A charming and comic New York tale about Emma (Sarah Paulson), single, successful, and NOT a dog person, who gets stuck with a dog, Willy, because her younger married sister (Maria Dizzia) is pregnant with twins and moving into a dog-free apartment.Her sister insists Willy is a good luck charm — he’ll help you find a man. And this turns out to be true… for Emma’s assistant, Zoey (Christina Brucato). One night while walking the dog for Emma, Zoey meets a dreamy guy walking his dog who wants to meet the next day at the dog park. Zoey told him Willy wasn’t her dog, but the thing is, the dogs hit it off also.First of all, Emma feels this was supposed to be her dreamy boyfriend, they bonded over her dog/good luck charm! But also, Willy met someone, too?! She’s a little pissed at Zoey, and very pissed at the mutt.
Summary info for schedule – will be hidden on film page
Whose Dog Is It Anyway?
11-minutes
Screening day / time
Whose Dog Is It Anyway?
Filmmakers
Running Time
Whose Dog Is It Anyway?
Filmmaker Notes:
Although I’ve written television, films, essays, and a book about dating, this short film marks my directorial debut. It was inspired by my experience with my St. Bernard rescue, Tink, because pre-Tink, I enjoyed a rather clean and carefree single existence. Then I got married (enter a little chaos) and my husband wanted a dog (enter more chaos). And what I learned was that as much as I loved my peaceful, orderly sanctuary of a home, it was good for me to make room for a little life in my life. I feel like this is true for many successful, single women I’ve written for and commiserated with over the years: At some point you have to embrace that which you can’t control (in this case, a hand-me-down dog) in order to love and be loved.To be honest, I’m not one of those writers who always wanted to direct. I think this is because I’ve had wonderful experiences collaborating with directors on scripts I’ve written, and I enjoy having another perspective brought to the table. However, I loved directing this short, loved having no barrier between what I imagined and what I was able to get on set, loved being able to express to the actors exactly what I wanted, loved letting them bring their own ideas to the project as well, loved being able to set the tone on the set, and loved letting people surprise me (like my props person, who happened to know how to make a pirate hat out of a newspaper). I still look forward to collaborating with directors on projects I write (I know I still have a lot to learn as a director), but I think I have a better understanding of the job now, and of how important storytelling is to the process, not just when you’re writing a script, but when you’re capturing it on film.I should add that directing your first film with Sarah Paulson as your star is like learning to drive on a Porsche. She’s a comedy machine, and I loved working with her, and with my entire cast. My cast did this film for free, to raise money for the ASPCA, and I will be forever grateful that they brought so much talent and laughter to the set, and to the film. — CINDY CHUPACK
Film details
Year(s) screened
- 2010
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