We have talked about your new movie The
Formula at quite some length before [click
here], but do bring us up to speed: What is it about?
The
Formula
is about a couple of young guys learning about the opposite
sex. We wanted to keep it (no pun intended) formulaic, but also twist the
genre staples to differentiate it from the thousands of other romantic
comedies. It was our first film to have some really cool 'names' in it,
like Brandon Baker, Sasha Jackson, and Reginald VelJohnson. We had a blast
making it, and I think it's a blast to watch it. The
Formula is a bit of a breakaway, genre-wise, from your previous,
more action-oriented movies Kung
Fu Graffiti and The Wedge
- how come? I think we all wanted to try, and see,
something different. It was kind of a perfect storm of having the right
pieces in place for this sort of project. And I think with the cast
and crew, from top to bottom, it was the best collaboration we've done
thus far. Of all the main characters in The
Formula, who can you identify with the most?
I
think subconsciously I probably wrote a lot of the characters as
extensions of friends and people I know. I think most of the characters have relatable
traits, which always helps to connect with them.
If
you had "the formula" at your disposal for 24 hours - would you
use it, and where would this probably end?
I would fly to
wherever Blake Lively is, and marry her that night in Vegas. But that
airline ticket might be out of my price range. So I guess I'd just take a
flight attendant out to eat in the airport food court. How would you
describe The Formula's
brand of humour, and what can you tell us about your personal sense of
humour? It takes a step back from the dramatics and angst of
an early-mid 20's relationship and says, "This stuff is actually
funny if you think about it." The humor is all over the place, but in
a good way. We like to move quickly from one joke to the next, so that if
something isn't funny or doesn't work, we're quickly onto the next thing.
You of course also have to talk about another
fairly new film of yours, The
Wedge - in a few words, what's that one about?
The
Wedge is the film we made before The
Formula. It's a comedy
about a pizza guy who gets mixed up in a casino heist. Why
a pizza guy - and maybe related to that, are there any any
autobiographical traits to be found in your lead character Flint? It
was originally a valet who witnesses a murder and goes on the run. I used
to be a valet at a casino in my hometown, and Die Hard was one of my
favorite movies growing up, so I figured it'd be a lot of fun to combine
the two. Through some unfortunate events, the casino at which we were
going to film at fell through, and we had to cancel the first weekend of
shooting and rewrite the script that week. It was a pretty crazy week,
with all of us running trying to salvage the movie. For a while I didn't
think it was going to get made, so just being able to finish it was an
experience. (Other)
sources of inspiration when writing The
Wedge? Women. As usual. How would you describe your directorial
approach to your subject at hand? The goal is to make it as
collaborative as possible, while still maintaining the overall vision and
themes of the specific movie. It's nice to have a continuation of certain
cast and crew, while also working in new talent. That way you keep it both
consistent and fresh. The
Wedge contains quite a few elaborate action sequences. How much
fun/what kind of a challenge was it to film those on a rather low budget? Low
budget means you're forced to get creative with different problems that
arise, so that's always an adventure.
What
can you tell us about your cast, and why exactly these people? The
cast and crew of our movies are a combination of friends, family,
professional actors, first-time actors, and everything in-between. They
all come from different wakes of life, and that's what contributes to the
charm. A
few words about the shoot as such and the on-screen atmosphere? I'd
like to think that everyone is having a good time, no matter what role
they play in the production. The goal is to have everyone enjoying their
job. That usually translates to the screen. Any
idea when and where The
Wedge and The Formula
will be released onto the general public?
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You can pre-order
The Formula
and The
Wedge on one DVD or Blu-ray at
www.backrowstudios.com.
It comes out September 4th through the website, but you can reserve
your copy anytime until then. In terms of
genre and story, your three features Kung
Fu Graffiti, The
Formula and The Wedge
seem to be pretty much all over the place - why is that, where do you see
the similarities between these three films, and which genre do you enjoy
most, from a director's point of view?
We like dipping into
different genres everytime. It's fun to shake things up. Any future
projects you'd like to talk about? I'm working on some new
scripts, but they're too early in development to really delve into any
details. Your/your
movies'/your company's website, Facebook, whatever else? You
can pre-order The Formula
and The
Wedge on one DVD or Blu Ray at
www.backrowstudios.com!
Or check out my other site at
www.joeclarkecity.com. Thanks
for the interview!
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