Stan Brooks '79 is quite literally living out his dreams. Film producer and founder of Once Upon A Time Films, he marvels at the fact the movie industry is, in his words, "never the same." Since he was a small child, Brooks has desired to make movies. "It's all I ever wanted to do," he said quietly, his voice full of love for film. Brooks' new project, Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss, is a TV film, made for the USA network. He introduced it as the story of "a good girl gone bad." The picture tracks the life of Heidi Fleiss, the infamous Hollywood Madam, from the time she first dropped out of college and moved to Hollywood, until her prostitution business was broken up by the LAPD. Jamie-Lynn DiScala (The Sopranos) plays Fleiss, during her transformation from a wide-eyed, almost innocent girl, to a shallow sex worker, to an all-powerful madam.

Watching the film, the viewer is swept down the streets of Hollywood. The blurring street lights create a hallucinogenic effect; a sensation heightened by fast-paced scenes and clever camera work. The movie's disconcerting feel is emphasized by DiScala's mastery of Fleiss' character. She truly becomes this woman.

"We wanted you to like and hate [Fleiss]," Brooks explained. However, by no means was this production based on a direct account from Fleiss herself. "[We are] not telling her point of view," Brooks assured. Her story in the film, instead was derived from "exclusively public records... [we] didn't consult with her, didn't meet her, talk to her," he said.

In this production, Fleiss is a physical manifestation of the concept of celebrity. Call Me shows just exactly how she became famous for being famous. Fleiss basks in her self-made fame, and the whirl of shopping, parties and glamour that became accessible to her through the prostitution industry. "The more you get, the more you want," DiScala coos, flaunting Fleiss' constant, hedonistic pursuit of wealth and power.
At 23 years old, DiScala is approximately the same age at which Fleiss first became a madam. Brooks enjoyed working with DiScala, describing her as "a delight...a total delight. She's a nice Jewish girl from Long Island...she brought that to Heidi," he said. DiScala is undoubtedly talented, and presents Fleiss as "vulnerable, strong, angry," a character arc she first explored with her role as Meadow Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos.

Ultimately, Brooks loves every project he undertakes, and expressed his joy about the variety of films he can produce. "I get to make anything I want," he said excitedly, "From Westerns, to comedies, to movies about Heidi Fleiss."

Brooks is inspired by the dazzling, yet tantalizingly malleable world of film. Speaking with him, one is almost swept up by his contagious passion for movie making. He worked hard to reach his position, from graduating Brandeis in 1979, with an American Studies degree, moving to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute, and eventually climbing up through the film industry's intimidating ranks. In regard to his work for TV films, Brooks feels his is a job "for producers who like to produce" because television allows him to possess responsibility and control as a producer, more so, in fact, than with films released in theaters.

"You rarely get to make films that are this darkly comedic," he wistfully commented. If Brooks has the power to make the exciting tale of Heidi Fleiss' career come to life, one can only wait in delicious suspense to see what he will produce next.