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Your new movie ReBroken
- in a few words, what is it about?
A father, Will, recently lost his young daughter and now spends his days
and nights in an endless cycle of grief. He only leaves the house to go
to a grief counseling group and then buy more alcohol so he can drink
himself into oblivion. When he meets a woman in the group who tells him
about a stranger who can help, Will takes her advice and visits the man
- who lives in a tent on the outskirts of town. The stranger gives Will
some old vinyl recordings and soon Will starts receiving messages from
his daughter and feels he can bring her back. The deeper Will goes, the
more he starts to realize that those in his counseling group might not
be who they appear to be. What were your
sources of inspiration when scripting ReBroken?
I'm a huge mystery fan and love psychological thrillers and mindbending
stories. So The Machinist and Memento were
two we kept referencing during the creation of this one. I also
took some inspiration from The Changeling with George
C. Scott, as well as a little bit from Guillermo del Toro's The
Devil's Backbone. ReBroken
is based on a story by the film's lead, Scott Hamm Duenas - so how
detailed was this story, what inspired you to develop it into a
screenplay, and what was your collaboration with Scott like during the
writing process?
It started with a short story idea Scott had about a grieving father who
is in a freefall of despair. Scott had written a few pages of the short
and came to me with the idea, wanting to turn it into a film. So I took
the foundation of that story and expanded it into a script, filling out
the world with the other characters. I wanted to take this heavy topic -
grief over the loss of a child - and address it through a mystery
thriller. As the script progressed, the story became a puzzle and then
it was about making sure all of the pieces were there by the ending.
I've worked with Scott a few times, so it's an easy process for us. On
this one, I would touch base with Scott while scripting if I hit a point
where I felt it might be deviating from the original blueprint, so to
speak, but otherwise, I sent him the first draft - along with our
director, Kenny Yates - and took notes for the revisions. We did that a
couple of times until we had the draft we all wanted to put on film.
Do talk about ReBroken's
approach to the thriller genre!
The film has a lot of 'quiet scenes'. A lot of Will drinking, being
miserable and home alone. Of course this can be someone's reality as
they go through grief, but it can be hard to sustain just those elements
for a feature film. Starting from the point of dealing with grief, we
latched onto what someone would want if they were in the position Will
is in. And reversing the grief, bringing back his daughter, is what Will
clings to. This drive in Will leads him down a rabbit hole, which is
what every good thriller does - drives us down a rabbit hole or casts us
into a spiral. The journey of escaping that while discovering the truth
makes a great thriller, and that was our approach to this one. ReBroken
is rather maze-like when it comes to storytelling, with more than just one
layer or reality - so how easy or hard was it to not literally lose the
plot writing a story of this ilk?
Honestly, this sort of script can make you literally lose the plot - and
your mind! For this sort of story, I have the working script and then I
have various other documents going at the same time. One document might
be a character's backstory that does not make it into the actual script,
but drives their current motivations, another document might just plot a
character's goals for the overall script and the steps to reach those
goals. Then of course I have a big diagram that shows who has done what
and when. That particular document looks like the drawings of a crazy
person! What were the
challenges of bringing ReBroken
to the screen from a producer's point of view?
Money! It's always money when you are making a low budget or micro
budget film, because less money gets you less crew, less equipment, less
supplies and worse, less time to make the movie. So you
are really up against it. However, this is where you have to roll your
sleeves up and plan. You have to prepare and plot out every day and
every moment so you are as ready as possible to face any issues that
arise during production - or post production. So the challenge is making
sure you have the right cast and crew involved who are on board with the
crazy schedule and tight budget. That is always a challenge, but we have
been blessed with working alongside some awesome people who are
like-minded in this respect.
You also
play a major role on camera in ReBroken
- so what can you tell us about your character, what did you draw upon to
bring him to life, and have you written him with yourself in mind from the
get-go?
I play "Bryan", who on the surface
seems like "Mr. Helper" in the group. He has a forced
pleasantness about him, and he slowly loses his smile as the film
progresses. I did write the character knowing I would play him and drew
upon some people I knew growing up who always seemed nice, but you
could tell their smile was forced and it eventually became off-putting.
And these same people insisted on trying to help you and claimed to know
what was best for you, so I tried to work in some of those traits into
Bryan. Someone who means well, but might not go about things in the best
way.
There's a danger sometimes for an actor to be
writing a script where he knows he is playing a role, especially if it
is not the main focus of the story. So I tried to make sure to focus on
Will's journey first and foremost, and Bryan's journey would then
naturally intersect with - and sometimes interrupt - Will's journey.
What can you tell us about ReBroken's
director Kenny Yates, and what was your collaboration like?
This was Kenny's first feature as the director. He and I met in 2019 on
a film, and after that film wrapped I was chatting with him about some
of the film projects I had in the works in the low budget world. He
expressed he had a goal to direct a feature in the next couple of years,
and when Scott and I started discussing ReBroken, it seemed like a great
first feature for Kenny. We pitched him the idea and he loved it and
signed on.
Kenny was fantastic to collaborate with. He comes very prepared, knows
the story in and out. He is also an actor, so he understands both sides
of the camera when directing. And he also has produced a lot, so he
knows how to adjust if you get a wrench thrown in your production plans.
That is a very important skillset for a director to have.
Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
We had an incredible group - both cast and crew - and the mood was fun
and light. However, we had very little time to truly enjoy the process
because we were on the go non-stop in order to get the film completed in
the short time we had. But everyone was a trooper and there was never
any tension on set. No one was making much money, but we all were there
for the love of the project, and that makes for a great environment
because it's not as much like a "job" as it is a project we
all share. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of ReBroken?
We couldn't be more happy with the reception ReBroken has
received. Reviews from critics have overall been very positive and the
audience reception has been great. You never know how a film is going to
play, and what was well received last year might not find an audience
this year. But so far, we've been very pleased with how viewers have
reacted to ReBroken. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
I have a few in the works and some that just wrapped. Scott, Kenny and I
did another film in December called Xmas Gamble, and it
should be out this coming Christmas. More to come on that. I also just
wrapped Place of Bones, a western that we're super excited
about. Additionally I have two films coming out in April, Hunt
Club and Wolf Mountain. Currently in post I have Joe Baby,
a classic private eye thriller. I am also in the early stages of
writing a new film I plan to direct and star in later this year. What got you into
the filmworld, and did you receive any formal education on the subject?
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Insanity got me into this! So I was a theatre actor and was working in
radio, but always wanted to get into film as an actor and then
eventually create my own projects. But I had no film training - as an
actor or filmmaker - but I read a ton on the subject, as well as talked
to anyone and everyone I could in the business to learn as much as
possible. After reading Robert Rodriguez's book Rebel Without a
Crew, I felt I was ready to make my own film and secured a little
bit of financing. I co-wrote the script, directed, produced and starred
and THAT was my film school. I had no idea what I was doing and learned
more in that experience than any film school would have taught me. Once
the film was finished, me and my friend - who also produced and
co-starred in the film - drove across the country to LA, and by the end
of the week, we had three offers to buy the film. We signed the deal on
Friday afternoon and drove straight out of town. After making another film and doing a few more stage productions, I
ended up moving to LA three years later. You
seem to be equally comfortable in front of the camera as behind it - so
which side do you actually prefer, and why?
I'm an actor first and foremost. That is my focus for sure, however, a
close second is my work as a writer. I really enjoy directing and will
continue to do it, but will become a bit more selective in what I direct
now. Producing is something I will always do because it sort of comes
with the territory of creating your own stuff, but I also get to craft
and tell even more stories by helping bring others' stories to the
screen. If there is a role I respond to in one of those projects, then actor Kipp Tribble will be happy about that, too! Do talk
about your filmwork prior to ReBroken,
in whatever position!
I've been kicking around the independent film world for a pretty long
time. As I mentioned, my first film was my film school,
but it wasn't for several years of making small films that two things
happened around the same time that accelerated the career a bit: 1) Me
and my longtime friend and partner wrote a script that got us some
notice around town and we nabbed a studio gig from it; and 2) I made a
film which struck a cord of some sort. That film was Coffin, which was
picked up domestically by Redbox. That one was where I got to indulge my
love of the mystery-thriller with a twist ending. It did so well, we
ended up doing a sequel, Coffin 2, which was also picked up by Redbox.
On both of those, I wrote, directed, produced and starred - and we keep
flirting with doing a third one.Scott Hamm Duenas was also an actor in Coffin
2 and made his producing
debut. Soon after that film, he and I co-wrote, produced and starred in The
Stay, which has done very well and continues to find viewers around
the world. During the lockdown, Kenny Yates and I also made Evil
at the Door, an experimental home invasion thriller, and Scott was an actor in
that film with us, too. But right before both of those, I made a found
footage film called Char Man. It was mostly improvised and we shot it in
one weekend on smart phones and an iPad. But that little film went on to
do great for us and even got us a studio TV deal - but as is the case
with so many film and TV projects during that time, Covid had other
ideas!
How would you describe yourself as
an actor, and how as a writer?
Oh boy, what a loaded question to ask an artist! Let the self analysis
begin... As an actor, I do pride myself on the basics: I will know my
lines. I will be on time. I will be respectful to the other cast and to
the crew. While these are the simple principles that one would assume
all actors should abide by, you'd be surprised how many do adhere to
these rules. On the performing side, I'm an "Everyman", which
means I can step over to both sides and be the lead or the supporting
character actor. I also have worked hard in recent years to play
everything as real as possible. It's easy to fall into that trap of
"Oh, I'm on camera now. I must suck in my cheeks and turn my head a
certain way." Sure, you have to do certain things for lighting and
to get the right shot, but when you start with that instead of focusing
on the realism, you've already lost. I love naturalistic dialogue and
have worked hard on that in recent years to make it as conversational as
possible. As a writer, I tend to let an idea ruminate for a while before I sit
down to start hammering away at an outline. Once I get a rough outline
laid out, I usually will get my "vomit" draft out pretty
quickly. Then I come back after a few days or weeks and start reworking
it from the beginning. But style-wise, I gravitate towards thrillers
with a mystery or twist to it and definitely use every opportunity I can
to infuse some comedy into at least one of the characters. Which was
nearly impossible to do with ReBroken because of the
subject matter!
Actors, writers, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you?
Well when discussing inspiration, most that I am inspired by are actors,
who are also writers and filmmakers. People like the Duplass Brothers,
Edward Burns, Lena Dunham, Brit Marling, Joe Swanberg [Joe
Swanberg interview - click here]. The ones who put
story and performance over glitz and polish. I also love Scott Ryan's
story. Look him up. He made his own micro budget film and then got
nothing in this business for 13 years. Then that micro budget film was
turned into a TV series on FX called Mr. Inbetween. But he
never quit.
As for actors not usually considered in the indie scene, I aspire to
have the careers of a couple guys: Jason Bateman and Denis Leary. Yes,
they both seem like opposites in many ways, but their shared ability to
shift between drama and comedy - often in the same film or show - is
some of the best I have ever seen. And on top of that, they write,
produce and at least in Bateman's case, direct. To be able to handle
both comedy and drama equally as well when performing, but then also be
creating with the same expertise, it's inspiring and something I hope to
master myself. Your favourite movies?
Oh man, I am all over the board with movies, just like I am with music.
I truly like all brands of films, from Hitchcock to Mel Brooks, from
Tarantino to Ron Howard, I really am all over the spectrum. Sometimes it
depends on my mood. But if I had to narrow it down, it's a film that
takes me on a journey and makes me think, then hits me with the
unexpected. While I love a good comedy, there is nothing like a
mystery-thriller that makes you think you are going one way, then you
get diverted another direction. And as you can see from some of my
scripts, I guess I am partial to mystery thriller films. I do also love
a good crime drama as well and there are so many great ones. ... and of course, films you really deplore?
I've come to really dislike the modern day blockbuster. They just seem
to have lost the fun and I believe it comes down to taking the human
connection out of them. The focus is so much on CGI, explosions, etc.,
and they skip past what makes us care in the first place: the
characters. And just in general, movies that spoon feed us, especially
with dialogue and specific plot points. I don't need to be told every
single detail. I like to figure some of this out on my own. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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ReBroken
is mainly on Instagram @rebrokenfilm. And you can
find me on Instagram @kippdiddy, Twitter @kipptribble, and Facebook
@OfficialKippTribble. Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Special shout out to my beautiful wife and three daughters for
putting up with this crazy life in this crazy business! Thanks
for the interview!
You bet, and thanks for having me!
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