An Interview with Andrew Bonazelli, Writer of Rich Interior Lives

by Mike Haberfelner

July 2026

Films written by Andrew Bonazelli on (re)Search my Trash

Your new movie Rich Interior Lives - in a few words, what's it about?

First off, thanks so much for the time, Michael! The Tubi synopsis gives wayyyyy too much away, so I’ll just say “a gay conversion therapist and a flight attendant walk into a party thrown by an oversexed caterer and her concussion-addled brother,” and let viewers experience the “punchline” for themselves.

What were your sources of inspiration when writing Rich Interior Lives?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of my favorite movies/plays, and Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation is right up there as well. I wasn’t intentionally trying to gene-splice the two, but I love the pressure-cooker aspect to contained, limited-location films (Tape, Hush and Cube, too!). But the real answer is nobody’s gonna get Dances With Wolves financed in 2026 (much less the last two parts of Horizon). Microbudgets are just easier to see through to completion, plain and simple.

Now now did the project fall together in the first place?

About five or six years ago, I founded a boutique production company called 10 Seconds to Comply (honoring the legacy of every boardroom’s best friend, ED-209) with my homies Ken Whiting and Manny Alarcon (respectively, Rich Interior Lives’s director and DP). We had banged out a bunch of narrative shorts and music videos, and while the latter especially were super fun (we’ve worked with some killer artists, many of whom contributed music to Rich Interior Lives), why wouldn’t you make a movie if you had the chance? People tend to watch movies, I am told. Shorts, not so much. So, we went through my scripts and settled on the one that was, as alluded to above, most achievable given the cast, location and time constraints.

Do talk about Rich Interior Lives' approach to the thriller and the horror genre!

I actually like to think Rich Interior Lives is genre-agnostic, as it has elements of the two you mentioned as well as black comedy and farce; I don’t think I’d know how to write a conventional “genre film” even if I wanted to. Which is probably to this movie’s detriment, as it’s hard to synopsize or “elevator pitch” without giving too much away. I wish someone would just hire me to reimagine Problem Child so I wouldn’t have to think about this shit.

At least for me, Rich Interior Lives also has its darkly humourous moments - would you at all agree, and if so, do talk about your movie's brand of comedy for a bit?

Thanks, yeah, it’s nice when the intentional comedy lands. The main thing I worry about with dialogue is a trap a lot of writers fall into: All of the characters sound the same because that writer has almost too distinct of a voice. I could name names here, but I still harbor the delusion that those writers’ producers will give me money someday. Anyway, even though our movie is already dialogue-heavy, if I had a second pass at the script, I’d probably ramp up the farce bits and go for more of a Clue vibe: rapid-fire exchanges like the one on the stairwell between Dana (Kei’la Ryan) and Logan (Gregory Shelby). Also, I hate being that guy, but Rich Interior Lives is definitely a movie that rewards a second viewing, as a lot of the humor is more nuanced/layered and not immediately laugh-out-loud.

What were the challenges of bringing Rich Interior Lives to the screen from a producer's point of view?

You have to call in a LOT of favors. Friends, parents and work clients all contributed financing, sparing us the indignity of begging over the internet (caveat: there’s nothing wrong with begging over the internet; making movies is fucking hard). The vast majority of the film entailed overnight shoots, which took some getting used to, as most of the cast and crew flew from Detroit and Philly to serial-killer rural Oregon, where we shot at a very generous friend’s second home. The overnight factor was also a major challenge for my wife; she volunteered as a PA and handled crafty, and every restaurant closed at like 7 pm, which kinda made feeding everyone a nightmare. The house also had beams jutting out everywhere, and at least two crew members nearly decapitated themselves. It wasn’t exactly The Island of Dr. Moreau, but we had obstacles.

What can you tell us about Rich Interior Lives' director Ken Whiting, and what was your collaboration like?

Ken is my guy. He really connected to the exploitative megachurch guru element (probably because he’s jealous), and did an absolutely phenomenal job coaching up the four leads with an ungodly amount of rehearsals. This is his feature-length directorial debut; he has experience shooting for the likes of Brea Grant, Graham Skipper and Mel House, all of whom are fixtures in the indie-horror world, and that allowed him to make creative on-the-spot decisions about sometimes incredibly constrictive dimensions. Anyone who’s done this before knows that shooting 13-14 pages a day is a dipshit’s errand, but we had no other choice, and he annihilated it. I wish we had more BTS footage so people could see the relentless, unwavering dedication he applied to every nook and cranny of my goofy script.

Do talk about Rich Interior Lives' cast, and how much of a say did ýou have or demand in the casting process  as the film's wirter/producer?

As I recall, casting was pretty democratic between Ken, Manny and myself. We did all the auditions via Zoom and found it pretty easy to weed out the trash (there was no trash; literally everyone did great!). Parker Shook (Colt) won a well-deserved Best Feature Actor at Greg Lamberson of Slime City’s Amazing Fantasy Fest in Buffalo [Gregory Lamberson interview - click here]. Greg Shelby and Teresa Byrne brought next-level subtlety and shiftiness to their roles as, respectively, the dumbass conspirator and audience surrogate. I have to say, though: I have never been as impressed by an audition as I was by Kei’la Ryan’s first read of Dana. I wrote that character with a very unknowable alien energy that modulates into some even weirder places, and she got it from day one. Fucking fearless hard worker. I’m a little disappointed more people aren’t singing her praises.

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

Other than the house almost killing people, vibes were great. Ken only had to yell at everyone once, and nobody ate shit navigating the sloped backyard in the middle of the night. The cast stayed at/lived in the location for a week, which made continuity in the kitchen and living room a bit tricky. But they had access to a hot tub, so whatever. After the wrap party, everyone split for the airport, and Manny and I were left to clean up the mess. The place stank to high heaven. Not because we hired unclean talent; 12 people rummaging around the same room for eight straight days just leaves a little musk, I guess.

The $64-question of course, where can Rich Interior Lives be seen?

Can you Venmo me $64? That would rule! Buckle up for 5,000 ads and check it on Tubi. (https://tubitv.com/movies/100055629/rich-interior-lives).

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Rich Interior Lives?

If any of my friends or acquaintances hated it, they don’t have the guts to tell me. Which makes sense: They know I’d be way meaner about the movie they haven’t made.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

I wish! Somebody option another script; see how good at sharing I am?

What got you into writing in the first place - and screenwriting at that -, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

When I was in fourth or fifth grade in northeast Ohio, I won this writing contest called Power of the Pen. I think the premise was that competitors were given a vague prompt—like just a sentence or two—and had something like 30 minutes to write a short story about it. I guess I’m pretty good at impromptu bullshitting; that’s the only explanation for my dreck cutting through enough to impress the judges. At the time, I fucking sucked at sports, so this was my first taste of anybody outside of my parents being impressed by something I produced. That’s all it took. No formal training as a screenwriter; any dummy can do it with enough reps, it’s hardly James Joyce.

You haven't only scripted feature films and shorts, but also music videos - so how does dreaming up a music video compare to writing a narrative film?

That can be fun! I have a background in music journalism – my work very much stretching the definition of “journalism” – and I enjoy talking to (ideally unpretentious) musicians about their work. I think my main job is to make them look cool, maybe a little larger than life, and the videos I enjoy more are the ones that blend performance and narrative. Particularly proud of the Keening’s Little Bird, which was an opportunity to do Dogville-style minimalist-set storytelling without subtitles. We have a Pale Shade video in the chamber that is extraordinarily dumb and should make people laugh.

How would you describe yourself as a screenwriter?

Way better than The Black List usually gives me credit for, way worse than Billy Wilder, about the same level as whoever wrote Wild Hogs.

Writers, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?

Will stick to music for this one: My writing soundtrack generally alternates between Ethel Cain, Curve, Drab Majesty and Isis.

Your favourite movies?

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Andrew Bonazelli at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Andrew Bonazelli here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

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

All capeshit except Batman ’89 and Darkman, if the latter even counts.

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

Find us at www.10secondstocomply.com! Our videos, socials, email and all that junk are there.

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

I’ll be really sad when Ralph Nader dies and the internet blames him for everything.

Thanks for the interview!

© by Mike Haberfelner

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