|
Your new movie An
Exquisite Meal - in a few words, what is it about?
It’s
about an affluent striver couple that hosts a dinner party for friends,
promising them an amazing meal. As the night goes on, strange stuff starts
to happen -- uninvited guests show up, something shocking occurs, and
things unravel as the host tries to maintain control of the surreal party.
So
what was the worst dinner party you've ever been to, and has it in any way
insformed this movie of yours?
The
worst dinner parties I’ve been to involve a mismatch between someone’s
perception of how interesting they are and how interesting they actually
are, which is not really the stuff of movies. But the things in this
movie, I’ve seen them all around me, you don’t need to go to a dinner
party to see people lying to themselves.
(Other) sources of
inspiration when writing An
Exquisite Meal? There
was a sort of confluence of ideas that came together for me. I was
watching a lot of absurd or surreal films, and I was reading a lot of The
Last Psychiatrist, an anonymous writer who was obsessed with narcissism in
America and I wanted to think through what I was seeing in my own life and
in his writing, and find a way to process it in way, dramatically. What can you tell us about An
Exquisite Meal's special brand of humour? The
film doesn’t take itself seriously, but it does take the ideas
seriously, if that makes sense? So there’s some satire with a bit of
bite in there, and some bits that are just playful and silly. My favorite
joke is also the darkest, the one at the end, so I won’t spoil it. An
Exquisite Meal takes place almost entirely within the confines of
Dave and Irene's house - so what can you tell us about your actual
location, what was it like filming there, and being confined like this,
what were some of your techniques to keep things visually interesting
throughout?
We
filmed in a house in Chicago. We were looking on AirBnb and found this
house that had been previously listed but was no longer active. I thought
it was perfect because it felt like the kind of urban middle class house
that Dave and Irene might live in, but it also had this kind of wild
vegetation in front that made it feel like it could be haunted. It felt
lived in. I hate
it when movies have houses that feel like a new condo that was built four
days ago, or sterile, without artwork or signs of life.
The owners stayed in the house during production – they would wake up and eat
breakfast and then head out during the day while we filmed and then
they’d come back in the evening as we were wrapping up.
The
confinement was bit tough psychologically, being in one place for two
weeks, especially when we were shooting day for night – we taped trash
bags to the windows to block out the sunlight and it was a bit depressing
to be in the dark all day. We tried to use as much of the house as
possible to keep things interesting and we tried to use the camera to make
things interesting and vary it visually, and played with the color as
well. I think the outdoor scenes feel like a breath of fresh air, which
works for the story.
A few words about your directorial approach
to your story at hand?
I
knew that there are ridiculous elements to the story, so I wanted a
somewhat heightened tone to it, in terms of dialogue and performances –
it’s a bit performative, which I think some people find off-putting, but
it fits with what the film is attempting.
I
also wanted a layer of reality there though and wanted to keep the
dialogue moving quickly, to feel lived in. Going too slow can totally
derail comedy, so the pacing was tricky – sometimes the dialogue has to
really move and sometimes things need to breathe.
Do talk about An
Exquisite Meal's key cast, and why exactly these people? We
worked with a casting director to bring people in, apart from Amrita
Dhaliwal, who plays Irene – she was a friend of mine that I reached out
to personally to offer the part to her. Mike Jimerson, who plays Dave, he
also came through the casting director but we had actually done comedy
together for a couple years in Chicago and as soon as he came in I was
like “of course.” He’s got great instincts but he also has this
ability to play with a real darkness. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
On
set, the big thing was “this is collaborative. We’re a small group, so
we’re all going to know each other’s names and get to know each other
between takes and our friends will bring us lunch and we’ll have a good
time.” Just trying to create a relaxed environment.
I’ve
been on sets where as soon as the director says “cut”, everyone’s on
their cell phone, or where cast and crew don’t intermingle, or people
form cliques. I don’t like that, it creates a weird vibe, like people
are from different sides of the tracks or something. I wanted it to be
more like “hey, if you have a good idea, throw it out there” and
create an environment where people felt comfortable creatively, like
we’re all here together to make the same movie. Sometimes great ideas
come from a PA or an extra, and that’s a gift.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of your movie? Most
of the reactions fall into two basic categories – either “I love it”
or “what the fuck is this?” Any
future projects you'd like to share? Nothing
concrete yet, but I’m developing a few different ideas. What got you into
filmmaking to begin with, and did you receive any formal education on the
subject?
I
came up doing comedy in Chicago – improv, sketch, and a bit of stand-up
and straight theater. So all my training was more in the theatrical
aspects – writing, creating drama, working with actors, that kind of
thing. When
I went into film, I had to get up to speed on the cameras and sound and
editing and all that. I had a sense that going to film school would be a
waste of money for me but I took some classes to learn the very basics of
filmmaking – lighting, recording sound, producing, and how to break down
a scene and direct it. But mostly I learned by making short films and
talking to other filmmakers that knew more than me, or by editing my own
stuff. I
also started watching differently, taking notes, trying to understand why
things worked or didn’t, what I liked about the movies I was seeing,
plus going back and filling in some gaps in my film history.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to An Exquisite Meal? I
made a few short films before working up to a feature. Some are more
“pure comedies” and some are a little more dramatic. Some turned out
better than others, but I learned a lot on each of them.
How
would you describe yourself as a director? Coming
from theater, I think I’m more at home in the world of actors and
dialogue. It’s taken me a while to figure out how to use the camera to
tell a story, so I rely a lot on my cinematographers. That being said, I
tend to have a very strong idea of what I want or how I want to tell a
story, with my own specific sense of humor, but I’m very collaborative.
I guess what I’m saying is that I know what I want, but I rely a lot on
others to figure out how to get it. Filmmakers
who inspire you? Elaine
May, Kiarostami, Truffaut, the Coen Brothers are a few of my favorites. Your favourite movies? I
can’t really answer this, but a few of my favorites that didn’t get
seen by a ton of people in the past few years were Monos, A
Hero, and Toni Erdmann. These all just floored me, in their own ways. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
 |
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
not going to trash anything specific, but there are a few categories of
films I don’t like. One is indie films that amount to something like
“dating in your 30s is hard!” which I find to just be dull. And
there’s a sort of Very Serious and Rather Important Drama with Very
Beautiful Cinematography that just bores me to death. I’d
rather watch something that’s a bit rough around the edges or doesn’t
quite work, but tries something difficult or weird.
Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else? You
can find the trailer and streaming links for An Exquisite Meal. And I’m
on Instagram and Twitter. Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I
think this covers it, it was a pleasure. Thanks
for the interview!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
