An Interview with Cody Clarke, Director of My Submission

by Mike Haberfelner

March 2026

Films directed by Cody Clarke on (re)Search my Trash

Your new movie My Submission - in a few words, what's it about?

It’s about 98 minutes long ... nah, it’s a found footage comedy-drama about an actress submitting a ridiculous amount of self tapes for a project, all over the course of one night.

What were your sources of inspiration when writing My Submission, and is any of this based on personal experiences?

I certainly owe a debt to We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which is a movie that came out a few years ago that I didn’t even enjoy. Sometimes films you dislike can be just as inspiring as films you do like, because as you’re watching it you’re like ‘WTF this could be so much better’, and then you start listing ways it could be better, and by the time you’re done you have an idea for a completely different movie.

As far as things I do like that inspired My Submission, absolutely the scene in Swingers where Favreau’s character leaves a ton of answering machine messages for a girl he just met. And then also the writing of Neil LaBute. But also, with My Submission I am kind of just riffing off of previous films of mine. This is like a sideways version of Rachael Hunger or No Shark or Apocalypse Beach or We Should Make a Movie. The connections are there for those who look.

The end credits claim that your lead actress Allison Sonson [Allison Sonson interview - click here] has shot her solo scenes entirely on her own - so bearing that in mind, how did you direct her then?

I directed her during the rehearsal process. She took extensive notes as we’d go scene by scene and she’d perform it, and I’d tell her certain things to lean more into, or lean away from. But of course good casting does a lot of the directing work for you. I chose her because she was perfect for the role. So when I was directing her during rehearsal, I was really only giving slight tweaks. Also, if she sent me a scene she recorded, and I thought it could be better, I’d have her do it again. But that wasn’t very many scenes. Most of the scenes she really did nail in one go.

Talking about Allison Sonson, what made her perfect for the role, and how did you find her even?

On Backstage, which I use a lot. I’ll look through 1000 faces looking for the right person for a role, not as a casting call, just me browsing profiles, and maybe I’ll message maybe one or two people. I only ever message people who, if they had to do it tomorrow, I’d be happy with them as the person. But it takes two to tango obviously. Sometimes people don’t see the vision, which is fine. But the people who do, those end up being my people. And Allison got it right away. I sent her the script at 1AM, she had read it and emailed me back at 5AM, and we met at a coffee shop at 8AM. Some things are fated, and we were fated to make this movie together for sure. Whether someone answers that call or not, that’s where free will comes in, but the pull of destiny was there. We had to do this together.

You also appear in front of the camera at the end of My Submission - so do talk about your character, and have you written him with yourself in mind from the get-go?

Yeah, so this is interesting because this is the first time I’ve been directly asked about that, whereas I anticipated that this was all anyone who ask me about. But yeah, I play myself in the film, or rather a version of myself. I’m Cody Clarke, but I’m Cody Clarke in this situation. It occurred to me at some point during writing the film that, if I existed in her world, she would be someone I’d fall in love with, and that she’d fall in love with. Like, Marissa and Cody would be crazy about each other. They would become a power couple of sorts. So it became, I think, a really clever way to do a self-insert that I had never seen done before. And I think it gave the film a lot more to do. A version of this film without love, or that meta aspect, would be interesting, but a little weaker in my opinion. But, to someone giving it an uncharitable read, they might think this is like, wish fulfillment, or perverted, or something. The fact that I’m just suddenly in it in that capacity. But I like that it can appear that way at first glance, but then if you actually think it through, you realize that it could only ever be the way that it is, and that it makes the story as great as it possibly could be.

So how long did it take to film My Submission, and what can you tell us about post-production?

Filming it took a few weeks, and about the same for post. So I guess two months. But the writing of it was kind of slow for me, I usually write fast but this one took months, if I remember.

Post-production was pretty easy, since it’s all unbroken shots, and it’s just about finding the perfect frame to start or end each scene on. And post-production was kind of shooting at the same time, because she’d send me videos and if I wanted her to do it again I’d tell her what I wanted different.

The $64-question, where can My Submission be seen?

The goal is definitely to have it be on the various streamers, but the pipeline to that is really messed up right now. I used to be able to get my films on there real easy, like I have like 15 movies on Tubi alone or something, not even counting other sites, but FilmHub, which I used to use for distribution, has completely 180’d and screwed a ton of us true independents. Now we’re de-prioritized completely, and if we want them to even answer our call we have to pay them at least $1000 a year. Which is insane. I could go on about this forever, but man, fuck FilmHub right now. They’re a big reason why you aren’t gonna see a lot of good interesting movies like My Submission over the next few years on streaming sites.

So, right now, the only way to see My Submission is to buy it for $4.99 on Gumroad: killthelionfilms.gumroad.com

Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of My Submission?

It’s been hugely positive, which I wasn’t necessarily not expecting, but I’ve been taken by surprise with. It’s a weird movie, and it’s very specifically something I’d want to watch, which isn’t necessarily what a lot of people want to watch these days. Attention spans have gone to shit, and this is basically like a filmed one-woman play or something. But, maybe that tide is turning. We’ll see.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

As of the time I’m writing this, I’m gearing up to shoot a Roast of the Oscars on Oscar night, where me and a bunch of comedians are gonna roast the Oscars, and I’m gonna film it. That’s part of a yearly thing since like 2022 where filmmakers all over the world all shoot a feature film instead of watching the Oscars. Has to be during the 3 1/2 hours or so that the Oscars are on, and has to be 40 min or longer, because that’s the Academy’s definition of feature-length. Also, you gotta edit it in a week. It’s a lot of fun, and thousands and thousands of people have participated, but it gets no press because it makes that Oscars look bad, and makes truly independent filmmaking look good. All you’re supposed to know about that’s being made is TikTok videos and whatnot I guess. ‘Content’. God forbid people make their own movies.

What got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

I always wanted to make movies, but it wasn’t until the DSLR revolution that I felt like it was possible for me to make one myself. And I didn’t expect to ever be given the greenlight by anyone else, so it’d have to be something I could do myself. And so once the Canon T2i came out, I got that and used it as much as possible and made my first movie on it. But I had done little funny shorts on a DV camera prior to that. But I never wanted to make a proper film on a DV camera. On a Canon T2i I could make my first movie and it look like Clerks 16mm black and white or something.

What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to My Submission?

Oh God. How long do you have? Haha. I mean, I’d made 29 feature films prior to it, all just me green-lighting myself. Some are quite similar to My Submission, like you’ll hear my voice in it if you watch them, and others are pretty different. But they’re all me. And I don’t think I ever waste people’s time. It’s not like you’re working your way through a Polonia filmography or something. All my stuff is pretty intelligent, even when some of it is stupid.

How would you describe yourself as a director?

Directing is honestly one of the least interesting aspects of making a movie for me. Directing is like ‘do it faster’ or ‘you missed your mark’ or whatever. It’s just being able to tell when someone can do something better, and knowing how to get them there. What I am is more of a ‘total filmmaker’, as Jerry Lewis first coined as a concept, but who never really got to witness the full realization of. I do everything. You watch one of my movies, my fingerprints are all over it. Even though Allison shot My Submission, it still looks like one of my movies. She did the camera operating, but I was very specific about the cinematography, and what shots to do for each scene. I have a very specific aesthetic that spans visuals, audio, word choice, sentence structure, topics, etc. As much as a Wes Anderson movie is a Wes Anderson movie, a Cody Clarke movie is a Cody Clarke movie, although there’s a lot less rigidity in my work. I ‘contain more multitudes’. Though I do love his first 5 or so movies a lot. And Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Filmmakers who inspire you?

Myself, first and foremost. I cheat off my own paper far more than I ever cheat off anyone else’s. Whenever I make a movie, I’m like, ‘man, if I had just zigged instead of zagged at this point in the story, that could be a whole other movie’. Every idea I have, has like 2 or 3 other sub-ideas contained within it. And because I greenlight myself, I have a greater chance of realizing those sub-ideas than anyone who has to beg people to let them make a movie. Like I can just go off and make a 45 minute movie chasing some weird thing that I want to do, and maybe less people watch it than a movie like My Submission, but those that do, there will always be someone who’s like ‘man, that’s my favorite one’. That’s never not been the case.

But as far as filmmakers I like a lot, I love Paul Thomas Anderson except for Inherent Vice and One Battle After Another, and Vincent Gallo, Todd Solondz, Kim Ki-Duk, Jean-Pierre Melville, Brian De Palma, Mamet, Neil LaBute, Jerry Lewis, Sean Baker, Joe Swanberg [Joe Swanberg interview - click here], Frank V. Ross, probably about half of Jim Jarmusch’s movies, Eric Schaeffer, Chantal Akerman, Whit Stillman. The list goes on. I could literally just rattle off names all day. I worked at a video store as a teenager and into my twenties, I’ve seen thousands and thousands of movies.

Your favourite movies?

Buffalo 66, Fall (the Eric Schaeffer one), Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring, Margaret (the director’s cut), My Blue Heaven, Tommy Boy, Little Big League, 3-Iron, Swingers, Last Days of Disco. Again, I can go on all day long.

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

Pretty much everything anyone has adored over the last 10 years. Like, just name any recent beloved movie and I probably hate it. Except for the Safdie stuff, that stuff’s fine.I tried Hamnet last night, and that was godawful. And Sinners! Woof. I hate all that shit. There’s more genuine heart in an Andy Sidaris movie than in any Oscar movie in quite a while. Obvious exception: Anora, which I was really happy won.

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

killthelionfilms.gumroad.com, and my Instagram is killthelionfilms

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

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Thanks for the interview!

You’re welcome! It was fun.

© by Mike Haberfelner

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