“I told myself I would take a year off and recharge after the sale of charlieuniformtango,” said Lola Lott who served as the Dallas and Austin-based postproduction company’s co-owner, principal/CEO prior to its sale in November 2021 to three of the studio’s partners. “I did that and then Jason [producer Starne] came knocking. I can’t say what’s next for sure but I know I love a challenge and producing movies certainly has them.”
That rapping on the proverbial door was Starne reaching out to Lott with the opportunity to serve as executive producer/producer on the feature film Tonic, written and directed by Derek Presley. This marked the fourth collaboration in just three years for Presley and Starne–the first three being the features Whitetail (2021), Red Stone (2021) and Boon (2022).
Lott similarly enjoyed a collaborative bond with both Starne and Presley prior to committing to Tonic. In fact, Lott has known Starne for 20-plus years. “When I ran charlieuniformtango, Jason supported a lot of our infrastructure as well as provided CG and VFX for us from time to time. We just built a strong friendship along the way,” recalled Lott who added the quip, “You might say he pulled me out of retirement [for Tonic].”
Meanwhile Lott had connected with Presley on two previous films that he directed and Starne produced–Boone and Red Stone. “Jason brought some of the post to charlieuniformtango where we did the sound prep, file management, and assembly for the final audio mix on Red Stone. This was a great opportunity to work with Academy Award winner [for Gravity] Skip Lievsay who did the Red Stone final mix and then when they were finishing the Boon movie they trusted charlieuniformtango for the entire audio mix. So Tonic is really our third film to work together on.”
Tonic follows the journey of Sebastian Poe (portrayed by Billy Blair whose credits include Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For and Alita: Battle Angel). Poe is a down-and-out piano player trapped in a cycle of performing in seedy jazz clubs and dive bars. His life takes a dangerous turn when he finds himself in debt to a corrupt detective Terry Rush (Jason Coviello; Yellowstone, Stranger Things), who demands an $8,000 payment. Unable to pay, Poe is thrust into a nightmarish predicament when Terry gives him an unthinkable task—commit murder by sunrise.
Over the course of one fateful night, Sebastian’s path spirals into the dark, labyrinthine streets of Deep Ellum, an area just outside of downtown Dallas. Along the way, he encounters a cast of enigmatic characters, all the while grappling with his conscience and his deep artistic desire to simply play the piano.
The cast also includes Ammie Masterson (Better Call Saul, Thunder Road), Vernon Davis (former NFL player, Dancing with the Stars), Richard Riehle (Casino, Office Space), Lori Petty (Tank Girl, Point Break), and Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl, Children of Men).
Deep Ellum–known for its bars, clubs, tattoo parlors and sprawling nightlife–is also a character in the film, which is an homage to the cinema of the late 1970s and early ‘80s, drawing inspiration from John Cassavetes’ The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Martin Scorsese’s Afterhours. Tonic was shot in Deep Ellum over the course of 15 sultry summer nights in 2022.
Lott, whose made assorted contributions to advancing the Texas market over the years, shared some backstory on the selection of Deep Ellum as the backdrop for Tonic. “When we started looking at gritty and eclectic nightlife for the film’s setting, we considered New Orleans, SOHO New York, and old downtown Vegas amongst others but then once we scouted Deep Ellum we realized we had the perfect gem in our own backyard. All of us had been to shows or bars in Deep Ellum but never saw at it through the lens. Once Derek did some shooting tests with Billy, we couldn’t imagine any other place and most of our crew had already worked with us on previous projects so there was already a certain comfort level established with everyone. Dallas is often overlooked for its talent and scenery, but we see a shift coming and we’re proud to say our film Tonic showcases that.”
Still, Lott doesn’t look at Deep Ellum through rose-colored glasses, noting that a safety-first approach is always necessary generally during production, trying to account for all to contingencies. “We controlled whatever we could within our power, but the fear of unexpected hold-ups that could easily happen in a ‘party area’ of a city still sits with you. We were also following COVID protocols and shooting 15 all-nighters in the July heat of Texas was a bit daunting but we managed with flying colors.”
Making the proceedings less daunting was the extensive production experience–spanning short and long-form fare–shared by Lott and Starne. “Both Jason and I come from the short-form world and it was the perfect training and career path to prepare us for long-form,” assessed Lott. “It’s very hard to tell a compelling story in 30-60 seconds so having a full feature-length project is refreshing in terms of storytelling. Working with demanding commercial advertising clients prepares you for the demands of a tight 15-day shoot. We basically became the demanding client. We were tough on ourselves.”
As for her biggest takeaway or lessons learned from her experience on Tonic, Lott observed, “For me, it was when you have a tight committed experienced crew you can accomplish almost anything. You always have to be prepared and be willing to go with the ebbs and flows. We lost key crew people to COVID and when you are only shooting for 15 nights with talent only on set for a few days you have to be agile in finding backup solutions. Jason would say the hardest part was finding a real pay phone and a taxi cab.”
Lott has found it gratifying that momentum is building for Tonic. For one, the indie film has garnered a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. And most recently, the feature has secured an agent company, Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Oceana Studios under the aegis of CEO Danny Sawaf. Oceana has secured worldwide sales rights to Tonic, which was produced by U.S. production company Muscular Puppy.
