Matthew Jordan hasn’t been getting a lot of sleep these days.

Speaking to Free Times on Tuesday morning, Jordan admits he’s only had about one hour of sleep in the past 48 and is “pretty much running on brain stem right now.”

His schedule is understandable. As the writer/editor/director of the dark comedy My Sweet Misery, which debuts in Columbia at Carmike Cinema in Irmo this Friday, Jordan has been working to get his cast and crew together for the hometown premiere while simultaneously promoting the film, working a regular job and mentally writing his next script.

Matthew Jordan

Despite a shoestring budget, Jordan was able to entice well-known independent film actors Thomas Jay Ryan (Henry Fool, Fay Grim), Anna Chlumsky (My Girl, In the Loop) and Zach Hanks (Come Away Home, TV’s Criminal Minds) to the project on the strength of script — no mean feat for a first-time writer and first-time director. For the rest of his cast and crew, he is using predominantly local talent, including Ann Burns and Lawrence Needle as producers (and actors) and original music from Tim McLendon.

The work is paying off. So far, My Sweet Misery has won Best Cinematography at the Charlotte Film Festival and been selected for the SoCal Independent Film Festival and the Orlando Film Festival. Most importantly, it is one of four films selected out of thousands submitted to Carmike Cinemas for its Independent Film Series, which presents the winning films at select venues for only $5. Friday’s showing will mark the 19th city the Carmike series has been to.

Such early buzz impresses even a seasoned Los Angeles-based actor such as Zach Hanks, who plays the lead character, Sam, in the film.

“I was pleasantly surprised and excited to find out that Matthew had not only secured a release but such a broad one,” says Hanks, who earned his MFA from the University of South Carolina in 2004 before relocating to Los Angeles where he has found a high-profile career in voicing video game characters in addition to acting work. “Come Away Home had between a $2 and $3 million budget, and it didn’t go to nearly as many theaters. It’s a testament to the film itself that with such a low budget and no big-gun celebrities that he was able to do that.”

For Jordan, who considers himself “pretty much a recluse,” the positive feedback and reviews have been surprisingly good.
Syndicated reviewer Gary Wolcott had this to say of the film: “Outside of Star Trek and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, [My Sweet Misery] will likely be the most fun you’ll have in a theater all year.”

“So far it has been really, really positive,” Jordan says. “It’s a nice feeling after putting so much blood, sweat and tears into a project. That review was a mind-blower, a dream first review.

“My highest ambition is that it can get some cult-level success, be a micro-budget success that’s hopefully a stepping stone to potentially more films.”

Audiences for the movie — which will show at 7:15 and 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7, 10 and 12 — will see a host of homegrown talent on the big screen. Local actors include Christopher C. Cook, Jason Craig, Richard Jennings, Steve Harley, Patrick Michael Kelly, Shane Walters and Patrick C. Williams, among many others in supporting roles both on-screen and off.

“There’s just an amazing talent pool in Columbia for our actors and crew,” Jordan says. “I’m so thrilled with the local cast, the music is phenomenal and my cinematographer, Bill Burton, was absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t be more pleased with the talent I had to work with.”

The talent was equally impressed with Jordan.

“Matthew is such a hard worker and he is incredibly sincere and genuine,” Hanks says. “His quiet sincerity was actually inspiring; there’s never a moment when you feel like you’re getting sold, and there’s certainly not enough of that in the film industry.” 


Let us know what you think. Email rona@free-times.com.