released in theaters. He wrapped shooting on October 24, 2006 when he was still twenty-three years old. After months of thinking and planning his script concept, Blitstein wrote the first draft script in 27 days and proceeded to assemble an indie crew composed mostly of friends he met at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. The total projected budget of the film was nearly $600,000, but because of donated 35mm film, equipment, and services from New York City rental houses and friends of Blitstein and Frosch, the film was completed on the last day of shooting with only $99,000. The film was funded by friends, family members, and Blitstein's own personal savings from his job as a waiter. Blitstein also "maxed out" more than seven credit cards. Locations used included Blitstein's East Village apartment, the apartments of his friends, and restaurants and local shops within walking distance. Blitstein convinced companies like Fender and Pabst Blue Ribbon to allow him to show their logos in the film to lend realism instead of using fake logos or covering logos which happens in many low-budget independent films. Blitstein cast the film by cold-calling agents of actors he was interested in working with. By convincing the agent's assistants to read his script, he got a foot in the door, and agents and actors began to express interest based on the script, even though Blitstein was an unknown filmmaker. The shoot was 18 days long and most of the film was shot in 1 or 2 takes because neither Blitstein or his production team knew how much film was going to arrive on set each day. Sometimes shots were done in a single take in order to save time and film. On the 12th day of the shoot, Blitstein collapsed due to stress and lack of sleep. He was admitted to the emergency room at the Beth Israel Hospital nearby. Doctors discovered an unrelated non-life-threatening kidney abnormality (Blitstein was born with a single kidney), and Blitstein quickly recovered, returning to set the next morning to complete the shoot. Blitstein edited the film in 47 days using a 12" MacBook. Theme Aaron Graham of Uptown Magazine wrote that the film "[Owes] much more to the early, sprightly comedies of Brian De Palma (Greetings, Hi, Mom!) than to overplayed Mumblecore". The film has been repeatedly compared to mumblecore films such as Mutual Appreciation, which