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Your new movie You're
on the Air - in a few words, what is it about?
The
movie takes place in 1999 and is about a radio show host who gets involved
in a live hostage situation live on the air. The movie talks about a shock
jock and includes themes of guilt and media manipulation.
Basic
question, why make a shock jock the lead character of your movie, and your
thoughts about shock jocks in general? I don't listen
to shock jocks much, but I do find some interesting, like Howard Stern for
example. Growing up in the late 90's he was everywhere so there is a lot
of nostalgia for me there. I chose to work with a shock jock as the lead
because they always give off a radiance of speaking for the people against
"the man", or authority, and I think having a shock jock who
speaks for the people be corrupt behind the scenes is interesting. (Other) sources
of inspiration when writing You're
on the Air? The
biggest inspiration for me were the parallels between 1999 and 2017, which
was the year I wrote the script. You had sex scandals in the White House
in both years, school shootings, and there was even a new Star
Wars movie
both years as well. To me it was fascinating and also a little
disappointing to see history repeat itself. And with the MeToo-movement it seemed like a important time to tell a story like this. You're
on the Air is limited to one room, location-wise, and has (mostly)
only one actor on screen - so what were some of your techniques to keep
things interesting? I
chose to make the film take place in one room in order to push forward
this feeling of claustrophobia so the viewer feels trapped in the radio
station with Max as he tries to navigate the hostage situation. Also the
one room is representative of Max's world, and with the wonderful set
design from Dana Tarr you can really understand the inner workings of Max
Tanner.
Do
talk about You're on the
Air's cast, and why exactly these people? Kris Salvi
[Kris Salvi
interview - click here] was the first person to respond to the email, and we
met him at the Boston public library and he gave an amazing audition, but
at the callback his performance as Max Tanner was so good it was
impossible for me and Collin Rousseau to picture anyone else playing the
role. Albert Bouvier sent in a haunting audition and stood out as the only
choice for the role. Sophie Harrington is an old friend of mine who I had
intended on working with before as she is the best actress I have met. A few
words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmophere?
We were blessed with a very passionate crew, so the entire process was
streamlined, and it even felt like a party to be honest. The
$64-question of course, where can You're
on the Air be seen? You're
on the Air is available for free on Vimeo, other works from Nihilist Media can be
seen on YouTube. Anything you can tell us
about audience and critical reception of You're
on the Air? So far thankfully we have gotten a great reception.
Any future projects you'd like to
share?
We are releasing a few short films soon, one of them is out already on
YouTube called Thankless, which is a gangster film starring
Kris Salvi. We have another short film coming out soon reuniting the cast
of You're
on the Air, called Stand Up Guy, which
stars Albert Bouvier and Sophie Harrington. We are also working on a
documentary about the band Cornersoul, who were also the band that did the
soundtrack for Stand Up Guy. I am producing a film called Man With The Third Eye, directed by Collin Rousseau. And then
hopefully next year I will be directing a feature length film called About a Girl. So yeah we have a few projects on our plate
keeping us busy.
What got you into filmmaking in the first place,
and did you receive any formal training on the subject? When
I was 5 years old I stole my dad's copy of Jaws
and I was hypnotized by it. The package had two tapes in it, and I thought
the second tape was Jaws 2. However when I put the tape in it was the
making of Jaws, and I was amazed at how they did it and even thought to
myself "this looks easy" (it's not), and now I can't think of
doing anything else. And I have been self taught since the age of 8. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to You're
on the Air?
Though not very polished, you can see a lot of growth from my earlier
projects to the things that I am working on now.
How would you describe yourself as a
director? I like to try and be
very adaptive to who I'm working with and the environment I am in.
Sometimes I can be very hands-on in the way I approach working with an
actor for example, or on the other hand I know when to step back and let
the magic happen so to speak. Filmmakers who inspire you? I'm very inspired by Martin Scorsese,
Paul Thomas Anderson, Charlie Chaplin, Safadie brothers, Greta Gerwig,
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Damien Chazelle, Coen brothers, Todd Solonds,
George A. Romero, Spike Lee, Michael Powell, Billy Wilder, Lindsey
Anderson, David Cronenberg, Elia Kazan, Milos Foreman, Barry Jenkins,
Marielle Heller, Stanley Kubrick, Mike Leigh, Alfred Hitchcock, Lars Von
Trier, Bo Burnham, Crystal Moselle, Quentin Tarantino, Francis Ford
Coppola, and unfortunately Vincent Gallo. Your
favourite movies?
My favorite movie of all
time is Taxi Driver, and then, in no particular
order,
Clockwork Orange,
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jaws,
There Will Be Blood, Goodfellas,
Apocalypse Now, Whiplash, Ladybird, and George A. Romero's
Dead
Trilogy.
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... and of course, films you really
deplore? In no particular order, The Brown Bunny and
The Kissing Bandit. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else?
Nihilist.Media@instagram and MarkMaille@instagram, OfficialNihilistMedia on
Facebook and Nihilist Media on YouTube. Thanks for the
interview!
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