CineMata's Movie Madness
  • Homepage
  • Guest Reviews
    • Rhapsody in August
  • Cine's Closeup
    • The Pale Blue Eye
    • The Munsters 2022
    • Hello, My Name is Doris
    • In Praise of Family
    • Venom 2
    • Ophelia
    • Mank
    • Macbeth 2015
  • Pioneering Feministas
    • Tar: Are You Being Gaslighted?
    • Janet Green: Tapping into the Dark Side
    • Women Make Film
    • Alice Guy-Blache
    • Auteur Directors
  • Star Spot
    • Juanita Moore
    • Raisin in the Sun 3
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
  • The Woman's Voice
    • Blonde 2022
    • Women Warriors
    • The Divine Order
    • Twilight: A Primal Call for Patriarchal Dominance
    • The Fierce Women of Summer
    • Martha Fiennes' ONEGIN
    • The Dressmaker
    • Sofia Coppola and The Silent Woman
    • Thelma and Louise
    • Bridesmaids 2011
    • Mildred Pierce HBO
    • Dragonwyck
    • Cousin Bette
    • Stage Beauty
  • About Cine
  • Top Ten Faves
    • 'Tis the Season for Murder
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2020
    • The Best Film Experiences of 2017
    • Female Villains to Die For
    • 10 Remakes to Remember
    • We Heart the Bad Boys
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2014
    • Most Memorable Moms
    • Cult Film Faves
  • Contact Cine
  • Hollywood Notables
    • Fiona Shaw
    • Viola Davis
    • Elizabeth Banks
    • Shia LaBeouf
  • Rave Reviews
    • Best of Netflix 2017
    • Mayhem
    • Dave Made a Maze
    • Lavender
    • Hail Caesar!
    • Spy
    • Gravity
    • Inception 2010
    • Black Swan 2010
    • Flight
    • Moonrise Kingdom
    • Lincoln
    • Looper
    • Lawless
  • Telegenic Static
    • Wednesday
    • Cine's 2018/19 Seasonal Faves
    • The Highwaymen
    • Cine's New Year Resolution: Watch More Netflix!
    • TCM : A Class Act
    • Best of TV * 2017
    • Female Detectives on TV
    • Neo-Renaissance TV: Feud & Big Little Lies
    • True Detective Navigates Noirland
    • Texas Rising
    • 2014/2015 TV Season Highlights
    • 2013-2014 TV Favorites
  • British Film & TV
    • The Banshees of Inisherin
    • Doc Martin
    • Song of the Swan
    • Death in Paradise
    • Miss Scarlet and the Duke
    • The Stranger
    • Sanditon
    • Collateral
    • Handsome Devil
    • Love & Friendship
    • Victorian Slum House
    • 45 Years
    • Anonymous
    • Appropriate Adult
    • Sherlock Holmes: Many Faces
    • Philomena
    • British Feminista TV
    • Brassed Off
  • The Golden Age
    • Gone with the Wind
    • Cleopatra 1934
    • Elizabeth Taylor: The Passing of an Icon
  • Who You Callin' Crazy?!
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
    • Count Bela: Nosferatu & Vampyr
    • Post Awards with Ida Lupino
    • The Duke: Cowboys/Aliens vs WWZ
    • Liberace Dishes
    • Elizabeth Taylor Visits Cine
  • Noir Greats
    • Nightmare Alley
    • The Big Heat
    • Femme Fatales: Crime is My Career
    • Femme Fatales: Honey, I'm Home!
    • Crime of Passion
    • The Loves of Carmen
    • The Many Faces of Noir
    • In Order of Disappearance
    • Boss - 2011/12 series
    • Pepe le Moko 1937
    • Mystery Street 1950
    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    • The Barefoot Contessa: A Noir Bridge to Nowhere
    • They Won't Believe Me
    • Dan Duryea Nails Noir
    • What Is Film Noir?
    • They Drive By Night
  • Commentaries
    • Award Season 2019 Redux
    • #OscarsSoTarnished
    • Orson Welles Independent Film Tribute
    • Oscar 2016: The Politics of Segregation
    • Hollywood Director's Club: For Men Only
    • Poliwood and the Hollywood Blacklist
    • Cine Mata's 2015 Picks and Pans
    • The Unbearable Whiteness of Emmy Hosting
    • Oscar's Dodge
  • Drive-By Reviews
    • Dark Phoenix
    • Nola Circus
    • Comfort
    • ATOMICA
    • Innuendo
    • My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
    • Film Franchise Meltdown
    • The Woman in Black
    • Girls with Guns 3.0
    • Coriolanus
    • Lady Scarface 1941
  • International Films & TV
    • My Pandemic Marathon Diaries
    • The Twelve
    • Mr. Sunshine
    • The World of International Noir
    • Romance of Our Parents
    • The Grand Hotel Saga
    • Don't Be Bad
    • The Handmaiden
    • Caramel / Sukkar banat
    • Morning for the Osone Family 1946
    • Fritz Lang's M
    • La Bete Humaine
  • Political Rx
    • Rebellion
    • Women in the White House
    • The Ides of March
    • By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
  • Culture Centric Cinema
    • Horror Noire
    • Self Made
    • Little
    • Hidden Figures
    • Fences
    • #Whiterose: Identity, Secrecy & BD Wong
    • Imitation of Life 1934
    • Frazzled Hair Wars
    • Soul Men
  • Indie Films
    • Scotland, PA
    • Adrift in Soho
    • H4
    • Paint It Red
    • HAMLET in the Golden Vale
    • Trouble is My Business
    • The Browsing Effect
    • Indie Films 2018 >
      • Clara's Ghost
      • Cold War
      • To Dream
      • The New Romantic
      • Here and Now
      • Unlovable
      • The Landing
      • I CAN I WILL I DID
      • Choosing Signs
      • Iron Brothers
      • Across the River
      • Josephine Doe
      • Sunset
      • SUNSET: Interview
      • The Forgiven
      • Kill Order
      • Midnighters
      • Half Magic
      • Looking Glass
      • Entanglement
      • Crazy Famous
      • Stratton
      • As You Like It
      • Hunter
  • eau de cinematic clunker
    • Avatar 2: The Way of Water
    • The Irishman
    • Almost Friends
    • The Osiris Child
    • Bushwick
    • Pilgrimage
    • Fun Mom Dinner
    • Once Upon A Time in Venice
    • Aaron's Blood
    • Black Rose
    • Lucy 2014
    • Transcendence 2014
  • Book Reviews
    • Conversations with Ray Bradbury
    • A Woman's View
    • Dark Dames
    • Auntie Mame's Favorite Son: Patrick Dennis
    • I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski
  • Documentary Picks & Pans
    • Black Ballerina
    • Leftover Women
    • Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
    • Unrest
    • Be Natural
    • Farmsteaders
    • Bombshell : Hedy Lamarr
    • Jungle
    • Who the F**k is that Guy?
    • The Man in the Camo Jacket
    • Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation
    • Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe
    • Listen to Me Marlon
    • I Am Not Your Negro
    • The Girls in the Band
    • TCM's Trailblazing Women in Film
    • The Honor Diaries
    • Side By Side
    • American Masters : Salinger
    • The Story of Film
  • LGBTQ pov
    • Making Sweet Tea
    • Drag Queens & Trannies
    • Milk 2009
  • Silent Classics
    • Charles Epting: Silent Film Historian
    • Hollywood's Silent Film Grave Huntress
    • La Boheme 1926
    • The Blot 1921
    • Pandora's Box
    • Don Juan
  • Art House Flicks
    • Birth
    • I'm Not There
  • Kid's Korner
    • Pokemon Detective Pikachu
    • Hotel Transylvania 3 : Summer Vacation
    • The Incredibles 2
    • Sherlock Gnomes
    • Paddington 2
    • Lego Batman: A Super Hero in Crisis
    • SING: Cine's 2017 Oscar Pick
    • Summer Flicks 2016
    • Kung Fu Panda 3 / 2016
  • Cine's Friends
  • Hollywood Award Shows
    • Cine's Fantasy Golden Globes 2021
    • Oscar 2020
    • For Your Consideration 2018
    • For Your Consideration 2017
    • 50 Shades of Oscar 2016
    • 2016 Golden Globes
    • 2015 Emmys Redux
    • 2014 Oscars: Plantation Politics
    • 2014 Emmys : A Dash of Racism
    • 2013 Emmys : Hold the Mayo
  • Archives
Picture

Trouble is My Business
An Interview with Indie Director Tom Konkle


By Paulette Reynolds
June 19, 2019



Director : Tom Konkle
Screenplay: Tom Konkle and Brittney Powell
Cinematography : Jesse Arnold and P.J. Gaynard  

Starring Tom Konkle/Roland Drake, Brittney Powell/Jennifer Montemar, David Beeler/Lew MacDonald, Vernon Wells/Det. Barry Tate, Jordana Capra/Evelyn Montemar, Steve Tom/Gavron Grozney, Mark Teich/Rivers, Ksenia Delaveri/Nadia, E. Sean Griffin/Jake, Paul Hungerford/Bert, Benton Jennings/Wilson Montemar


Picture
Director Tom Konkle brings back the 1940s classic film noir style with his Trouble is My Business, an homage to the hard-boiled detective genre.  Konkle's PI Roland Drake resides in a world of double-crossing pals, pistol-packing femme fatales, and shady underworld crooks - and that's just on a good day.  There's plenty of action as Drake hunts for a missing heiress and her father, a diamond and an elusive black book amid a rising body count.
Picture
The cinematography by Jesse Arnold and P.J. Gaynard does a fine job reproducing the black and white tonal scale similar to the vintage Warner Bros. crime dramas.  Konkle's tongue-in-cheek dialogue is sassy, needing only a faster pace to deliver more of an emotional punch.  But the dinner scene at the Montemar mansion, should go down as a Deja Vu Moment, recalling the 1985 sleeper Clue and snatches of Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein - thanks to the Lady GaGa doppelgänger - Jordana Capra's fantastic performance as Evelyn Montemar. ​
Picture
There's a couple of rough patches in terms of fast forward jumping to explain the backstory of Drake's downfall and a long film length, which compromises the ending; but Trouble is My Business is a fabulous way to honor the period and entertain film noir fans.
Picture

Tom Konkle sat down with CineMata to share some of his thoughts about Trouble is My Business and his creative process.

CM:  The most obvious question is - what inspired you to create Trouble is My Business?

TK:  “Other than a real love for the aesthetic and attitude of film noir, there are two things that inspired me to create Trouble Is My Business:  The first was the lack of crime forensics in the 1940s made it harder to do DNA and evidence analysis.  This  allowed the crime (that I was interested in wrapping into the story) make the “information” more valuable than other aspects.  Another inspiration was that film noir was born out of the lean budget restrictions on sets, lighting, set scale, colorful characters and stylized dialogue that helped create the genre.”
Picture
CM:  What films, writers and directors helped to shape your film?

TK:  “Out of the Past is definitely the grandfather of Trouble Is My Business in that the framing device is telling the story flashing forward in a car ride to a “final destination” as well as Jacques Tourneur’s lighting, use of humor and character work.  If you look closely on the movie marquee, after Roland and Jennifer leave ‘GG’, “Hang My Gallows High” is playing - this is the work that Out Of The Past was based on.   

Also Orson Welles - of course - as his indie style and spirit, that like me, he acted in films he directed and often poured money from his acting gigs into his own films too - just like I did in Trouble Is My Business.”
Picture
CM:  Can you share a bit about your background, and how it impacted your entrance into the film industry?

TK:  “I moved to Los Angeles with a degree in communications and literature as well as drama.  I studied acting, and live performances became my school.  My love of cinema continued while I worked as a professional actor and began writing and directing on other companies productions, including being a staff writer at Warner Brothers. 

I like striking a balance between the love of acting and understanding what it feels like to be an actor on a set looking for good direction.  I’d like to think my love and understanding of the production details (directing, shooting visual effects, editing and post production) affects the audience.”

Picture
CM:  Do you have any favorite Neo-noir films?

TK:  “So many favorite neo-noirs like Chinatown, Blade Runner
​(I watched it over and over for years), The Matrix, LA Confidential and even The Dark Knight are the favorites.”
Picture
CM:  The creative artist is forever working on their next ‘big project’.  What will your next production be about?

TK:  “My next project is called Island in the Stars.  It will likely be shot in Australia next year and Vernon Wells is one of the stars of the film.”

If the poster for Island in the Stars is any clue, Tom Konkle will continue to entertain us for a long, long time.
Picture

COPYRIGHT 2012/2019. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.  

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.