BIO
Pilot Light Pictures is a dynamic independent
film company birthed by a desire to tell unique
and exciting stories that offer a fresh palette
of characters, plots, and images to the independent
film scene. Their introduction to the film world
is a self described “paranoid parable” called
The Kingdom of Ultimate Power (K.O.U.P. for short).
It is an eclectic film about the ego of a once
promising screen writer in Williamsburg Brooklyn,
who has fallen into lethargy, and an ex, no holds
barred fighter who commissions him to write a
horrible screenplay at any cost: monetary, mental,
or physical.
Jeremy Buhler |
Pilot
Light Pictures was founded by Jeremy Buhler and
Gustavo Rodriguez and exists to “spark
original ideas and continue the inspired collaboration
we’ve had for years.” says Rodriguez.
The two became friends at Syracuse University
while enrolled in The School of Visual and Performing
Arts film program. Though they were acquaintances,
their friendship grew late in their sophomore
year when they bonded over a singular coincidence:
they were both suffering from insomnia at the
same time. Buhler recalls, “We started spending late nights
drinking, playing guitar, and talking film, music,
and art. That’s when we realized we shared
a lot of the same passions and views”.
Gustavo Rodriguez |
It was during this time that they began collaborating
on each other’s film projects. Buhler received
acclaim early on for his knowledge of film technique,
and for a versatility in style that ranged from avant-garde
to narrative. Rodriguez separated himself from
his peers by writing hysterical dialogue and
outlandish stories. Both enjoyed success as each
one’s junior and senior year thesis films
were chosen to appear in the Hoyt’s Cinema’s
New Filmmakers Showcase and Buhler was nominated
for the Kodak Cinematography Scholarship. In
addition, Rodriguez’s film “Tricky” went
on to become a finalist in the ImageNation Festival
in New York City, and he won the Hispanic Screenwriting
Fellowship from the Independent Feature Project.
Buhler has worked in every aspect of film production
from grip and electric to art department and
set carpentry, and has directed commercials and
multi-camera sporting events. He has also become
an accomplished film and television editor. Rodriguez
has found himself doing everything from starting
a vintage movie poster dealership to working
for the Knitting Factory record label. His diverse
tastes range from Sam Pekinpah to Walt Disney
and he draws a lot of inspiration from a folksy
and sometimes twisted type of Americana, which
bares itself in his work as an eccentric group
of characters and plots.
After years of hatching stories and pitching
them to other people, Buhler and Rodriguez decided
to take a leap and produce their own work. The
seed for The Kingdom of Ultimate Power stemmed
from an actual conversation Rodriguez had with
an owner of a puppet theater: “We were
supposed to be meeting about collaborating on
a children’s show, next thing I know he’s
pitching me this movie he calls ‘The Kick
Butt Movie’ starring his son-in-law, a
retired kick boxer.” Though he didn’t
write that movie, he paired with Buhler to write
a hilarious look at two polar personalities being
forced together to complete a terrible screenplay.
It was supposed to be a film that would be simple
to make on weekends with friends…it, however,
quickly turned into something much more. “We’re
both perfectionists”, says Buhler, “we
set out to make a little film for fun and the
next thing you know we were eliciting help from
our friends in the industry, having casting calls,
renting equipment and doing camera tests.”
K.O.U.P began to exceed even their expectations
when Bas Rutten, the world famous King of Pancrase & champion
of “Ultimate Fighting” (both are
no holds barred mixed martial arts fighting competitions),
fell in love with the script. “A friend
of mine suggested we contact Bas after seeing
him in a film and on CBS’s ‘The King
of Queens’. Shortly after he actually called
us and asked if he could audition for the part.”
Buhler exclaimed, “Minutes into the audition
we were convinced no one else in the world but
Bas Rutten could play the part of Vlad.”
The Kingdom of Ultimate Power has received much
acclaim and serves as a definitive first success
for Pilot Light and symbolizes their artful and
ambitious goals: “We want to make exciting,
eye-catching films that have a certain immediacy
but at the same time, bear our individual quirks
and outlooks.” says Rodriguez. They are
currently working on a feature length version
of K.O.U.P., and robbing local pharmacies for
their sleep medication.
Contact: info@pilotlightpictures.com
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