BASIC INFO:

TITLE: No Sleep for Ronni
FORM: Narrative Medium-Length
GENRE: Sci-Fi / Fantasy
RUNTIME: Approximately 35 minutes
PRODUCTION COMPANY:  Tarazod Films & Media LLC

STATUS: Never completed (due to multiple issues, not the least of which was covid).

TAGLINES:

1) Grab hold of your dreams, or they'll do it for you!

2) TBA 

LOGLINE:

When a woman's nightmares become too much to bear, she makes a deal for a cure, unaware that her whole life will soon turn into one living nightmare.

SYNOPSIS:

Ronni is afflicted with chronic nightmares... has been for most of her adult life. Social anxieties and self esteem issues have been the result. Nothing has helped--until one day she receives an unexpected invite to partake in a clinical study on sleep disorders. Reluctantly she agrees. That's when the nightmare really begins.

TRAILER:

Not yet completed but on the horizon.

MOVIE POSTER "A":

Get a 300 dpi hi-rez image here.

MOVIE POSTER "B"

Get 300 dpi hi-rez image here.

WRITER / DIRECTOR / PRODUCER:

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

ROBERT LUGHAI

Writer / Director / Producer

VERONICA NARANG

Producer

MICHAEL HOLLY

Writer

COLIN CAMERON

Executive Producer

MARY MARTEL-CANTELON

Executive Producer

PORTIA ADNEY

Associate Producer

NICHOLAS R. WOOTTON

Associate Producer

TASHAI LOVINGTON

Associate Producer

CAST:

STARRING:

VERONICA NARANG

Ronni Dempster / Egyptian Queen

TIM TOWNE

Dr. Bly

PORTIA ADNEY

Ms. Slovak

SUPPORTING CAST:

NADINE JACKSON

Nurse Nia

BRYAN ROYSTON

Douglas

BAHEE SATHASIVAM

Dr. Heron

COLIN CAMERON

Dr. Cillion

VICTORIA SIEBOLD

Corporate Promo Narrator

MELISSA MINKOFF

Close Friend

SUSAN RATHKE

Medical Assistant #1

RYAN PEARSON

Dr. Cillion (voice)

ERNEST DIDDE-ESTEBAN

Egyptian High Priest

CASEM ABULUGHOD

Investor #1

DOUG REED

Investor #2

LOUIS SATHER

Investor #3

NEELAM KERKELA

Investor #4

RICKY HUNJAN

Investor #5

ANDY GLAYSHER

Investor #6

CHRIS WEIS

Security Guard

JEFF BLANKENSHIP

Research Surgeon

DW WANBERG

Test Subject

ADDITIONAL NON-SPEAKING ROLES:

TASHAI LOVINGTON - Sleepwalking Teen
IVY SURYANA - Medical Assistant #2 / Ronni Body Double
KELLY REHMER O'MALLEY - Masseuse
CAMERON FLYNN - AV Tech
JEFF MODJESKA - Research Doctor #1
REONDA WASHINGTON - Research Doctor #2

CREW:

J. PUC ZOTTERDEET - Editor
VICTORIA SIEBOLD - 1st AD
ERIK WITT - Camera Operator
JEFF BUSS - Camera Operator
JEFF BLANKENSHIP - Camera Operator
JEFF MODJESKA - Camera Operator
TERRY HOGAN - Camera Operator
T'NIA HARRIS - Camera Operator
MICHA JACKSON - Camera Operator
IVY SURYANA - Camera Operator
STEVEN FELLHEIMER - 1st AC
NICHOLAS R. WOOTTON -2nd AC
JEFF BLANKENSHIP - 2nd AC

SUSAN RATHKE - Script Supervisor
VICTORIA SIEBOLD - Script Supervisor
IVY SURYANA - Script Supervisor
JANET KJELLAND - Script Supervisor

RYAN MEUNIER - Boom Operator / Sound Mixer
STEVEN FELLHEIMER - Boom Operator / Sound Mixer
D.W. WANBERG - Boom Operator
CAMERON FLYNN - Boom Operator
NATHAN LEVY -Boom Operator

W. G. RICKEL - Additional Music Design
MICHAEL HOLLY - Additional Artwork

IVY SURYANA - Grip
JEFF BLANKENSHIP - Grip
CAMERON FLYNN - Grip

MICHA JACKSON - PA
DAVID RODRICK - PA
BRYAN FAY - PA
ROBIN WITT - PA
SIMON WITT - PA
JEFF ZACHOW - PA
JILL WOOTTON - PA

NICHOLAS R. WOOTTON - Craft Service
JILL WOOTTON - Craft Service
JEFF MODJESKA - Craft Service
JANET KJELLAND - Craft Service


BRYAN ROYSTON - Promotion
RICK GRANT - Promotion
AARON KESLLER - Location Consultant

THANK YOU:

RYAN ABBOTT (craft service)
BARBARA BOLAN (location)
DONNA BOUCHER (additional photography)
DOREEN GILES (location)
TOM GILES (location)
RICK GRANT (promotion)
T'NIA HARRIS (additional photography)
MICHAEL HOLLY (artwork)
JANET KJELLAND (location)
LUCIANO MATHERON (additional photography)
SUE MILLS (additional photography)
MELISSA MINKOFF (location)
VERONICA NARANG (additional photography)
GREG PHILIP (additional photography)
TOM PINKERT (additional photography)
W.G. RICKEL (additional photography)
JEFF ROBBINS (location)
SUSI SCHNEIDER (additional photography)
MARA TRUSTY (location)
BILL WHITE (location)
NICHOLAS R. WOOTTON (additional photography)

FUTURE KILLER (band)
SUN PRAIRIE MEDIA CENTER (location)
MILO'S SANDWICHES (Sun Prairie)

PRODUCTION STILLS:

• Veronica Narang (as Ronni Dempster) in "tunnel" scene. Get hi-rez 300 dpi pic here.

• Veronica Narang (as Ronni Dempster) in "forest" scene. Get hi-rez 300 dpi pic here. 

• Ivy Suryana (grip + Ronni body double) and Veronica Narang (Ronni Dempster) during filming of the climactic rooftop scene.

• Interrogation room (l-r) Colin Cameron (Dr. Cillion), Veronica Narang (Ronni Dempster), Ivy Suryana (grip + medical assistant), Tim Towne (Dr. Bly), Erik Witt (camera operator), Bahee Sathasivam (Dr. Heron).

• Kitchen scene wrap (l-r) Susan Rathke (script supervisor), David Rodrick (PA), Cameron Flynn (PA), Portia Adney (Ms. Slovak), Nicholas R. Wootton (2nd AC), Robert Lughai (director), Victoria Siebold (AD), Jeff Buss (camera operator).

• Portia Adney (as Ms. Slovak) on her drive through Paris.

• Green screen with Nadine Jackson (Nurse Nia).

• Bryan Royston (as Douglas the computer tech).

• Corporate experiment room (l-r) Robert Lughai (director), Jeff Modjeska (camera operator + research doctor), Jeff Blankenship (research surgeon), Chris Weis (security), DW Wanberg (research subject). Get hi-rez 300 dpi pic here.

Additional photos at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarazod/albums/72157644978510198

EVOLUTON OF THE SCRIPT:

Meager Beginning

The No Sleep for Ronni story took a long time to coalesce. It began on a whim on March 16, 2014. Spring was fast approaching in Madison, Wisconsin. The temperatures were on the rise and the last of the snow would soon be gone.

At the time, director Robert Lughai and actor Veronica Narang were working together on another short film, Don Circles the Drain. But Robert wanted to shoot something out on the frozen lake before the snow and ice had melted. No script. No story. Just the idea of Veronica struggling to make her way over the frozen surface. The thought came to them that this could be some sort of nightmare scene, as if she were being chased by an unseen nemesis.

It was around this time that we learned Veronica would be moving away to Phoenix at the end of July. So if nothing else, she'd have some "snow" footage to add to her reel before heading to the desert.

First Version

It was early June before the story was fleshed out and short scenes written. It wasn't meant to be any longer than a 2-3 minute film, more experimental than narrative. And yet we did give the Ronni character a problem. She was an unwilling patient at a sleep disorder facility where she was suffering from somnambulistic episodes. During her sleepwalking, she'd have vivid and strange dreams.

The Start of Production

We quickly scouted locations, developed wardrobe, secured props, and gathered our crew. Shooting began on June 25, 2014 and continued on and off for the next month. We filmed on the sixth-story rooftop of the downtown Madison Senior Center, at night on the sidewalks outside the University of Wisconsin Hospital, before sunset in a secluded city park, on a hot steamy afternoon in and around an old abandoned railway tunnel, and upstairs at a friend's Victorian-style apartment.

On the Shelf

July came to a close, Veronica moved to Phoenix, and Robert went back to work on Don Circles the Drain. Nearly a year and a half would pass without any further progress on No Sleep for Ronni.

In Limbo

In March of 2016, Robert sat down with his good friend Colin Cameron, the Executive Producer of the project (and the actor who played Dr. Cillion). They looked over the footage and created a rough cut of the frozen lake scene.

However, both Robert and Colin were focused at the time on another film collaboration, a documentary entitled Benjamin's Ride. There simply weren't enough hours left in the day for Ronni.

Sadly, Colin would pass away suddenly and unexpectedly in November 2016. All of Tarazod's film projects came to a halt.

Another year passes. Still no movement on Ronni. More than anything, the holdup was due to story problems. In the initial rush to shoot Veronica while we still had her, not enough time was devoted to the development of a proper script. We had nice shots, interesting settings, and well-made scenes. But how do we fit them together? How do we make it all work?

 New Direction

It was in late January of 2018 that the inspiration came. Robert had a dream one night about an ancient Egyptian queen in the age of the pyramid construction. When he awoke, he knew how all the parts of the story would now tie together. Boom baby!

Excited about the possibility, he contacted Veronica in Phoenix to see if she was still interested in completing the film, even if it meant more shooting. She was indeed! In the blink of an eye, the project had new life.

Then the very next day, Robert received a text message. It was from Veronica. She'd had an accident and fractured her leg in three places. She would be hospitalized for weeks, followed by months of rehabilitation. Of course all that mattered at this point was Veronica's health and well-being. But seriously, it was starting to feel like this movie was cursed!

Yet the two of them continued to text and talk. She was still onboard. They even incorporated her new situation into the story. The project was definitely back on, albeit delayed for a little while longer.

Re-Writes & Momentum Building

With our lead actor secured once more, we needed to insure that this time we'd have a solid script to follow. Robert invited writer Michael Holly to join the team, and the two worked back and forth, weaving the new tale in with the original. The goal was to take advantage of as much of the original 2014 footage as possible, yet not to the point of sacrificing the overall story.

As new scenes, new characters, and new lines were created, new locations were found, new actors were invited to join, and new crew were recruited. Veronica brought her unit together in Phoenix while Robert did the same in Madison. The tweaking and re-tweaking of the script would continue throughout the entire production phase.

Production Resumes

May 24, 2018 marked the first day of shooting in Phoenix. Robert would direct remotely via FaceTime. More scenes were filmed throughout July and August in both Arizona and Wisconsin. Production continued in Madison for the month of September, then finally wrapping up principal photography on November 17th.

Post Production & Pick-ups

The edit is progressing. As we move through scenes, certain pick-up shots will be needed to fill in the gaps. Yet, the long journey is nearing the end, and that feels really, really good.

IN MEMORIAM

COLIN CAMERON