|
Your new movie Maturing
Youth - in a few words, what is it about?
An irresponsible middle-aged stoner who still lives with and
financially depends on his mother comes to terms with finally facing
responsibility in the mask of fatherhood when his longtime ex-girlfriend
introduces him to his illegitimate son. A story about life, love and
loss. All of which we can relate to and connect with. Is any
of Maturing Youth
based on personal experiences, and to what extent could you identify with
Roger - or any of the other lead characters, really? Pretty
much all of Roger's character was based on myself and my frustrating
attitudes at the time. Still living with mother while beginning to learn
how to levy off financial dependency from my family. Throughout the
production I myself was a stoner, and it wasn't until end of production
that I stepped-up and matured enough to put the weed down and focus in
order to advance my life, which I desperately needed to at the time. You
can say, it was a self-awakening process for me and I am forever grateful
for the chapter in my life. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing Maturing
Youth? At the time in my life, speaking as a former
stoner, mostly the ganja. Critics say the film reminds them of Adam
Sandler's Big Daddy or Charles Dickens' A
Christmas Carol, but, to be honest I haven't seen those films in many years,
maybe they stayed around in my sub-conscious. I isolated myself inside my
overactive imagination when writing the story in my backyard. With your movie being limited to pretty
much one location, what kind of challenges brought that for you as a
filmmaker? As you can expect, the lack of freedom to move
around. The interior of the home used was very tight so that's why the
camera throughout most the film was stationary. And, the exterior
shots, too, mind you. Blocking certain actions and movements with the
actors was difficult at times, but the talented Sean A Kaufman [Sean
A Kaurman interview - click here], Kim Paris
and Terrance Keene had the wonderful ability to get creative in a haste
pace during the set-ups on-set between scenes.
What can you tell us about your overall
directorial approach to your story at hand? First and
foremost to be open to new ideas and suggestions of the actors on-set. The
characters wouldn't have popped on-screen as much as they did without
their input into the mindsets of their alter-beings. I wanted the actors
to get as much into the mindsets of their characters as possible - I even
went as far as creating individual music playlists for them to listen to
on a daily basis to know what Roger, Sadie, Maggie or Mae would listen to.
In Maturing
Youth you also directed a young boy, Joshua St. Leger jr [interview
with Joshua St. Leger's parents - click here] - so what
were the challenges there? Actually, Joshua St. Leger jr
wasn't much of a challenge to work with. He's a kid, not a diva - what
else can you expect? Kids cry here and there, sometimes takes time to aim
their focus. But when it was time to rock'n'roll he definitely did that.
All he had to do was smile, which I think he did a great at alone. What can you tell us about
the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? Apart
from fitting the physical embodiment of Roger the most, Sean A Kaufman [Sean
A Kaurman interview - click here],
won me over with his theatrical acting chops - he can easily adapt to any
situation on screen. With, Kim Paris, I was remarked by her ability to
focus on the mood of the scenes she played; she really dug deeper into
another emotional side of Sadie even I wasn't aware of. Terrance Keene was
very aware of how important the impact his character will be to Roger; he
was also able to deliver a strong performance during audition and, of
course, on-set. I personally enjoyed watching the interaction of Darleen
Rae Fontaine [Darleen Rae
Fontaine interview - click here] and Rae'l Ba [Rael
Ba interview - click here so much so that it made the interaction of
Maggie and Mae so easy to translate on-screen. And, everyone else was a
pleasure to work with.
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Everyone
had one collective goal to make a film with a real meaning, not just
purely entertainment. With that known to all those who joined the sail, it
made the hard work we all had to dedicate ourselves to even more enjoyable
now that it's finally coming to fruition. The
$64-question of course, where can Maturing
Youth be seen? At the moment, the film is going
through the film festival circuits and you can keep up to date with more
exciting information on the films official website and follow us on social
media to get exclusive details about how, when and where to see our
coming-of-age film. Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Maturing
Youth? Seems like majority are in favour of it.
Which makes me a happy camper. You can read our press articles on the
films official website. Any future projects you'd like to share? A
chronic masturbator discovers his mother's porno tape online. What
got you into filmmaking, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject? I graduated the "Quentin Tarantino Film
School", meaning, I sat myself down over a period of years educating
myself the techniques of old-school Hollywood from 1910-1970s-the classic
works of today. I study cameras and how they can shape the look of a film.
Also, watching behind-the-scenes of any production I could find online
allowed me to really dissect how the process is meant to be done.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Maturing Youth?
|
|
 |
|
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
|
I'm
a first-time filmmaker. Maturing Youth
was my first step in
the door to the film industry. How
would you describe yourself as a director? I'm open to
suggestions that can help the flow of story, from actors to crew.
Communication is key. I personally love improvisation during filming
any scene, as long as it doesn't disrupt the narrative. The more you learn
is the more you can use to your advantage on-set and I always aim to learn
as much as I can. Filmmakers
who inspire you? Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kuwaswa, the Coen
Brothers, Spike Lee, John Singleton, Oscar Micheaux, Martin Scorsese,
Francis Ford Coppola, Alfred Hitchcock, too many too name. The list keeps
growing honestly. Your favourite movies? Dr.
Strangelove, One-Eyed Jacks, The Conversation, Last Tango in
Paris, Foxy Brown,
Jackie Brown, Inherent Vice, Cape Fear, A Raisin in the
Sun, The
Big Sleep, Serpico, How Green was my Valley, The Purple Rose of
Cairo,
Being There, Days of Wine and Roses, and Sounder. Like I've said before
the list goes on and on. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
Films official website: www.MATURINGYOUTH.com
Facebook: "Maturing Youth" @maturingyouthfilm
Instagram: "Maturing Youth" @maturingyouthfilm
#maturingyouth #rfentertainment
Thanks
for the interview!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
