by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Liam Kiernan

Age: 43

Occupation: Filmmaker, author, film location scout

Bio: This feisty downtown spunkmeister had always felt that Chapter 16 of his first published book, Wishbone Alley, would make for one damn nifty movie. After several years of hustling, he personally worked up $80,000, enlisted his pals from the late Canadian comedy ensemble Corky and the Juice Pigs and started shooting A Little off the Top, 30 minutes of rollickin' good times and guffaws shot in glorious - and way expensive - 35mm film. Completed in 1997, it's only taken a short seven years for Liam to finally find a local cinema willing to screen it. But found one he has, in the guise of the newly opened Dollar Cinema (www.dollarcinema.ca) in Décarie Square, where his comedic masterwork will be screening all week long at 8:30 p.m.

How much it costs to get into the Dollar Cinema: Duh… one dollar, tax included, seven days a week, for every feature they screen.

Might Corky of Corky and the Juice Pigs actually be Life Goes On TV star Chris Burke? "No, it's Sean Cullen."

Might he also be mentally retarded? Apparently not. "And if you're a Corky and the Juice Pigs fan, you'll be happy because this is the only film they were ever in. It's a little bit of Canadian comedy history, actually."

Where the money came from to shoot his film: "Um, well, you know, you work a long time, sock away your money, and that's about it, to be honest."

The occupation that enables a man to save an extra 80-grand just to indulge his artistic inclinations: Liam works as a location scout for big-budget American feature films. "It's pretty good money."

What a film location scout does: "I drive all around the countryside, the city, looking for whatever a production designer or director has given me requirements to find. So I go to the Townships, the Laurentians, wherever, maybe looking for a church or an industrial building or a certain type of house. If I see something that seems good, I knock on the door or leave a note, letting them know we're interested. It's a great job."

Something he is always doing: Writing and developing screenplays, and, by natural extension, hustling to get the money together to see his projects realized. "Trying to get any film off the ground is truly a miracle. Like seeking venture capital. You know what venture capital means, right? It means you don't mind losing your money."

Is this the winning pitch he uses on potential investors? Not exactly.

One book he's presently working on: Blizzard King. "It's an Arctic suspense thriller."

Is he a profoundly spiritual man? "I like to think so. I pray, and I'm a practising Catholic."

Musical preferences: King Crimson, Crowded House.

Fave film of all time: Powaqqatsi.

Last book read: The Glass Bead Game, by Herman Hesse.

Childhood ambition: To become a music composer.

Word of wisdom: "Be."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca