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Spilled Tea is a comedic short film by St. Petersburg-based filmmaker Devin A. Rice, featuring Gulfport\u2019s Brenda McMahon Gallery. Photo by Brenda McMahon<\/p>\n
Spilled Tea is a comedic short film by St. Petersburg-based filmmaker Devin A. Rice, featuring Gulfport\u2019s Brenda McMahon Gallery.
Photo by Brenda McMahon<\/p>\n
Gulfport got a taste of Hollywood in October, when a short film was shot at the Brenda McMahon Gallery on Beach Boulevard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spilled Tea is a 10-minute comedy by St. Petersburg-based filmmaker Devin A. Rice. It follows a hitman and his junior partner, who bungle a job, Rice said.<\/p>\n
Their mark is a gallery owner, which meant that Rice needed an art gallery to film. He\u2019d scouted a few galleries in St. Pete, but they didn\u2019t have the right look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, while having lunch at Stella\u2019s one day, they noticed the Brenda McMahon Gallery across the street, thinking \u201cwhat\u2019s up with that gallery?\u201d Rice said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The gallery specializes in fine art and contemporary craft, and features McMahon\u2019s own ceramic work. Rice said finding it was serendipitous.<\/p>\n
Spilled Tea, A Short Film<\/p>\n
Back in May, Rice approached McMahon about using her gallery. They discussed the plot, McMahon said, to be sure she was comfortable with the content.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spoiler alert \u2014 she was. Fast forward to a Friday in October, and the film crew arrived early in the morning to begin production. They only had a four hour window to shoot before the gallery opened for business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was crazy short,\u201d Rice said. \u201cWe went over about 15 minutes, but Brenda was super sweet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The 13 crew members and four actors are all local.
Photo by Brenda McMahon<\/p>\n
McMahon said watching the shoot was really fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of neat to see that setting in a completely different artistic form,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have our artistic forms, and they have theirs \u2026 it\u2019s just really cool to see\u00a0 all the different takes, why they take another take, all the nuance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 13 crew members and four actors are all local. Rice said he enjoys working with a small crew because it becomes like family.<\/p>\n
He specifically wrote the gallery owner\u2019s role for the actor Eric Casaccio. He wore his own clothes, including a red velvet blazer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the film was shot in locations around St. Petersburg. Now that filming is completed, Rice will edit it and compose its score (he\u2019s also an animator, colorist and photographer). Next, he\u2019ll have a test screening and continue tweaking it before he starts submitting it to national and international film festivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Local Filmmaker<\/p>\n
Rice lived in St. Petersburg in high school and went to Eckerd College. He spent the first 25 years of his filmmaking career in Central Florida, then moved to the West Coast, living in California for 20 years, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2020, he moved back to St. Petersburg and has made several films here since. He spent two years making the documentary, Underground History with his producing partner, Polita Glynn. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s about the \u201csystemic erasure of indigenous and Black culture and St. Pete and surrounding areas,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also teaches film part time at the University of Tampa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI get to work with young, zealous filmmakers at the beginning of their careers, which is also fun for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To learn more, visit devinrice.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arts<\/a> All Around!<\/p>\n The Gabber Newspaper covers live theater and art<\/a> across South Pinellas. And, when we find something worth the drive, we cover art in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas.<\/p>\n