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Your new movie Sundays
with Dad - in a few words, what's it about?
Sundays
with Dad
is about Ben (played by George R. Hildebrand), a widower who misses
his wife Maggie, but finds solace in his weekly meetings with his actor
son, Jason (which I play). On this day, Ben reveals to Jason that he has
hired a young woman from an escort service, not for sexual favors, but
simply for companionship. He's not looking to replace the memory of his
dear Maggie, but to experience something and someone beautiful one last
time. Everything in this story comes down to love, the importance
and need for family, and the acceptance of those we bring into our
hearts.
What were your sources of inspiration when writing Sundays
with Dad, and was any of this based on personal experiences? The
late great, playwright Neil Simon (The Odd Couple, The Sunshine
Boys, The Goodbye Girl) inspired me to write this script.
''Doc'' was the first playwright that I fell in love with and I've had
the pleasure of appearing in several of his plays over the years and I
wanted to capture a little bit of that magic that made and still makes
his works so memorable. His plays and screenplays are always incredibly
funny, but they can also hit you right in the heart. That's what I hope Sundays
with Dad will do. We hope to deliver the laughs and the heart. Of course, I tapped
into my relationship with my own father, who, like Ben, is a warm, sweet
and funny man... very dedicated to his family and has this incredible
wealth of humanity. Now
how did the project come into being in the first place, and have you
always intended to produce the film yourself?
After the writing and the making of the films After
and Hard Truths, which are wonderful
films, but definitely darker in tone, I knew that I wanted to write
something that was a little lighter. I had always wanted to write a
father/son comedy, so the idea for this film came to me pretty quickly,
and as the idea was forming, I saw a few examples of George's (lead
actor George R. Hildebrand) work, which I enjoyed very much, so when I
started to write the script, I wrote it with George in mind. I always
like to write for a specific actor. That way, as I am writing, I can
hear their voice in the part, see their face, and it's easier and more
enjoyable to craft the character around a specific actor's personality.
It made writing the part of Ben so much fun.
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After finishing a draft that I was pleased with, I think George was the first person that
I sent the script to. My feeling was that if he liked it, then I would
go to Tom (producer/director Thomas Angeletti) who is my ''go to''
filmmaker, and if Tom liked it, then I knew we had to make it happen
and I knew that we could make it happen.
After Tom and other teammembers read the script and made suggestions, I made a few edits.
After we got the script in order, Tom assembled most of the same team
that had made After
and Hard Truths run so
smoothly, including Jake Reynolds, Robert Morris, Alex Johnson, William
Stanley and Violet Rayne. So with that team in place, it made life very
easy, from a co-producing standpoint. These are all wonderful
people, very efficient, organized, hardworking, but also easy-going and
fun. What were
the challenges of bringing Sundays
with Dad to the screen from a producer's point of view?
Scheduling is usually the most difficult part of
producing, because this group of people are often busy working on other
productions, which is a wonderful problem to have, so finding the best
time that worked with everyone's availability can be difficult at times,
but in this case, it worked to our advantage. From
the moment that I gave George the script to when we shot the film, it
was a year, and during that year, George and I met regularly to go
through the script, drill the lines and really develop the characters
fully, so that by the time we shot, we were able to shoot in long takes,
like 5 to 6 pages at a time and it gave the scenes a wonderful rhythm,
which I loved.
The production team and I also had regular meetings, to ensure to everyone was on the same
page. It was a fun process. You
also play one of the leads in Sundays
with Dad - so what can you tell us about your character, what did
you draw upon to bring him to life, and did you write Jason with yourself
in mind from the get-go?
Jason is a working actor, but he's also a devoted
husband and father. Overall, Jason is a genuinely decent man. With his
mother's recent passing, he is concerned, definitely worried, about his
father who he loves very much, so he really cherishes these Sunday get-togethers.
I'm a worrier myself, so it was easy to play that.
I had always intended to play ''the son'' role,
but when I started writing the script with George in mind as the Dad, it
added to my excitement in wanting to play his son.
What can you tell us about your
co-star George R. Hildebrand, and what was working with him likfe? And as
writer/producer, how much say did you have into casting him?
George is wonderful. He brings this honest and
sincere quality to all of his roles, but I have to say, prior to our
working together, I thought that he had never been given the opportunity
to show what he can really do in front of the camera, so in many ways,
the joy of working on this film was not only working with George as an
actor, but just having the best seat in the house, watching him play
this character of Ben and play him so effortlessly.
As far as the casting, I informed Tom of my desire to cast George, and Tom approved and
supported that decision all the way.
Do
talk about Sundays with
Dad's director Thomas Angeletti, and what was your collaboration
like?
This is the fourth film that Tom and I have worked
on together and we just speak the same language. He's a fantastic guy,
very supportive, the perfect collaborator. We’re both pretty big
believers in organization, efficiency and by going on to set as prepared
as possible. And that organization and efficiency pays off. I mean, we
shot this film, a 15 page script, in a little under four hours. We
didn't rush through anything. We came in organized, were relaxed and got
everything that we needed. That’s a testament to Tom and the
extraordinary crew that he assembled. We
work hard and still have a great time while we are working. A few words about the shoot as such, and the
on-set atmosphere?
We shot the film at my home in Bellbrook, Ohio, and
it was a very relaxed, laid-back and fun experience, but everyone was
there and ready to work and work they did. It never feels like work when I am on a Tom
Angeletti set. You work hard, but when you are as prepared as we were,
as an actor, you get to play, to be free. You feel like you can do
anything. You can't beat that. The $64-question of course, where can
Sundays with Dad
be seen? The film is currently currently not available for
viewing online as it has just begun its festival and critical run.
But the trailer is available for viewing here:
https://youtu.be/PBn9n-pxYkU
Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Sundays
with Dad yet?
The reaction that we have received from critics,
friends and colleagues, so far, has been has been wonderful. People have
said that watching the film made them want to call their parents and
that makes me very happy. I'm
very proud of the film and hope that the film is something that everyone
can enjoy. Any future projects you'd like to
share? I am going to collaborate with Tom and the Alysm
Films team again on the the dramas Good Luck To Me (co-written
with Heather Bayles, which will be directed by Hard Truths
director Maya Ahmed) as well as the drama A Ravenous Wolf (which
I wrote and will be directed by Tom). Tom and I will also collaborate on my comedy/drama
script Hall of Famer. The drama Where Are We Now, written
and directed by TJ Montgomery is currently in post-production, as is the
comedy Men Of Hunger, written and directed by Ben Gabriel. Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever
else?
Sundays with Dad's IMDb
page:
www.imdb.com/title/tt5716908/reference/
IMDb: www.imdb.me/timothyjcox
Facebook: www.facebook.com/officialtimothyjcox/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/timothyjcox/
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Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I have to acknowledge all of the wonderful people who donated financially
to the production. Over 50 people donated and the team and I are
incredibly grateful for the support. Thanks for the interview!
Thank you, Mike. It's always a pleasure to speak with you.
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