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An Interview with Todd Rawiszer, Writer and Producer of Goodbye Honey

by Mike Haberfelner

April 2021

Todd Rawiszer on (re)Search my Trash

 

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Your new movie Goodbye Honey - in a few words, what is it about?

 

Goodbye Honey is a fun edge-of-your-seat piece of pulp fiction, but we of course wanted it to be driven by something real and tangible. The film at its core poses a real-world dilemma: Would you help a stranger in need? That was the seed that grew the film to be what it is today. Our lead, Dawn, is a female trucker completing a cross-country drive at night when she comes across a young woman, Phoebe, who claims she has been abducted and needs immediate help. The two end up being stranded in the middle of nowhere for the night with many twists and turns to follow.

 

What were your sources of inspiration when writing Goodbye Honey?

 

Early on while writing the first draft of Goodbye Honey, co-writer and director Max Strand [Max Strand interview - click here] and I would try and see films together to see what movies really spoke to us. We went and saw Good Time by the Safdie Brothers at the Film Forum and were blown away by its non-stop pacing, cinematography and indie hustle spirit. It put fire under our ass. It made us feel as if our movie was attainable and we were so excited to keep moving forward. We also love everything Jeremy Sauliner makes as well for the same reasons. And I was personally heavily influenced by John Carpenter’s films/music as well as Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West and Craven’s Last House on The Left.

 

You wrote Goodbye Honey together with director Max Strand - so what was the writing process like?

 

Max and I have been making short films together since 2007, so we are very comfortable writing and working together. So much so that we actually wrote a large chunk of the film while lying in bed together due to Max’s studio apartment not having any room for a couch or seats. The writing process was very democratic throughout. Every word and action was heavily discussed as we both wanted to make sure we were happy with every milli-decision before we moved on to the next line.

 

What can you tell us about Goodbye Honey's approach to the thriller genre?

 

We wanted to keep audiences at the edge of their seats and were determined to do it on a micro-budget as we had no studios backing us. We wrote a script that was conducive to a very low budget. Max said, “if we can get a truck and a parking lot we can make this film.” That became our anthem. We secured the truck and parking lot on an exchange of services basis, so free, and from there nothing was going to stop us from telling this story. We started principal photography as soon as we could and never looked back.

 

What were the main challenges of bringing Goodbye Honey to the screen from a producer's point of view?

 

Everything seems to be very pay-to-play while getting a film off the ground. We couldn’t afford a casting agent, so we couldn’t find name-talent - which left us without much financial backing. We thought it would be a grueling process without real funds, but it ended up having a real silver lining. We brought on a cast and crew who were willing to take part in our film not for the benefit of merely a paycheck but because they really believed in the project as well as in Max and myself. This was not a clock in clock out experience for any of us. We did it because we loved it, and we wanted to make this film together. The crew were largely friends of mine and made for such an incredible and rewarding experience. I’ll be paying it forward to everyone who helped in our vision for the rest of my life.

 

Do talk about Goodbye Honey's cast, and as co-writer and producer, how deeply were you involved in the casting process?

 

Max and I, worked in tandem together with a lot of the decision making for the film. We auditioned everyone together and even held one in my apartment that we staged to look like a production office so we could save on renting a space for the day. The process could not have been easier. Max and I, really knew these characters in and out and choosing the cast could not have been an easier process. We both agreed on every role, and looking back on the project as a whole I feel we nailed it.

 

What can you tell us about your collaboration with Goodbye Honey's director Max Strand [Max Strand interview - click here] during the shoot?

 

As a writer/producer/cinematographer for the film I was very attached to Goodbye Honey. We always talked everything through and made sure we were both pleased and on the same page during the decision making of the film. It was a very intimate collaboration and democratic, which I am very thankful for. When we watch the film, I feel we both are pleased that our visions are represented on the screen. Writing a film and handing it off to someone else could feel as if your vision may not be represented on screen, but working with Max, he was so conducive to collaborating with myself, looking back at the finished product I don’t think I would change a thing. We made the movie we set out to make.

 

A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

We wrote a film that took place in the middle of nowhere, so we shot in the middle of nowhere in upstate Pennsylvania at a sleepaway camp during the freezing cold winter. It was around fifteen days of overnights with multiple bear sightings, rain, sleet and snow almost every day. Our daily schedule was starting at sunset and wrapping as sun rise. To have a cast & crew come out every night braving the cold and dark bringing their A-game was such an incredible gift I’ll never forget. It actually snowed so hard in the middle of one of the exterior scenes that we had to pause filming. Our continuity was ruined with fresh snow on the ground. Our producer Josh Michaels ran out and brought back a car full of dirt to cover the snow so we could continue shooting. Max, Josh and I began distributing the dirt when suddenly cast and crew began helping us cover the entire field so we could proceed filming. This was such a labor of love. What amazing people we had at our sides.

 

The $64-question of course, where can Goodbye Honey be seen?

 

May 11th on DirecTV, Dish Network, Sling TV, iN DEMAND, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Xbox, Google Play, YouTube Movies, FandangoNOW, Hoopla, and DVDs will be available via Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com, Walmart.com, and//Walmart.com" target="_blank">Walmart.com, and Barnesandnoble.com. Please pre-order on iTunes if you’d like to support our film!

 

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Goodbye Honey?

 

The reception has been overwhelming so far. I feel like the reviews I’m hearing are exactly what we wanted to hear. We’ve been told it's edge-of-your-seat, lots of twists and turns, pressure cooker, and a fun indie thriller for all. Couldn’t be happier.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

I’m very excited to announce I just completed a new comedy fantasy feature screenplay with the working title Solar Transparency. It’s about a man named Wes who lives in a town without sunlight when one day his estranged father Gus is forced to move in with him against Wes’s will. Gus is now restricted to a life-saving machine that depends on electricity to keep him alive. It also leaves him immobile, bitter and unbearable to be around. Wes decides to install solar panels on his house in a convoluted attempt to kill his father though the whole small tight-knit town is aware of his intentions. Wes’s story also coincides with his mother Cindy who is involved in a bizarre religion based off of rainbows. I tried to write this time with no restrictions at all. I wanted to conceive something that I truly wanted to see on screen. Having said that, I think I have a very producible film that will interest some serious name talent. Also, looking forward to shooting Max’s upcoming film Emo, which is currently in the very early stages of pre-production.

 

What got you into the filmworld in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

 

I was brought into this world with a father who had a closet filled to the brim with VHS tapes. Somewhere around a thousand films or more. Every movie my dad ever rented from Blockbuster or seen on TV was copied to tape and we had quite the family collection. I saw all the classics with him and saw all the R-rated stuff no child should ever see the moment I was left to my own devices. I did study film/video at Drexel University, where I met Max early on freshman year. We were making movies together practically the moment we first met. Never stopped.

 

Going through your filmography, one can't help but notice that you've filled many diverse positions behind the camera - so what do you enjoy the most, what could you do without?

 

I got my start in film working as a costume intern, production assistant, assistant cameraman, loader, grip, gaffer, camera operator etc. It was all a way for me to get my foot through the door and make my way through the ranks. I was trying to learn as much as I could from the people I was working with, absorbing everything like a sponge. I started working for free, stipends, favors, whatever got me on a set. Wouldn’t change a thing that got me to where I am now. So happy to have met all the amazing people along the way. Some of which even worked on Goodbye Honey. Now I’m mostly doing cinematography, producing and directing on the projects I’m attached to. I absolutely love what I do and have never worked a day in my life because of it. Having said that, I have no interest in being an assistant cameraman anymore, haha.

 

What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Goodbye Honey, in whatever position?

 

Before Goodbye Honey, I’ve been trying to make as many short films as possible, which helped me feel comfortable enough to take on this feature. Check out Natural Habitat at ToddRawiszer.com/
shortfilms
. It’s one of my favorite projects I’ve had the pleasure of making. Be warned it’s a weird one!

 

Writers, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?

 

Besides the previously mentioned influences in regards to Goodbye Honey, I’m personally heavily influenced by Charlie Kaufman, Stanley Kubrick, Coen Brothers, Yorgos Lathimos, Tim Burton and the heavy metal musician Buckethead.

 

Your favourite movies?

 

Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, The Fisher King, The Game, Place Beyond the Pines, Once Upon a Time in America, Silence of the Lambs, Jacob’s Ladder, Mystic River, A Clockwork Orange, Peewee’s Big Adventure, Edward Scissorhands, The Neverending Story, The Lobster, People Under the Stairs, Taxi Driver, Heathers, American Beauty, Nocturnal Animals and Reservoir Dogs. I have so many more but I know this list is too long already.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

Oh boy. I will say, I LOVE to see creativity and originality in films. So if a filmmaker is not striving for that then odds are I won’t be enjoying their films.

 

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Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?

 

www.UnisonProductions.com

www.ToddRawiszer.com

Follow me on Instagram @Todd.Raw and @UnisonProductions

 

Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

If someone could get me in touch with Charlie Kauffman, I’d love to show him my new script. I think he’d dig it. If anyone knows how to get me in touch with Buckethead, having him make a score for one of my films would be the dream of a life time.

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

Thanks for having me!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
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