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Your new movie Don't
Look Up - Again - in a few words, what's it about?
Don't
Look Up - Again follows an alternate history where Adam McKay’s 2021 film Don't Look
Up set off a media firestorm of “mad-as-hell moments”, opening the door
to the Youth Spring Climate Movement and ultimately to the passing of
the monumental 2023 Youth Spring Climate Justice Act. You
chose the movie Don't Look
Up as the tip-off point for your film - so why exactly that movie,
what did you find so inspiring about it?
I think Don't Look
Up pointed out real problems with our response
to climate change regarding how non-serious the reporting has been by
the mainstream media and how the interests of capital influence our
government. I wanted to give people a glimpse, albeit satirically, into
what it might take to get past that. (Other) sources
of inspiration when writing Don't
Look Up - Again?
I can't recommend enough Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The
Ministry For The Future. Quickly, I would also recommend
anything climate-related by Jason Hickel and Robert Pollin. And of
course Naomi Klein. Do talk about your movie's
brand of satire!
Not to give anything away, but there's a point in the movie where one of
the characters, Ed Brewster, says what he really appreciated in Don't Look
Up was that it was not overly prescriptive. This, of course,
comes in a movie that is totally prescriptive. But only in the sense
that it is meant to give people enough ideas to take the ball and run.
To use their own imagination and find how they fit into fighting for a real solution.
It leaves the audience with a challenge. Will they get involved or will
the film's subtitle "(the satire that changed the world)" be a
joke not only on the original movie but on this one as well?
What can you tell us about your
directorial approach to your story at hand?
I intentionally made sure the absence of budget was built into the
story. If the audience sees the movie as a high schooler's entry into a
youth journalism/documentary contest, the lo-fi nature seems natural and
kind of melts into the background. That way you can focus on the story,
which is basically just dialogue. As for the dialogue, I asked my cast to do multiple takes for each set
of lines, tweaking each new take along the way to try out different
deliveries and emphases. I then used affirmation in between takes to put
them at ease and increase confidence.
You also
appear in front of the camera in Don't
Look Up - Again - so what can you tell us about your character,
what did you draw upon to bring him to life, and did you write him with
yourself in mind from the get-go?
Outside of the one corporate media executive, my character is kind of
the only asshole in the film. But he's a repentant asshole who's trying
to make up for what he's contributed to. Which I hope is a bit of
inspiration for anyone who has a serious impact on climate policy. As someone who constantly thinks about what I could have done
differently in the past, it was only fitting that this was the character
I ended up playing. Having said that, I only played the part out of
necessity, after running out of potential cast members. Do talk about the rest
of Don't Look Up -
Again's cast, and why exactly these people?
I can only heap praise upon my cast. Almost none of them had ever acted
in a film. And the vast majority had either no interest in acting or
were deathly afraid to act. Most did it as a favor and/or because they
believed in the project. Naturally, committing to a project with a 20-plus member cast of mostly
non-actors scared the shit out of me. But in the end, I was completely blown
away with all of their performances. Without them, the film simply wouldn't have been made.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Since the film is made up of faux interviews, all the scenes were
recorded online with a podcasting software. I gave the castmembers a
bit of detail about their characters and told them to choose what they
thought was appropriate as to clothing and backgrounds. Beyond that, the
main focus was getting the dialogue right. As we went, I let them make
suggestions as to what might sound more natural for how they spoke. This
also let them know that I took them seriously and wanted them to have
real agency in their delivery. The
$64-question of course, where can Don't
Look Up - Again be seen? You can watch the entire film here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp8IWDNJqdU
You can watch trailers here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIHHZNWYEuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyg8gZZ9btc
Anything you can tell
us about audience and critical reception of Don't
Look Up - Again?
I'm just now releasing it, so not a ton of feedback yet. But the
feedback I have gotten so far has been quite positive. Probably the
biggest compliment I received was by someone who started watching and
stopped a few minutes in to start googling the characters, because he
thought it was a real documentary. That's pretty great. Any future projects you'd like
to share?
Depending upon if I can get funding, I'd like to do one more film about
climate change (but a bigger production and from a different
perspective). Other than that, there's a long laundry list of projects I've already
written that is always there, mocking my limited resources.
What got youi into filmmaking in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I wanted to figure out a way to get into the business as a writer
and ended up taking Mark Duplass' advice and made a couple
"thousand dollar movies". I quickly found out that making a
movie on your own is like learning how to build a house by yourself. You
pat yourself on the back for learning how to pour a foundation, to
frame, and to hang drywall. And then someone taps you on the shoulder
and says, "Now you have to learn plumbing and electric and roofing
and so on." In short, there's a reason why there's so many names at the end of even
the most indie movie. My ideal would probably just be to write the scripts, and maaaaaybe occasionally
act (if the part was right). Though it is pretty exhilarating, figuring out how to make it
happen. We'll see. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Don't
Look Up - Again? The (other) movie I mentioned above is titled He Doesn't Know.
It's also a feature, but completely different subject matter. Hopefully I'll get a review for it on here some time soon. How would you describe yourself
as a director?
Honestly, I wouldn't. I think like a writer. And a movie fan. Sure, I'd like to think I have some decent instincts. But I acknowledge
just how much I don't know. If I ever try to direct anything more involved, I'm going to have to
learn a whooooole lot. Filmmakers who inspire you? I feel too pretentious naming them. Your
favourite movies? Too many to name. Though I would like to offer a shout out to Time
Bandits, my favorite movie as a kid. Completely ignited my
imagination. Thanks, Mr. Gilliam. ... and of course, films you really deplore?
Any film that serves as propaganda for the system. You know who you are. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else? https://unsafemedia.com/again/
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Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? Just the budget. Meaning no budget. I made two (damn cool) feature-length films in two years. By myself
(aside from cast). With no dough. While working a full time job and
being a not-so-bad dad. Looking back, it almost seems ridiculous that I thought I could pull it
off. And, truthfully, I'm not sure I'm dying to do it again any time soon.
But it's possible. And I'm pretty proud of the results. All because I gave it a shot. Thanks for the
interview!
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