The Filmmakers
Christine O'Malley and Patrick Creadon
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From Producer Christine O'Malley:
From the very beginning, it was our goal to make a film that can be enjoyed not only by those who love puzzles but by those who love movies. For us, this was a personal journey into the world of someone we greatly admire. We found that there were many people like us that wanted to know more about this world of crossword puzzles and it really struck a chord in some people. There were a number of times that people would come up to us after a screening and say how much they appreciated the film because it reminded them of a parent or grandparent that is no longer able to do the puzzle.
Crosswords are one of the few pursuits that seniors and young people can take pleasure in and Will Shortz has worked very hard to make the joy of crossword puzzles available to almost anyone. One of the greatest compliments we have received is when people tell us that since seeing WORDPLAY they have started doing crossword puzzles or that they have gone back to doing crosswords after some time away from them. Hearing that the film resonates with people in that way is incredibly satisfying to us and we attribute that to the characters profiled in the film. We were very lucky to find people who would allow us to tell their stories, because we knew that in order to make a really good film, we’d have to find engaging characters. Our hope is that WORDPLAY stands the test of time and that this is the kind of film that people enjoy over and over again.
Her three favorite films:
The Insider
Dave
What About Bob?
Her advice for aspiring filmmakers:
Find a project that you are passionate about and figure out a way to get it done. There will never be a perfect time to take the leap—just do it.
Her most inspirational food for making independent film:
Pasta. Because much like independent film: it is inexpensive; it can be made in a variety of ways; it cooks fast.
Bios
Christine O’Malley
Producer
Christine O’Malley was born in Manhattan and raised outside of Chicago, where she attended DePaul University and Columbia College. She started in non-fiction production as a researcher at Van Ness Films on the A&E Biography series. Later she teamed with Producer/Director Scott Goldstein on several critically acclaimed documentaries for the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance. In 2002, O’Malley and Goldstein developed and produced a pilot for PBS called End Game: Ethics and Values in America. In 2004 she served as an associate producer on Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. In 2005 she was looking for a project with a really short title when WORDPLAY came calling.
O’Malley and Patrick Creadon are married and have two young children (and a fantastic dog). They currently live in Los Feliz, CA.
Patrick Creadon
Director
Patrick Creadon was born in Chicago and is a 1989 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He began his career as one of the youngest cameramen in the history of PBS, shooting and producing cinema-verite style stories for the critically acclaimed series The 90’s. He earned his master’s degree in cinematography at the American Film Institute, where his thesis film, on which he served as director of photography, was nominated for a student Academy Award. As a cameraman, Creadon’s work has appeared on every major network, including NBC, CBS, ABC, MTV, VH1 and ESPN. He has also done work for Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Sony, Universal Studios and Disney.
Creadon is a “Wednesday/Thursday” crossword solver, though he once finished a Saturday New York Times puzzle (almost). He’d rather not talk about it.
Read about the making of WORDPLAY >>
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