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Your new movie Hey Bro -
in a few words, what is it about?
Hey Bro
is actually just one scene from a feature which is currently in
production. In essence, Hey Bro
is about repercussions and how there are
consequences for our actions. Nobody rides for free.
What inspired you to make Hey
Bro in the first place, and what are the inspirations behind the
story? Well
the main character, Clownie, is someone relatable to all, whether we admit
it or not. If you look past the clown make up and costume, we’ve all
known someone like Clownie or have been him ourselves. By that I mean the
narcissism, the judgement, the thinking “we’re always right”-attitude. We’re all guilty of that in varying degrees. Hey Bro
is only a snippet of a feature film called The
HARD Life and Times of Clownie - so how does Hey Bro
fit into the bigger picture, and how far along is the feature yet? Hey Bro
exhibits a common behavior we see in today's society. People judge and
lash out at others, but certainly don’t want anyone to judge or lash out
at them. Oftentimes mankind is a giant walking contradiction, and one we
don’t like to acknowledge. The film is actually a collection of footage
of Clownie spanning back over the past decade with a lot of the content in
post-production and the remaining portion still currently in production.
It certainly hasn’t been an overnight process. What
can you tell us about your directorial approach to your story at hand?
Well,
there’s not much to say because all I’ve done is document the real
life and times of Clownie just like the title implies – the guy truly is
one of a kind. Our genre is comedy, drama, but in some ways, it’s much
closer to a documentary about Clownie's life. There was a producer out in
Hollywood by the name of Arthur Steinberg who initially was going to
produce a big budget film about Clownie's life, but I think the more he got
to know Clownie and discovered how Clownie has been subjected to cancel
culture and isn’t your typical type of birthday clown, he got scared to
touch it. It was then that Clownie started to lose hope that the film
would ever be produced, but thankfully people video the guy everywhere he
goes, so we collaborated with the idea of a $0 budget premise filmed
entirely on cell phones. That part was Clownie's idea because he wanted to
take the “down with the man” approach to show that big budgets and
corporate approval is no longer required to produce films, or as Clownie
says “stifle art”. Granted, the production quality is what it is, but
that’s the way it needs to be, because honestly an attempt at telling the
Clownie story on a big budget set just wouldn’t be an accurate portrayal
of his life. So, it’s very liberating in the regard that going in, we
already know that just like Clownie himself, there will be judgement,
shortcomings, and people who do not approve. Clownie has never let that
stop him from living his life, so it made sense to adhere to that same
mantra in terms of producing the film about his life. It’s authentic.
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What can you tell us about Clownie?
Without
giving away spoilers, Clownie is known as The World's Only Bonafide Hype
Clown, and he started doing so well over ten years ago with live
performances with musicians. Clownie is not at all what one envisions when
you say Clown. He’s not doing kids birthday parties, his makeup isn’t
flawless, his language isn’t family friendly. He drinks, cusses, smokes
cigars, has opinions, etc. No different than any of us except of
course… well he’s a clown. Nowadays when you see clowns they’re
typically in the horror genre or they are portrayed in a demeaning type of
manner. Clownie is a lot different whereas he despises the horror clown
genre, he’s not a Juggalo, he’s not making balloon animals, he’s not
Homey The Clown, There’s honestly no comparison. He’s completely
unique and not something accurately describable without just seeing it for
yourself.
Clownie
has actually been in other productions before Hey Bro,
right? So what can you tell
us about the character's previous exploits?
Yes,
Clownie has been on The Mediation Files, had small roles in some of
Arthur
Steinberg’s films, made worldwide headlines on various different news
stations, performed at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, been invited to
Tromadance at The Mahoning Drive In and a ton of other stuff. It’s
really pretty crazy all the different places he’s been and the things
he’s done over the years.
Back to Hey Bro:
Do talk about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? I
absolutely love our cast for Hey Bro. They are as genuine as they come.
Terry “Polar Bear” Blackburn (retired professional MMA fighter) who
played Quan, is someone I’ve been very close to for the past 15 years or
more. I produced a weekly cable television show back in the good ole days
of Comcast public access, and Terry was a recurring season regular for the
better part of 5 years. He brings a ton of creativity to any production
he’s involved in. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him without a
smile and a laugh. He’s just an all-around good dude and someone who I
have spent a considerable amount of time with socially over the years.
We’ve watched one another's children grow to adults, seen each other in
good and bad times, the whole 9 yards. Lauren Lehosky who played Daisy, is
an absolutely amazingly skilled actress who unfortunately I only first met
for the purpose of this film which she was cast in. If I’m not mistaken,
this was Lauren's film debut, coming from a very strong background of
education and experience in theater. I absolutely love her theater style
of acting which she portrayed in this film as it was very fitting not only
for the production in general, but no one could have played Daisy better
than her. She and Clownie spent a lot of time together and had great
natural chemistry, especially with all the improv. Hey Bro
was pretty much
entirely improvisational and Clownie, Daisy and Quan just truly clicked
together for that in pretty much any and every situation they were put in.
While some scenes for the bigger feature film were scripted, they are the
minority of what was filmed. It goes the same way with the writing –
yes, some scenes were fictionally written, but they also are the minority
of the content. As you will see when you watch the feature, a lot of the
scenes were filmed in real life situations not using “actors”. Aaron
Mark McMorris who played Skeeter (among additional characters) really
didn’t act much at all – he’s just a natural and although he
certainly does and can act, just like the greater majority of all involved
in the feature – he’s been cast in a role where he can truly just be
himself. Aaron is another chip of the ole block – when together, the
laughter never stops.
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From
what I know, Hey Bro
was entirely improvised between the three of you - so why was that then,
and how easy or hard is it to bring across Clownie's story that way? Well
in staying true to the life of Clownie – improv was the only way to keep
it authentic. Clownie pretty much lives his life flying by the seat of his
pants in real life, so why change it for a project where the goal is to
tell his story? Rather than take actors with little to no experience and
try to put them in a box, it’s more appealing to work with what we got,
accentuate the positives, allow and encourage creative control, and just
let it rip. When you’ve got the awesome natural chemistry and comfort
levels that Clownie, Quan and Daisy all have between one another, why
would you interfere? Decide what story needs to be told, roll the camera
and let it rip. Again, we have no expectation of perfection, nor should a
viewer because life isn’t perfect. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It
was a ton of laughter, but an editing nightmare because of it being all
improv, but that’s what makes it fun. The
$64-question, where can Hey Bro
be seen? That’s
the easiest to answer of all. YouTube, where else? Clownie never wanted to
do this to make a buck. It needs to be given to the world for free. If you
go to Clownie's website www.Clownie.net,
there’s a link to his YouTube page
which is just simply Clownie. Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Hey Bro
yet? Surprisingly,
thus far the feedback is much more positive than negative. The cool thing
about this is that it’s not made to please others. It’s purely made to
share the real deal story of Clownie. So many filmmakers get caught up in
trying to figure out what viewers want to see, and maybe that guides the
direction of what should have just been expression of art and life. The
question being does life imitate art or does art imitate life? It’s all
in the eye of the beholder. Without the pressures of trying to recoup a
budget by selling a movie or pleasing others, it allows for true
expression which is quite liberating.
Any future projects beyond Hey Bro
you'd like to share? Actually,
yes. Clownie has filmed a very relevant role with an A list actor
household name who unfortunately I am not at liberty to disclose the name
of until the production is released. This was a contract which I was
tasked with negotiating, which was a feat in itself. I can’t wait until
it hits because it’s definitely going to be a shocker to a lot of people
who follow Clownie and those who are first introduced to him as well.
There’s another unrelated production Clownie was cast on that has quite
a large following that will also be pretty entertaining once it’s
released as well. It sucks I can’t talk about that one either, however –
aren’t surprises awesome?! As for what we CAN disclose – by all means
I don’t see Clownie stopping anytime soon. Regardless of if it's his own
homemade subpar production quality content or more legitimate studio work
for those of us weirdos who follow him – don’t worry, there’s a
million things coming down the pipe. We always laugh and say if the guy
had a budget, he’d be dangerous. What got you into acting in the
first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject? Believe
it or not, out of the blue one day, I got a phone call in regard to an
offer to be in the Warner Brothers film
Malignant by director James Wan.
That kinda’ stopped me in my tracks and made me take notice of acting,
which I had previously just dabbled in. After that awesome blessing, I
started doing community theater, attending acting training classes, and
auditioning for different film, television and theater productions. From
what I've read, you've got a background in MMA - so what can you tell us
about that aspect of your career, and to what extent has
this influenced your acting?
Well
I started in 1996, and by 1999 had my first professional fight and
competed in both MMA and Boxing from 1999-2009. I own the longest running
boxing & MMA gym in Jacksonville, which we’ve had for 20 years now.
I also consistently referee professional MMA. As a fighter, I was mediocre
at best and had to work twice as hard as the next guy just to be that. The
lessons I learned from the fight game have served me quite well in acting.
An actor prepares – plain and simple. Just like a fighter. It takes
dedication, work ethic and coaching. The parallels between the path of an
actor and a fighter are so close, it’s amazing. No one just shows up
great. It takes work ethic, grit and sacrifice. Just like a fighter, when
you spar or compete with those who are better than you, you get what we
call “that rub”. It’s the same thing with acting – when I’m cast
in a production with those who are better than me, it’s such a blessing
because it elevates me. I’m convinced that the student will rise to the
level of expectation. But first, you have to have that student mindset and
accept that we are always learning. Too many people believe their own hype
thinking they know it all. As far as I’m concerned, if you get to that
point, you’re useless not only to a sport or a production, but more
importantly to yourself. So, I push hard. I embrace training, performing,
auditioning, rehearsing, and studying. In the fight game, we refer to
“ring rust”, meaning you’re only as good as the last time you
fought. I feel the same with acting – if I’m lazy and not constantly
acting, not only am I not getting better, but I’m actually getting
worse. I refuse to allow periods of inactivity.
Hey Bro
is your first effort as writer and director, right? So what prompted that
move? In
a sense, yes. I previously produced a cable television show for 5 years,
but it was a fight show which covered events we promoted. Other than that,
yes – this was my first endeavor into a film production. What prompted
it was Clownie. The character and the story is one which writes itself and
needed to be shared. There’s too much funny stuff to not open it to the
world. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to
Hey Bro?
I
was involved in the promotion of independent professional wrestling for
many years. Pro wrestling gets a bad rap sometimes, but I think people
overlook the theater aspect of it. In the business of pro wrestling, to
improv is called to “shoot”. There’s no script, and while you have
ideas of what you want to communicate, and the outcome is likely
predetermined, there are still so many unforeseen events which occur,
especially on the lower level of the independent circuit. It’s always
amazing to me when a guy/girl just has “it” and can get thrust into
any situation and know exactly what to do, what to say, how to react, etc.
That is a natural skill which not everyone possesses. I’m also a fan of
the over-the-top theater style of acting, which really
is pretty much how Clownie operates on a daily basis, whether the camera
is rolling or not.
The Pumpkin Man |
How
would you describe yourself as an actor? I’m
a character actor. I’m typecast pretty much, which I have no
complaints about. The first time I went to a theater audition, I only
found out about it the night before and just showed up. I was really
excited thinking I was about to nail it. Then in the waiting room, I was
overhearing the conversations from the others who were auditioning as they
were discussing their formal training, theater degrees, previous
performances etc. I immediately started to think I was way out of my
element. I was handed a script for a cold read (which I had no idea what
that was) and started purposely looking for a role which had very few
lines, thinking maybe they would trust me with such a role. There was a
bailiff who literally had only one line in one scene. I got hopeful about
that one. Then there was a judge who only had about a half a dozen lines
in one scene. That was another one I was thinking maybe I could convince
them to trust me with. Then literally 2 minutes before being called on
stage I get made aware that a British accent is required. I am a North
Florida native with an undeniable southern drawl. This was getting
comical, and I started to lose hope of being the judge, the bailiff or
anything else. I figured if anything, I’d be lucky if they’d ask me to
volunteer to be an usher or something, which I probably also would have
done just to be involved. When they called me out on stage and directed me
to read from a certain page, I noticed the assistant director smiling and
laughing. It appeared to be the “laughing at me” rather than
“laughing with me”, but I just kept doing my deal, pretending not to
notice. Then when I was done reading, I was just standing on stage in
silence while the assistant director held up a book to cover her mouth
while she excitedly whispered to the director. As I was leaving the stage,
I was seeing some of the others who were about to walk out next obviously
very nervous. These were the same people I had earlier heard talking about
how much experience and training they had. I found that odd. Nerves about
walking on stage has never been a thing to me. In fact, even though I felt
I had totally bombed the audition, I had a blast up there and couldn’t
wait to do it again. I called my wife before I even made it to the car
excitedly telling her how I knew I didn’t get a role, but how much fun
it was. The next day, they called and offered me a role, which of course I
immediately accepted without question. Then after accepting it, I start
looking up who the character was, only to discover he was the bad guy in
the play, the only criminal, and he had a substantial role in the
production. I didn’t know if I should be offended or not because there
were like 60 people there who auditioned and here I was hoping to be a judge or a
bailiff, but yet out of everyone there, they saw me as the
scoundrel. At the same time though, it was a perfect role for me, which
other than the accent (which I later enlisted training for) was
effortless. I totally sandbagged when I auditioned too and never once told
them I had professional wrestling experience, and throughout all the
rehearsals, the director would keep coming up and asking “Man are you
SURE you never acted before?” I always just stayed humble and said “No
Sir.” Admittedly, that was probably a little dishonest on my part. It
all made sense to me though because due to my prior experience in pro wrestling, I completely understood the role of being “the bad guy”, and
how to put the others over. I was also blessed because some trust and
creative control was allotted to me from the directors and gratefully, the
main characters I had scenes with were very willing to suggestions of
things which really helped to establish my character. It really was a
blessing, and
from that day forward, no matter what I would apply or audition for, I
would end up cast in either some type of antagonist role or a comedy type
role. While those are definitely my “go to” areas, I consistently work
to expand my range by stepping out of my comfort zone in attempts at more
dramatic challenging roles. Either way, I can’t speak enough about all
the different people I’ve worked with who have been so instrumental in
my development as an actor. Relationship building is huge to me, and I
maintain good on-going relationships with almost every single
producer/director I’ve ever had the blessing of working with. There are
very few in which that is not the case. It’s really an honor to be able
to pick up the phone at any time and reach out for a silly question or
advice from so many established professionals in the industry who are
sincerely glad to help. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that is a
luxury which not all actors are awarded with, and I never take it for
granted. Actors,
filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?
Actors
– first and foremost, Mark Rolston. No doubt, my all time favorite.
He’s the guy we all have seen in film, but likely don’t remember his
name. Trust me, you’ve seen him. He was likely the bad guy and probably
ended up dying. That guy is awesome. He comes from a theater background
and when it comes to acting, he is very disciplined. He played “Bogs”
in The Shawshank Redemption movie. I was cast as “Bogs Diamond” in the
stage play of Shawshank, and man talk about a dream come true?! That role
meant so much to me because although I couldn’t ever be the Bogs that
Mark Rolston was, I leaned heavily on so much of his influence, but no
matter what I did or tried, I just couldn’t do it the way he did it. In
reality, I did it BETTER – my Bogs was way better than his, so if you
end up reading this Mark – sorry sir! Lol
Filmmakers – Lloyd Kaufman: The guy who truly has succeeded at failing by design.
Your favourite
movies? Point
Break from the 1980’s, The Departed, The Town, Heat,
the Young Guns
franchise, the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. ... and of course, films you really deplore? Interestingly,
after spending so much time with Clownie, I have really grown to despise
any horror movie involving a clown. The clownscrimination thing is
real. It’s sad that Hollywood has taken something which was previously
regarded as family entertainment (clowns) and heeled them out, using them
to evoke fear in people, especially children. Coulrophobia is a legit
thing, and while being involved with Clownie, I have witnessed how fearful
some people get at the mere sight of a clown. Clownie isn’t the scary
type of clown and even with him, without him saying a word, I’ve seen
countless times how just his presence distresses people and that’s not
cool. So, I guess Clownie has rubbed off on me because for his many
shortcomings, he’s always very aware of how he is received and does
everything he can to be respectful and sensitive to other's fears of
clowns. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
www.JoshRutgers.com
is my
site. I abhor social media and other than LinkedIn, don’t really have
any. Clownie has a site www.Clownie.net,
and he has a YouTube channel under
the name Clownie. As far as I know, Clownie is still banned from social
media, so no telling where the future
for that lies. Clownie being allowed to say anything he wants at anytime
on the internet doesn’t always work out for the best. What he really
needs is a PR guy/girl, so anyone reading this up for the challenge, reach
out for sure! lol
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I’d
love to give some cheap shameless plugs to some people in the business that
mean a lot to me:
1.
Steve Oakley, my acting coach, and dear friend who turns out tasteless
movie after tasteless movie on Vimeo which have to be seen to truly
comprehend just how bad they really are. They’re so bad, Clownie has
actually been in several of them and Steve has done quite a bit to help
Clownie.
2.
Ryan Keith – The Mediation Files on YouTube are bizarre, comedic, and
absolutely worth a watch! I’ve been cast on an episode there and Clownie
has done some things there as well. Ryan has also been extremely
instrumental in the development of Clownie.
3.
Salty Quill Studios – Rebecca & Ashley Wilson. These are my people
who I really love. I’ve been cast in two of their productions (Camp
Agony & one more which I’m not so sure I’m authorized to discuss,
so I won’t, but keep your eyes on them), and they raise the bar with each
film they produce. They are an absolute pleasure to work with and they
mean the world to me.
4.
New Zealand Son Films – Check out Moving Valentine on Amazon
Prime, a film I was SO GRATEFUL to be a part of. I can’t say enough
about the King family and their well-oiled perpetual motion machine of
film productions. Filming with New Zealand Son is insanely efficient.
Seeing what they do and how they do it is very impressive. Beyond just
casting me in their production, Sean King has been HUGE to me in terms of
guidance within the industry and someone who’s opinion I greatly value.
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5.
South Ridge Films – you’ve GOT to see The Pumpkin Man feature film.
This is the first feature film from South Ridge Films and was based on a
series of award-winning shorts. I won’t give away spoilers, but I have a
scene to be remembered no doubt! If you like horror and don’t know about
The Pumpkin Man – you’re late to the game. Ryan Sheets and Janae
Muchmore (soon to be Sheets) live and breathe this and it shows in their
professionalism. Even though they’re a bunch of Disney nerds, I don’t
hold that against them.
There’s
a ton of others who I wish I could plug, but due to confidentiality
agreements, I’m just not capable of doing so. I have my first lead role
in a feature film coming up which I am extremely grateful for as well as a
lead role in an unrelated VERY IMPACTFUL short film coming up. I’ve been
doing quite a bit of training and rehearsing for both of these productions
and can’t wait to share them on my website when I’m authorized to do
so.
Lastly, I’ve GOT to thank you Mike for the interest in our silly
production here. On behalf of Clownie – thank you! Search My Trash is
the perfect place for a Clownie production to end up!
Thanks
for the interview!
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