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Your new movie Stargazer - in a few words, what's it about?
Stargazer is the story of a young woman right now,
a forgotten astronomer from long ago, and the mythical threads that connect them.
How did you get involved with the project in the first place?
The injustice of Cecilia Payne haunted me for years, then Kate
Ginna agreed to collaborate. We went to work on a script about a
genius astronomer who's been lost to history, then we imagined a
student who dreams of redeeming her hero from girlhood, a
journalist with questionable motives, and a fickle sort of
goddess between them. At the time we shot the film, Kate was 25,
the same age as Cecilia when she discovered the nature of the universe. Kismet.
Do talk about Stargazer's central figure Cecilia Payne, and your research on
her ... and how did you happen upon her even?
Twenty-four years ago I read Cecilia's story in a book by David
Bodanis called E=MC2, the Biography of an Equation.
Later, I found an out-of-print autobiography by Cecilia Payne on
the shelves at the New York Society Library. While we were
working on the screenplay, Donovan Moore published his excellent
telling of Cecilia's life story called What Stars Are Made Of. We've also been in touch with Cecilia's granddaughter,
who very much likes the movie. What
can you tell us about your co-writer (and the film's star) Kate Ginna, and
what was your collaboration like? My wife and I have known Kate since she was an infant. Her
parents are friends, her dad is an author and editor, and we've
played volleyball and socialized for decades. Kate studied
theater in college and was attending classes at Michael Esper
Studio in New York when she started working as an assistant to
my wife, novelist Carol Weston. Kate's interest in drama led to
Stargazer, though neither of us knew she'd play the lead. That
was an honor she had to earn. And she did. The camera loved her,
and she's magnificent as Grace and Cecilia. That is not an
opinion; Kate won awards for Best Actress at Philadelphia's
FirstGlance and Berkeley Springs Film Festival. She won prizes
for Best Screenplay and Best Feature too. What was it like
working with Stargazer's
director Alan McIntyre Smith?
Directors tend to be listeners, and Alan absorbed this film like
a sponge, requesting smart rewrites and moving through
rehearsals with camera in hand, framing and planning shots,
requiring the actors to memorize the entire script before
filming. His planning made our schedule possible. And he
clutched the film to his chest during the exhausting yearlong
editing process, honing every element of what makes
Stargazer enchanting. At one point, Alan told me that his
superpower is an ability to take criticism. Boy was that
ever true. When he heard that a moment in the movie felt muddy
or ineffective, the man went to work until it worked. This was a
remarkable process to witness. Were you at all
present at the actual shoot of the movie, and if so, do talk about the
on-set atmosphere? I was there every moment. I first met our executive producer
Justus McLarty at Saturday Night Live where he became the
supervising producer of the Saturday Night Live Film Unit. Justus has seen
it all, and he describes the dedication of the Stargazer crew as
the best he's ever seen. Everyone was locked in, nonstop. Days
and nights, indoors and outdoors, through a rainstorm in the
woods and long hours in a library and racing around Manhattan.
Alan chose former students who were now professionals to
serve as department heads and current students at Rider
University to work in support positions, allowing us to operate
up to three cameras simultaneously. Steadicam operator Jordan
Tetewsky has since made two acclaimed features of his own. He's
the best. Stargazer looks amazing because we gave it our hearts
and souls.
The $64-question, where can Stargazer be seen?
Stargazer is available on so many streaming platforms. The ones
we know best are Prime Video, AppleTV+ and Vudu. Just
make sure you choose the right movie. Ours is the one about
Grace and Cecilia. There are some short films with the same
title. Here are three good links, and I hope they work where you are:
https://www.amazon.com/Stargazer-Kate-Ginna/dp/B0D58VWP87
https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/stargazer/
umc.cmc.79qmmra50trreaf0y52w7m6ok
https://www.vudu.com/content/browse/details/
Stargazer/2938339 Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception
of Stargazer?
We just got our first European review from a gentleman named
Mike Haberfelner... and it made our day!
The reception from film festivals and media outlets was
also gratifying:
"Stargazer is
dramatic, funny, sweet, and engaging on all fronts... a
must-watch." --Bobby LePire, Film Threat
"Stargazer... unfolds like
a mysterious pop-up book with secret little tabs to pull
that unveil more depth and layers than at first
glance." --David J. Moore, The Movie Elite
"Stargazer is a
poignant film about two women working together and
supporting each other’s work as they smash the norms set
by men."
--Christian Eltell, Take2IndieReview
"Stargazer is a
must-watch for those who appreciate stories of resilience
and recognition, beautifully intertwined with historical and
mythological elements."
--Troy Anderson, AndersonVision
"Stargazer is a very
weird movie... Really, really weird... See it, see it, see
it."
--Bryan Kristopowitz, 411Mania.com
Any future projects you'd like to share? I'm working on stage plays these days. A new romantic
comedy called BackTalk is ready to go. Other shows are also
brewing. What got you into writing in the first pace, and screenwriting at
that, and did you receive any formal education on the subject?
I have been writing my whole life, yet never thought I had
much to say until a close friend died when we were still in our
thirties and some stories began to flow. My formal education was
in theater and language, then I got a graduate degree in Stage
Directing before starting to work as a craftsman in the film
business. Craft has always been part of my writing, literally
and figuratively. I love to watch people solving problems.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Stargazer?
My very first play became a movie, thanks to a producer at Saturday Night Live
named David Nickoll, who went to a showcase production of an
ensemble story about people in their late 20s searching for
meaning in their lives. That feature was directed by Andres
Heinz and titled Origin of the Species. It starred Amanda Peet,
Jean Louisa Kelly, Elon Gold, Sybil Temchen, Michael Kelly, and
Jonathan LaPaglia. It was a stressful adventure too, and I'm
proud of everyone who worked on it.
How would you describe yourself as a writer? Relentless. My first drafts aren't great, but I just keep
going, listening to the people of the story and letting them
reveal themselves. It took me nine years to complete my first
couple plays. Art doesn't show up on its own, you have to
sit with it and live with it and work with it and let the story
become whole and dimensional and larger than yourself. That
takes patience, which I'm still in the process of learning.
Writers, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you? I particularly love peculiar people. Richard Brautigan, John
Steinbeck, Annie Baker, Theresa Rebeck, Katori Hall, Tennessee
Williams, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Sam Forman and Eli
Bolin. Marcy Dermansky. I'm throwing out names of people whose
stories have moved me. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Woody Allen and
Charlie Kaufman and Franz Kafka and Terry Gilliam.
Your favourite movies? Annie Hall and Midnight in Paris. The Lives of Others and Das
Boot. Inside Out and Inside Out 2 and Toy Story and all its
sequels. La Strada and Paths of Glory. Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind. Cinema Paradiso. I love unforgettable, moving
movies, ones that change my mind or make me cry--or preferably
both. ... and of course,
films you really deplore? Anything pretentious or phony or pandering for money or
attention, and I'm not gonna name names. Your/your movie's
website, social media, whatever else?
https://www.stargazerfilm.com
https://www.instagram.com/stargazer_film/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stargazer
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Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
This film exists because of Matt Bogart and his wife Jess, who
were neighbors during the pandemic and muscled this film
forward. Matt arranged readings and produced a proof-of-concept
directed by my daughter, Emme Ackerman, and he spread the word
in the Broadway community. Jess critiqued every edit and helped
polish the story. Polymath Lei Nico
brought bravery and brilliance to the role of Diana, and the
Pulitzer Prize winning author, historian, and MacArthur Genius
grant recipient Annette Gordon-Reed saved our bacon by playing
herself with charm and panache. The music and sound designs of Phoebe Kreuetz,
Katy Pfaffl, and Josh Kobak add magic to the movie, and Bradley
Greer was a consummate colorist. I'm also deeply grateful to
Sally Hauser and the handful of investors who made
the film happen, based on other stuff I've done and faith they
had in my work and this story. It always takes a village.
Thanks for the interview! My thanks to you, Mike!
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