Port Film-Making Family Unveil Movie in Hoboken

The Brennan family of Port Washington returned to the Hoboken International Film Festival this year, after winning four awards including Best Picture last year, to show off their newest independent film, Maggie Marvel.

Maggie Marvel is a dark comedy about a single mother who moonlights as a contract killer for extra money while, at the same time, trying to raise her 10-year-old daughter. Maggie Marvel, played by Selene Beretta, must deal with family issues with a dark comic edge. She must balance career and family, murder and math homework. She's pushed into a dangerous world, only to find she's very good at it.

In the movie, Maggie's daughter, Samantha, played by Diana Brennan, worries constantly about her mom. She never knows if she is going to come home and has to fend for herself all the time. Things really get interesting when Samantha gets caught in the middle of Maggie's world.

"The film focuses heavily on the mother-daughter relationship," said Diana's father, Dan Brennan, who wrote and directed the movie based on his idea of creating a "James Bond mom" type of character.

He said Maggie Marvel is part of the "Marvel Gang" of women recruited by Dutch Marvel as killers. "There's a line in the movie that explains, women are far more ruthless than anything else the Lord has made," Dan said. "They give life and are far more comfortable taking it. Maggie Marvel will be a hero to soccer moms everywhere, especially to those raising kids in the suburbs. … She doesn't take nonsense from anybody. Yet, at the same time, she's also dealing with the issues of raising a 10-year-old daughter."

Last year, the Brennan's first film, "The Video Guys," won a total of 11 awards in the three film festivals it competed in. It won Best Film at the Hoboken Film Festival and won Best Feature at The Long Island Film EXPO, along with five other awards. At the International Family Film Festival in Burbank, Calif, the film won Best Comedy and Best Supporting Actress, Sabrina Brennan.

A movie family making family movies

Silly Sisters is the Brennan's Production company. It is unique because it is a family run company. Mother Jeanne Brennan is the producer and cinematographer, father Dan Brennan is the writer/director and their two children, Sabrina and Diana, are supporting actors in both films. The first movie, "The Video Guys," was such a success, that the family recently booked a worldwide distribution deal with Curb Entertainment in Burbank, Calif.

"It's not like we just got together and built sets or hung up lights," Dan said. "You have a situation where each member of the family took on a specific and major level of creative responsibility for the film."

Dan said the idea of making a movie was something he'd always dreamed of, but it wasn't until the technology became affordable that he started to think it could be possible. Dan and Jeanne have previous experience in professional movie making. Dan is a commercial actor and a full-time video producer and videographer. Dan has appeared in over 100 national commercials, including spots for Subway, Wendy's and Staples. You may have seen Dan as the Dad in the recent AT&T roll over minute commercials.

Jeanne worked as a Production Coordinator on feature films for 12 years, including: "Carlito's Way" with Al Pacino and as line producer working with Johnny Depp in "Donnie Brasco." Jeanne took a 10 year hiatus from film to raise a family. She has secured world wide distribution for "The Video Guys" following festival wins in Hollywood, Hoboken, and Long Island for Best Picture. In addition to being a mom, Jeanne is also President of Silly Sisters Production Company (the Brennan's company that produced Video Guys and Maggie Marvel). Jeanne is also a class mom and Girl Scout leader for both of her daughters' Girl Scout troops. She insists that no matter how busy they are, the whole family needs to find time to sit down for dinner every night.

Dan and Jeanne say their daughters enthusiasm and interest in movies is what really convinced them to take on the challenge of creating an independent film. In fact, they named their production company, Silly Sisters Productions, after their daughters. "We would talk about it from time to time and our daughters would chime in and encourage us to make the movie it every day," Dan explained.

Jeanne added, "When they started going to movies, to my surprise, my kids wanted to know all about my movie career. My two girls became so fascinated with my past work in the movie business, their enthusiasm inspired me to get back into the business as a producer. To be back in the business with my girls at my side is an incredible thrill!"

Indeed, Sabrina, 13, and Dianna, 11, said they enjoy working on and starring in the films. Sabrina's performance in "The Video Guys" won her the 2009 Best Child Actor Award at the International Family Film Festival in Hollywood California. "I enjoy working on movies," Sabrina said. "My dream really is to lend my voice to the next Pixar movie."

Diana added, "I would like to work on more films in the future."

Dan and Jeanne said their daughter's education is very important, so they scheduled their shooting accordingly. "The girls never missed a day of school," Dan said. "All of their scenes were shot on the weekends or after school."

Another unique thing about the film is that it is rated PG. Jeanne explained that it is unusual for an independent film to be family friendly. "There's nothing we wanted more then to make a movie that we could take the whole family to," she said. "I certainly didn't want to make a movie that my own daughters couldn't see."

Maggie Marvel received numerous award nominations at this year's Hoboken Film Festival, but did not win. However, the family said the experience was fun none the less and Diana received great recognition for her acting and may have some major acting offers in the near future.

Maggie Marvel is set to make its Long Island debut at the Long Island International Film Expo at the Bellmore Movie Theater on July 10. For more information, visit www.maggiemarvel.com.

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