For anyone who has seen the documentary Lost in La Mancha ,” about Terry Gilliam's ill-fated attempt to bring his dream of adapting Don Quixote to the screen, obsession with a project can bring on some truly terrible experiences.

However, for Frank Robak and Scott Rudolph, this type of tenacity to following their dreams has brought some satisfying and unexpected results. Robaks's first feature, Statistics , recently screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival to enormous praise.

“It was an amazing honor,” Said Rudolph, who appears in the film and served as a producer. “If you had told me a year ago that we would be at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, I don't think I would have believed you.”

If all goes well, the film could receive a distribution deal based upon the reception at Cannes . Rudolph mentioned that his friends even spotted one of the distributors crying at the finish of Statistics . “Frank kept saying that if we could connect on a human level with the distributors we have a chance.” It sounds like they achieved that goal.

Robak is also optimistic, based upon feedback on Statistics . “Reactions to the film were very positive,” Robak said. “I definitely feel that screening the film at Cannes will help the film find a distributor.”

Robak and Rudolph are careful not to give too many details about the plot of their film. What we do know is that Statistics revolves around an ordinary group of people who, in the course of a day, become a statistic in different ways.

The director says that “ Statistics is a story about love, friendship, courage and the strength it takes to remain positive and hopeful in a world where we are hit with bad news everyday.”


Kent Harper plays a local radio DJ who comes to work the day after a fire breaks out in his families' home. Instead of delivering his usual show, he lets loose on his philosophies on life. The character serves as a central piece in the film, an omnipresent figure that unknowingly comments on the action occurring throughout the film.

Harper- who also produced the film alongside Robak, Rudolph and David Michaels- says that Statistics is a “passionate project” that “made me cry” the first time he read the script.

While the film's producers have enjoyed their success at completing the film and showing it at Cannes , the process has not been easy. Robak began writing Statistics (believe it or not) 12 years ago when he first moved to Lost Angeles in 1994. Robak and Rudolph had been making short films together since they were 8 th graders from Wisconsin . Naturally, Rudolph- who appears in the film as Jack Kindle- was along for the ride every step of the way.

The pair looked for financing and tried to get the film made. According to Harper, who has known the guys for 10 years, at one point James Woods expressed interest in playing the lead role. Also, Rob Lowe had his picture associated with Statistics in an issue of Variety. However, after years of stagnation, Robak and Rudolph decided to finance and make the film independently.

“Twelve years we have worked on this film,” Rudolph said. “But all of them were spent learning and leading to the ability to do it our way.”

The extensive time spent together working on the film resulted in a close relationship for all four producers. Rudolph thinks of them as his “brothers” and they are all quick to mention how each producer contributed so much to the project. Harper also praises Robak's ability as a director.

“I've worked with directors who are non-existent and some who got in the way,” Harper said. “But Frank gave me the freedom to improvise and do my own thing.”

Up next for Robak is a film based on a script he wrote, which he calls “a creepy little story with a message.” He adds that “if we do it right I think it'll make one helleva fun movie.”

Harper has a few projects coming up, including a film in which he will appear with Giovanni Ribisi, Ryan Gosling and Angelica Huston. Needless to say, things are looking good for the Statistics team.

After all these grueling years of trying to make their dreams come true, Robak keeps looking ahead instead of focusing on past mistakes. “Doc Brown from Back to the Future says it's dangerous to go back in time and change things, so I try not to think about that too much.