Danbury screenwriter will take publicity any way he can get it

Publicity for the film "Just Like Joe," to be screened Friday evening at the film festival in Danbury, got a shot in the arm earlier this week that was almost literal.

"Just Like Joe" director and co-writer Fred Carpenter was filming another movie Tuesday on Long Island. The scene at the Cool Stop grocery store in Bellmore was being shot when a passer-by looked in the window and saw actors wielding guns and about 40 extras spread out on the floor.

What the person didn't see was director Carpenter and his small crew. The passer-by assumed the hostage scene was real and called police.

There were no shots fired, Carpenter said, but it came close. The incident made the national news circuit and was written up in the New York Post and the Daily News.

"We've gotten like a million dollars of publicity," Danbury resident Thom Sciacca.

said. "Everybody has heard about it! It's hysterical. It ended up being a positive thing."

Reached by phone, Carpenter saw the humor in the situation but was also very thankful no one was hurt.

He said not notifying the police in advance was an oversight on his part, but he didn't think of it because they were filming on private property.

When the Nassau police arrived at the scene, they came in with their guns drawn. They didn't see Carpenter or his cameraman because they were in the back using a small digital camera.

Carpenter said one actor lifted his hands in the air, shouting "I'm an actor! I'm an actor!" It's a line that Carpenter joked will now be repeated whenever a real criminal is caught in the middle of a crime.

Carpenter said he was asked to appear on one of the late night talk shows.

Although doing so would be an independent filmmaker's dream, he declined because he "didn't want to exploit the police."

In some of the interviews he has done, Carpenter has taken the opportunity to talk up the Connecticut Film Festival and "Just Like Joe."

The co-writer of the film is Sciacca.

"Just Like Joe" tells the poignant story of a group of three Long Island high school seniors who idolize Jets' quarterback Joe Namath.

The year is 1969, and the prospect of them being drafted into the Vietnam War as soon as they turn 18 is very real. Their only hope is to get football scholarships and go to college.

The film had its first screening Thursday afternoon at the Connecticut Film Festival. Laurie Mayper, of Redding, enjoyed the film. "I thought it was great," she said.

A screenwriter herself, Mayper added, "It's inspiring to see someone local get a movie made."