A Cajun family comedy about mistakes, high stakes & never giving up . . . Even when maybe you should

Written, Directed and Produced by TOM KRUEGER A HARMONIC PICTURES Production

Starring

MARY KAY PLACE • LOUIS C. NORRIS • CAROLINE HELM TOBY RODRIGUEZ • KARA ST. CLAIR • JIM PHILIPS

Director of Photography PAUL SANCHEZ

Original Score DIRK POWELL and TOM KRUEGER Production Design CECE COLE

Costume Design CLAIRE HEDLUND Editing TINA PACHECO

Sound Design TOM PAUL Associate Producers ALEXANDRA MARVAR, PETER McCABE, RACHEL NEDERVELD

Line Producer TABITHA McKINNEY

Synopsis Set in the small Cajun town of Lafayette, Louisiana, YOU’RE IN CHARGE begins on the day Eddie Guidry returns home from prison. Armed with the self-realizing wisdom of “The Quantum Secret,” he sets out to reinvent himself as a doctor of alternative medicine. With the help of the latest technology in urinalysis, an off-beat internet

campaign, and a positive attitude, his new career in helping people take charge of their health is just within reach… Now all he needs is the eight-thousand-dollar down payment. Meanwhile, Eddie’s very pregnant sister is preparing for a home birth, and her recently unemployed husband is desperate to get back to work. Eddie, full of good intentions, persuades him to sign on as a business partner, but when things don’t go as planned, it’s not long before the whole family is embroiled. In this comedy of errors, the Guidry family is determined to stay together.

Film stills, top: Dickie joins Eddie for an unexpected fishing trip after suddenly losing his job. Bottom: A Guidry

and LeBlanc family blessing for Samantha and her baby.

Director’s Statement I went down to Lafayette in 2007 to make a video for a much-loved Cajun dance band, the Red Stick Ramblers (“Made in the Shade”). It was literally a life-changing experience. I met so many amazing people who opened up their homes and their hearts. They came to the video shoot looking for nothing more than a good time and pitched in with all they had: Home-cooked food, costumes, props, construction… It was wild and I was in Love. I didn’t want to leave … So, I didn’t. I ended up buying a house and making it my home for five years. I began studying Cajun fiddle anywhere and everywhere I could — I’ve been lucky enough to study with some of the greats, and I still can’t get enough of it. While living there, I made a short film called DEEP ON HOG MOUNTAIN with my buddy Dirk Powell, a well-known Cajun musician who lived in the Lafayette area. It was just me and a video camera, extremely low-tech, but we had so much fun making it. We couldn’t stop laughing. I ended up with a really funny little short film — about 35 minutes — and I only spent about three grand on it. So I thought, “Well, hell, if I can make a half-hour film for three grand, why not make an hour-and-a-half film for nine grand?” I dusted off a script I’d written a few years before and modified it, writing my best friends into the lead roles. These are very unique individuals whom I just love, and I knew they’d be amazing actors — they’re always fun to watch in real life, so why not? And off I went. That was the original intention, but before I knew it, it was getting bigger and more complex. Soon, I’m putting everything I have into it, yet I still had my buddies cast in the lead roles. At one point, I thought, “What am I doing? This is turning into a big project, and none of these guys are professional actors.” But as we dug deeper, I realized just how much each one of them was bringing to the table. After a few rehearsals, it became clear that they were the only people who could play these roles, and, in fact, they were amazing. But the real boost came when Mary Kay Place got involved. We’ve been friends for years, since I shot two films (MANNY & LO, COMMITTED) in which she acted. I sent her the script and asked her if she’d be willing to play the matriarch of the family. I admit, I was pleasantly shocked when she agreed. That’s when it became a real movie — not just some weekend project. Soon, I had Paul Sanchez (OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL) on as my DP, and we kept gaining momentum. We wrapped shooting in 2012 and we are preparing for a Fall 2013 release.

Story Inspiration from the Director Ironically, the concept for this film originally came as a result of getting so many random virility spam emails. “Increase your sex drive. Increase your size, Buy this and become a real man,” etc. I thought, What kind of desperados get into this business? And then I wrote a script about them. It originally took place in Niagara Falls, but it wasn’t tough to change it to Louisiana. After several drafts, I decided that the virility thing was too one-note. I needed something a little more complex, with more layers, and I was really struggling with that. This all happened late in the pre-production stage. In fact, we were only a few weeks from shooting. It was the one thing I wasn’t settled on, so I was working hard trying to figure it out when the phone rang. It was my doctor asking if I wanted to do some allergy testing. A year before, I thought I might be allergic to something, but I couldn’t figure out what. But at this point, this was the last thing on my mind, as our first day of shooting was rapidly approaching. Of course, when the nurse asked, “How’s tomorrow at eleven?” I said, “Great.”

Now, this is my legit, medical doctor—not an alternative doctor or anything like that. When I showed up at the office, the nurse led me into a small room and had me place my hand on a metal orb. Then she began to ask me all sorts of questions, while the orb “sent digital signatures to my body” which analyzed everything from bone density to toxins in the body to organ function, even which vertebrae were weak, and vitamin deficiencies… I mean everything. I thought, How on earth can this metal orb send signals through my hand and figure all this out? Of course, they also wanted to sell me a dozen supplements that would “balance” my body. After an hour and a half, they had about $400 worth of supplements on the table, which I politely declined, insisting that I wanted to do a bit more research on this technology. However, they still got me for a $150 just for the exam. Upon returning home, I did some investigating. The only “beta” testing they had ever done with this machine was on the Red Army in China, and the developer was now living in exile in Hungary. Also of note, it is actually illegal to use a “Bio Feedback” machine for anything other than biofeedback. And yet, here is my M.D. doctor introducing this technology into his practice — cutting edge? Or hocus pocus? I was completely baffled, until it hit me like a freight train: This was a gift from the muses. This was the “virility” replacement I needed for my script. And that’s how Eddie Guidry became an aspiring doctor of alternative medicine.

Visit the digital press kit at youreincharge.org for high-res film stills

Production Notes from the Director Because the majority of my leading cast has known each other for years, the chemistry was strong and ever-present. There was no awkwardness, no internal power struggles, nothing of the sort. They fell right into being a family. That was an incredible benefit to working with my close friends as actors. The tough part about working with non-professional actors is that they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. They really struggled with just how vulnerable they were going to be, and how demanding I was going to be. In some moments, it would have been just as easy for them to walk away and go back to their day jobs, but there was no way they could give up — and they never did. They gave me 100 percent. Another benefit of my relationship with this cast is that they would never let me to fall into any Cajun clichés. Toby Rodriguez (who plays Dickie LeBlanc) was especially vigilant about that. I remember shooting a scene in which Dickie unexpectedly joins Eddie, his brother-in-law, on a fishing trip. I wanted it to seem like he was really unprepared to be out on the water — he's even wearing a business suit after coming straight from work. For that reason, I asked Toby to fish with a stick instead of a pole. But he insisted, "No way, podnah... Every Cajun would have a few extra poles in their truck. Next thing, you're going to have me chewing straw and running around barefoot." They wouldn’t let me fall prey to anything that could possibly be interpreted as inauthentic, mocking, or exploitative. I was lucky to have them steering me right (Though in the end, Toby saw my point and used a stick!). Many Louisiana natives I know tire of being stereotyped as alligator wrestlers or drunks in film and television, when in fact, theirs is one of the most interesting subcultures in America, deeply rooted in its French and Acadian heritage. So many of my friends play traditional instruments and sing in French. Acadiana is like nowhere else I know, and throughout making this film, I was constantly mindful to portray the culture with the utmost respect.

Soundtrack Cajun musicians Dirk Powell • The Red Stick Ramblers • David Greely • Jesse Lége • Joel Savoy • more

“The soundtrack is what took this whole project over the top,” said Tom Krueger. Krueger was thrilled at the chance to develop a score with renowned Cajun musician Dirk Powell, who had previously starred in and contributed music to Krueger’s film short DEEP ON HOG MOUNTAIN. Together they composed much of the soundtrack, which also features Cajun musicians Corey Ledet, Richard Comeaux, Eric Frey and Linzay Young (The Red Stick Ramblers), David Greely, Joel Savoy, Kelli Jones-Savoy, Jesse Lége, Clelia Stephanini, Emma Young, Kevin Wimmer and more, as well as Anthony Molina and Jeff Mercel of Mercury Rev, Christian Dugas from the Duhks, and others.

Cast Biographies

Mary Kay Place (Penny Guidry) Mary Kay is an American actress, singer, director, and screen writer. She is best known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN, a role that won her a Primetime Emmy Award. She has had major roles in dozens of major motion pictures and televisions series, including THE BIG CHILL, THE RAIN MAKER, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH,

THE WEST WING, BIG LOVE, and many more. Krueger and Place first worked together on MANNY & LO (Scarlett Johansson, Aleksa Paladino), on which Krueger was the Director of Photography.

Louis C. Norris (Eddie Guidry) Louis C. Norris was born and raised in Louisiana’s “Prairie Cajun Capital” City of Eunice. There, he practically grew up in the local Player’s Community Theater, where his family had been actively involved for decades. He also spent much of his childhood at the family-owned radio station, where traditionalist disk-jockeys fought

to keep Cajun music alive during a period of waning popularity. Though he currently lives in Alaska where he is pursuing a career in medicine, Louis remains closely connected to his culture and community. As a musician, painter, and aspiring film maker, he enjoys sharing the riches of the Cajun way of life wherever he goes.

Caroline Helm (Samantha Guidry) A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Caroline Helm is an actress, singer, musician and emcee. She recently appeared along side Kara St. Clair in the on-location theater production of BATAILLE. Other recent theater credits include, CABARET, IN HIS GRACE and THE DREAM OF THE MARIONETTES, which was invited to New York's Fringe Festival. Caroline is currently in production on

the film, HOGWASH, directed by Zack Godshall. She was also a founding member of the alt-country group called “The Figs,” and, in 2010, created a well-known old-time music variety show in Lafayette, The Nue Moon Review, which she emcees.

Toby Rodriguez (Dickie LeBlanc) Toby was born and Raised in Cecilia, growing up in the heart of Cajun, Louisiana. He was always a gifted artist and illustrator but soon became involved with Amy Waguespack’s Acting Up Theater Company. However, one of his favorite “acting” jobs is riding as one of the lead capitaines in the Courir de Mardi Gras, in Faquetigue,

Louisiana, just outside Eunice, which landed him a role in the HBO series “Treme.”

Kara St. Clair (Dawn) Kara has been working with Acting Up Theater in Acadiana for the past eight years, where she began as a student of the Summer Youth Shakespeare Ensemble. Student turned company member and teacher, she assists private theatre classes and serves as acting coach. She was accepted into an international delegation at

the Festival TransAmèriques in Montréal, and was also a recipient of the Hill-Bonin PASA

scholarship with which she studied with SITI company in Chicago. Notable shows include A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, AS YOU LIKE IT, MACBETH, SUSTAINED WINDS, PLAY MUSIC HEAL, and UNBEARABLY LO[ ]ELY. Most recently, Kara danced in an original dance piece entitled I’VE STOPPED HAVING THAT DREAM I’VE BEEN HAVING, and starred in an on-location play, BATAILLE.

Jim Philips (John Guidry) Jim grew up in Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. He became interested in performance at an early age, and studied theater at Ouachita University in ArkadelphiaArkansas. After thirty years running a private Montessori school in the San Francisco Bay Area, he chose to live in South Louisiana, where his first foray into acting was a lead roll in the Red Stick Ramblers music video “Made in

The Shade.” He has directed and produced multiple short films, and runs a filmmaking program for youth.

Crew Biographies

Tom Krueger (Writer, Director, Producer) A long-time member of the International Cinematographer’s Guild and the Director’s Guild of America, Tom Krueger has shot and directed a wide array of projects from feature films to commercials, music videos, documentaries and shorts. Director of Photography credits include FISHING WITH JOHN starring John Lurie, Denis Hopper and Matt Dillon; THE UNITED

STATES OF POETRY directed by Marc Pellington; MANNY AND LO starring Scarlett Johansson, and COMMITTED starring Heather Graham, which won the Sundance Award for Cinematography. Tom wrote and directed the short film FUZZY LOGIC, staring Jared Harris and produced by Ted Hope, an official selection at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, and winner of the New York’s Gen-Art Film Festival. Most recently Tom wrote, directed, and

produced the feature film YOU’RE IN CHARGE via his production company Harmonic Pictures, LLC, with whom he will also self-distribute the film. Tom’s recent work includes several concert films, including U2 in 3D, U2 LIVE AT THE ROSE BOWL (which he directed), ONE DIRECTION in 3D (Fall 2013) directed by Morgan Spurlock, and a Jim Jarmusch documentary about Iggy Pop and the Stooges. He has also shot and directed many music videos for artists including U2, DAVID BOWIE, STEVIE WONDER, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BOB DYLAN, LENNY KRAVITZ, REM, THE RED STICK RAMBLERS and many more. Dirk Powell (Composer, in collaboration with Tom Krueger) Preeminent Cajun musician Dirk Powell has expanded on the deeply rooted sounds of his Appalachian heritage to become one of the preeminent traditional American musicians of his generation. He learned to play banjo and fiddle at the feet of his grandfather in Kentucky, from which he went on to found the Louisiana Cajun group Balfa Toujours and record extensively with such artists as Jack White, Joan Baez, Levon Helm, T-Bone Burnett, Loretta Lynn (playing several instruments on her Grammy-winning release “Van Lear Rose”), and Spike Lee. He has contributed to the soundtracks of film including COLD MOUNTAIN and O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU. Paul Sanchez (Director of Photography) Paul Sanchez, Director of Photography, has been working in the film industry for 20 years. After attending the San Francisco Art Institute in photography, Paul began his career in the camera department on the set of SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDER, starring Mike Myers. By 2007, Paul had over 45 motion picture credits including WALK THE LINE, 3:10 TO YUMA, and SIDEWAYS. In 2008, director Sam Raimi hired Paul to shoot the 2nd Unit for DRAG ME TO HELL and again in 2010 for OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. Paul's Director of Photography credits also include many independent feature films and commercials. Tom Paul (Sound Design) An Emmy Award winning Re-Recording Mixer and a highly regarded Sound Designer, Tom Paul is one of New York City's most sought after talents in the field of post production audio. Tom got his professional start as a boom operator in 1988, moving on to production

mixing in 1991. Some notable titles of his early years in production sound include: TRUST, THE WEDDING BANQUET, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, LITTLE ODESSA, SWOON and THE YARDS. In 1994, his passion for sound lead him to the creative environment of post production. Some highlights of his sound design and re-recordng credits include the Academy Award winning films THE FOG OF WAR and BORN INTO BROTHELS. Other notable films include: JUNEBUG, PALINDROMES, THE KING, and U2 360, the largest selling concert DVD of all time. He won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding mixing on Joe Berlinger's UNDER AFRICAN SKIES. Tina Pacheco (Editor) Tina Pacheco has been an involved in editing feature films for over 17 years. She began her career in editing as an assistant editor, when she worked on Kimberly Peirce’s BOYS DON’T CRY and Whit Stillman’s THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO. Editor credits include feature films LIVE FREE OR DIE, winner of best narrative feature at 2006 SxSW Film Festival, BLACKOUT, official selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, and Giancarlo Esposito’s directorial debut GOSPEL HILL (Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, Julia Stiles) which premiered at 2009 Woodstock Film Festival, Edoardo Ponti’s comedy COMING AND GOING, and many others. Pacheco has a BFA in Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Claire Hedlund (Costume Designer) Claire has spent many years working in the Louisiana Film community. Her extensive costuming credits include THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, PUBLIC ENEMIES, TREME, MIDNIGHT BAYOU and many others.

Cece Cole (Production Designer) Cece Cole has worked as an art director on numerous films by Louisiana-based production company Bullet Films. Her art installations have been exhibited across America, and in Slovakia, Berlin, Budapest and Japan. She has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Iowa. She received a BFA from the University of Louisiana, LA, and a joint MFA and MA from the University of Iowa.

Film Details

Country: U.S. Language: English Running Time: 1 hour : 28 min : 00 sec Shooting Location: Louisiana Production Co: Harmonic Pictures

Contact Tom Krueger: tom @ harmonicpictures.com +1 917 363 4567 Press contact: Alexandra Marvar alex @ harmonicpictures.com