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Your new movie Honest
Cocktail - in a few words, what is it about?
Paul: Honest
Cocktail is about the fear of telling the truth to someone in a
relationship, and what goes hilariously wrong but also hilariously right.
Abby: Cringey
people finding love! What
were your sources of inspiration when writing Honest
Cocktail - and who came up with the idea in the first place? Paul: I
came up with the concept, I thought it would make a funny short-form
story. I started writing with Abby and Jonathan, our sources of
inspiration were everything from TV shows like Broad City to classic films
like When Harry Met Sally. Abby: Paul
approached me with an idea for a short film that centered around
people telling the truth on a first date. I think our sources of
inspiration were past dates where we felt like we each had filtered
ourselves to try and charm other people. To varying success.
Jonathan: Paul had the original idea for a sketch about an honest date so he pulled me
and Abby in and we started talking about it potentially being a cocktail
that forces them to be honest. In our general conversations about dating,
we discovered there was enough there to make a good short film. What
can you tell us about the collaboration between the three of you during
the writing process? And what made you want to work together on Honest
Cocktail in the first place? Paul: It
was very fun brainstorming and writing scenes together, basically trying
to make each other laugh throughout the process. Abby and I met at a film
networking event and decided to write something together because she was
doing her own comedy videos, and I did improv classes with Jonathan in
Boston who was always performing comedy, so I knew he’d be great to
write with. Abby: Writing Honest
Cocktail together was so much fun. Paul, Jonathan and I got
together probably 4-5 times over the course of a few months and had mini
writer's room sessions. We would goof off, drink some drinks, eat some
snacks, and write and/or edit the script. In that order. Jonathan: It
was a lot of fun. I met Paul at improv class so I knew me and him had a
similar sensibility. He introduced me to Abby who I thought was so funny
right away and we became fast friends. The process was mostly group
writing on porches over the course of a summer with glasses of wine in
hand.
Do talk about Honest
Cocktail's brand of comedy! Paul: We
think the comedy comes from grounded, authentic performances mixed with a
ridiculous and absurd situation! The absurdity ultimately unearths some
deeper and truthful feelings that we all feel at some point when we’re
getting to know someone in a relationship.
Abby: My
biggest comedic influence is probably Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer's
show Broad City. I love smart, dry comedy about women being
awkward/cringey/gross. Broad City gets a shout-out in Honest
Cocktail actually. But yeah, I think Jonathan and I played over-exaggerated, worse
versions of ourselves for this first date, and we found that to be very
entertaining. Jonathan: Surreal
in a silly way but grounded in a relatable way. Paul, a few words
about your directorial approach to your story at hand? Paul: I
wanted to make Honest
Cocktail fun but truthful, ridiculous and
over-the-top but also completely believable. It can be a very tricky
balance to find, but when it succeeds it can really pull you along for the
ride and get the audience to believe the magical premise is really
happening. Very fun for me! I think that being entertaining while saying
something meaningful is the most fun and challenging thing to do as a
storyteller. Abby
and Jonathan, do talk about your characters, and what did you draw upon to
bring them life? And how much of yourselves can we find in Andrea and
Greg? Abby: For
the character of Andrea, I channeled "slightly delusional b*chy girl
with a good heart buried somewhere deep inside". I think the more
serious undertones of her character, such as being insecure that she's
never been truly in love and fearful that she doesn't fully know herself
yet, I definitely pulled from younger, less emotionally mature versions of
myself. (I've grown SOOOO much since then, guys! No really! Believe me!) Jonathan:
Greg is likely the most insecure version of myself — like a younger version
of myself when I was more desperate for someone pretty to like me. Where
we certainly differ is Greg reveals that he has a weird, small, and curved
penis. Mine is pretty standard. I hope. What can you tell us about the rest of your cast,
and why exactly these people? Paul: Shahjehan
was great, he was in Abby’s short film Swamped the month before and we
loved working with him. He was very funny and a really nice, talented,
hardworking guy. Fun fact, he has a speaking role in the final season of
Succession on HBO a few weeks ago, one of our favorite shows!
Abby:
Paul produced Honest
Cocktail and pulled together SUCH a talented, hardworking
and kind group of people. I'm so grateful for that. Some people traveled
up from New York but a lot of people on the cast/crew were Boston locals.
Everyone hustled and worked well together. You of course also have to
talk about your main location, and what was it like filming there? Paul:
We shot at Deadhorse Hill, a beautiful (and delicious) restaurant on Main
Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. I’ve been going for years, they have
excellent food, cocktails, and a lot of their food comes from local farms
around Massachusetts and New England. Due to their schedule we were lucky
enough to have the place to ourselves for two full days, which was amazing
since we did this on essentially no budget and had to work quickly. It was
a kind favor that came from me growing up here, knowing one of the owners,
and having friends who’ve worked in restaurants in town for many years.
It’s just a beautiful and photogenic space, made even more so by our
excellent DP Peter Pavlakis, our gaffer Chris Tremblay, and production
designer/co-producer Chris Pasi. Abby: What
a beautiful location to film at! We were so lucky to be able to shoot at Deadhorse
Hill. That's all I have to say.
Jonathan: Deadhorse
Hill. The owner is a super nice guy and he gave us all shots of tequila
after filming. Great place to film for that reason alone, but it looks
beautiful as well. Do
talk about the collaboration between the three of you during the shoot,
and based on that, could you ever be tempted to work with one another
again? Paul: Yes!
Since Abby, Jonathan, and I wrote the film together, they totally
understood the story. My job was just to make everything work on screen
and make sure the moments were landing. We have worked together again,
Jonathan and I just wrote another short film for a 48 Hour Film Project that he
also acted in, and I produced and edited Abby’s first short film Swamped, her directorial debut!
Abby: Not
only am I tempted to work with Paul and Jonathan again, I'd be devastated
to hear that I couldn't!!! We became very close as people during the time
we worked together, and I consider them two of my really good friends.
Jonathan: Yes!
I’ve shot sketches with Abby and made another short film with Paul. I think it’s important to feel comfortable with the people you work with
and I definitely feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback from those
goofs. Plus, I find them both very physically attractive. I hope to make a
bunch of stuff with them if they’ll have me.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the
on-set atmosphere? Paul: It
was great, excellent group of people and a fun vibe. I always make sure we
have good food and good people so we can enjoy the long days, gotta keep
it fun! Especially for a comedy! The energy on set often translates onto
the screen in ways that are conscious and unconscious. Abby: I
was actually gearing up to make the move to LA (where I live now) about
three weeks (maybe less?) after we shot Honest
Cocktail. So it felt like a
kind of hail-Mary, let's-shoot-something-together-before-I-leave-Boston
project. I remember I felt my time on set was very special because I knew
it was one of my last major projects in Boston. And everyone was excited
for me (or at least they pretended to be)!
Jonathan: Me
and Abby were pretty sleep-deprived during some of the filming, so in
between takes there was a lot of delirious riffing and dancing. It
didn’t seem to bother the crew much so they’re real ones for that.
The $64-question of course, where can
Honest Cocktail
be seen? Paul: Right
now it’s still in its festival run, so we’ve screened at 4 festivals
and will be hearing back about more over the next six months. Until then
it won’t be publicly available, but once we finish our festival run
we’ll be looking into several forms of distribution, stay tuned!
Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Honest
Cocktail yet? Paul: So
far audiences across both coasts from Los Angeles to New York have been
laughing so hard throughout the film that they’ve actually missed some
lines and jokes, which is the best possible response to a comedy! We’ve
been lucky to have screenings with very full crowds, which also helps with
a comedy. As
far as critical reception, Honest
Cocktail won Best Director at the
2022 Art is Alive Film Festival and is now getting great reviews, fingers
crossed, so far so good!
Abby: Ahhhh, rave reviews, rave reviews. It's honestly been overwhelming... it's been
very fun and cool to go to film festivals and hear the audiences'
reactions each night. Each time, different lines/comments have gotten the
most laughs. I HATE when Jonathan's lines get more laughs than mine. Any future project, with or
without one another you'd like to share? Paul: I’m
prepping to direct two more short films this summer, a horror/fantasy
called Maeve’s Mirror we’re shooting on 16mm film, and a financial
thriller called Passing the Bar (working title) I’m being hired to
direct and produce we’ll shot that on digital. Very exciting!
Abby: I wrote/co-produced/starred in a short comedy called Lotto this
past March that is currently in postproduction. It's about two former best
friends who reconnect after one wins the lottery. It will be on the
festival circuit later this year if all goes well!
Jonathan: I
made a “spiritual sequel” with Abby for my sketch group I Don’t
Care For This, if you wanna find that on YouTube - it’s called
A Vulnerable Love Story. Paul and I co-wrote a horror short film called Black Harvest that should be in
film festivals in the near future. He did a fantastic job directing it.
Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else? Paul: IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9284327/ Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092246934802
Instagram:
@honestcocktail and @paulodgren
Abby: Instagram:
@abbyyylivingston Jonathan: Instagram: @jonathan.anderson_
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Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Paul:
That just about covers it! I’d like to say that the people involved are
ultimately the core of any creative project, so it’s important to
collaborate with people you enjoy being around. That’s what helps to
keep this fun, despite being an incredible amount of work, and makes it
all worth doing. Thanks!
Abby: Thanks
for sending along these questions! It's been so fun to reminisce about
this project. Remember kids: always tell the truth!!! Unless you're mean!!
Then lie, to be nice!!! Jonathan: 7
inches. Thanks
for the interview!
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