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Your new movie Up on the
Glass - in a few words, what is it about?
Up on the
Glass
is about a wanderer, Jack DiMercurio, who secretly desires
the life and wife of his more affluent friend. One heinous act makes this
possible, but Jack finds living his friend’s life is a dangerous lie.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing Up
on the Glass?
For
a film, the 1963 movie The Servant directed by Joseph Losey and screenplay
written by Harold Pinter was an influence. The character-work of Patricia
Highsmith was also an inspiration. Also,
personally, I grew up in a working-class environment in Western New York.
This, above all things, was the greatest influence in creating the
character of Jack and making this film.
What can you tell us about your writing partner (and producer)
Nikki Brown [Nikki Brown interview -
click here], and what was your collaboration like? And what can you tell us about your previous collaborations, and how did you
first meet even? Nikki
is great and I love her. We first met as students in film school back in 2011. We were both in
the MFA Writing for Screen & Television program at the University of
Southern California. Back then we were friends. After school, we became a
couple and started working together, and then collaborated to make a
couple of short films. Now we are married and Nikki is Nikki Del Principe!
It’s been a great journey together creatively and personally. I trust
her above all and appreciate her partnership tremendously. To what extent could you actually
identify with Up on the
Glass's Jack - or with Andy for that matter?
I’ve
always felt like a Jack—a little on the outside of whatever environment
I’ve been in. Regardless of being considered less than or even put on a
pedestal at times socially, I’ve always felt that these external
definitions are lacking and don’t speak to my essence. I think this is
likely true for lots of people. The human condition is a complex one and
the powerful institutions that try to box in that experience for their own
benefit reduce humanity to commodity. In the recent album The Ever
Fonky Lowdown by Wynton Marsalis, the narrator named Mr. Game explains
that lies about freedom are sold in order for the system to sustain power.
I like that interpretation of institutional power. Jack’s aware of the
power-game that institutions play and that most people accept, but he
can’t quite figure out how to use these corrupt institutions to
actualize his potential. Perhaps this is because the reality of the
corrupt power-game disgusts him. It could be because he’d have to
compromise his humanity in order to climb in these corrupt systems. Maybe
in this way he’s right to find playing the power-game, and the
compromises that entails to be supposedly successful, odious.
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Though
I find Andy fairly different from my own experience, I appreciate that he
has mixed feelings about his behavior. He’s not a terrible person;
he’s just grasping for meaning in the wrong places. I imagine it has to
be pretty confusing to be put on a pedestal and to have just enough
self-awareness to realize that this is fairly arbitrary. The danger of
tokenism is the token-few thinking that they’ve really done something
special and completely deserve their success. Also, Andy’s success as it
is external, through money, etc., is ultimately empty.
A
few words about your movie's approach to the thriller genre? I
think our approach goes a bit back in time… to Hitchcock, etc., and to
movies that are not made as often these days - in particular, by the big US
studios. In the film, we lean on character and take our time without
concern for a big spectacle or glorification of violence that supposedly
sells. We bet on the idea that people who watch movies, not necessarily
big-money or industry people, are still curious about the human
experience. There is a moral aspect of this thriller that, hopefully,
allows an audience to reflect on their own experience, and offers
questions and not easy answers. Do
talk about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand? I
created a spine (which is an active phrase that can be articulated and
drawn upon; for more info see Elia Kazan’s essay Style and Spine)
and tried to consider that in all my decision-making, so that there would
be unity in the film. I did my best to remain steady throughout the
process and serve the story. What
can you tell us about Up
on the Glass's cast, and why exactly these people?
Chase
Fein as Jack DiMercurio: Chase was able to express Jack’s complex
internal life subtly and then reveal more and more as the film allowed. He
also brought an incredible amount of enthusiasm to the set.
Chelsea
Kurtz as Liz Shelton: Chelsea was able to embody Liz’s gravity yet her
vulnerability. We were all anticipating her arrival in the middle of our
shooting schedule and appreciated her boost of energy when she joined us.
Hunter
Cross as Andy Shelton: Hunter understood and manifested Andy complexity.
On a surface level, Andy is confident and competitive; but underneath he
is unsure of himself and his choices. Hunter also really valued teamwork,
which is something that is very important to me.
Steve
Holm as Donald ‘Moze’ Mosely: In the film, Steve’s character, Moze,
was the buffer between Jack and Andy. Off camera, Steve was also a welcome
member of the team who helped keep us all together. I really appreciate
how Steve was able to find the sadness behind Moze’s big personality.
Jessica
Lynn Parsons as Becca Sinclair: Jessica Lynn Parsons was originally from
Michigan and that was a bonus. As Becca, she was able to help us
understand Becca’s motivation for trying to hold whatever power she had
over Liz. And I really loved her singing voice.
Burke
Sage as Bob McKenzie: Burke gave us a sense of decency and sincerity to
the character that was so important. It was also great that he lived in
Michigan too.
Nikki
Brown (now Del Principe) as Kate Green: Nikki understood the character and
gave us the kindness and generosity we needed separate from the troubles
of the other characters. With so many variables in making a film, I knew I
could rely on Nikki to bring Kate to life.
Where
was Up on the Glass
actually filmed, why there, and what was it like shooting there? We
filmed in a beach community on Lake Michigan in the town of Shelby,
Michigan in the United States. Really, it was amazing shooting in that
area; very beautiful, and overall, the community was incredibly
supportive. Part of the focus of our film company Save
Them Wild Dogs, and
in this film in particular, is to show the beauty of areas in America that
are often overlooked in mainstream entertainment. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? We
really hoped to build out a family environment on set. For instance, we
ate home-cooked meals together that were prepared by volunteers from the
local community. One of the great difficulties in filmmaking these days,
whether indie or industry, is not only creating a constructive environment
for creating art but also sustaining it. I am proud that we had a nice
environment on-set and laid the foundation for future collaboration among
many who contributed their talents. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Up
on the Glass?
I
think it’s fair to say some people really get what we are trying to do.
A lot of these people seem to be working people, or in the least
understand a working-class environment. Working people are lots of people
and are the audience I care the most about, because working people raised
me. In terms of critical reception, so far, I think some critics are
noticing and appreciating our influences as well as the thematic elements. Any future projects you'd like to
share? Nikki and are developing a novel I
wrote called I Animal (published by Tumbleweed Books) into a feature film
through our production company, Save
Them Wild Dogs. We’ve also recently
expanded our company too by creating a small press literary arm called
Save Them Wild Dogs Press. Our first publication through Save Them Wild
Dogs Press will be a book of poetry by an American poet, Brian Brogan, who
now resides in Ireland. His book is called Tracking the Masked Dawn and we
are excited for its release this fall. Furthermore, on another literary
note, I am nearly finished with a book of short stories. What got you into filmmaking to begin with, and
did you receive any formal education on the subject?
When
I was young, I loved music and lyrics. Later, I became interested in
poetry and then playwriting. Writing for the stage led to a blossoming
curiosity in filmmaking. Though I always loved movies since I was a child,
it wasn’t until my mid-twenties until I really considered the
possibility that I could actually make
films of my own. That led me to formal training in the MFA program in
Writing for Screen & Television at the University of Southern
California.
What
can you us about your filmwork prior to Up
on the Glass?
I
started out writing a webseries in my second year of graduate film school
with my friend and classmate David Ngo. It was a three-part comedy called Hard Case: Murder in Swan
Pond. His wife Jin Yoo-Kim directed the
series and the three of us produced it. Afterwards, David and I made a
dramatic short film together that we co-directed. Then, David and I
further expanded the webseries world by creating a second installment of Hard Case content along with Jin and our friend and mentor from the
University of Southern California, Mark Shepherd.
At
that point, Nikki and I started producing short films together that we
co-wrote, she acted in, and I directed. These shorts were Those Little
Monsters and Fashion of the Wolf, and both premiered in back to
back years at the Other Venice Film Festival in Venice, California. We
found some community at the festival and enough encouragement and learning
through the short filmmaking process to begin our feature film journey
with Up
on the Glass.
How would you describe yourself as
a director? I’d
describe myself as a director much the way I would as a person… most
often exhibiting a still exterior but with lots of swirling currents under
the surface. I strive to create an environment where everyone feels safe
and comfortable in order to explore, collaborate, and seek the truth in
the work. Filmmakers who inspire you? Jeff
Nichols, Alfred Hitchcock, Michelangelo Antonioni, Sydney Lumet, etc. Your
favourite movies? Here
are a bunch of movies that meant something to me from my childhood until
today: Heat,
Winter’s Bone, The Servant, Willow, The Departed,
The Passenger, The
Empire Strikes Back, Unforgiven, etc.
... and of course, films you really
deplore? I
really don’t like films with too much gore or slashing or torture. I
suppose I’m a little squeamish. But really, I have a problem with
violence that is made cinematically attractive because violence is never
beautiful, in my view.
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Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else?
Film website:
http://www.upontheglass.com/
Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @upontheglass
My website: https://kevindelprincipe.com/
Facebook:
@kevindelprincipe
Twitter:
@kevdelprincipe
Instagram:
@kevdel22
Company
Website: http://savethemwilddogs.com/
Facebook:
@SaveThemWildDogs
Twitter:
@STWDFilms_Press
Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? I
just want to say thank you for the interview and I wish you all the best! Thanks for the
interview!
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