Danny Wagner spent the first 22 years of his life in Charlottesville. The son of academy-award winning filmmaker Paul Wagner and documentary-maker Ellen Wagner, the kid was surrounded by cameras, lights and microphones, so – of course – he wanted to make movies.
“My first films were Lego stop motion films I made when I was like 6 or 7. I remember my dad showing me how to use iMovie and learning how you create the illusion of motion.”
He studied film at UVA, landed several internships and a job on Ravage – a horror film shot in Orange County, Virginia. That’s where he learned what a production assistant does.
“It was a very intense shoot. We were out in the woods and everything. The shoot hadn’t even started yet, and the production manager pulled me over and was like, ‘I need you to get sheets from Target!’ That was my first mission – to run an hour to the nearest Target and get some bed sheets for crew who were going to be staying at this farm we were shooting at.”
He went to Hollywood and got more jobs as an assistant, but it was hard to pursue his long-term goal.
“I didn’t have a history there, so it was hard to come up with stories and create movie ideas that I wanted to make.”
Then COVID hit.
“You know the industry didn’t look like it was coming back any time soon, and I just really felt like I needed a huge breather from the west coast.”
So he came back to Virginia and began work on a screenplay -- the story of a young guy who – during the pandemic – struggles with a day job while nurturing his talents as an artist.
“There’s a tiny window of time,” says the lead actor. “After a long day, after dinner, dishes, TV and whatever where you can either work on that thing that you really like or you can worry about tomorrow. Every night though, it gets harder to do that. The stuff you like just fades away, and man, I’m always worried about tomorrow.”
Wagner reached out to friends and industry contacts – people who could contribute money or talent to making the film he called For The Taking.
With less than $100,000 to spend, he was happy to shoot here in central Virginia where he didn’t have to worry about permits and location fees. He knew people and places – like the independent supermarket where his main character works.
“On our field trips to Sugar Hollow, we would stop and get popsicles at this grocery store in Crozet," Wagner recalls. "I was like, ‘I bet they would let us shoot there,’ and so we called them up, and sure enough it was very easy. They were super kind.”
His cast members were pals who had never acted before. Listen in to this scene where Victor tells a friend he’s sent in this month’s rent check, but it’s going to bounce, because he’s been laid off. His friend has a plan:
“I’m going to go in there, ask to use the bathroom. Then I’m going to find your rent check and hide it somewhere in the office,” he explains.
“Aren’t they just going to come asking me for it?” a startled Victor replies.
“Yeah, and you’re going to tell them you sent it certified mail. They definitely have it. Maybe it got misplaced. You really have to be firm with them.”
“I don’t know, man,” Victor says.
“They’ll look around the office,” his buddy continues, “and then – boom – it was right behind the filing cabinet, and by then you’ll have some cash.”
Programmers thought they did well enough to earn a spot in this year’s Virginia Film Festival, so they’ll be on stage after the premiere -- along with writer, producer, director and editor Danny Wagner.
“I was just over the moon. Not only is it a fantastic festival in its own right. It’s also like the first festival that I ever went to," he says. "It’s beyond a huge honor for us to be there.”
For the Taking premieres Sunday, October 29th at 4:45 in UVA’s Culbreth Hall. Tickets for that and many more films are available at VirginiaFilmFestival.org.
