It’s been a little over three months since we wrapped on our latest feature film ‘STILL LIFE‘, and we’ve been getting asked every week about progress — so here it is: the rough cut is complete! That’s right — between moving countries and traveling over the past three months, we somehow found a way to put in the hours to assemble the first cut.
How long is it? It’s currently clocking in at a whopping 147 minutes without credits! We’re happy to acknowledge it won’t be that long when we’re done. Although the first major milestone has been achieved, we now move into the more creative side of the edit — after assembling and adding the audio — the admittedly daunting phase of trimming nearly 50 minutes(!) to reach our target runtime.
For those unfamiliar with the premise of the film: Chuck is cursed to live out his days like a piece of furniture — unaging, watching the highs and lows of countless houseguests pass before him. His best friend Les, his sole caregiver, navigates decades alongside him while their home faces the looming threat of demolition from a giant tech company. An absurd, poignant tragi-comedy spanning 30 years.
The first cut has offered invaluable insights, but also multiple challenges in shaping the narrative ahead. The script was a tight 98 pages, but with improv and some scenes demanding slower pacing, it has evolved into a larger and wilder epic than initially planned. It’s clear which scenes truly resonate, which tonal shifts land well, and where pacing begins to sag — so the job this week is to trim the fat (killing so many hilarious darlings along the way unfortunately). The next step will be ruthless: identifying redundancies, tightening narrative arcs, and refining character beats — so Chuck’s stationary vantage point becomes a dynamic emotional anchor rather than a static gimmick.
We’re excited to bring ‘STILL LIFE’ into better shape — honoring its absurd and poignant soul, its offbeat comedy, and 30-year sweep — while sculpting it into a leaner, more powerful film experience. Next up, we’re getting the sound team on board to begin work on music and sound design over in England, while we make those cuts and balance audio levels here in Dublin. Stay tuned for updates as we dive into the second pass before Christmas!
Some teaser stills below:
