We love a good indie film here at The Movie Buff, and were excited recently to be able to watch “Love & Other Crimes,” a crime drama starring Justin P. Slaughter and Jordan Nancarrow. The film features crime and intrigue… and a bit of action, which is always hard for independent films to produce on a small budget, which “Love & Other Crimes” pulls off well. It has a bleak, dreary look to it, channelling films like “Training Day” and “The Departed,” yet features redemptive characters we want to root for. And wrapped up in the proceedings is a burgeoning love story that balances the film’s darker elements.
We were lucky enough to be able to speak to both lead actor Justin P. Slaughter and Director Clarito Zapanta about “Love & Other Crimes.” In the following interview we talk about making the film, pulling the whole thing together, if there is a feature film in store for audiences, and more.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
Mark Ziobro for The Movie Buff: Thank you for speaking to us about your movie! We enjoyed the crime/thriller. Can you both please introduce yourselves for our readers?
Justin P. Slaughter: Hi I’m Justin P. Slaughter, I’m an American actor, producer, recording artist, aviator and Certified Personal Trainer.
MZ: Clarito, can you tell us how you came to work with the film’s writer, Brandon Newman? And was this your first time working on a crime film?
Clarito Zapanta: I was introduced to Brandon through Justin. After reading his upcoming feature “Mrs. Missing,” I was hooked. I wanted to read more. His pages came to life easy in my mind, I love his instinct for a good story. I had done some crime drama narrative and a documentary law enforcement piece.
MZ: Justin, can you tell us how you came to work with Clarito Zapanta? Was this your first collaboration? And was this your first crime film?
JS: Long before we’ve became business partners and long before we’ve became brothers. I’ve came to work with Clarito back in 2021 on the Sci-Fi Short film titled “Egress.” He reached out to me online about possibly playing the lead in it. I wind up booking the role from the audition and IAJ Media flown me out to Bellingham, WA to film it. From there, there were several projects that we’ve wind up collaborating on. Feels like it’s been so much longer than the time that has passed. Blood couldn’t make us any closer.
We’re beyond ready to do the feature film. The story is truly incredible.“
Justin P. Slaughter
MZ: I love short films and the way they can relay important themes and even action in such a limited run-time. What drew you to this project? Had you worked on shorts before?
JS: We’ve worked on shorts before. What drew us to this project was Brandon Newman. Last year I starred in a feature film Brandon wrote titled “Mrs. Missing.” One of the great things about being an actor is that when you’re filming on set, you get to do a lot of networking and make new connections. Which is how I met Brandon. At this time I’m already a part of the company IAJ Media and we were looking for a writer for a couple of our projects on our Production Slate.
The screenplay to “Mrs. Missing” is incredible so I had to introduce Brandon to the team. Clarito and Kristina [Zapanta] read the screenplay and they loved it which led a unanimous decision to bring Brandon in on a couple of our projects. Brandon later told us that he wrote another screenplay titled “Love & Other Crimes.” We’ve read it and immediately was at awe with the story, we then got it in front of a investor who wanted to see a short film version of it made and it got green lit in no time. We’re beyond ready to do the feature film. The story is truly incredible.
CZ: God, family, Film. Film is an obsession and enjoy every part of the process. Even the most difficult ones. I come from the brand world where telling stories at a rapid pace was the norm. I had directed and produced many shorts, produced a feature and AD’d a pilot. [Personally] I love crime dramas. “The Godfather,” “Heat,” “New Jack City,” “Boyz n the Hood,” “Training Day,” “The Usual Suspects…” the list goes on. [These are] films that shaped some of my cinematic language. The volatile nature of these worlds makes them a raw choice for the storytelling landscape of filmmaking.
MZ: Justin, how did you find it working as one of the main characters in this film? Can you tell us what you liked about the film’s main character, Noah?
JS: I loved every bit of it. Starring in “Mrs. Missing” with an ensemble cast was what really broke the ice for me to be able to take on the helm as the main character in “Love & Other Crimes” because that was my first time playing the lead with a cast greater than one or two Actors.
I really love Noah because there’s so many levels to him. There’s this personality he has when he’s with Shaye, not to mention how he starts off with her when they converse for the first time. Then there’s the personality he has when he’s with the guys and trying to fit in. Finally there’s the personality he has when he’s being questioned. I’m trying to make sure I’m not spoiling anything hahaha. I love the layers of Noah. I really love the full-on depth of Noah in the [upcoming]feature film screenplay.
MZ: Was it hard to film the short’s more intense, action bits? Was it difficult to achieve authenticity on a small budget?
JS: For me, it was intense and yet smooth because I was able to really perform and my cast mates was able “piggyback” off of my performance and I off of theirs. After all “acting is reacting.”
It was so fun to watch his [Jason’s] creative process and transformation into the role.“
Clarito Zapanta
CZ: The Lord blessed us with great talent and a great crew. They really drove this one home. They were all able to dive into the heart of the story with their own authenticity to their roles. It was so fun to work with everyone and go through that creative process together.
MZ: Justin, what do you think your character is going through during this film? He seems to want to stay out of trouble but finds himself in the middle of it. Do you think Noah has a violent past?
JS: Noah’s backstory is pretty complex and there’s hints of that with the character throughout the short film. For starters, there’s certain agencies that deals with this specific type of crime. Then there’s the “little” details in Noah’s attire that tells his story. Again, I’m trying not spoil anything but with that agency, they only bring in THE BEST and Noah kind of hinted that to Parker Coleman.
MZ: For both: I really enjoyed the realism and sadism Jordan Nancarrow was able to bring to the role of Jason. How was it like working with him? Is Jason supposed to be a straight villain?
JS: Working with Jordan was truly an experience; he’s really great with his craft and being able to feed off of his vibe to be what Noah needed to be was everything to me. I see Jason and Noah as I see Toretto and Brian in “The Fast and The Furious”—especially when the crap hits the fan.
CZ: I love my initial conversations with Jordan. Who has a naturally upbeat personality. It was so fun to watch his creative process and transformation into the role. We’d be at awe at our monitors knowing we were capturing something special.
MZ: Clarito, Is “Love & Other Crimes” going to remain just as short film, or are there any hopes to turn it into a feature film? I can definitely see it has the potential for a longer treatment and all the actors involved bring their A game.
CZ: This was originally a feature film. We adapted to a short film to see what people thought and if they liked it enough, we could get other EP’s on board to support the feature film. The feature is awesome.
MZ: Were there any difficulties shooting this film? If so, can you elaborate?
JS: We had to cut a scene with Parker due to a very very tight schedule that we feel would’ve been great had it stayed. [However], we were able to pivot and improvise to the point that I believe we were still able to deliver the message.
CZ: There’s always some sort of challenge or unexpected occurrence in production. I concur with Justin.
MZ: What is next for the film? Are there any festivals coming up? Also, can viewers watch the film anywhere or is it currently just doing the festival circuit?
JS: I’m speaking for the cast when I say we are beyond ready to do the feature film. As of right now, it’s currently been submitted to several Academy Awards, BAFTA, and European Film Awards qualifying festivals. After the festival circuit we definitely want the people who haven’t been able to go to the festivals to see it at local theatre or stream it at their house.
CZ: Justin has been amazing as Noah and as our producing partner. He’s been hard at work helping with the distribution of “Love & Other Crimes.” I’m excited for people see it.
MZ: Where can our readers find out more info about the film? Any social media/website links?
JS: Yes, they can follow the movie page on Instagram, @loveandothercrimesmovie and on the web at https://www.iajmedia.com.
After the festival circuit, we definitely want the people who haven’t been able to go to the festivals to see it at local theatre or stream it at their house.“
Justin P. Slaughter
MZ: Anything else you’d like to add for promotion?
JS: For all the fans who enjoyed all of our other films, collectively and separate; I believe they’ll enjoy this one and demand the feature film.
