By Adam Langer
“I’m kind of worried, man,” Sikora says. We’re sitting in Parrots, a bar at Halsted and Wellington. After more than a decade of cranking out low-budget films in Super-8, Sikora’s now completing Bullet on a Wire, his first full-length feature and the first movie he’s made on 16-millimeter. At the same time he’s in preproduction for a film that he’ll shoot this summer on digital video called Rock ‘n’ Roll Punk. It’s about a garage band in Elgin. The script is by Joe Carducci, the founder of SST Records and the head of Provisional Films, a video distribution company.
“Yeah, that was a tough shoot, but we had a worse experience on a Sikora film.”
The film’s about a sociopathic telemarketer named Raymond, who, through a twisted chain of events, causes a troubled young woman named Tanya to murder her abusive stepfather. Raymond’s sister and Tanya’s shrink is played by Paula Killen. Tanya’s opportunistic boyfriend, who tries to sell Tanya’s story to a tabloid TV show, is played by David Yow, front man for the rock band the Jesus Lizard.
His sense of urgency results in his making unrealistic demands on the crew. But it’s probably the thing that gets his movies made. This is his dream, and he won’t let anyone disturb it.
“Action!” Sikora shouts.
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“Yes I did,” Kern says. “I told that weasel to have his money on the bar, so he had nickels and dimes all over down there. I thought I’d hear him scoop them all back up, but he’s a pro. You got to give him that.”
