Director: Paul Germain
Producer: Paul Germain, Co-Producer - Stuart Friedel
Screenwriter:
Cinematography: Paul Germain, Stuart Friedel
Editor: Paul Germain
Music: Original Score by Bryan Senti
Cast: David Newell, Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers and others
Country: USA
Running Time: 72 minutes
Synopsis:
A wig, moustache and timeless uniform help transform DAVID NEWELL into the whimsical MR. MCFEELY, an authentic character who always delivers. “Speedy Delivery” follows Newell’s global quest to save “The Neighborhood,” infused with a deep retrospective look into what made 'Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood' the longest running children’s show in history.
Filmmaker Bio
Documentary filmmaker Paul Germain has an extremely intense passion for storytelling. For four years, Germain ardently collected footage, pictures, music, artifacts and clips pertaining to MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD to tell the story of its greatest living champion, David Newell. Germain’s past work includes award winning documentary short SUPERFAN, which tells the story of Wilmer Bonnie, Lafayette College’s greatest sports fan. SPEEDY DELIVERY is Germain’s first documentary feature and is scheduled to air on PBS regionally this fall.
Germain graduated from Lafayette College with a B.A. in English/Art and Carnegie Mellon University with a masters in Arts Management and a masters in Entertainment Industry Management. At Lafayette, he completed an interdisciplinary honors thesis entitled “Human Expressions in Graffiti,” an in-depth artistic and textual analysis of school desk graffiti. Germain is currently in development on his second documentary feature about the criminal justice system.
Director’s Statement
David Newell has an extremely rare and valuable superpower. By putting on his costume and becoming the character “Mr. McFeely,” he is able to effortlessly deliver good feelings to just about any person he meets. I experienced this phenomenon first hand at the Pittsburgh Mills Mall in 2005 when I accidentally encountered one of his many McFeely appearances. I knew almost immediately that David is one of the kindest, most authentic individuals I will ever encounter. It is my absolute privilege to be able to share his story with you.
SPEEDY DELIVERY is a character study of both David Newell and his fascinating alter ego Mr. McFeely. How is David able to make others so happy and what is the true source of these “good feelings?” Where does the character end and the man begin? Who is this quirky McFeely character and why is he so Speedy? Who is David Newell and why has he chosen to play the same role for over forty years??
The answers to these questions may be simple and the conflicts in this story may be few, but the message is one of the most pure and inspiring ideas I have ever heard. “Treat each person you meet as if they are your neighbor.” Fred Rogers created Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to support this idea of community and to remind each and every child that he or she is indeed special and unique. David Newell is the absolute living embodiment of these philosophies and the way he delivers them to his Neighbors is not just inspiring, it is essential. Can Mr. McFeely keep the legacy of Fred Rogers alive in today’s fast-paced, consumer-driven world, and how much of this legacy is actually his own?