Emerging Filmmakers Showcase: ‘Cobblestoned’
May 14 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
The Lindsay’s next Emerging Filmmakers Showcase is a feature-length version of a locally made web series about two slackers solving paranormal mysteries.
Cobblestoned was written and directed by Pittsburghers Erick Rigby and Reese Hayes. The duo behind regionally based production company Dashing Agent spent five years turning seven web episodes into an almost 2 1/2-hour romp inspired by personal favorites such as The X-Files, Twin Peaks and Sam Raimi’s eclectic filmography.
Rigby and Hayes will premiere Cobblestoned at The Lindsay on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. The screening will be followed immediately by an in-person filmmaker Q&A. Tickets are free, but we recommend RSVPing via the below sign-up form due to space limitations.
“The whole intention was to be creative and make something fun,” says Hayes. “I think because we went in with that spirit, it ended up being great!”
Hayes grew up in Potter County and moved to Pittsburgh in 2015. He met Rigby while casting for a short, and they soon began working on web-exclusive films and shows. During that time, Hayes landed a production assistant job on the locally filmed Netflix series Mindhunter.
While working on Mindhunter, Hayes “wanted something to keep us creative” when he wasn’t on set. That’s when Hayes and Rigby started collaborating on Cobblestoned, in which they also star as substance-abusing roommates who become paranormal detectives after stumbling across a polaroid of a missing woman.
The fictional Hayes and Rigby might not be the most competent duo to solve the case, but when it comes to monsters, ghouls and alternate dimensions, no one is more up for the task than these two idiots.
“It never takes itself too seriously,” says Hayes. “It blends a lot of genres. We were always trying to make each other laugh. There are some really goofy moments in there that stand up really well.”
Most Cobblestoned episodes were linked to a Pennsylvania urban legend, such as Philadelphia’s Bus to Nowhere and York’s Seven Gates of Hell. Hayes and Rigby released their web series on YouTube with the intent of eventually adapting it into a film. They eventually shot interstitials to help weave their web series into a single story.
Cobblestoned was largely filmed in Pittsburgh’s East End, particularly Squirrel Hill, Shadyside and Regent Square. Though Hayes said that most production work was done by “me, Erick and a tripod,” they received a ton of support from this region’s entertainment community who were willing to embrace their film’s DIY spirit.
“It became more of a community-building project as it went on,” he said. “We made a lot of friends and got a lot of help that way. It’s a very Pittsburgh movie in tone and substance.”
