Glen Cover Produces Indie Film

Glen Cove resident Scott Goldberg, a Glen Cove High School alumnus, recently wrote, produced and directed a 12 minute independent film called "Mr. Mullen."

It depicts the story of the fictional character Edward D. Mullen, who is a corrupt mayor of Glen Cove. Mullen eventually causes another character, Chris Mitchell, to lose his life savings, home and job due to money laundering and Mitchell decides to take matters into his own hands by getting revenge.

The movie, which was shot at various places in the city and released online on July 4, took a little more than a year to complete.

"The film is about the crash of the economy and what happens afterwards," Goldberg explained. "We live in dark times and things like this have actually happened when the economy went into a recession two years ago."

When asked why he chose a dark tone, Goldberg said, it's because he's a horror film fan. In fact, George Romero's "Day of the Dead" is one of his favorite movies.

"The film is so dark because we wanted to bring out that element of horror from a real life situation," Goldberg said. "One reason we made the film was to create awareness of corruption in the political landscape of America today. A lot of politicians and people in power are not being honest with the American people and because of that, independent filmmakers and artists should be inspired to speak with their art, rather than allowing mainstream ideals to dictate how they should think."

Goldberg, 28, who holds a bachelor's degree in film and video from Five Towns College in Dix Hills, simply said that producing movies is his passion. 

"I love creating certain atmospheres for viewers to get trapped in," he said. "I love getting the viewer to feel certain emotions. It's almost like playing God because you get to create a world for people to take in."

All of the film's expenses were out-of-pocket for the lifelong city resident, who is also a freelance videographer for Patch. The film was made on a shoestring budget of $800, and Goldberg said, the funds paid for the actors as well as some props for the set. 

"We didn't have a big production crew," he said. "We were more like a small family and everyone helped out with carrying equipment and whatever else we needed."

However, this is not Goldberg's first film. He also released "Loss of Hope" online earlier this year, which is about a man who witnesses a terrorist attack on the United States, and how he takes time to think about what his life was like before the attack. 

As for "Mr. Mullen," Goldberg said he plans to spread the news about the film as much as possible. He will also submit the piece to the Sundance and Cannes film festivals this month.

To watch the movie, visit MrMullenfilm.com.