Your new movie Danny Boy
- in a few words, what is it about?
Danny Boy is about not judging a book by its cover,
it's about expectance,
open-mindedness & not holding people to standards they have not
consented to be judged by.
Now how did the project fall together in the first place, and
giving your background in stuntwork, why did you choose to direct this
rather stunt-free short? The
broad strokes were something Samuel Even Horowitz [Samuel
Evan Horowitz interview - click here] & I cooked up one day after a
training session, I’ve wanted to do a short that could showcase his
writing skills and allow me to get in the director's seat for something
narrative. I wanted to shy away from action & stunts, I feel like with
my experience I have a good handle on the action and could shoot that with
my eyes closed at this point... or else I should be able to. Shooting
dialog & focusing on story is something that is more challenging and
the heart of filmmaking, so I guess I did it to prove that I am a
filmmaker not just a stuntman. What can you tell us about Danny
Boy's writer Samuel Evan Horowitz [Samuel
Evan Horowitz interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? Sammy
is an incredible man with an unreal life story. He lived a life of crime
for many years and did time. Got his life turned around and became a professional
boxer turned stuntman, which is when I met him. We were both
working on a film at the same time and hit it off immediately.
Collaborating with him is honestly so easy, we click and understand each
other, that keeps things moving and makes it extremely enjoyable for the
both of us. With Danny
Boy taking place mostly inside one and the same car, what were
some of your techniques to keep things visually interesting? Honestly
we shied away from shooting “cool shots” or using camera tricks and
kept our coverage very simple and traditional. I think this allowed us to
focus on the story and our characters, which in and of themselves are very
interesting. What we did do was add an enhanced/stylistic lighting to
the interior. I feel like this gave us a little something extra to make
the drab interior feel interesting, and blue being a very communicative
color allows an additional level of focus on the dialog. We also wanted to
make the viewers feel like they were there with our characters as a
voyeur, or as one reviewer said, a fly on the windscreen.
A
few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand? Oh
man, honestly I just wanted to keep it simple, focus on story and get to
the truth of who these 2 men were. I didn’t want the camera to overly
complicate things, but I did want you to feel like you were there with
these two, along for the ride. As the tension builds we continue to keep
it simple until the very end, when stakes get high and shit hits the fan
the camera comes crashing in with Danny to match his level of energy. I
would say we wanted room for the characters and dialog to breathe, leveling
awkward moments and breaks in the timing to add a level
of realism to the piece. That was the overall approach for this project,
not my style per say, each project should have its own approach. Do
talk about Danny Boy's
cast, and why exactly these people? For
1 we knocked this thing out with a shoestring budget, so you have to use
what is available to you. That being said both Jett Jansen [Jett
Jansen interview - click here] and Sammy
Horowitz [Samuel Evan
Horowitz interview - click here] are good
friends and collaborators of mine, as well they both happen to be talented
actors. It was a no-brainer for me, Sammy has lived that life to an extent
and knows guys like Francis. Jett has a theater background, a great look
and really can play in any genre. As far as the voice actors that was Sari
Sanchez, a talented actress, our associate producer and Sammy's wife, and
the security guard is Adam Pasen another theater actor and Sammy's writing
partner.
What can you tell us
about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? When
you're working with friends it's hard not to have fun! We honestly had a
blast, but I will say I was a touch nervous because we stole every single
location and had ZERO permits. We were driving around Downtown Los Angeles
with a Red camera rigged to a car, but considering it was the height of
the COVID lockdown we had relatively empty streets and were left alone,
haha. Our cast and crew of 7 total was incredible, everyone showed up and
put their best effort forward and we were able to shoot everything in 4
1/2 hours! The
$64-question of course, where can Danny
Boy be seen? Currently
we are playing the festivals so it's not out publicly yet, but it can be
seen in Hollywood, CA at the TCL Chinese 6 during the HollyShorts Oscar
Qualifying Film Festival @7:30pm on Sep. 27th as well it can be streamed
on BITPIX from the 21st of September to the 1st of October. We will also be
screening online only for the Los Angeles Lift Off Film Festival, which is
a part of the Lift Off global series, between Sept. 20th & October
13th. Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Danny
Boy yet? So
far the reviews have been amazing and the overall reception good. It’s
an edgy story and we didn’t pull any punches, the film is raw and very
authentic in terms of how these guys think, act, and speak coming from
this criminal underworld. We are risky filmmakers, and it's paying off. We
have a few great festivals we're playing and we're thankful they took
a chance on us. Any future projects you'd like to
share? Well,
I have another short I’m working out with Sammy [Samuel
Evan Horowitz interview - click here] & Adam. Its a story
I’ve had on my mind for years and they are helping me flush it out.
I’d love to get my brother-in-law Tony Revolori act in it alongside our
mutual friend Bobby Hall (Logic). There is also a great one that Jett
brought to me from his producing partner, it is based on an interview
Tarantino gave years ago and I think it's brilliant. The big one though is
Musket and the Rat, a feature film from Sammy and Adam that
is an adaptation from a stageplay of the same name that Sam wrote. I have
optioned the film as a producer and will be directing as well. We are
currently working on packaging the film, and will be shooting a teaser
trailer in the coming weeks.
As mentioned before, you entered the filmworld as
a stuntman - so what made you become a stuntman, and what can you tell us
about your training? Growing
up I was & still am a life long martial artist, I wanted to be a Power
Ranger or Ninja Turtle so I was a very bouncy floppy kid. A few years
after moving to California I stumbled across parkour and became obsessed,
I traveled the world as a pro athlete and competed for years. I started
booking commercials doing parkour to make a living, and one day got asked
to come out and double an actor doing parkour. Once I realized I was
working on a stunt contract I made sure to let everyone I worked with know
I had other skills such as martial arts, driving, etc. What made you try your hands on
directing eventually, and did you receive any formal education on the
subject? I
have no formal education in filmmaking, but working in this industry and
getting the opportunity to watch and sometimes collaborate with some of
the biggest directors & 2nd unit directors of our time has taught and
inspired me a ton. I first started dabbling as an athlete because we
always had to shoot our own content for social media and sponsors, but I
would take it to the next level and try to make my videos more cinematic
using what I had learned at work as a stuntman. I’ve always loved story
& I love filmmaking and shoots … I guess one day they all lined up
and I said, alright, this is what I’m going to do now. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Danny Boy, in
whatever position?
Up
to the point of making Danny Boy
I have been very fortunate to work on so
many amazing projects as a stuntman and more recently as a stunt coordinator. From
300: Rise of an Empire, Avatar 3, Once Upon a Time in
Hollywood to Project Power (Netflix), which I was able to play a
character, build the action as the fight coordinator, and eventually during
re-shoots coordinate 1st and 2nd unit. It's been a wild ride to say the
least, a ton of hard work, sleepless nights and stress, but that makes it
all the sweeter. It’s been very much earned not given, and I like it
that way. Filmmakers, stuntmen, whoever else
who inspire you? Filmmakers
I’m inspired by would have to be Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino,
Scorsese & Darren Aronofski. I’m constantly inspired by stuntmen and
stunt women who have carved out a real living, it's so hard to make a life
and living out of stunts. I’d venture to say only about 10% make a real
full time living as a performer, so anyone who has done that as well as
those who have been able to cross over and begin directing and producing
is a huge inspiration! Your favourite movies? Lock,
Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown,
Irreversible,
The Matrix, Black Hawk Down, The
Joker! ...
and of course, films you really deplore? …ehhh, I don’t want to name any by name, but I will say films
that try too hard, films that don’t allow the truth of their characters
drive the narrative and instead let an agenda drive it. I hate being
forced, tell a good story and your point will get across, you won’t have
to force anything. Just my 2 Cents.
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Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
You
can find us at:
www.DannyBoyTheShortFilm.com
Twitter: @shortdanny
Instagram: @dannyboyshortfilm
I
am @corydemeyers on all platforms
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I’d
just like to say a sincere THANK YOU to our entire cast & crew that
made this possible, you believed in me and for that I am forever grateful!
As well, thank you for taking the time to chat and spread the word, we
couldn’t do it without your help :D
Thanks
for the interview!
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