Drones Premiere: A Summary (Spoilers)

Amber Benson and Adam Busch showcased their directorial debut on Tuesday at the premiere of their new Indy Film, Drones at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I attended the event, which was hosted by 826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring center for children in Los Angeles. Besides the directors, other Whedonites in attendance were Danny Strong and David Fury.

The Review:
Drones is the story of office worker Brian Dilks, played by Jonathan Woodward, who finds himself caught in a weird position when he finds out his best friend (Samm Levine) and would-be girlfriend (Angela Bettis) are both aliens. The story has a nice mix of office politics, romance and humor while adding a ting of sci-fi to the plot. Woodward held his own in the movie, but the shining star was James Urbaniak who played the office manager Pete, delivering his dry, witty lines in a hilarious manner.


Benson and Busch did a nice job directing the film, especially considering it was a 14 day shoot. The opening of the film, along with the depth of field shots were well-executed. The one negative element was the setting which was confined to the office space. A shot or two outside would have added to the dynamic of the film.

One extra comment about the short/trailer that was shown before the film. It was amazing! Check out the video for Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer.

The Q&A:
After the film, Kevin Pollak moderated a Q&A with the cast and crew. Some highlights include the idea of the film which was conceived by one of the writers whose wife worked in an office and found herself questioning if her co-workers were from another planet. Also, Amber Benson and Adam Busch were called the "Ying and Yang" of directing and the cast and crew said that the couple never fought during the entire shoot.

One of the last questions of the night was from a fan who asked Adam Busch if it was weird dating someone who he had killed which was obviously a play off of the Buffy characters of Tara and Warren. Well, I won't get too detailed, but let's just say that the people on stage weren't so amused.

Then it was on to the after party where the drinks were flowing. I got to talk to Danny Strong for awhile which was nice since I adored his movie Recount. All in all, it's a good night when you can support children's education and the Indy Film industry all under one roof.

Photos © Jonathan Reilly