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A Web Serial
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Dick Hopper, Private Eye
A Web Serial
Written By:
Tommy Fleming
Riley Smith
Directed By:
Alex Vazquez
Produced By:
Grant Collins
Tommy Fleming
Riley Smith
Paul Stanko
Alex Vazquez
A Fleming Films Production
www.DickHopper.com
[email protected]
Dick Hopper Channel
facebook.com/DickHopperPI
@PrivateDickHop
Logline
The world’s most gullible detective attempts to clear the
name of a patricidal lunatic, but accidentally exposes the
biggest crime syndicate in the city.
Synopsis
Vincent Dinero brutally murders his father in a power play for
the family’s fortune. To cover his tracks, he hoodwinks Dick
Hopper, a local private investigator, into clearing his name
and framing his innocent brother, Earnest Dinero, for the
crime. Instead of uncovering evidence to support Vincent’s
claim, Dick unwittingly exposes a sinister web of criminal
activity revolving around the city’s most dangerous drug:
corn. As Dick barrels blindly through an endlessly expanding
corrupt underworld, his sharp but smitten secretary, Goldie
Bucktum, attempts to salvage their stillborn case, uncover the
truth, and keep Dick out of harm’s way. Chaos abounds as
Dick tries to makes sense of a case where nothing is as it
seems, and nobody seems to know anything.
A hardnosed investigator with an
unshakeable sense of right and wrong, Dick
Hopper never lets pesky things like reason,
sense, or evidence get in the way of solving a
case. In his eyes, he’s the best man for the
job, and his eyes are the only eyes he trusts,
because his eyes are private eyes, and
private eyes are always the best men for
these jobs.
The demur and kind-hearted secretary,
Goldie is second only to a trench coat when
it comes to covering Dick Hopper’s back.
When things start unraveling around her
boss, Goldie is always hot on Dick’s heels,
tying up the loose ends he leaves behind.
Her keen mind always pursues the truth, but
her gentle heart always pursues Dick
Hopper…
The slimy, wriggling schemer of the Dinero
family, Vincent Dinero (V.D. to his friends) is
the worm that makes the apple go rotten.
With a chip on his shoulder, and not a hair on
his lip, V.D. won’t hesitate to murder his
father to gain control of his family’s illicit corn
smuggling operation. Now, if he could only
get this idiot Dick Hopper to help him clear
his greasy name, being bad would really start
getting good.
Soft spoken and limp wristed, Earnest Dinero
(or E.D.) is much more at home painting with
watercolors than in the midst of a murder
investigation. As innocent as a baby lamb in a
basket of cotton balls, and just as clueless,
Earnest Dinero is understandably
overwhelmed by his father’s death. However,
when the handsome Dick Hopper start
poking around for information, Earnest’s
welcoming personality isn’t the only thing to
rise to the occasion.
You might say that Ol’ Stiffy Thomas Dinero
is a tightfisted crook. You also might get your
legs cut off and have to hobble out of town.
So…he’s great! With dirty money in one
pocket, and the corrupt Mayor in the other,
S.T.D. is the marionettist pulling all the
strings in this city-wide puppet show. Overall,
he’s in a pretty great position…to get
murdered.
The youngest of the Dinero siblings, Daisy is
just that. Young. Too young. Too young to
drink, too young to drive, and too young to
be taken seriously by the rest of her family.
But Daisy will show them…she’ll show them
all, when she becomes Queen of the Prom.
And her boyfriend Rico will help her get what
she wants, whether he likes it or not. Luckily,
there’s one man who sees her for the mature,
refined damsel that she is. That man is Dick
Hopper. And that man has been wrong
before.
Drama Club Best of Fest, Best Newcomer,
AND Best Hug, Rico Ricardo is the best actor
he’s ever met. Even though his girlfriend
Daisy wants him to deal illegal corn and work
with (clearly) amateur thespian Dick Hopper,
Rico sees this project just like he sees
everything else; as an opportunity to
perform. A quadruple threat (singer, dancer,
actor, latino), Rico has got what’cho need,
esé.
Anxiously corrupt and constantly moist, the
flailing Mayor Whitmore doesn’t have time
for all this “investigation” bull-hocky; he’s
trying to gain control of S.T.D.’s illegal corn
empire and keep tabs on his ex-girlfriend
Jeannine. You haven’t seen her have you?
She better not be with that goddamn Pilates
instructor. The quicker Whitmore’s cronies,
Sgt. McRuff and Lindsey, can take care of this
Dick Hopper situation, the better. After all,
the Mayor has important things to worry
about, like getting an “adequately
proportioned” date to his holiday party.
The chief of police and former war buddy to
none other than Dick Hopper, McRuff keeps
the city’s streets clean and just. At least on
the surface. Underneath his iron-clad and
heartily mustached façade, McRuff is more
crooked than a coat hanger in a washing
machine, and twice as troublesome. With the
help of his trusted, sandwich loving stooge,
Lindsey, McRuff’s main focus is keeping the
Dinero’s illegal corn flowing for Mayor
Whitmore, and keeping his flash-backs to the
war at bay.
A man of few words and many sandwiches,
Lindsey is the stonewall muscle for Sgt.
McRuff. Silent and loyal, he obeys the
command without question. The day Lindsey
lets some civilian like Dick Hopper get the
best of him is the day he takes off his
sunglasses and stops eating sandwiches. And
that day has yet to come.
On the outskirts of town is where the Farmer
keeps his coop. A reckless vagabond, known
corn addict, and paranoid conspirator, the
Farmer is no stranger to doin’ dirty men’s
dirty work. Whether it’s growing the Dinero’s
illegal corn supply, or putting the whack on
Vincent Dinero’s opposition, the Farmer
proves that you only need half a brain to
commit a whole lot of crime. Maybe he
should have settled down and raised his
family, back when he still gave a cluck about
those sorts of things.
A real swell guy. The kind of guy who’d bail
you out of jail. Now, if only this bail
bondsman could keep that slippery Vincent
Dinero from running off, things would be
cool. Like jazz!
Hot on the heels of committing patricide, Vincent Dinero
approaches Dick Hopper, Private Eye with a false plea of
innocence and clear desire to acquit himself of guilt.
Hookwinked by Vincent’s slimy charms, Dick takes the case.
Dick questions Vincent’s brother, Earnest Dinero, about his
father’s death. Unbeknownst to Dick, his interrogation tactics
attract more than just answers from Earnest, but Dick only has
eyes for Earnest’s sister, the precocious Daisy Dinero…
While Vincent learns a thing or twosie about the law from his
friendly bail bondsman, Goldie goes undercover for a candid
interview with Earnest Dinero. Meanwhile, Dick’s dream-girl
steps out of his head and into his office when Daisy Dinero
walks through his door.
Dick ignores Earnest’s continued romantic advances and hunts
down local drug dealer (and high school theater heartthrob)
Rico Ricardo. Goldie approaches Sgt. McRuff and Lindsey about
a possible corn based conspiracy, but her theory falls on deaf
ears.
With Goldie sniffing too close to their cornhole, Sgt. McRuff and
Lindsey bring their concerns to their boss, Mayor Whitmore. On
the run from his Bail Bondsman, Vincent Dinero lays low at The
Farmer’s corn den.
Dick gets locked up in prison—and his bunkmate is Vincent
Dinero! Meanwhile, the Bail Bondsman gets an unpleasant
surprise in the bathroom, and Rico tries to take his relationship
with Daisy to the next level.
Dick sits down for a revealing dinner with all three Dinero
siblings. Things escalate quickly when the wine flows too freely.
Frank Gullihur – Dick Hopper
He looks like a dapper young man from Cincinnati, but Frank
Gullihur is actually from Calabasas, California. He attended the
University of Southern California, where he appeared in several
plays and performed with improv troupe Commedus Interruptus.
Frank recently preformed in the New York debut of Angel in the
Icebox at the Manhattan Repertory Theater. He has a pitbull named
Samson.
Jen Bashian – Goldie Bucktum
Jen Bashian grew up in Connecticut. She met the Dick Hopper
masterminds while at USC. She studies and performs improv and sketch
comedy at The Groundlings Theatre and played an alien tour guide on
Disney's Kickin' It. She lives in Los Angeles and her favorite Girl Scout
Cookie is Thin Mint.
Tommy Fleming – Vincent Dinero
Tommy grew up acting professionally in Seattle at a very young age and
it warped his view of reality so that he demands applause after
accomplishing most tasks. He has been a member of the Actor's Equity
Association since he was 11 and has a B.A. in Theatre from USC. He has
performed in Los Angeles as an adult with the Shakespeare Center of Los
Angeles, The Katselas Theatre Company, and as part of the Hollywood
Fringe Festival. He spends most of his time producing and writing now
but acting is still a first love and it's actually not that awkward when they
bump into each other. They're like fine really. It's cool.
Michael Sturgis – Earnest Dinero
A California crop, Michael began acting primarily in the theatre. He
trained at Orange County School of the Arts and University of Southern
California; and he continues to learn from some very brilliant people, e.g.
the batty bunch involved in making Dick Hopper… Other credits include:
Roberto in Elivs & Juliet (w/Fred Willard), Camile Bouzin in Cat Among
the Pigeons, Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress, Fortinbras
in Fortinbras, and the Black Sheep in His Own Family. Based in Los
Angeles, Michael always looks forward to his time with Commedus
Interruptus, USC’s improv and sketch comedy troupe.
Cole Cuomo – Sgt. McRuff
Cole Cuomo is a Long Beach, CA native acting and living in LA. As a
USC Thornton School of Music student, Cole performed the roles of
Sweeney Todd, Stone in Cy Coleman and Larry Gelbart's City of Angels,
and Tony Esposito in The Most Happy Fella, among others. Other credits
include Stewpot in South Pacific at Musical Theater West, Kingdom For A
Horse Productions' webseries Complete Works, and McRuff in Dick
Hopper. He keeps the shorn whiskers of his Dick Hopper, Private
Eye mustache in a locket around his neck at all times.
Allie Jennings – Daisy Dinero
A 2015 graduate of the USC School of Dramatic Arts with a BA in Theatre,
Allie Jennings is featured in the upcoming new release Once I Was A
Beehive, a family-friendly story about girls’ experiences at a summer
camp. In 2016, she will be fighting off the titular sea beasts in the
comedy-horror film Crabs! While at USC she performed in the
improv/sketch comedy group Commedus Interruptus and acted in plays
and student films.
Richy Storrs – Rico Ricardo
Richy Storrs is a human fueled entirely by friends, saltines, and the great
blue sky. He recently graduated from USC with a B.A. in Theater and
currently directs the improv and sketch comedy troupe Commedus
Interruptus. Recent credits include Bronies! the Musical (3rd Street
Theater), Romeo and Juliet (1140 Productions), and Grand Hotel (USC).
Richy is so proud to be a part of the Dick Hopper and can't wait for others
to taste its creamy goodness with their eye-tongues.
Tyler Miclean – Mayor Whitmore
Tyler Miclean is a Los Angeles based actor, writer, director, improviser,
jibster, and student at the University of Southern California pursuing a BA
in Theatre and a Minor in Screenwriting. He was most recently seen in 3D
Theatricals 2014 production of Ragtime as Younger Brother, and Sonnerie
in USC's 2015 production of Red Noses. Tyler is a recipient of the Stanley
Musgrove performance scholarship as well as the Brian Alfred King Acting
Award. He weekly performs with his improv troupe, Commedus
Interruptus at USC on Fridays at 1pm.
Paul Stanko – Lindsey
A man of many words and few sandwiches, on “Dick Hopper, Private
Eye” Paul plays a man of few words and many sandwiches. You can see
more of his work in the feature films Halloween Hell, Bread and Butter,
and Superior, or slanging Christmas trees this past season as a host on
ABC Family, or as Luke and Anakin Skywalker in the critically acclaimed
stage production, Star Wars in 60 Minutes. His most recent role was as a
young Remus Lupin in the short film, Severus Snape and the Marauders.
Not wanting to be left out, he too graduated from the University of
Southern California.
Riley Smith – The Farmer
Riley Smith is an actor best known for his homemade pasta salad.
He makes it with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and one other secret
ingredient. (It's pasta.) He also makes a pretty good salad pasta.
Joey Millin – Stiffy Dinero
Joey Millin is a Los Angeles local who began acting in his teens and
isn't stopping anytime soon. In Dick Hopper, Private Eye he appears as
the mustached corn magnate, Stiffy Thomas Dinero (STD to all). A
graduate of USC, he studied Theatre and Business and was a part of
the comedy group Commedus Interruptus which spawned Dick
Hopper. Now living in Los Feliz he is part of the LA theatre scene,
continues improv with UCB, and is represented by Discover
Management and AVO Talent.
Damien Haas – Chip R. Bail Bondsman
Damien Haas was born in Germany and raised in Peachtree City,
Georgia. Throughout his high school years, he trained at Whole World
Improv Theater and went on to become their youngest ever main stage
actor at the age of 18. Damien moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to attend
the University of Southern California. He is most recognizable from "So
Random," a sketch comedy show on the Disney Channel, which he
booked in 2011. Currently, Damien is focusing on voice-over acting and
has been fortunate enough to be a part of several professional projects
already. He currently lives in a pretty sick house in Hollywood with three
kind of alright roommates.
Tommy Fleming (Producer/Writer/Actor)
Tommy took one look at Frank's handsome mug, turned to
Riley Smith, asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Riley
said, "Yeah," and then BOOM! Dick Hopper, Private Eye.
That's how it happened. It just popped out fully formed like
the way God made all the stuff. BOOM. Tree. Only he can do
it guys. Tommy and Riley can do it too but not with trees only
with Dick... Hopper, Private Eye. Tommy also spent his
college years at USC writing sketch comedy with Commedus
Interruptus. He went on to write and produce a few sketches
with Uncle Tommy and the Funderachievers and he works
around literature at Chevalier's Books. As a teen he cofounded The Young Americans' Theatre Company in Seattle,
where he is from. He appreciates what Macklemore is all
about but doesn't really go in for the actual music and is a
huge bandwagon Seahawks fan.
Riley Smith (Producer/Writer/Actor)
Not much is know about producer/writer/actor Riley Smith.
We know he was born in Burbank. We know he has a purple
scar in the shape of a croissant on his upper left thigh. We
know he was accused of eating all of the saurkraut at a
wienerschnitzel festival in Orlando Florida but this was never
proven. We don't know how old he is, how many fingers he
had, or even if he liked gorgonzola. There are a lot of things
we don't know, but since he just got out of college at the
University of Southern California it seemss like the only thing
we do know is he worked on this hunk of gunk. Hope you like
it.
Paul Stanko (Producer/Actor)
Jedi Knight. Zombie. Wizard. Werewolf. Human Being.
Paul Stanko has been all of them onscreen, but in “Dick
Hopper, Private Eye”, he is Lindsay, the sandwich loving,
stonewall stooge and deputy of Sgt. McRuff. Off-screen, he is
one head of the mighty hyrda producing this web-serial. The
blonde head.
Paul holds a degree in Theater Studies from the School
of Dramatics Arts at the University of Southern California. To
see more of Paul’s work in film, television, and online media,
check out his website: www.stankoforever.com. It’s pretty fun.
When he’s not working on “Dick Hopper”, Paul enjoys
making up silly things with his improv troupe, Chef Pishposh,
and writing rap music.
Alex Vazquez (Director)
Alex Vazquez hails from Fort Collins, Colorado and
studied Film/TV Production at the University of Southern
California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He works on set as an
Assistant Director by trade, but his real passion is directing,
which he enjoys to do most with his creative team (see:
Tommy Fleming, Riley Smith, Paul Stanko). Dick Hopper is his
first major directorial project after several shorts and comedic
sketches, or as he likes to call it, “The Warm-Up.”
Alex currently resides in Chicago. He’ll talk your ear off
about whatever he’s watching, reading or listening to if you
give him half a chance. He has very strong feelings about
Nicolas Cage. Positive ones.
Director of
Photography
Composer
Randall Crissman
Casey Borhnell
Editor
Art Director
Meagan Smith
Casey Borhnell
Chief Lighting
Technician
Eric Foss
1st AC
Hair/Make-up
Katrina Sawhney
Costume Designer
Meagan Smith
Jordan Scott
Carey Weiland
Production Manager
Production Sound
Mixer
1st AD
Anuar Yahya
Post Production Sound
Editor/Mixer
Anuar Yahya
Grant Collins
Thomas Banuelos
Script Supervisor
Lana Marks