Special Report: Splash City (2026)

0:00People pay good money to see this movie. When they go out to a theater they want cold sodas hot popcorn and no monsters in the projection booth. Everyone pretend podcasting is boring. Go to the office. In a bay every 30 seconds a window is popped and the car is broken into. I'm not here. No, not yet. What have you been there? Did I been outside?

1:00Ain't a lot of us had an opportunity to get out of the mud. You know what I mean? They call this the player's graveyard. It's crazy people think it's so sweet out here because all this techno and damn water don't benefit. I'm not a man of us. Smashing grabbers huh? That's all you are. When you go to open your eyes, dude, don't go to sleep with one eye open. Is that the lifestyle you want? You're gonna need somebody to step up in your life. Somebody to protect you. Guide you. I'm what's my ass to provide for you two boys. For you to have to go out there and do all that. We are. We are. What you got to do for him? Save all that built up aggression that you got. But a whole court. Hey folks, welcome to a special episode of the projection booth. I'm your host Mike White.

2:00On this episode, I am talking with musician and filmmaker Berner. He's the co-writer and co-director of the new film Splash City, which is now available to rent on demand. Thanks so much for listening and I hope you enjoy this interview. Would you like me to call you Mr. Berner, Mr. Pescado? Whatever you like to call me, I'm a man of many names. How did you get involved in the entertainment industry? I've been a fan of music since I've been a kid. I started making music professionally about 27 years ago. I've been releasing albums since then. I think I put out about six to 47 albums since then. I found it a company called Cookies and been going crazy ever since. It feels like you've got your fingers on a lot of different pies, even just when it comes to movies and just all the different roles that you play. It's a blessing and it occurs to be that way, but I like it. I'm control free. Tell me a little bit about your work in different movies because you're an actor, producer and now director. I acted in one film. I wasn't really in my thing. I'm more of a storyteller.

3:03This film, for me, was my first into the industry. I co-wrote it, co-directed it, produced it and financed it 100% myself. Where did the idea come from? I've been wanting to make crime films based in the Bay Area for a long time. I was a little nervous to do some of the ones I've been working on for a long time in my head. I was like, let me do some to start with. I can kind of give my feet wet within. I'd be low if I don't do it, right? I was like, okay, what can I do now that would make sense and be relevant? At the moment, at the time, there was the whole bit in the mass and grab situation happening in SF. I was like, this is the perfect thing to jump into. Can you tell me about your co-writer? Yeah, my co-writer's name is David. He did a great job. Essentially, what I did was I put this into a small script. I developed the characters, the climax, the storylines, wrote down everything I wanted to see happen throughout the film. I even wrote a little dialogue and a little scenarios and little scenes. And then he took it and turned into a full script. When did you guys start working together? We started working together about four years ago now.

4:05Yeah, so we had a script and then we butted heads with another producer for a while about the way the things we could done with business. I don't have for about a year. Then I decided it's to go time I want to do it. So we picked it back up. We went through the script again with the fine too, calm and made sure all the dialogue made sense. And had some advisors come in and make sure that everything felt authentic and real. And that world, and then we put into production. We went for it. Can you tell me a little bit about your co-director? My boy, Alex, an incredible talented guy. He actually really led the way for most support. I actually ended up picking up about 16s. I wrote and directed myself to tie everything together because there were some shots that didn't get done. But he's an incredibly talented guy. I sang with my guy Alva Handro who did this cinematography. Incredibly talented. How did you meet some of these folks? My friend Goto's. He put me with four ways as a company. And we just we started vibing and talked about doing a short film.

5:07We talked about doing three short films and then they convinced me to do a feature. It's tough. It's very tough. And it's like a crash course on film school for me, honestly. And tell me about your cast. How did they come together? Yes, so we did a casting call. We wanted to find like very authentic and very real, very type talent, which we did find a good amount of it. And then we brought in a couple of actresses from LA. But we made sure to feel like they had a very good look to them. And we want to host for them to make sure they can learn the barriers, swag and feel as well. So we had them come out before shooting kind of like link with some street guys around here and link with some of the cast and gonna fill out how to barrier charisma and swag is the performances are amazing, especially I think it's a zackie. Is how you say their name? A zackie and and and and Quincy. Yes. Yeah, they did a great job. Honestly, the first time acting too. How was it working with actors and actually hearing the dialogue that you helped right come out of their mouths? It was cool. I didn't really have to game any one up too much.

6:07I had to coach a few guys on the way things should be said and feel, but for the most part, they did such a great job. I wish I can go back and have some fun while I was doing it. I was very stressed out, working about money and bunch of logistics and drama. But at the end of the day, it was a very cool process to see your idea come to life. And then how was the actual working relationship with you and your co director? It was good. At the end, we all but it had to be the first ones had it. It was supposed to be a 500,000 dollar film and to be a 2 million dollar film. It was a one financing I got really stressed out. So we wrapped up. I was told there's like 23 more shots had to be done. I'm done. I'm tapped out financially and to bring together a sag union film is a lot as you understand. So what I did was I kind of go through everybody. I wrote the 16s. I had to write to bring it to film together. And that was my shot writing and directing 100% myself. And once we were done and we had the film in a great place, I reached back to everyone and we'd be all hugged and kissed. I was like, look guys, we're back. We're about to get the same pop.

7:09And so we're all good now. We have great work and relationship. I think near the end is very chaotic. Tell me about your post process. How did that go? It was good. We spent about two years to edit the film. I did it right here in my building. We did it in house. So my my editor had a content here at cookies. Yoshi. He did a great job editing it, but we took our time. We have about 20 and 30. He had to say this thing and it was at one point of three and a half hours long. And we got down to 90 minutes. So like we did a good job. We took our time. We scored the film didn't like the score had a rescore it again. So we did a lot of things untraditionally. Yeah, I was going to say with you being so involved in music, I'm sure the score was crucial to you. Yeah, it was, but we didn't know how to score a film. So what I did was I hired someone to do a score and we listened to her like, yeah, that's not it. But now we know how to score a film. So we brought it in house producer. And we kind of went to each section. He did. I'm so grateful. The guy did that for us. He really tossed away. And we kind of add our own socks to it. I love this kind of DIY aesthetic that you've got where you're just like, oh, yeah, we'll figure it out.

8:09We'll get in there. I'll work with the right people. I'll get the right people on board and we'll make this happen. That's how I do all my business. I don't know how to do it. I'm a figured out. Did you have any sort of like test screening kind of thing where you get feedback or were you just kind of. March into the beauty of your own drummer? No, we drove ourself crazy for two years looking at trying to decide what we need to do. When was the first time you got to see it with an audience? First time I got a chance to see with the audience was that Lionsgate for the screening we did there. It was cool. Everyone reacted really well to it. And I think the first real time to see it with the audience was in Oakland, the Grand Lake Theatre. And that was insane. I was like 640 people in there, all the streets of the Bay Area, Richmond, Folio, Oakland, San Francisco. And I was very nervous. I was almost hiding and I pictured that movie. The doors were in gym, more than watches, filming everyone was like talking shit about it. And he was all nervous and walked out. I quit. That's why I thought I was going to do. But that's something happened. What did happen? Tell me more about it. Staying innovation. The best commentary of the whole film.

9:10People were screaming, yelling, cheering, talking shit. It was like the best movie screening experience I could ever ask for. Another experience ever. What's been the path of the film until it comes out on VOD? We did a theater tour, which I can't believe that we got Greenland. But in the sense we wrapped a tour bus and we went on the road to 11 theaters, sold them out in a month in advance and pulled up to the theater and screened the film and did a meet and greet afterwards. And it was amazing. It was a great experience. I would love to do it again. I know that you tour as a musician. So now here you are touring with the film. Same stuff. Just a better, easier day for me. Yeah, you probably get a lot less sweaty when you're doing the movie showing. Yeah, true. I'm not to worry about forgetting my lyrics. Yeah. Overall, pretty good experience of the stress. Honestly, I couldn't even imagine doing this any other way. But I'm so glad it worked out this way. I like to dream big and execute. So like, this is what I thought would happen and actually happen. So super blessed, but it could have went totally different because I just released it for free on YouTube and no one cared.

10:14So I'm glad it went this way for sure. Do you have the bug now? Are you thinking about some other films? I'm already developing it. There's a wide port to the right of me just with character development and just we're going crazy right now. So yeah, do you come up with the characters first and kind of then start setting up the beats and throwing stuff at them as far as if this character was in this situation or do you come with the situation first? I come with the characters and then always I'm developing already kind of know the situation in my head. But okay, every great film has good characters and every character has some kind of relationship with other characters. So when we develop characters, let me understand who they are to each other. Then I'm going to write this script alongside with that. Do you find that there are parallels between the way that you write your music and the way that you work on your films? I think so, yeah. Just very on the spot. I write my I just did album and damn it three days. Right? I still down a lock in. So the way I lock in is probably a similar parallel. I'm about to when I hang up on the zoom, but I can see here for three hours and just tweak out for a while and everything and just.

11:14Three scenarios and just go crazy on the writing process. But even with my book I locked in and wrote my book in two weeks. I just sat here and just wrote it. I don't have the liberty to take time and think of melodies when it comes to music and same with film. I have so much stuff going on. I have to just do it. I turn my teeth into sandpaper from grinding at night just thinking too much. But it's good though. I told my wife and my your bless have someone thinks about the next thing. So I can just be lazy playing video games. Can you tell me a little bit about the next project? Yeah, so next movie is going to be called packs. It's a marijuana shopping film based here in the Bay Area. It's a totally different world. Different characters. Multicultural cast should be really cool. Where's the best place for people to keep up with you in the film? For me, Instagram is probably the best I show everything there. Burner 415, B-E-R, N-E-R, 415. I post everything about the film on my page, but we also have the Instagram splash city movie. Burner, thank you so much. It was so nice talking with you today.

12:16I appreciate you having me. Thank you so much. More comments, I just want more quality. Fuck the drum. I don't want to hear none of that.

13:17Shout to the game. We running that. We're my Duffa, that's going to be a hundred flat. We bust the play, pray we save it. Then we run it back. Fake friends, smiling faces. I got sick of that. So sick. Now everybody want a favor. Is that right? I just opened up the food, saved it. Yeah, we rolling up the new play. Yeah shout out to my haters. I'm just chilling in Jamaica smoking. Yeah, they want to bust my head open. Cause they bread bad. Damn doing good. I got a 40 on me. Shit I wish it would. I'm in my own land. I'm trying to do my own thing. Old school, candy paint. Yeah, with the gold dents. John driving. Yeah, we taking the both lanes. I'm blind to the bullshit, but we be with the bullshit. More comments, I just want more quality. One more, one more. My vision blurry and we living in the hurry door. Herb beginning to hurry up my blinds. To the bullshit, let them talk with call shots up top. Clips. Time to get blind to the bullshit.

14:19I'm in my own land. Yeah, I do my own day. I'm dang it out. Fuck the drum, it's not on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. I'm on my own. Hitting note. I'm on my own. Still try to believe people who'd like to be here, but I will, really, trust my mindset. Since it's the 20 papers we need, thank you. And how geht it? Straits as we go around to get all through.

15:19I'm falling out in theёre, I go to chapter p… And she told me you never a single day, and I don't even care. I said this, you never even a single day. Even if I was a kid, I sometimes had to make some occupations about the rest of questions. Because I have no values, so well, you never know what stories I have So Kyle and I shared Because I'm blind to the bullshit