Director David Parker will start shooting The Menkoff Method, billed as a quirky “comedy of human resources,” in Melbourne on September 9.
The screenplay is by first-timer Zac Gillam. It’s the debut feature from White Hot Productions, the production arm of the White Hot Group. The producers are David Lee, Jan Bladier and John Kearney, with Ian Kirk as executive producer.
The plot follows David Cork, a young, introverted bank worker who’s more interested in drawing his comic book than his tedious job in the bank’s data processing centre. All that changes when an enigmatic Russian HR consultant, Max Menkoff, introduces sweeping reforms with devastating effects.
Menkoff’s unorthodox management techniques take on a dark and sinister turn, forcing Cork and the beautiful and formidable Ruby Jackson from the bank’s head office to try to save their colleagues from a fate worse than death.
The cast will be announced soon. Parker’s credits as producer, co-writer and DOP include his wife Nadia Tass’ films Malcolm, The Big Steal, Amy and most recently Fatal Honeymoon, a telemovie based on the true story of the American newlywed who drowned on her honeymoon and the subsequent investigation as to whether or not her husband was guilty of killing her, which starred Billy Miller, Amber Clayton, Gary Sweet and Harvey Keitel.
Kirk, a director of White Hot Productions, met Gillam, a solicitor who took up screenwriting, through a mutual friend. Kirk, who owns ROAR Digital, mentored Gillam and introduced him to Bladier and Lee.
Asked what attracted her to the project, Bladier told IF, “The screenplay is very out there and quirky, very much David Parker’s sense of humour.”
White Hot Group was set up to develop a slate of films. The Menkoff Method is privately financed. Bladier and Lee produced Simon Wincer’s The Cup.