A bad date.
An accident.
An unfortunate thought.
A dark comedy about desire, disgust, and the peculiar arithmetic of human empathy.
Written and directed by Jonathan Vasata. Preparing for an independent production in Savannah, Georgia. Currently seeking actors, collaborators, and a suitable diner location.
Casting callJoin the productionRead screenplayFatLife
Claire meets Dennis for lunch after matching on a dating platform. He is funny, confident, and not quite the man she hoped he would be. When the date ends, something happens outside the diner that leaves Claire thinking about entirely the wrong thing.
Most of the film takes place over a single lunch. Its comedy comes from the distance between what people say about themselves and what they reveal without meaning to. The accident is abrupt; the response is stranger.
The film is interested in desire, manners, responsibility, money, and the uncomfortable places a person's attention can go.
Tone: dry, observational, uncomfortable. No winking at the audience. No broad comic performance.
Seeking performers
Casting interest is open for the following speaking roles. These are character descriptions, not rigid physical specifications. Performers should be comfortable with a darkly comic script and restrained, naturalistic acting.
Claire Lead · Woman · Playing early 40s
A larger-bodied woman, intelligent, dryly funny, attentive. She is polite without being passive. Her thoughts are not always as socially acceptable as her behavior. The role depends on tiny shifts in attention rather than overt reaction.
Dennis Lead · Man · Playing late 40s
A large-bodied man, personable and genuinely amusing. He thinks of himself as decent and principled. The contradictions in that self-image should emerge naturally, not through villainous performance.
Driver Supporting · Man · Playing 50s
Involved in the collision outside the diner. Shocked, frightened, and preoccupied with what has happened. His response to Claire is a crucial part of the film's final scene.
Waitress Supporting · Adult · Open age
Practical, unremarkable, observant. Appears at the beginning and end. The character should feel like someone who actually works in this diner.
Police officer / Paramedics / Passerby Day roles / Background
Small roles in the aftermath. Availability and exact requirements will be determined during scheduling.
Send your name, the role you are interested in, a recent photo or headshot, a brief introduction, any acting samples or reel, and your general Savannah-area availability. No paid submission service or application fee.
Email a casting submissionNo audition scenes are published here yet. Shortlisted performers will receive sides and production terms directly. The project includes discussion of body size and a simulated traffic collision; no performer will be asked to participate in an actual vehicle impact.
Help make the film
This is being organized as a small, deliberate production rather than a large crew exercise. Experience matters, but so do judgment, reliability, and an interest in the material.
Priority conversations
- Producer / production coordinator
- Director of photography and camera team
- Production sound mixer
- Location manager / diner liaison
- Production designer / props
- 1st assistant director / set safety coordination
Additional collaborators
- Gaffer / grip support
- Wardrobe, hair and makeup
- Editor and sound postproduction
- Vehicle / practical effects coordinator
- Production assistants and background performers
- Stills / behind-the-scenes documentation
Email: jonathan@vasata.com
How we're approaching it
Location and schedule
One diner is the principal location, with its sidewalk and street visible through the front window. Daylight is important to the film's ordinariness. The current goal is a compact Savannah-area shoot, subject to location access, permits, budget, and cast availability. Dates are not yet set.
Camera and performance
Patient compositions, readable geography, restrained coverage. The two coffee cups and the window are structural images, not decorative motifs. The actors should play the date as a real encounter; the film must never signal when the audience is supposed to laugh.
Accident sequence
The impact is largely conveyed by sound and a view from inside the diner. The aftermath requires a safely stationary damaged vehicle, controlled staging, and background emergency activity. No live collision or unsupervised road stunt is planned. Any street work requires a documented safety plan and appropriate permission.
Sound
Diner ambience, small changes in conversational distance, traffic beyond the window, a horn, impact, and the sudden arrival of emergency activity. Sound will carry the accident without turning it into spectacle.
Practical requirements
Two matching coffee cups and saucers, diner table and booth, window signage, lipstick continuity, food and check continuity, phone message inserts, a damaged-car setup, and emergency-response wardrobe/props.
Screenplay and access
The screenplay is complete enough to begin conversations. The full screenplay is available to prospective cast and crew using the production password. The ending is deliberately not reproduced on this public page. Read the screenplay.
Production details on this page are working intentions, not confirmed bookings, rates, permits, or crew appointments.
From screenplay to set
Find the diner
Secure a location with the right window, booth, exterior sightline, access hours, and owner agreement.
Cast the conversation
Audition Claire and Dennis together. Test timing and the uncomfortable transitions before committing to the schedule.
Budget the accident
Determine a safe, credible parked-car aftermath, sound approach, street permissions, insurance, and emergency-response staging.
The project is actively assembling its first production team.
Get in touch