It’s often believed that people who have seemingly drastically different personalities will often clash and don’t have enough commonality to form a meaningful friendship. But upon further inspection, their apparently clashing personalities are ctually the perfect initiator for them to form a lasting connection. That’s certainly the case for the two main characters in the new crime thriller, ‘My Last Best Friend,’ as their shared duplicity, and the need to keep it a secret, unexpectedly bonds them together during a period of universal loneliness.

The drama was written and edited by Filippo M. Prandi, who also made his feature film directorial debut on the project. He also served as a producer on the movie with its lead actor, Eric Roberts.

Majox Films released the feature in Brooklyn last Friday, September 15 at Stuart Cinema & Café. The thriller is also opening in Los Angeles today, Wednesday, September 20 at Cinelounge.

Set in New York City in March – April 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘My Last Best Friend’ follows two men, both named Walter Stoyanov (Roberts, who plays both roles), while they watch as their lives get turned upside down. As one of them falls ill, the other one is being investigated by FBI Special Agent John McCallany (Rico Simonini).

Prandi and Roberts generously took the time recently to talk about penning, helming, starring in, producing and editding ‘The List’ during an exclusive interview over Zoom. Among other things, the filmmakers discussed that they wanted to make the drama in order to analyze the overarching concept of friendship. The duo also mentioned that they enjoyed working with the rest of the cast, particularly in showing how the isolation that resulted from the COVID lockdown truly affected people’s personalities, actions and relationships.

Film Factual (FF): Filippo, you wrote the script for the new thriller, ‘My Last Best Friend.’ What was the inspiration in scribing the screenplay for the film? How did you approach scribing the script?

Filippo M. Prandi (FMP): I have to be a bit mysterious about the inspiration because otherwise, I would give away the ending. (Prandi gives a hint of a laugh.) Something happened to a certain real-life individual in 2011 in Santa Monica in a real-life event, which gave me the idea to write the screenplay.

I also wanted to write the screenplay because I wanted analyze the whole concept of friendship by featuring the most unusual type of friendship between these two characters. They’re both named Walter Stoyanov and have the same look. They both live under the same roof. If you watch the movie, you’ll realize that that’s what the movie is all about; it’s about their friendship, and what it means to be a friend to one another.

FF: Eric, you play the dual roles of both Walter Stoyanovs in the drama. Why were you interested in playing the two characters in the movie?

Eric Roberts (ER): Well, when I got the script, it was the only time I was offered to play two characters at the same time and who are talking to each other. Just the challenge alone of that made me want to do it.

Then Filippo turned out to be a great leader, and is brilliant technically. So we had a great time making the movie together.

But it turned out to be one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had. So I was completely focused, to the point where I couldn’t be involved in anything, even wardrobe; I was like, “I don’t care.” I had to be so focused on what I was doing that everyone else had to do everything else. Filippo allowed me to have that luxury, and he really took care of me.

FF: Filippo, in addition to penning the screenplay, you also made your feature film directorial debut on ‘My Last Best Friend.’ How did writing the script influence your helming style on the set? How did you approach your overall directorial duties on the set?

FMP: Well, this is my first feature film, and it was really trial by fire. It was challenging from a technical standpoint. But at the same time, I couldn’t lose track of the fact that it was a drama.

So there had to be important, dramatic performances. But granted, this gentleman over here (Roberts) pretty much directs himself, and doesn’t need any help from me to play a character as brilliantly as he does.

But the director’s job is always split into two factions: the technical aspects and directing the actors. I have certain technical requirements that I can’t possibly avoid, as otherwise the whole affect wouldn’t work. But I have to let my actors breathe and come up with their own performances. So that was pretty much my approach.

FF: Speaking about the drama’s technical aspects, how did you both work to determine how you would shoot the feature, particularly the scenes in which both of the Walter characters are on screen together?

FMP: Like I said, it was very challenging from a technical standpoint. We weren’t allowed to mess it up. (Prandi laughs.)

For example, in the first scene when the two Walters, who were both played by Eric, are together, one character brings the other character a glass of water. So Eric had to place that glass on the table as one Walter, and then the other one had to pick it up. But by mistake, someone from the crew moved the glass, so we had to do the first part of the scene all over again. We knew there were certain technicalities that we couldn’t simply avoid because otherwise the whole effect of the two characters interacting wouldn’t work, and there’s nothing worse than that.

FF: ‘My Last Best Friend’ is set in New York City in March and April 2020, at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, and was recently shot on location throughout the city. What were your experiences shooting the movie on location?

ER: Well, from an actor’s point-of-view, there’s no place better to shoot than New York City. The cops like us, the people on the street like us and all the passing cabs like us, so it’s a great place to work. I highly recommend shooting in New York City.

FMP: They like him – I can say that!

ER: I know a lot of the cops from a lot of other movies.

FF: Besides penning, helming and starring in the thriller, you both also served as producers on the feature. How did you balance your producing duties with your directorial and acting duties?

FMP: Well, when Eric came on board as a producer, he helped us figure out the logistics for certain things. For example, he came up with a brilliant solution for the subway scene. I like to call it the ‘French Connection’ scene. If you watch it closely, you can tell it’s reminiscent of a scene from that film with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey in the subway. But the problem with our scene was that it was a logistical nightmare.

I was both producing and directing the film during the shoot. So it was difficult to strike a balance between those two jobs, especially on difficult scenes like the one on the subway. But overall, I think it turned out pretty well.

FF: Filippo, in addition to writing, directing and producing ‘My Last Best Friend,’ you also served as the editor. How did you approach editing the film?

FMP: I come from video editing, as I’ve worked for a production company located in Brooklyn, Optic Nerve, for about a year-and-a-half. So I already knew that I was going to edit the film myself. I have to say, I love the editing process, as you’re really putting everything into shape.

There were certain scenes where I decided to put add insert shots here and there, mostly due to Eric’s performance ging us the opportunity to do so. For example, there was one moment where Eric looked around with a smile on his face, so I decided to add an insert shot of a picture of his doctor’s daughter; I figured that’s the way he would respond to a cute family photo.

FF: The drama also stars Carol Alt and Rico Simonini. What was your experience working with the other actors to build the characters’ relationships?

ER: The other actors were lovely. Everyone was very prepared and kind. We had five minutes to make this movie, so everyone was ready to go. It was a great group.

FF: Filippo, how did you approach casting the supporting actors for ‘My Last Best Friend?’

FMP: We had a great casting director, Rita Powers. I was actually supposed to work with her on another movie, but we had to put in on hold because of the pandemic; we were supposed to start principal photography in the spring of 2020.

So I already knew Rita, and knew that she could help me find some amazing actors. Some of them were already cast in the other movie that we didn’t make. With the others, she simply found them; she found Nathaniel J. Ryan and Ken Driesslein, for example. She really did a wonderful job.

I’m really happy with the final outcome. I really think their performances are great. They were great next to Eric. I was concerned that some of them may feel intimidated at certain points because they didn’t have quite the same experience, but they held their own and were great.

FF: Speaking of COVID-19, why did you decide to include the pandemic in the movie?

ER: Well, it was such a worldwide event that you couldn’t just ignore it, especially since we didn’t know how long it was going too last; it could have lasted six or eight years. That’s not likely, but we didn’t know, so we had to roll with the punches. Filippo is great with rolling with the punches. (Prandi laughs.)

FMP: Yes, like Eric said, there’s no way to avoid it. I originally had the idea for the film before the pandemic, in 2019, and I know that I was going to write about these two identical-looking characters at some point. I also knew that one of them was going to get sick at that point.

Then, as COVID came along, I incorporated it into the movie. I don’t feel like I’m spoiling anything because it’s in the trailer that one of them gets sick. But since I knew that one of them was going to get sick, I thought they were going to get COVID because it’s there and unavoidable. When you shoot on the street, you can see the masks.

It’s also something that everyone can relate to because we all experienced it. Who hasn’t lost someone at some point due to COVID?

FF: ‘My Last Best Friend’ (opened) in Brooklyn at Stuart Cinema & Café on September 15, and is also opening in Los Angeles today, Wednesday, September 20 at Cinelounge. What does it mean to you that the thriller is opening in theaters?

FMP: I wanted to release it theatrically. It’s an independent movie, and I didn’t expect for it to have a broad theatrical run.

But even having a limited theatrical run is a luxury. So many movies in this day and age go straight to streaming, and eventually they get lost in the shuffle. I was born in ’83, so I grew up watching movies on the big screen, so I wanted my first feature film to be seen theatrically.

So we first (opened) in Brooklyn, and then we (took) it L.A., and then we have other cities lined up, which we’ll eventually post. But as for right now, we have the first two markets secured. So the idea is to have the movie screen for the rest of 2023, and then eventually it will go to streaming in 2024.