Calvin thinks his new next door neighbor will bring his unlucky streak to an end. Unfortunately, he’s right…

Synopsis:

Boy-Next-Door is a dark comedy about a down and out boy-next-door type in his early 30’s who pins his last hopes for happiness on a promising friendship with a new neighbor, only to discover that this neighbor has a disturbing secret that may bring Calvin’s desires to an ugly end.

About the Production:

When Producer / Director / Actor, Travis Davis, began developing the script with Executive Producer, Cale Boyter (e.p. of Wedding Crashers, Elf, and A History of Violence), and writer, Stephen Garvey, he needed a large, threatening looking, but sympathetic man to play the role of TIM, the aforementioned "new neighbor."

Fortunately, that was around the time Davis saw a very tall (6’ 8") and perfectly imposing man getting off an elevator at the William Morris Agency in L.A. Davis described the encounter, "A closer look revealed that it was none other than "Bull," the lovably odd baldheaded bailiff (though now older and with hair), from the 9-year-running hit NBC sitcom, Night Court. After that, I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role." Apparently, Davis and Moll were both voiceover clients at William Morris. What a god send!

Out of nervousness, or not having a completed script, or both, Davis didn’t introduce himself that day, but the casting seed was irrevocably planted. A month later, with a polished script in hand, Davis pestered his agent for Richard’s contact info, and was put in touch with Moll’s manager, but suffered through a few weeks of unreturned phone calls. Davis said, "… at that point I faced the unsavory reality of going with a different actor, probably someone unknown, but I thought I’d give his manager one last try"; that was the day he finally got through. As luck would have it, the manager liked the sound of the project, and put him in touch with Mr. Moll who ultimately said yes to the film.

Why did Davis make the film? He has enjoyed a successful 7 year run in L.A. as a full-time actor---successful in the sense that he’d not had to wait tables, was able to buy a house, and support his wife and two children. Everything from acting in film, TV, theater, commercials and corporate videos, to hosting, to stand-up comedy, to doing voiceovers, paid the bills. "However," said Davis, "It got to the point where I was tired of not being creatively challenged, I felt I was capable of more, and really wanted to do something about it. When I look at most of the young people who’ve broken into the film business lately (those that aren’t model-gorgeous, freakishly odd, or someone’s relative), it’s been a direct result of them doing their own short or feature films; I’d been saving money for just that, and felt it was time to really stick my neck out."

Davis found NYU screenwriting grad., Stephen Garvey, through a literary website, inktip.com, and loved a couple of his feature-length scripts, but they required too much money for him to produce. "That’s when I asked Steve if he had any short film ideas. He pitched me three of them, one of which I found really funny and intriguing, and that’s how ‘Boy-Next-Door’ was born." After assembling a talented supporting cast of recognizable faces, and putting together a seasoned crew, Davis saw it all through, now has an award winning, buzz-creating short film to call his own. Stay tuned…

The Key Players:

To learn more about the players below, click on a name to view individual bios.