use on my own film. Although there were definitely times that I wished I knew a bit less… times when I wished I wasn’t the one placing the two-pops correctly for the sound mixers, rendering out a DPX sequence for a visual effects shot, mixing together the video and audio streams for the blu-ray burner. The geek side of me is proud for doing all of that. The sleep-deprived part of me is bitter and resentful.

I’m actually writing this statement as I watch down the final blu-ray for the first film festival that we will play in. It really does feel like I’ve come to the end of the road in making this film. It’s about to leave my hands and enter the world to be judged by the teeming masses. I hope they like it. I hope you like it. I’m going to go stare at that fortune on my fridge again now.

Eric Kissack (Director)
Love, Sex & Missed Connections marks the feature film debut as director for Eric Kissack. Eric got his start editing television in New York and has been working as a feature film editor in Los Angeles for the last several years. His credits include Role Models, Bruno, Cedar Rapids, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas and The Dictator. He is currently developing a heist movie with his collaborators on this film.

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