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Your new movie Stu's
Show - in a few words, what is it about?
It’s
a true Hollywood love story about finding your leading lady and the fight
to keep her alive.
Now
how did the project actually come into being, and how did you make the
acquaintance of Stuart Shostak [Stuart
Shostak interview - click here] in the first place?
We
had set up a handful of theatre screenings around Los Angeles for our
first documentary Perfect Bid. Stu showed up to one of them. He
enjoyed the film and invited myself and long-time Price Is Right producer
Roger Dobkowitz on his show. When
you do Stu’s Show, the call-time is a few hours prior to taping
which includes a meal at his favorite deli. Over the course of the day, I
got to know him and, perhaps by design, got hooked by his story and knew
it’d be the next thing we made.
Do
talk about Stuart Shostak as the person you've met rather than the person
you've portrayed for a bit!
There
is no difference between what you see on camera and how he is in person.
He is equally passionate, manic and selfless minute-to-minute and we
wouldn’t take him any other way.
Since the movie's also about
that, what are your personal thoughts about vintage TV (also as compared
to today's), and some of your favourite shows of old
I
think the further you allow yourself to time-travel with film, television
and animation, the more rewarding the experience. Somehow
we got brainwashed along the way that because a show is from another
generation or in black and white or doesn’t have dialogue that it
couldn’t possibly provide you with any substance, and that couldn’t be
farther from the truth. It’s
outside the timeframe that our film lives in, but the show that was the
most impactful or informative for me growing up was The Wonder Years.
Getting to know and work with Alley Mills in my career has been
a highlight for sure. There are several but her performance in the Pottery
Will get You Nowhere episode is absolutely incredible.
Back
to Stu's Show - what
are some of the stories that surprised you the most in the movie?
There
is a story from Stu’s neighbor Sue that I cannot spoil here about a
situation at one of the treatment centers Jeanine was at that’s told a
little over half-way through the film. She
had never told the story before filming and refused to tell Stu about it
at the time afraid of what he might do if he heard it. Everyone in the
room was totally blindsided by it and was clearly very difficult on her to
do the interview.
Any
stories that didn't make it into Stu's
Show that you'd still like to share?
I
asked our cast to give me a couple personal Lucille Ball stories and each
gave me something that deserved to be in the film. Things
like Jimmy Stewart showing up to Lucille Ball’s house with a giant gift
basket of vegetables from his garden only to be met by her
well-intentioned maid who promptly screamed this dangerous solicitor off
the property. A
compilation of these will very likely find its way onto YouTube or Blu-ray
in the near future.
What can
you tell us about your directorial approach to your story at hand?
It
felt like the story had to be told like a home movie. Ignoring any
cinematography ego and simply filming people in their natural environments
with whatever lighting was in the room. When
Stu tells a story about anything, he’ll shape-shift into Bugs Bunny and
bounce all over the room so trying to lock him down within a structured 3
point lighting set-up would remove an essential part of what makes the
story interesting. The camera should be trying to keep up with the story
versus being a passive participant.
Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Any
time you’re making a film and have to make people willingly pick a scab
to re-live the hardest moments of their lives is the worst part of making a
project like this. Luckily
most people mention they feel a major weight has been lifted after venting
everything out but I always keep a couple light-hearted, softball
questions saved for after the tough parts so the interview doesn’t end
with everyone feeling deflated. The
$64-question of course, where can Stu's
Show be seen?
The
film is out May
2nd on
all major streaming platforms and satellite PPV, and the original Stu’s
Show can be found at stusshow.com
Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Stu's
Show? I
think the review link has just started getting around, but the first few
published reviews have been extremely positive. Stu
got a lot of kind messages sent after the trailer was released from fans
of his show and people who saw the events unfold in real time or on social
media and are excited to see what all happened. Obviously
that’s the response you hope will continue leading up to the release of
a film, but ultimately if Stu and the people involved are proud of it
then anything above and beyond that is a bonus. Any future projects you'd like to share?
We
have 3 more feature documentaries coming out before the end
of this year. The first is our biggest release to date called Mad Mac
about
the life of Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon, legendary quarterback of the
Chicago Bears, and his life after football that will be out around the
start of next NFL season.
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The Tecmo Bowl will
be released towards the end of the year and follows the 3 best players of
the popular NES video game leading up to the world championships in Omaha,
Nebraska. It is a story that takes several unexpected emotional turns
unrelated to video games.
The
third is our company’s first executive produced project called Potty
Town with
filmmaker Morgan Elliott. It’s about Hank Robar whose porcelain
protest against the city of Potsdam polarized the citizens and became a
worldwide viral hit over the last few years. We just sold it and should
be out everywhere in September!
Thanks
for the interview!
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