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Your new movie The
Company of Thieves - in a few words, what's it about?
This film mainly focuses on how we define happiness and choose our
paths in life. It illustrates how we convince ourselves that material
goals like fame, fortune, power, or even revenge, will satisfy our desire
for purpose or meaning. The
Company of Thieves is also a love letter to the landscapes and
vistas of the American West, and a celebration of how they inspire its mythos. With
The Company of Thieves
being a western, is this a genre especially dear to you, and some of your
genre favourites? Of course, I’ve always loved Westerns. The
Assasination of Jesse James, Tombstone, Ballad
of Buster Scruggs, Django Unchained, No
Country for Old Men, Hell Or High Water, Hateful Eight
to name a couple. Even silly ones, like Shanghai Noon or A
Million Ways to Die In The West. Other sources of inspiration when
writing The Company of
Thieves? Into The Wild and the video game Red
Dead Redemption 2 were also major influences. As well as my general
love for the outdoors and mountain climbing, trekking etc. To what extent can you actually
identify with The
Company of Thieves' Washoe or with the thief - or with the marshal
even? I think I could certainly find a way to identify with
all of them, but it would mostly be with the Thief. It’s easy to relate
to the feeling of wanting something more from life, reaching for the stars
but often falling flat on your face. Then get back up and keep moving. Do talk about your directorial approach to your
story at hand! As you mentioned in your review, this is a
character-driven plot. A lot of attention went into the evolution of
Washoe’s/Thief’s and Washoe’s/Marshal’s relationships and giving
these characters a rich and complex background that wasn’t explicitly
mentioned in the film. The actors were provided this history and we spent
a decent amount of time exploring these characters. The landscape and
locations were also very deliberate and integral to our vision for the
film, both narratively and cinematically.
What can you tell us about The
Company of Thieves' cast, and why exactly these people? Both
Tony Noto and Hunter C. Smith were referred to me through a friend and
former colleague. They both really nailed their auditions and fit into
these roles pretty much exactly as I had envisioned, so I very quickly
awarded them the parts. Washoe was challenging to cast. Lots of subtle
emotions to convey. There were a few different ways I could see the role
performed, but ultimately I felt Naomi Helen Weissberg captured it best. You
of course also have to talk about The
Company of Thieves' wonderful outdoors locations, and what was it
like filming there? It was spectacular. Shooting at Lake Tahoe was a particular highlight.
We really had to work to get those shots though. Many of the places were
quite remote and difficult to access. Finding the right spot took weeks of
research and preparation each time. A few words about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere? Felt like we were a little family. We had a relatively small crew, and
at this level of indie filmmaking we shared everything, figuratively and
literally. Made a lot of lasting friendships. Everyone involved was also
extremely committed and passionate about the project. I think you have to
truly care about what you’re doing when it comes to these low budget
projects.
The $64-question of course,
where can The Company
of Thieves be seen? The film has just been released in North America and is currently
available on most TVOD platforms, including Google Play, Apple TV
Store and Microsoft. It will be available on Amazon and YouTube Video soon as
well. People can also find it via VOD on many cable/satellite providers like
Comcast/Xfinity, Direct TV, Dish, Spectrum, Cox and
Shaw (Canada). Anything you can tell us
about audience and critical reception of The
Company of Thieves? So far, so good. We were well received at the
Wild Bunch Film Festival
last fall, and early feedback from streaming platforms seemed positive
overall as well. Any future projects you'd
like to share? At the moment, I am working on a dark comedy/kitchen sink drama set in
Mexico that is partially based on my own experience doing documentary and
humanitarian work in Latin America. What got you into filmmaking in the first
place, and did you receive any formal education on the subject?
I
did not go to film school, but I did start experimenting with short
films and visual art while in college. I think my ambition and desire to
be a filmmaker really manifested while I was working in India right after
college and started documenting a lot of my travels and experiences for
fun. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to The
Company of Thieves? I’ve been working in the
film/TV industry for a little over 11 years,
primarily as a producer. I’ve done all manner of productions, from major
motion pictures and network TV series to live events, commercials, and
corporate videos. Alongside this, I wrote and directed several short films
and music videos. The
Company of Thieves is my first feature film as a
writer and director though. How would you describe
yourself as a director?
Detail-oriented and demonstrative. I like to attribute deeper, often
dual meanings to everything that is seen, said, or heard. I’m also prone
to invoking themes of magical realism or surrealism in my work, and I like
to explore ideas that have a universal or cosmic significance. So
naturally I try to encourage my team to embody these concepts in their
work as well.
I also put a lot of effort into logistics and pre-production, trying to
avoid excess or unnecessary coverage. Which is probably a consequence of
editing most of my projects and my background as a producer. Always
looking for ways to be better though.
Filmmakers who inspire you? There are so many…
but mostly relatively modern directors. I’m a
huge fan of Danny Boyle, David Fincher, Alex Garland, Denis Villeneuve,
Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, Robert Eggers, Tarantino, the Safdies, Coen Brothers, Wes
Anderson, Taika Waititi, Edgar Wright, Soderbergh, Matthew Vaughn… it’s
pretty eclectic. Your
favourite movies? Basically movies from all of the directors I mentioned above.
The Lord of The Rings trilogy as well, I never tire of those movies. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? There’s not many that I truly hate per se. I’m not particularly
fond of super gory horror, corny romance, or gratuitous action or war
movies, with a few exceptions here and there. I think the last movie I
actually walked out of was Terminator: Salvation. Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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The official film website is still in progress, but my production company website
includes a link to our trailer - https://www.entrancefilms.com
and Instagram. Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? First of all, thank you so much for taking an interest in the film.
It’s nice to see people care about and support indie filmmaking, and
I’m honored to have had the opportunity to share more about my
experience with you. Hope the people that do watch my movie enjoy it. And
that I’ll be able to make many others for years to come. Cheers! Thanks for the
interview!
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