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GET BETTER

A handmade feature film by Chris White & Emily Reach White.

www.GetBetterTheMovie.com 101 min | Release Date: 06/15/2012

Publicity & Distribution Contact Paris MTN Scout

Chris White Cameron Cook

15 Cool Springs Drive Greenville, SC 29609

864-907-5545

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CAST

Ellie Roy Stu

Mike Jane Preston

James Mrs. Alexander

School Nurse Trivia Night

Poker Night

The Wake

MARISA VIOLA ROBERT LINDER MONICA WYCHE CHRIS WHITE LISE EWING ANZELONE LISA JUSTICE BEVERLY MOORE JENNIFER BAXLEY SIMON CROWE DERRICK GOODWIN ALEX SMITH BRODIE CHASE SIMON CROWE JOHN ELLIS MARK LIGON DEAN POYNOR ADAM RATJE DAN REACH PHILLIP REACH NEIL SHURLEY JOFFRE SWAIT LEANDER WILSON RICK ANZELONE BRODIE CHASE SIMON CROWE BRITTINAIE EDWIN YOMA EDWIN JOHN ELLIS MARK LIGON DEVON PARRISH DEAN POYNOR NEIL SHURLEY ALEX SMITH JAIME SMITH GAIL STOCKDALE LEE STOCKDALE JOFFRE SWAIT BENJAMIN YOUNG MILTON YOUNG STEPHANIE YOUNG

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FILMMAKERS

Written & Directed by

Produced by

Cinematographer Editor

Music by

Sound Mixer Camera Operators

Production Assistants

Executive Producers

Associate Producers

CHRIS WHITE AND EMILY REACH WHITE JENNIFER BAXLEY, EMILY REACH WHITE & CHRIS WHITE ALAN RAY JETER RHODES DAVID C. WRIGHT JETER RHODES GEORGE O’KEEFE ALAN RAY JETER RHODES CHRIS WHITE MONICA WYCHE GEORGE O’KEEFE DEAN POYNOR DAN REACH WHITAKER WHITE ZACHARY WILLIAMS SUZANNE C. AMICK ANDY & JOY COE D.J. CYR JIM DEDMAN BRITTNAIE EDWIN YOMA EDWIN CAIT & CHARLES LAMBERTON JOSHUA P. McINERNEY WILLIAM H. PELHAM DEAN POYNOR & MONICA WYCHE MICHELE AFFRONTE PATRICK & JENNIFER BAXLEY ANN M. BEATTY

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JAY & NANCY BOPP PHIL & CHERYL BROOKS MICHAEL & ERIKA CANNON GEOFFREY & ELLEN CAREY STEPHEN CEVALLOS RUSSELL COOK KELLEY McCARTER COPELAND CHRISTOPHER DiMARCO DICK & GINNY FOREMAN JUDY FRY WILL & ALISON GRAY STEVE HALL JORDAN JOHN HAMEL KAT HARDAWAY JAKE & JESSICA HOLLINSWWORTH MICHAEL HORST WOFFORD JONES BRYON LEGGETT ROBERT LINDER & MARY MEYERS MIKE & ANNA OKUPINSKI VICKI D. PLATT MIKE RAY ANDY REACH DAN REACH DARLENE REACH LEE REYNOLDS MATT SMITH KERRY STUBBS JOHN & MARTI SUBER JONATHAN & JENNIFER TAYLOR THE TRYON FILM SOCIETY MIRANDA TUMLIN JAY WYNN BENJAMIN & STEPHANIE YOUNG

This film is dedicated to the memory of

RUSSELL PAUL REACH 1958 – 2007

Te Deum Laudamus

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GET BETTER follows a week in the life of Ellie Alexander (Marisa Viola) and her chronically ill father, Roy (Robert Linder). Ellie’s established routine strikes a balance between the needs of her father, the demands of her boss, Jane Preston (Lise Anzelone), and the advances of her on-again, off-again romantic interest, Mike Smith (Chris White). This delicate balance gets disrupted; however, with the arrival of her childhood friend, Pam Stuart (Monica Wyche) — a New York producer who comes to town to document Roy’s life and winds up exposing the wounds and resentments caused by Roy's disease.

PARTIAL SYNOPSIS

Ellie Alexander (Marisa Viola) has a well-established morning routine. She wakes up early, she enjoys a serene swim, she showers, she gets dressed, she eats. She makes sure her dad, Roy Alexander (Robert Linder), takes his meds, and then she’s out the door to her high-school teaching job. It is only when she leaves her idyllic home, nestled in the foothills of the stunning North Carolina mountains, that the cracks in her carefully-constructed life begin to show. In her interactions with her principal, Jane Preston (Lise Anzelone), Ellie becomes stilted and defensive. She knows that she isn’t meeting the school’s standards — or, as Jane Preston puts it, that “lesson plans . . . are not necessarily [her] strong suit.” Ellie’s career is in trouble, but Jane Preston is excited that Roy, a retired teacher himself, has a good shot at winning the “Lifetime Legacy” Teaching Award. The political concerns of the school outweigh Ellie’s poor performance, for the moment.

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Over dinner with her dad, Ellie recounts the petty injustices of her day. She is concerned that the school may actually be creating a “toxic environment” for the students, and she is especially annoyed with a new teacher, James the Girl (Lisa Justice) who is aggressively flirtatious, loud — the antithesis of Ellie — and beloved by Jane Preston. When Roy tries to recount his day, he discovers he can’t remember where his time went. He tries to cover for his lapse, but fails to convince Ellie. After an hour of television and her nightly swim, Ellie goes to bed. The next evening, Ellie meets her on-again, off-again love interest, Mike Smith (Chris White), at a Friday Night high school football game, where he is scouting for a nearby college. After the game, Mike and Ellie share a few drinks in the back of his truck and discuss the status of their relationship. Mike wants all or nothing: either they get married or they break up. Ellie says that she can’t get married now. Meanwhile, in New York, Pamela “Stu” Stuart (Monica Wyche) has unexpectedly lost her producing job on an upcoming reality television show: Avast Me Hardies. Despite her wheedling and ranting, she can’t talk her way back into her job. So, when Ellie, her childhood friend, calls, asking her to help with Roy’s video application for the Lifetime Legacy Award, she gladly accepts. Mike picks Stu from the airport because “it’s [his] day off” — but she quickly uncovers Mike and Ellie’s relationship history. Stu arrives, oversized, outdated camera in tow, and immediately starts filming, overwhelming Ellie’s protests with her undeniable personality.

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Over the next few days, Stu repeatedly disrupts Ellie’s peaceful home routine. Stu challenges the Alexanders’ status quo, points out Roy’s idiosyncrasies, and interviews family and friends, asking increasingly more probing questions, and unearthing the hidden shame and resentment caused by his unnamed disease. One night, Stu coerces Ellie into a scheme to win Mike back: the pair will pick Mike up from coaching practice and take him to trivia night — where Ellie, thanks to Stu’s makeup and wardrobe consulting — “will be the . . . most beautiful woman” at the table. When their scheme backfires, and Mike seems more interested in Stu and James the Girl than Ellie, she ups the stakes by inviting Mike back to her place for the night. At first Mike doesn’t think she is serious; Ellie has never invited him to spend the night at her place before. Eventually, though, Ellie convinces him and the two leave the bar together. This spur-of-the-moment invitation sets off a chain reaction of events that force Ellie into confrontations with her father, with Jane Preston, with Mike, and with Stu. Ultimately, Ellie will have to decide whether she will continue to keep her relationships at arms-length, or if she will let the people who love her into her world.

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WRITER-DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

There has never been another moment in cinema like the one in which we are presently living. Even as the big movies get bigger, it is now possible for the small movies to get better.

The opportunity to make a film like GET BETTER came about with the convergence of three technological advances: the ubiquity of social media, DSLR High Definition (HD) photography, and the rise of wide-spread Internet-based media distribution. The tools of social media helped us find an audience and raise production funds for our film. Recent advances in digital camera technology helped us capture the striking, cinematic images of our film. And the ability to share our work instantly, means that the dream of making a living making movies is now within our reach. GET BETTER meets its moment simply: a small family of actors, filmmakers, storytellers exploring the delicate intricacies of adult relationships without a trace of cynicism…hopeful that the inspired collaboration will find its audience eager to join. -- Chris White, June 2012

Susan Sontag, in Illness as Metaphor, writes about the social stigma associated with big, life-changing diseases such as cancer.

With an undiagnosed disease, especially one that has neurological symptoms, the shame multiplies exponentially. You get told to buck up. To quit faking it.

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To stop being so needy — stop seeking attention. To grow up. All in the name of medicine.

That shame is the reason I’m interested in stories about sickness. I had to know. When did we stop listening to the sick? When did we start blaming the sick for their sicknesses? When did we start thinking that doctors are infallible? That the human condition can be put down on a chart?

Turns out it was a long time ago. Turns out we've been mistreating the sick for just as long as we've been treating them. Turns out the entire history of disease is the history of science getting it wrong. Of science saying: There is

no disease here. These are not the droids you're looking for. Pay no attention to

the man behind the curtain. Until something or someone. Usually someone driven by a loved one, a belief — a story — forced a reckoning between the established scientific community and the upstart disease. The upstart diabetes. The upstart AIDS. The upstart late stage Lyme disease.

I like blending stories and science not because I think a poet would make a good surgeon or because I think making a great film will cure cancer. It's because culture always runs ahead of politics. It's because truths have to exist at the level of story before they'll ever exist at the level of history. It's because great stories always envision and necessitate new technologies and new sciences — never the other way around. It's because stories, not science or technology but stories, are always on the leading-edge.

- Emily Reach White, June 2012

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ABOUT THE LOCATION — TRYON, NORTH CAROLINA (USA)

Tryon is a town in Polk County, North Carolina (USA). According to the 2000 Census the population of Tryon was 1,760. The area is a center for equestrian activity and fine arts. Tryon Peak and the Town of Tryon are named for William Tryon, Governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771 in recognition of his negotiation with the Cherokee for a treaty during a bloody period of the French and Indian War. Tryon was the birthplace of the singer, pianist, composer, and activist Nina Simone. - from Wikipedia

Writer-Director Chris White has long found personal and creative inspiration in the people, scenery, and moderate climate of Tryon. He shot scenes from his first feature (NIGHT DIVINE, 1995) on Trade Street in downtown Tryon. For GET BETTER, Chris and his wife Emily found the ideal home for Ellie and Roy Alexander in the stunning home of lead actor Robert Linder and his wife Mary. The production began shooting at the peak of the autumn leaf season in Western North Carolina, 2011. House & Swimming Pool The home of actor Robert Linder and his wife Mary Meyers was used as Roy and Ellie Alexander’s home in the film. The house was designed by Arthur Laidler Jones, a Tryon-based architect from 1947 to 1962. Built in 1951, it is one of only two Jones houses that were not built in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

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Jones built his favorite home—inspired by the homes of Frank Lloyd Wright—for himself, on a high ridge overlooking Tryon’s Harmon Field. Writer-Director Chris White and Cinematographer Alan Ray found the house’s warm wood tones an ideal backdrop for GET BETTER…and its sparkling blue pool (even colder out of season) a useful visual metaphor for Ellie’s internal struggle and need for escape. The Fall Leaves Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, one or many colors that range from red to yellow. The phenomenon is commonly called fall colors and autumn colors, while the expression fall foliage usually connotes the viewing of a tree or forest whose leaves have undergone the change. In some areas of Canada and the United States, "leaf peeping" tourism is a major contribution to economic activity. This tourist activity occurs between the beginning of color changes and the onset of leaf fall. - from Wikipedia Many “leaf-peepers” visit Western North Carolina in the late fall to see the spectacular explosion of autumn colors. GET BETTER was shot during the peak of the fall foliage season, the first week of November 2012.

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Who GETs BETTER — characters and cast:

ELLIE ALEXANDER (Marisa Viola) is the adult daughter of Roy Alexander: private, introverted, and deeply unhappy in her work. Ellie has taken up the responsibility of scheduling her dad’s social life, caring for his illness, and protecting him from the uninformed, uncaring world — whether he really wants her to or not. The precarious balancing act Ellie has going between her home life, her work life, and her romantic life will come crashing down when she invites her childhood friend Stu for a visit.

ROY ALEXANDER (Robert Linder) is a retired English teacher and Shakespeare lover who suffers from chronic Lyme disease. The mysterious and often stigmatic nature of his disease has made him retreat from the world, bringing his daughter right along with him. When Roy begins to share the story of his sickness with Stu, deeply buried family resentments and wounds come to the surface.

PAM “STU” STUART (Monica Wyche) is Ellie’s loud, aggressive childhood friend turned New York television producer. Stu, who has just lost her job on a reality show, travels south to produce a video project documenting Roy Alexander’s teaching career. As soon as she arrives, Stu begins filming everything, asking questions that Ellie would prefer remained unasked, and pointing out the obvious, but unspoken, idiosyncrasies in Ellie’s daily routine.

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MIKE SMITH (Chris White) is Ellie’s longsuffering, would-be romantic interest who is kept hovering on the outskirts of her life for reasons he doesn’t quite understand. Mike, who has parlayed a successful career as a high school football coach into one at a small college, never knows whether to stay or go, or how to convince Ellie to take a chance on him — though he does know that he wants to be with her. When Stu comes to visit, she repeatedly invites Mike into Ellie’s world and pushes Ellie into Mike’s world, forcing confrontations and reconciliations between the two.

JANE PRESTON (Lise Anzelone) is Ellie’s perfectly accessorized boss and teaching mentor who can’t understand why things like lesson plans and paperwork are so difficult for Ellie. Jane has her life in order, her career on track, and every hair in place. Plus, she manages dozenss of teachers every day — and doesn’t have time for Ellie’s excuse-making or her misgivings about the public school system.

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THE MUSIC Original score written, performed, and recorded by David C. Wright Avant de Quitter ces Lieux From Faust by Charles Gounod Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 Ludwig van Beethoven The Deal of a Lifetime From What an Experiment His Head Was by Uncle Green St. Lazaro From Rycopa by Uncle Green I’m Always Chasing Rainbows Lyrics by Joseph McCarthy Music by Harry Carroll (adapted from Fantaisie-Impromptu by Chopin) Vocals by Karen Clardy Arranged and Performed by David C. Wright Say I’m a Good Soul Daniel Harnett

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GET BETTER-isms

JANE

Ellie. We will not renew your contract if you can’t get these bellringers and

lesson plans done…what else can I do to help you? You could knock this out in

just a few hours. This was due days ago.

ELLIE

I don’t know. I don’t understand why you…not ‘you’…some people…prioritize

these lesson plans and these things that have nothing to do with actually

teaching. It takes time away from what I actually do give the students.

JANE

It’s wonderful that you have good rapport.

ELLIE

I feel like they are creating some sort of a culture that is not good…like I think

it’s actually toxic. I don’t think it’s good for the students. All she cares about is

lesson plans and nitpicky details.

ELLIE

Her [James’] great literary criticism of everything is that it’s ‘kick ass!’ She

has literally said that The Great Gatsby…is kick-ass. She thinks that makes

her sound smart. She talks about ‘everything is a text.’ Do you even know what

that means?

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ROY

I don’t.

STU

There are these things called ‘slacks’ — I know some people don’t like that

word, but they’re a little more professional than your yoga-booty-ballet pants!

STU

Sports in general are gay…and not that, not that…I love the gays. Hell. I’d

have no work if there weren’t gays.

STU

Can you swear at teenagers?

MIKE

I do. I have.

STU

I mean, like, when you’re coaching can you say…‘You MF!’ Can you swear at

them? Because that’s completely unfair if you can swear at them on the

football field but regular teachers can’t say: ‘Shut the Fuck up!’

ELLIE Jane Preston holds her [James] up like she’s some sort of an example…because

she’s got great ‘energy.’ That’s Jane’s whole thing now. Jane has become

obsessed with the idea of ‘energy.’

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JAMES

Right. Actually, Jamie is my name, but my class just decided it would be so

fun to go by James.

ELLIE

Oh, the kids came up with that? That’s adorable.

JAMES

Yeah…yeah. The guys in my class thought it would be really fun for me to

have a boy’s name, so…

ELLIE

That’s great. That has a great ‘energy’ about it.

ROY

I’m nervous.

ELLIE

No, you’re not nervous. You’re excited.

ELLIE

You don’t have to be perfectly articulate. They cut around it. It’s a video.

ELLIE

Come on. Seriously. Why don’t we…you know what you should get yourself

settled in, get unpacked.

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STU

You are going to have to get over this. There’s going to be lots of sharing going

on while I’m here.

STU

Look…if you do the same thing over and over and over and expect different

results somebody said that that’s the definition of insanity. I think it was

Einstein or somebody.

ELLIE

Yes, somebody said that but I don’t think it was Einstein.

STU

I don’t know I think it might have been Einstein. It was somebody very smart

with not so good hair.

STU

What was the one thing that made you say: ‘I’m done here.”

ROY

I…couldn’t be myself anymore.

STU

What do you mean?

ROY

The little things. Wouldn’t let me be myself anymore.

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ABOUT THE CAST

MARISA VIOLA (Ellie) acts, directs and produces theater and film. Most recently, ELLIOT LOVES (2012), a feature that she produced, has been a hit on the festival circuit and has been acquired for distribution by TLA. She met Chris White an undisclosed number of years ago, working together in an improvisational acting class in NY. Years later, they had a cup of coffee together in NYC while Chris was in town shooting a scene for GET BETTER, which led to Marisa getting on a plane to join the cast of the film two weeks later. ROBERT LINDER (Roy) was born in Santa Monica, California. He left to study music in New York City, and ended up living and working there for forty years. It was there that Robert met and married Mary Meyers and soon they were singing together at the legendary Metropolitan Opera. During Robert’s last ten years with the opera, he studied acting, performed in off-Broadway plays, and made numerous television appearances: Saturday Night

Live, The Dave Chappell Show, Strangers with Candy. Since retiring to Western North Carolina, Robert has made his home on the stage, appearing in One Flea Spare at Asheville’s North Carolina Stage Company; and in Macbeth, The Importance of Being Ernest, and Amadeus at Greenville’s Warehouse Theatre. It was while performing in Amadeus that Robert met GET BETTER writer-director Chris White. The two are planning to mount a stage production of the new play Freud’s Last Session as soon as all this film nonsense settles down.

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MONICA WYCHE (Stu) is a New York City actor, blogger, and new mom. She has worked with Terra Nova Collective, Primary Stages, New Dramatists, Prospect Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Manhattan Children's Theatre, and is a former company member of The Bats at The Flea Theater. Monica is co-founder (with husband, playwright Dean Poynor) of The Salvage Company, and has taken their productions to Key West, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and twice to the Cairns Festival in Queensland, Australia. Regional stage work includes Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Aquila Theatre Company, Atlantic Stage Company, and Trustus Theatre, where she was a long-time company member. Monica has appeared in numerous commercials, was featured on Sundance Channel's Unleashed by

Garo, and played Dr. Jane Patterson on Lifetime's Army Wives. She is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. MonicaWyche.com. CHRIS WHITE (Mike) makes artistically ambitious, non-cynical narrative feature films for his family and friends. An advocate of ambitious artistry and process simplicity, Chris writes, speaks, and teaches about micro-budget cinema, non-traditional theatre-making, and the intersection of art, faith, and commerce. He recently appeared opposite his youngest daughter Harriet in the award-winning short film, GOOD LIFE (2010). Though he’s never coached a sport, when Chris was a high school drama teacher, he made all the students call him “Coach White.” ChrisWhiteHQ.com LISE ANZELONE (Jane Preston) is a model, actor and writer when she's not doing her day-job as a marketing and sales consultant for Ryan Homes. Lise studied English at the University of South Carolina and Hollins University. As a model and actor with the Millie Lewis Agency, Lise has been featured in commercials for numerous companies including Palmetto Bank, Nationwide Insurance, and BMW. She has twenty years of voice work in radio and television. GET BETTTER is Lise's first feature-length film.

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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

CHRIS WHITE (Writer/Director/Producer) makes artistically ambitious, non-cynical narrative feature films for his family and friends. An advocate of ambitious artistry and process simplicity, Chris writes, speaks, and teaches about micro-budget cinema, non-traditional theatre-making, and the intersection of art, faith, and commerce. Chris wrote, produced, and directed the feature film TAKEN IN (2011) and acclaimed short films: DOBRA OJCA (2012) and GOOD LIFE (2010). He is currently enrolled in National University’s Professional Screenwriting M.F.A. program. ChrisWhiteHQ.com EMILY REACH WHITE (Writer/Director/Producer) is the co-founder of Paris MTN Scout, a production company dedicated to bringing micro-budget, artistically ambitious, non-cynical films to market. In this role, she has worked as the story editor on one feature film, TAKEN IN, and two short films, GOOD LIFE (2010) and DOBRA OJCA (2012). She is the co-writer and co-director of GET BETTER (2012), which is loosely based on writing from her blog (www.GetBetterTheMovie.com) and her dad’s fight with late-stage Lyme disease. Emily has an M.A. in English Literature and has recently started a Creative Nonfiction M.F.A. program at Goucher College. She lives in Greenville, SC with her husband and writing partner, Chris White. ALAN RAY (Cinematographer) is a director, writer, cinematographer and artist who has been creating imaginary story worlds his whole life. His creative vision together with his knowledge of cameras and lighting give him the ability to bring a painterly sensibility to his work, and has earned him acclaim from peers and critics alike. For his work as cinematographer on RADIANT, Robert Koehler of Variety Magazine wrote “Lenser Alan Ray’s work stands out.” RADIANT premiered at the 2005 CineVegas film festival and garnered praise from artistic director Trevor Groth who hailed the film

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as “Feature filmmaking at it’s most creative.” Alan received an award for his cinematography on the web series, RED ROVER at the 2012 LAwebfest Alan has written and directed numerous short films, winning Best Director for a recent 48-hour film competition, and selling his film BLANK PAGES to the anthology fantasy/sci-fi show DARK MATTER. In 2006 Alan made his feature debut ditrecting the haunting psychological thriller DEADLAND DREAMING. Most recently Alan has been shooting and directing his new sci-fi web series, the dark and edgy SHADOW 44. Set for release in July of 2012, the series was an official selection of the LAwebfest and the GenCon Film Festival. JETER RHODES (Editor/Sound Mixer/Camera Operator) met Chris White when they were teenagers who dreamed of making movies. Since then, the two friends have completed three feature-length films — GET BETTER (2012), TAKEN IN (2011), and BRAGGING RITES (2003) — and two award-winning shorts. In addition to his work with Chris, Jeter also collaborates with producers Jeff Sumerel and Brian Tankersley of Dark Corner Films. And, following the success of their film NIGHTFUR (2011), Jeter plans to launch a new project later this year with writer-director Jason Brown called FALCON SONG. Jeter is looking forward to working with the Whites’ on their soon-to-be-announced, Fall 2012 project. DAVID C. WRIGHT (Music) is a Columbia, South Carolina-based musician and multi-instrumentalist. He has been writing and recording original music since age 14, and composed his first pieces for television at 17. In the years since, he has played guitar, keyboard, and bass in nearly a dozen bands, written and recorded hundreds of pieces as a solo artist, and composed for a number of short films, television advertisements, and documentaries. GET BETTER is David’s first full-length feature film score. For an eclectic introduction to his music, visit: www.soundcloud.com/interblock1969.

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JENNIFER BAXLEY (Producer) has always been involved in theater, film, photography, and fine art since her undergraduate years at Furman University. Since that time, Jennifer has produced six music videos and an increasing number of independent films — including Paris MTN Scout’s TAKEN IN (2011) and GET BETTER (2012). She is the creator and executive producer of the Rocumentarian, an reality-style program where local non-profit organizations race against the clock to create their own music videos for popular songs, and in doing so, raising awareness and support to their cause. Last year, the Rocumentarian was awarded a Palmetto Pillar Award by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Information Technology Council for Technology in the Arts. Jennifer’s trademark as a producer is her car, which appears prominently in every film she works on.

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