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Your new movie We Go
Again - in a few words, what's it about?
TJ – It’s a relationship drama
dealing with a neurodivergent couple, both of whom have their own
difficulties such as ADHD in Marie’s case and bipolar with Amy. It’s about
a cyclical relationship that can be toxic as there’s no one who can be an
anchor or provide balance. On the one hand they should understand each
other better as they understand the reality of being neurodivergent, but
on the other, it provides more challenges.
Now how did the project come into being in the first place, and
what made the two of you decide to make it together?
TJ – We’d been looking to do a
project for a few years but the realities of time and money always proved
difficult. I didn’t want to do something really commercial because that’s
what my work has mostly been, so it was also partly about rebelling from
that. I had a window of time come up, and a small budget (very small).
Some ideas we’d mulled over would have been too elaborate so I came up
with something very intimate, relationship focused and harvested a few
ideas from other scripts we’d previously considered doing.
OJ – I had been investing in some
new equipment with the possibility of working on a feature film at some
point, because we had been talking about it for a while and it's also been
an ambition for me since I was very young. The right time came, a little short notice ironically considering
the amount we had been mulling over different ideas, but I felt like I
needed to jump head first into it whilst the opportunity was there.
Tom, what were your sources of inspiration when writing
We Go Again, and is
any of it based on personal experiences?
TJ – There were a couple of things
really. As I said I’d been writing films about flaming tornados or public
domain riffs. After co-producing
The Baby in the Basket and then later,
Death Among the Pines with Nathan Shepka
[Nathan Shepka
interview - click here], it gave me more creative control
and then I wanted even more. Those still had a degree of commercialism in
mind, though more on my terms (and his). With
We Go Again I was more
inspired by films like Aftersun. I wanted to do something that said
something about prescient issues, which in recent times includes mental
health and neurodivergence. I also drew inspiration from really minimalist
filmmakers like Hong Sang-soo, who produces films with absolutely bare
bones crews (sometimes just himself, a soundy and his actors) and for
peanuts, but they’re character-driven. At the same time, I wanted to
incorporate some visual flourishes with a dash of magical realism and
nightmare sequences. I’d also thought back a lot to an old short film I
wrote called Winter Hill, which is still maybe my favourite thing I’ve
written and one which had a lot of me in. Write what you know I guess, so
I did touch upon personal experience, particularly with Marie’s character
(bar the cocaine binges, lol). I come from a very creative family but
we’re all what you might have just called ‘odd’ a few decades ago, but
really it’s varying types and degrees of neurodivergence (creativity is
often one of the trades for things like ADHD).
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Oliver, what can you tell us about your directorial approach to
the story at hand? OJ – I wanted to keep the feel of
the film grounded and naturalistic, intimate yet enigmatic too.
The idea was always to be light on dialogue so I drove a lot of the
story visually through camera work and editing.
Actor wise, I wanted them to have the freedom to allow their
performances to come naturally and make sure they didn’t feel too
constricted or inhibited. It
was a very quick shoot so I needed to put my trust in them so I could
focus on capturing the physicality and expressiveness of their
performance, which itself contributes to that visual story telling.
So what was your collaboration on
We Go Again
actually like, and based on your experiences on the film, willl you ever
work with one another again?
TJ – It was how we both started
really. Making little action films out in the woods, throwing each other
around. Between the two of us we cover a lot of bases and wear a lot of
hats, and to be honest it simplifies the process too. I guess we’re quite
particular in what we want. I had ideas for the score that ultimately I
decided it would be better if I did it myself rather than outsourcing. As
it transpired we had to add on a shoot day anyway which probably ate up
the composer fee. We’ll do something else at some point and I’d be
inclined to be rebelliously anti-commercial again because inevitably these
are the films of late I most respond to as a viewer. I’m still figuring
what the next thing is and then I just have to figure how to get the
budget. OJ – Yea, I feel that we’re in
sync when it comes to type of film we want to make and how the production
should go. The advantage too
with our setup is that I have a handle of not just directing but the
editing and cinematography, which are probably the key three elements of
how a movie is going to go. I
am very creative with lots of ideas so being able to have full control
over those key areas means I don't have to worry about having to translate
precisely what I want and it means production moves much faster which is a
huge advantage to the overall.
You have worked with one another before - so do talk about your
previous collaborations for a bit!
TJ – Some of our best stuff has
never been seen to be fair. The more refined you get the more you can
sometimes lose a certain looseness or outside the box thinking. We did a
film years back called Hunted which ripped off The Hitcher and a few
others but there’s a creativity and impulsive choices in that we probably
haven’t matched since, because when you half don’t know what you’re doing,
you make wilder choices I think. That said,
We Go Again is the first film
that’s really dramatically strong. Dare I say, mature.
OJ – I am a self-taught filmmaker
since I was a teenager, an almost obsessive dedication to learning and
improving as much as possible the craft and visual language of film.
It helped having a brother with similar interests to rope into my
experiments. I did push
filmmaking aside for a few years to pursue acting but after falling out of
love with that, feeling lots of resentment to the pursuit of that
industry, whilst still respecting the craft, I decided to leave it behind.
It was whilst back to working an everyday job that I realised how
much I had missed filmmaking and the dedication I had to creating my own
pieces and continuously improving with the many aspects of film-making.
I went back to making my own little experimental shorts and through
that my brother took notice and that's when we began discussing working on
projects together again but this time to a more official capacity.
Back to We Go Again:
What were the challenges of bringing your movie to the screen from a
production point of you?
TJ – Money really. We had a tight schedule and short development time because the whole thing was impulsive.
Olly and me are used to shooting quick so it’s second nature, but you also
have to be mindful of the pace your cast are comfortable to work in.
Thankfully Zuza Tehanuhas worked on a lot of films with some of the production
companies I’ve written for and those are also very quick shoots.
OJ – To me the main challenge was
trying to get everything done within the time limits without rushing
anything. The benefit to me is that I often know what I want in advance so I shoot only what I need.
I have quite a specific shooting style and usually can see how I’m
going to approuch editing whilst I’m filming.
Do talk about We Go
Again's cast, and why exactly these people?
TJ – With Zuza, we’d been in the
same circles and she popped up in 1-2 of the films I’d written in the
past. I was quick keen to work with her as she’s a very visual and
physical actress, coming from a multi-performance background. One thing I
wanted was a lot more visual storytelling and less dialogue and she has
great presence. With Charlotte Chiew [Charlotte
Chiew interview - click here] we had to recast a role about a week before
filming. I’d already cast her in a small role as Amy’s sister, but decided
to ask if she could make it to the shoot to play Amy. Thankfully she
could, and we’d worked with her on our short, The Dark Recess so we knew
she’d knock it out of the park, and we also knew she’d be used to our
idiosyncratic way of working. With Annabelle Lanyon, I’d cast her in
The Baby in the Basket and she was great. Also though I wasn’t on that set,
she was given nothing but glowing praise from Nathan (who I also roped in
for a cameo in this) so I sent her the script and she was thankfully keen.
OJ – I was very pleased with
everyone's performances, and it was very pleasing to see how quickly Zuza
and Charlotte got into sync with each other, taking it upon themselves to
rehearse and rehearse, both of those roles being central to the film.
I feel like they both delivered performance-wise what I felt was
right for the story and the eventual feeling you are left with at the end.
What can you tell us about
We Go Again's main
location, and what was it like filming there?
TJ – It was like finding a needle
in a haystack but the needle I found ended up being perfect. I spent hours
searching through AirBnB for something within reasonable distance that
felt remote. Partly to fit the story and characters, but also logistically
and to have minimal disturbance for neighbours.
OJ – Location was great.
Once I got there and looked around to get a sense of the location,
I could see there was plenty of room to block scenes but also plenty of
natural light flooding in through the right places.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
TJ – You’d have to ask the cast!
No, it was good. We just got on with it and it was very collaborative. I’m
not the iron fist type who wants every syllable and gesture of my script
kept - in tact. I’d rather the cast put themselves into the role and add
flourishes I don’t expect, and Zuza, Charlotte and Annabelle all did that.
They were all great to work with too.
Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of
We Go Again?
TJ – So far so good. We had a
decent festival run, picked up a few awards. We’ve had a handful of good
reviews and importantly, people have picked up on and appreciated the
story we were trying to tell. In an ideal world we’d have had more money
and more polish in certain areas but I’m just delighted we managed to get
it in the can and out into the world. The big test will come on streaming
when more eyes see it and it’s a tough and impatient crowd on Tubi.
OJ – I'm just hoping the film finds the right audience and people can
appreciate the craft that has gone into the film despite limitations of
budget. If we can move some people,
intrigue them then I’ll be pleased that the film has worked for the right people.
Any futue projects you'd like to share?
TJ – I have a few things bubbling
away with Nathan, including a more drama focused, character driven film. I
just wrote a sci-fi script for hire that shoots this year too. That was a
lot of fun to write and the response to the script was great.
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Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
instagram.com/wegoagainmovie
instagram.com/jolliffeproductions
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten
to ask? TJ – Yes, my other recent film,
Death Among the Pines, is out in the US on
Amazon, Tubi, Fawesome and a few
others. Thanks for the interview!
TJ – Always a pleasure, Mike. Thank you.
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