Interview with C-47 Magazine
11/07/10 18:24 Filed in: Filmmaking
November 03, 2010
C-47 Houston Interviews Tom Vaughan
This month I was interviewed in C-47 Houston Magazine. Hector Luna has to edit the interview to make it fit for what he wants to do. He has to make changes so he thinks it flows better, fits in space, etc…
With that in mind, I thought the whole unedited interview might be of some value.
(I actually had a bit here about being a screenwriter and being rewritten in my own interview! But my trusted partner Kristy said those who don’t know my sense of humor might think I was actually pissed!)
Many thanks to Hector for taking the time and putting my mug on the cover of his magazine. Hopefully a few people will get something out of it.
The pictures were taken by the lovely and talented Heather Leigh Jackson. We are pictured at the end of the interview.
So for what it’s worth, here is the interview:
What area of the City did you grow up in?
I grew up in Spring. I moved there from the east coast when I was 15 and graduated from Klein High School.
Where are you currently living?
I’m near Westheimer and Dunlavy. I love this area. One of my favorites in Houston, but I enjoyed living downtown a few years ago as well.
In High School, were you involved with film or Television?
I was very serious about acting, but for the theatre. Klein had a very respected acting program back then and it had a considerable influence on me in too many ways to mention. Most of them good. My sense of discipline and professionalism began there.
Were you making films in High school? Tell us about that.
It wasn’t as easy to do so back then. I mostly stuck with theatre. When I was even younger and less serious about it my brother Lance and I would make pretty nonsensical films with the VHS video camera. The ones that were most successful were comedy sketches we would make to try to make our dad laugh. SCTV was our big influence. My brother Lance gave me my interests in the arts. Without him I end up a totally different person.
Did you go to college and take TV/Film courses? If so, Where? What degree?
I am a proud graduate of the University of Houston. I started out as a political science major, and switched to theatre. I was a sixth year sophomore and finally quit to pursue my professional career. I ended up returning to school to earn my degree in political science a few years ago. It took me 19 years to get my degree! But going back and getting it is something I am very proud to have accomplished.
How did you get into filmmaking? What made you pick up a camera to make movies?
I was fortunate. There was a review for a play that I wrote that found its way to the desk of a young agent at CAA. He called me up and we started a relationship and he encouraged me to get serious about writing screenplays. I did get serious about it, and a year later he was my agent and not too long after that I was making a living as a screenwriter.
To me this was always one of the most important lessons. I queried every agent I could to represent me and no one was interested. CAA and ICM were the 2 agencies I didn’t bother approaching because they just seemed too big. I imagined them laughing at my query letter and how I could be so stupid to even think about them representing me.
But those were the 2 agencies that came to me later on (CAA because of the review and ICM because a friend worked there). I just kept doing my thing and they came to me. If you go to them, they don’t want you. It’s not sexy. But if you do something that draws their attention and they think you’re in demand (whether that’s true or not is irrelevant), you’re considerably more attractive to them.
Do something that makes them come to you. It’s the only way.
What kind of camera did you start off using to make that first film?
The technical side doesn’t interest me as much. I’m getting a little better at it, but I just don’t get as excited about equipment as some other people do.
What was the name of the first film you made? Tell us a little of the story.
The first film I wrote that was produced was “Blackout” with Jane Seymour. It was a CBS MOW. Pretty typical fare. Nothing exciting. The first film I made as a director was the most recent, “Playing House”.
When you made “Blackout” why do you say that it was not “exciting?"
Don’t get me wrong. It was personally exciting. It was my first produced film. But the end product was still a TV movie. You’re creating content to fill a slot for a network. You’re feeding the beast. You do your best under tight creative restrictions and write something people will enjoy. There are some genuinely interesting moments in the film and nothing embarrassing. Under those circumstances that’s a big win.
Right now I just want to tell good, honest stories and each of those stories will have its own integrity. Some are more challenging, some are more innovative, and some are just meant to be fun. “Playing House” is meant to be a fun genre film. A good time. Hopefully it evokes enough emotion that it sticks with you a little bit.
You have to know what story you’re telling, and why it’s worth telling, You will have different goals for each and different things will appeal to you about them, but if you don’t know those first two things you’re in trouble. Then you start to figure out how to best tell that story. Unfortunately, it’s anything but easy. You have to be brave enough to tell these stories honestly and disciplined enough that you put the story before yourself. I still find this plenty challenging and exciting enough. Especially because you don’t always succeed! I love this craft because you keep growing in it. You keep learning.
Why did you get into film and television when there were so many other things you could have done in life?
Writing, acting and directing just seems to be what I have always done. Every other job I’ve had seemed like work. Film and theatre never has. I did it for free before I was a pro and still do much of it for free.
How long have you been in the business now?
I’ve been making a living as an actor or writer for 14 of the last 17 years. I struggled for a year in the mid 90s where I had to take day jobs and I took 2 years off to go back to school from 2005-2007. I worked at the Apple Store during those 2 years. I wasn’t sure I would return to film but as soon as school was over I missed it terribly. Luckily some things happened that allowed me to do it. Of course, some years have been considerably leaner than others, but I’ve largely been very fortunate.
You have been in the front lines of telling a story and acting in movies, does your experience in acting give you an advantage in being able to tell a good story?
My experience with acting on film is limited and not worth even talking about, but my years as an actor on stage were absolutely the foundation of everything I have done as a writer and director. I have no idea where I would be as a storyteller without it. My writing has always been actor friendly and earlier in my career (before moving back to Houston) I was known as a writer that attracted talent. That’s not an accident.
I actually realized just a few months back that everything I do is in some shape or form a continuation of what Jose Quintero taught me at the University of Houston during his all-too-brief sessions there. A light went on back then. Something clicked. I knew I had learned something important at the time, but I didn’t really understand the ramifications of it and how throughly it dominated everything I know about storytelling until recently.
Just living truthfully moment to moment to moment. One moment at a time. It’s easy to get distracted (so easy!), but when it comes down to it, that’s all writing, directing, acting and editing is: telling the story one moment at a time. Moment to moment to moment. Each role does it differently, of course, but that’s all we’re doing. Moment to moment to moment.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
When did you decide you were going to direct?
I always wanted to direct, but I wanted to wait for the right opportunity. I wanted a real budget so I could afford to surround myself with people that could compensate for the mistakes I was going to inevitably make.
I was first going to just produce “Playing House” and I offered the directing gig to a local director. We couldn’t come to a deal, and my producing partner Chris Uettwiller out in LA suggested I direct it instead. I called producer Dolly Hall up in NYC and asked her to read the script. Dolly is producing another script of mine and she has worked with a lot of 1st time directors. I wanted to know what she thought. She read it and then offered to come on board as producer if I came on board to direct. It was just too good an offer to refuse. I decided to just jump in and sink or swim at that point.
We were able to get Courtney Wulfe to join us and she crewed up the film with one amazing person after another and I benefited from their experience to help me make as few mistakes as possible. Still made a ton, of course, but they’re pretty well hidden.
Having Courtney and that crew was instrumental. We had the people around me to hide my technical weaknesses and let me focus on my core competency which is tell the story. It was the most positive atmosphere of any production (film or theatre) that I have ever worked on. It was an absolute joy.
Do you think your filmmaking has benefited by experience rather than learning it from a book?
I don’t think you can limit to just those two things (experience and academic). There’s also being mentored which I think is vital, as well as one’s own personality and your talent as well. But first you must be genuinely teachable. That is far more important than how you may be taught.
You will learn as you can as things come up. Some things can be taught by a book, some things can be taught only by experience because it never comes up until then. Having a mentor can make this learning curve go considerably faster and keep you from making serious mistakes. But it’s all pretty useless if you’re not teachable to begin with.
Personality counts. I have become convinced that it’s the single biggest factor. The ability for people to shoot themselves in the foot continues to amaze me. Ego, impatience, weakness, hubris. insecurity, you name it. These are the things that will kill your career faster than anything else.
This isn’t even getting to whether someone has the talent to be a storyteller to begin with! Not everyone does, you know.
Regarding your directorial debut: What is it and what is it about?
The feature is called “Playing House”. It’s about two newlyweds who try to afford their dream house by asking their best friend to help with the mortgage. Unfortunately, he soon brings home a woman determined to achieve her own dark version of the American dream.
We made this particular film because it worked under our budget. None of our other projects could be made with as little money.
Sometimes, the first project is easy to do other times things just go wrong… did you have problems making your first project as a director?
It was a pretty easy shoot because of the crew Courtney put together. She was the 1st AD and UPM and I learned quite a bit from her. From everyone, really, but especially her. I was essentially mentored by my 1st AD! Our script supervisor Lynn Martin was another I learned a lot from. Sean Maxwell the DP as well.
In post my producing partner Chris Uettwiller pretty much took over and I was freed up to worry about getting the story right in the edit. I like to think people learned a lot from me about telling stories one moment at a time, but no one has gushed over me as much as I have gushed over them!
I never pretended to know something I didn’t and I asked a lot of questions. They could see that I knew how to tell the story and I knew what I wanted so they were very patient with me in that regard. I joked with Courtney once that the only job on set that I was even remotely qualified for was director! But I don’t think anyone ever doubted that I was the best person there for the job. It’s a strange duality and I think really emphasizes the difference between technical knowledge and storytelling.
What was it in YOU that convinced yourself that you COULD make this film as a DIRECTOR and not a screenwriter? The two jobs are distinctly different in their nature are they not?
One of the things that gave me confidence was seeing how poorly some of my own scripts were directed. I knew I could at least do a better job then some of them. I knew how much better those scenes should have played. I was also confident that I knew how to tell a story. In that regard, screenwriting and directing are not that different. Moment to moment to moment. And really, I think directors get themselves in a lot of trouble when they think it’s more different than it is. But yes, how you physically execute your job is pretty different.
It’s important to know what you’re offering a project you’re directing. Why you? What do you bring to the table that makes you better qualified than someone else? That has to be your launch pad. You have to start there. Wanting to direct is not enough. You have to know why you and not someone else. First, you owe it to the story because you’re preventing someone else from directing who might do a better job, and second, you’re going to need to fall back on that for your own confidence, because things are not going to always go your way. No one had visualized “Playing House” more than me, I knew I could be trusted with the material and I knew I could help the actors. I knew if I could surround myself with people to compensate for all the reasons I shouldn’t direct, the only thing left would be all the reasons I should direct.
But no matter where you start, at some point you have to go all in and see if you’re any good at it. You have to find out eventually.
Now, I had always directed theater but I had directed a play a few months earlier that I did not consider a success, so there was already a part of me that wasn’t sure how things would turn out. My confidence was running on fumes. There was even one morning when I thought I had screwed things up something horrible and I was starting to deal with the idea that I just wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. It turns out we were mistaken and everything was fine but it’s very scary to be 2 weeks into 4 week shoot and you’re thinking, “I have no idea what I am doing. This is a disaster!”
The only people I ever shared these things with were Chris (who was in LA. Him and his wife just had a baby and he couldn’t be on set) and Courtney. I tried my best to give a confident front to everyone else, but it made a world of difference to have people I didn’t have to pretend with. These were partners in every sense of the word. I could turn to Courtney and say, “I’m getting a little flustered here, let’s take a moment” and I knew she would be on my side and protect my flank no matter what. I don’t know how you direct a movie without someone like that and I don’t want to find out.
How do you think others view you as a filmmaker? Do they see you as a director that collaborates with their crew and actors or as a director that has a certain vision and works toward that vision.
I don’t really know. I pretty much know what I want, I listen and collaborate with others when we’re working towards the same thing, but I have a strict criteria for success. If anyone has an idea to better tell the story I’ll hear it, but I cut off tangents pretty quick. There’s no time for indulgence. Does it help to better tell the story or not? Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way which is why you have to be careful collaborating.
That being said, one of my favorite shots in the movie Justin DeGuire came up with on the fly when he saw a reflection in the window. It told the story better than any of the other shots we were taking. It was really that simple. It better told the story. So we used it.
(Correction: according to Courtney Wulfe, who has a far better memory than I do, it was Kevin Parker who identified and recommended that shot.)
What are you working on? Brief description please. Titles, story, cast.
We keep a lot of projects going. My producing partner Chris Uettwiller lives in LA and so does my writing partner Kristy Dobkin. We’ve been working with Dolly Hall more and more (she was Chris’ mentor) and she lives in NYC. We developed a couple scripts with my students here in Houston that we’re pushing forward as producers. There are a dozen projects in development in LA including a television series we’re excited about. Kristy and I are finishing up a script for Kazuika Kariya to direct. It will be his first english language film if we can get it where it needs to be. And, of course, we want to find financing for my next film to direct.
What are you trying to accomplish with your work? Is there a theme to your madness?
Not really. Just good stories. I realize it sounds like a cliche but only because people say “story” a lot without knowing what it means. But watching people live, feel, overcome, learn, love and change has always moved me. When I teach screenwriting we define story as “the journey or transformation of a human being”.
What can you say about the Houston film community as it compares to other film communities and what will it take to move this market to a more competitive arena?
Oy vay. That’s it’s own conversation right there. I’m sure everyone has different opinions about this, and I don’t claim to know the “truth”. I just have my own judgement based on my experience and my knowledge. So take it for what you think it’s worth (which could be zero!).
I live in Houston because I am happiest here. My family is here, this is my hometown and I am emotionally invested in its success. But if I were to decide to put my career first, I would have to move back to LA, and I think that would be true for just about anybody.
The first thing to know is that there is absolutely no comparison with Houston and LA. That’s the center of one of America’s largest exports. The heart of a $10 billion a year industry. Here we have a small community of like-minded individuals. They’re not comparable in any way. Different animals entirely.
From what I can see there are essentially 3 different film communities in Houston. There are the do-it-yourselfers (DIY) and the hobbyist, which tend to intermingle, and then there are the professionals. These groups don’t seem to work together much and, by definition, why would they?
The professionals are shrinking in numbers and may eventually be gone entirely. If that happens it will be very difficult to ever get them back. That will probably be the end.
What the professional community needs is more capital investment. It needs more people investing in film and hopefully to do so wisely so the investment pool increases. That’s only going to come from Texas. I personally believe that waiting for production capital to come from out-of-state is unrealistic and a waste of our own resources. For example, there are few ideas more stupid than turning the Astrodome into a film studio. Just even talking about that stuff reflects poorly on all of us. Out of state money, assuming it even comes to Texas at all, is going to go to Austin and Dallas because they now have the infrastructure to attract it. Right now the pros here are surviving mostly on commercials and traveling for work.
The DIYs and the hobbyist are doing something else entirely. The DIYs’ job right now is to try to keep getting better as storytellers and to do it quick enough to attract the investment capital that we need before the industry dies here. That’s assuming that’s even what they want to do! I suspect they like the creative freedom they have now. Kerry Beyer’s “Spirit Camp” is a fun film and Kerry is distributing it himself. What he’s learning about that business is going to come in very handy as he keeps moving forward with other projects. If anyone is going to have success with that, it’s Kerry.
I saw Stacey Davidson’s “Sweatshop” at the Houston Horrorfest and I thought that was great fun too. There’s an audience for that film and I hope to see him keep growing (what we’re all hopefully trying to do). I wish he was making more movies!
There are others, of course, but from what I can see, the biggest mistake other DIYs make is that they’re creating films that few people want to see. They’re not telling stories that possess a natural commercial market and the quality is too low (low budget does not have to mean low quality) to appeal to the specialty audience. They’re just bad movies. The money is lost and the production capital is not even replenished. let alone expanded. That’s a problem.
Developing good material is extremely difficult. This idea that you’re supposed to be a natural at it and be able to create content worth producing on shear God-given talent is pure hubris. No one does that. No one.
Now, I ask that excuse my frankness, because I don’t begrudge anyone for doing what they love or always dreamed about doing. Finishing any film is a huge achievement in its own right. And doing it with no resources even more so. Sometimes only us delusional people are capable of such things. But the question was how to make Houston more competitive, not how to be cheerleaders for films you don’t even want to see yourself. If we’re going to rely on generating our own content here, we simply have to do a better job of it.
Now I am seeing a lot of bad habits form with the Hobbyist. I don’t understand their fixation on time-limit “contest”. Isn’t making films difficult enough without hogtying yourself? But they’re also the ones with the least professional ambition so I think it would be entirely fair to tell me to shut the fuck up and mind my own business. If they’re having a blast, what do I care?
Again, these are just my thoughts based on what I have seen and I have by no means seen everything. Someone with more information and better judgement might come to entirely different conclusions, but these are mine for whatever they are worth.
What advice can you give to young filmmakers that you wish you had?
Surrender yourself to the story. It’s not about you! The story is all that matters. And the story moves one moment at a time. There is no such thing as an empty moment. Communicate to the audience each moment, one at a time.
Heather Leigh Jackson and me. We were trying to give ‘tude but we still ended up looking like very polite people.
C-47 Houston Interviews Tom Vaughan
This month I was interviewed in C-47 Houston Magazine. Hector Luna has to edit the interview to make it fit for what he wants to do. He has to make changes so he thinks it flows better, fits in space, etc…
With that in mind, I thought the whole unedited interview might be of some value.
(I actually had a bit here about being a screenwriter and being rewritten in my own interview! But my trusted partner Kristy said those who don’t know my sense of humor might think I was actually pissed!)
Many thanks to Hector for taking the time and putting my mug on the cover of his magazine. Hopefully a few people will get something out of it.
The pictures were taken by the lovely and talented Heather Leigh Jackson. We are pictured at the end of the interview.
So for what it’s worth, here is the interview:
What area of the City did you grow up in?
I grew up in Spring. I moved there from the east coast when I was 15 and graduated from Klein High School.
Where are you currently living?
I’m near Westheimer and Dunlavy. I love this area. One of my favorites in Houston, but I enjoyed living downtown a few years ago as well.
In High School, were you involved with film or Television?
I was very serious about acting, but for the theatre. Klein had a very respected acting program back then and it had a considerable influence on me in too many ways to mention. Most of them good. My sense of discipline and professionalism began there.
Were you making films in High school? Tell us about that.
It wasn’t as easy to do so back then. I mostly stuck with theatre. When I was even younger and less serious about it my brother Lance and I would make pretty nonsensical films with the VHS video camera. The ones that were most successful were comedy sketches we would make to try to make our dad laugh. SCTV was our big influence. My brother Lance gave me my interests in the arts. Without him I end up a totally different person.
Did you go to college and take TV/Film courses? If so, Where? What degree?
I am a proud graduate of the University of Houston. I started out as a political science major, and switched to theatre. I was a sixth year sophomore and finally quit to pursue my professional career. I ended up returning to school to earn my degree in political science a few years ago. It took me 19 years to get my degree! But going back and getting it is something I am very proud to have accomplished.
How did you get into filmmaking? What made you pick up a camera to make movies?
I was fortunate. There was a review for a play that I wrote that found its way to the desk of a young agent at CAA. He called me up and we started a relationship and he encouraged me to get serious about writing screenplays. I did get serious about it, and a year later he was my agent and not too long after that I was making a living as a screenwriter.
To me this was always one of the most important lessons. I queried every agent I could to represent me and no one was interested. CAA and ICM were the 2 agencies I didn’t bother approaching because they just seemed too big. I imagined them laughing at my query letter and how I could be so stupid to even think about them representing me.
But those were the 2 agencies that came to me later on (CAA because of the review and ICM because a friend worked there). I just kept doing my thing and they came to me. If you go to them, they don’t want you. It’s not sexy. But if you do something that draws their attention and they think you’re in demand (whether that’s true or not is irrelevant), you’re considerably more attractive to them.
Do something that makes them come to you. It’s the only way.
What kind of camera did you start off using to make that first film?
The technical side doesn’t interest me as much. I’m getting a little better at it, but I just don’t get as excited about equipment as some other people do.
What was the name of the first film you made? Tell us a little of the story.
The first film I wrote that was produced was “Blackout” with Jane Seymour. It was a CBS MOW. Pretty typical fare. Nothing exciting. The first film I made as a director was the most recent, “Playing House”.
When you made “Blackout” why do you say that it was not “exciting?"
Don’t get me wrong. It was personally exciting. It was my first produced film. But the end product was still a TV movie. You’re creating content to fill a slot for a network. You’re feeding the beast. You do your best under tight creative restrictions and write something people will enjoy. There are some genuinely interesting moments in the film and nothing embarrassing. Under those circumstances that’s a big win.
Right now I just want to tell good, honest stories and each of those stories will have its own integrity. Some are more challenging, some are more innovative, and some are just meant to be fun. “Playing House” is meant to be a fun genre film. A good time. Hopefully it evokes enough emotion that it sticks with you a little bit.
You have to know what story you’re telling, and why it’s worth telling, You will have different goals for each and different things will appeal to you about them, but if you don’t know those first two things you’re in trouble. Then you start to figure out how to best tell that story. Unfortunately, it’s anything but easy. You have to be brave enough to tell these stories honestly and disciplined enough that you put the story before yourself. I still find this plenty challenging and exciting enough. Especially because you don’t always succeed! I love this craft because you keep growing in it. You keep learning.
Why did you get into film and television when there were so many other things you could have done in life?
Writing, acting and directing just seems to be what I have always done. Every other job I’ve had seemed like work. Film and theatre never has. I did it for free before I was a pro and still do much of it for free.
How long have you been in the business now?
I’ve been making a living as an actor or writer for 14 of the last 17 years. I struggled for a year in the mid 90s where I had to take day jobs and I took 2 years off to go back to school from 2005-2007. I worked at the Apple Store during those 2 years. I wasn’t sure I would return to film but as soon as school was over I missed it terribly. Luckily some things happened that allowed me to do it. Of course, some years have been considerably leaner than others, but I’ve largely been very fortunate.
You have been in the front lines of telling a story and acting in movies, does your experience in acting give you an advantage in being able to tell a good story?
My experience with acting on film is limited and not worth even talking about, but my years as an actor on stage were absolutely the foundation of everything I have done as a writer and director. I have no idea where I would be as a storyteller without it. My writing has always been actor friendly and earlier in my career (before moving back to Houston) I was known as a writer that attracted talent. That’s not an accident.
I actually realized just a few months back that everything I do is in some shape or form a continuation of what Jose Quintero taught me at the University of Houston during his all-too-brief sessions there. A light went on back then. Something clicked. I knew I had learned something important at the time, but I didn’t really understand the ramifications of it and how throughly it dominated everything I know about storytelling until recently.
Just living truthfully moment to moment to moment. One moment at a time. It’s easy to get distracted (so easy!), but when it comes down to it, that’s all writing, directing, acting and editing is: telling the story one moment at a time. Moment to moment to moment. Each role does it differently, of course, but that’s all we’re doing. Moment to moment to moment.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
When did you decide you were going to direct?
I always wanted to direct, but I wanted to wait for the right opportunity. I wanted a real budget so I could afford to surround myself with people that could compensate for the mistakes I was going to inevitably make.
I was first going to just produce “Playing House” and I offered the directing gig to a local director. We couldn’t come to a deal, and my producing partner Chris Uettwiller out in LA suggested I direct it instead. I called producer Dolly Hall up in NYC and asked her to read the script. Dolly is producing another script of mine and she has worked with a lot of 1st time directors. I wanted to know what she thought. She read it and then offered to come on board as producer if I came on board to direct. It was just too good an offer to refuse. I decided to just jump in and sink or swim at that point.
We were able to get Courtney Wulfe to join us and she crewed up the film with one amazing person after another and I benefited from their experience to help me make as few mistakes as possible. Still made a ton, of course, but they’re pretty well hidden.
Having Courtney and that crew was instrumental. We had the people around me to hide my technical weaknesses and let me focus on my core competency which is tell the story. It was the most positive atmosphere of any production (film or theatre) that I have ever worked on. It was an absolute joy.
Do you think your filmmaking has benefited by experience rather than learning it from a book?
I don’t think you can limit to just those two things (experience and academic). There’s also being mentored which I think is vital, as well as one’s own personality and your talent as well. But first you must be genuinely teachable. That is far more important than how you may be taught.
You will learn as you can as things come up. Some things can be taught by a book, some things can be taught only by experience because it never comes up until then. Having a mentor can make this learning curve go considerably faster and keep you from making serious mistakes. But it’s all pretty useless if you’re not teachable to begin with.
Personality counts. I have become convinced that it’s the single biggest factor. The ability for people to shoot themselves in the foot continues to amaze me. Ego, impatience, weakness, hubris. insecurity, you name it. These are the things that will kill your career faster than anything else.
This isn’t even getting to whether someone has the talent to be a storyteller to begin with! Not everyone does, you know.
Regarding your directorial debut: What is it and what is it about?
The feature is called “Playing House”. It’s about two newlyweds who try to afford their dream house by asking their best friend to help with the mortgage. Unfortunately, he soon brings home a woman determined to achieve her own dark version of the American dream.
We made this particular film because it worked under our budget. None of our other projects could be made with as little money.
Sometimes, the first project is easy to do other times things just go wrong… did you have problems making your first project as a director?
It was a pretty easy shoot because of the crew Courtney put together. She was the 1st AD and UPM and I learned quite a bit from her. From everyone, really, but especially her. I was essentially mentored by my 1st AD! Our script supervisor Lynn Martin was another I learned a lot from. Sean Maxwell the DP as well.
In post my producing partner Chris Uettwiller pretty much took over and I was freed up to worry about getting the story right in the edit. I like to think people learned a lot from me about telling stories one moment at a time, but no one has gushed over me as much as I have gushed over them!
I never pretended to know something I didn’t and I asked a lot of questions. They could see that I knew how to tell the story and I knew what I wanted so they were very patient with me in that regard. I joked with Courtney once that the only job on set that I was even remotely qualified for was director! But I don’t think anyone ever doubted that I was the best person there for the job. It’s a strange duality and I think really emphasizes the difference between technical knowledge and storytelling.
What was it in YOU that convinced yourself that you COULD make this film as a DIRECTOR and not a screenwriter? The two jobs are distinctly different in their nature are they not?
One of the things that gave me confidence was seeing how poorly some of my own scripts were directed. I knew I could at least do a better job then some of them. I knew how much better those scenes should have played. I was also confident that I knew how to tell a story. In that regard, screenwriting and directing are not that different. Moment to moment to moment. And really, I think directors get themselves in a lot of trouble when they think it’s more different than it is. But yes, how you physically execute your job is pretty different.
It’s important to know what you’re offering a project you’re directing. Why you? What do you bring to the table that makes you better qualified than someone else? That has to be your launch pad. You have to start there. Wanting to direct is not enough. You have to know why you and not someone else. First, you owe it to the story because you’re preventing someone else from directing who might do a better job, and second, you’re going to need to fall back on that for your own confidence, because things are not going to always go your way. No one had visualized “Playing House” more than me, I knew I could be trusted with the material and I knew I could help the actors. I knew if I could surround myself with people to compensate for all the reasons I shouldn’t direct, the only thing left would be all the reasons I should direct.
But no matter where you start, at some point you have to go all in and see if you’re any good at it. You have to find out eventually.
Now, I had always directed theater but I had directed a play a few months earlier that I did not consider a success, so there was already a part of me that wasn’t sure how things would turn out. My confidence was running on fumes. There was even one morning when I thought I had screwed things up something horrible and I was starting to deal with the idea that I just wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. It turns out we were mistaken and everything was fine but it’s very scary to be 2 weeks into 4 week shoot and you’re thinking, “I have no idea what I am doing. This is a disaster!”
The only people I ever shared these things with were Chris (who was in LA. Him and his wife just had a baby and he couldn’t be on set) and Courtney. I tried my best to give a confident front to everyone else, but it made a world of difference to have people I didn’t have to pretend with. These were partners in every sense of the word. I could turn to Courtney and say, “I’m getting a little flustered here, let’s take a moment” and I knew she would be on my side and protect my flank no matter what. I don’t know how you direct a movie without someone like that and I don’t want to find out.
How do you think others view you as a filmmaker? Do they see you as a director that collaborates with their crew and actors or as a director that has a certain vision and works toward that vision.
I don’t really know. I pretty much know what I want, I listen and collaborate with others when we’re working towards the same thing, but I have a strict criteria for success. If anyone has an idea to better tell the story I’ll hear it, but I cut off tangents pretty quick. There’s no time for indulgence. Does it help to better tell the story or not? Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way which is why you have to be careful collaborating.
That being said, one of my favorite shots in the movie Justin DeGuire came up with on the fly when he saw a reflection in the window. It told the story better than any of the other shots we were taking. It was really that simple. It better told the story. So we used it.
(Correction: according to Courtney Wulfe, who has a far better memory than I do, it was Kevin Parker who identified and recommended that shot.)
What are you working on? Brief description please. Titles, story, cast.
We keep a lot of projects going. My producing partner Chris Uettwiller lives in LA and so does my writing partner Kristy Dobkin. We’ve been working with Dolly Hall more and more (she was Chris’ mentor) and she lives in NYC. We developed a couple scripts with my students here in Houston that we’re pushing forward as producers. There are a dozen projects in development in LA including a television series we’re excited about. Kristy and I are finishing up a script for Kazuika Kariya to direct. It will be his first english language film if we can get it where it needs to be. And, of course, we want to find financing for my next film to direct.
What are you trying to accomplish with your work? Is there a theme to your madness?
Not really. Just good stories. I realize it sounds like a cliche but only because people say “story” a lot without knowing what it means. But watching people live, feel, overcome, learn, love and change has always moved me. When I teach screenwriting we define story as “the journey or transformation of a human being”.
What can you say about the Houston film community as it compares to other film communities and what will it take to move this market to a more competitive arena?
Oy vay. That’s it’s own conversation right there. I’m sure everyone has different opinions about this, and I don’t claim to know the “truth”. I just have my own judgement based on my experience and my knowledge. So take it for what you think it’s worth (which could be zero!).
I live in Houston because I am happiest here. My family is here, this is my hometown and I am emotionally invested in its success. But if I were to decide to put my career first, I would have to move back to LA, and I think that would be true for just about anybody.
The first thing to know is that there is absolutely no comparison with Houston and LA. That’s the center of one of America’s largest exports. The heart of a $10 billion a year industry. Here we have a small community of like-minded individuals. They’re not comparable in any way. Different animals entirely.
From what I can see there are essentially 3 different film communities in Houston. There are the do-it-yourselfers (DIY) and the hobbyist, which tend to intermingle, and then there are the professionals. These groups don’t seem to work together much and, by definition, why would they?
The professionals are shrinking in numbers and may eventually be gone entirely. If that happens it will be very difficult to ever get them back. That will probably be the end.
What the professional community needs is more capital investment. It needs more people investing in film and hopefully to do so wisely so the investment pool increases. That’s only going to come from Texas. I personally believe that waiting for production capital to come from out-of-state is unrealistic and a waste of our own resources. For example, there are few ideas more stupid than turning the Astrodome into a film studio. Just even talking about that stuff reflects poorly on all of us. Out of state money, assuming it even comes to Texas at all, is going to go to Austin and Dallas because they now have the infrastructure to attract it. Right now the pros here are surviving mostly on commercials and traveling for work.
The DIYs and the hobbyist are doing something else entirely. The DIYs’ job right now is to try to keep getting better as storytellers and to do it quick enough to attract the investment capital that we need before the industry dies here. That’s assuming that’s even what they want to do! I suspect they like the creative freedom they have now. Kerry Beyer’s “Spirit Camp” is a fun film and Kerry is distributing it himself. What he’s learning about that business is going to come in very handy as he keeps moving forward with other projects. If anyone is going to have success with that, it’s Kerry.
I saw Stacey Davidson’s “Sweatshop” at the Houston Horrorfest and I thought that was great fun too. There’s an audience for that film and I hope to see him keep growing (what we’re all hopefully trying to do). I wish he was making more movies!
There are others, of course, but from what I can see, the biggest mistake other DIYs make is that they’re creating films that few people want to see. They’re not telling stories that possess a natural commercial market and the quality is too low (low budget does not have to mean low quality) to appeal to the specialty audience. They’re just bad movies. The money is lost and the production capital is not even replenished. let alone expanded. That’s a problem.
Developing good material is extremely difficult. This idea that you’re supposed to be a natural at it and be able to create content worth producing on shear God-given talent is pure hubris. No one does that. No one.
Now, I ask that excuse my frankness, because I don’t begrudge anyone for doing what they love or always dreamed about doing. Finishing any film is a huge achievement in its own right. And doing it with no resources even more so. Sometimes only us delusional people are capable of such things. But the question was how to make Houston more competitive, not how to be cheerleaders for films you don’t even want to see yourself. If we’re going to rely on generating our own content here, we simply have to do a better job of it.
Now I am seeing a lot of bad habits form with the Hobbyist. I don’t understand their fixation on time-limit “contest”. Isn’t making films difficult enough without hogtying yourself? But they’re also the ones with the least professional ambition so I think it would be entirely fair to tell me to shut the fuck up and mind my own business. If they’re having a blast, what do I care?
Again, these are just my thoughts based on what I have seen and I have by no means seen everything. Someone with more information and better judgement might come to entirely different conclusions, but these are mine for whatever they are worth.
What advice can you give to young filmmakers that you wish you had?
Surrender yourself to the story. It’s not about you! The story is all that matters. And the story moves one moment at a time. There is no such thing as an empty moment. Communicate to the audience each moment, one at a time.
Heather Leigh Jackson and me. We were trying to give ‘tude but we still ended up looking like very polite people.