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| SXSW '08 Interview: "The Toe Tactic" Writer-Director Emily Hubley |
by William Goss
The "The Toe Tactic" Pitch: "In this hybrid of live-action and animation, a young woman grieves for her father while unaware of the magical world around her."
Describe your movie using the smallest number of words possible.
A young woman's struggle with a delayed grief for her dead father becomes the subject of a bingo/card game played by four animated dogs.
Is this your first trip to SXSW?
No.
Got any other film festival experience?
I've been to many festivals with my shorts and with other directors' documentary and narrative features; this is my first time out as the director of a feature.
If you're a festival veteran, let us know your favorite and least favorite parts of the ride.
It's a thrill to share work with engaged and enthusiastic audiences. Deciding where/how to spend festival time can be stressful.
Back when you were a little kid, and you were asked that inevitable question, your answer would always be "When I grow up, I want to be a..." what?
As a little kid? My answers would probably have been: a teacher, a writer, a mom.
Not including your backyard and your dad's Handycam, how did you get your real "start" in filmmaking?
My first film was made as a senior project at my high school. It was an animated short called "Presage" and showed at the Thalia (NYC) in 1976 with Jacques Tati's "Traffic". My dad was with me but the managers of the theater made him wait in the lobby while they took me up to the projection booth to check the print. They told me: "This is a responsibilty. You're a filmmaker now. You make films." I thought that was a little heavy-handed - I'd decided to make the movie so I could get out of school for a semester and go to California with my parents (and I don't think the audience made much of my little movie). But in the end, those guys were right.
Do you feel any differently about your film now that you know it's on "the festival circuit?"
No. I'm excited for people to see it.
Of all the Muppets, which one do you most relate to?
My son liked the Muppets for a while and then got a big bruise from the plastic eye of an Ernie doll when it was thrown at his head. I don't know if he liked Ernie any less for it, but I did.
During production, did you ever find yourself thinking ahead to film festivals, paying customers, good & bad reviews, etc?
I was busy trying not to mess up the movie.
How did this film get rolling at the beginning? Give us a brief history from writing to production to post to just last night.
I was using more live-action material in my animated shorts and and written some plays/screenplays. I thought I'd try writing a feature which combined a two-sided approach to reality. The script took a very long time to write. An early draft was accepted at the 2002 Sundance Screenwriters Lab (former title: "Reasons to Rhyme"). The movie evolved. I learned a lot about how to present my ideas, how to collaborate and received immeasurable guidance and encouragement at the 2003 Sundance Filmmakers' Lab. During the period of shopping the film around, I kept working on the script and by the time I finally found the right producer, I felt pretty secure explaining the story and tone of the film. We recorded the voices at the end of 2006 and shot in early 2007. During the live shoot and in post, I was privileged to work with an amazing cast and crew (look them up!). The edit process was a kind of syncopated back and forth - we sculpted the story to accommodate the animated segments as they were created, then revised the animation, etc.... The animation work was extensive and we had a tiny, overworked but delirious crew. The final post sound, music and mix process was also a (kinda stressful) joy.
If you could share one massive lesson that you learned while making this movie, what would it be?
You don't lose unless you give up.
What films and filmmakers have acted as your inspirations, be they a lifelong love or a very specific scene composition?
What comes to mind in this moment: the films and example of my parents, Faith and John Hubley, the work of Werner Herzog, John Schlesinger's "Billy Liar" and Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero".
Did you watch any movies in pre-production and yell "This! I want something JUST like this, only different."?
It wasn't intentional, but the end of my movie reminds me of Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye singing at the end of "Cat Ballou". That movie and its associated dime paperback was an obsession of mine when I was 12 or so.
What actor would you cast as a live-action Homer Simpson?
A random thought - I don't know about his comedic ability, but at the end of "Zodiac", during his staring contest with Jake Gyllenhaal, John Carroll Lynch's transformation reminded me of Homer's inner thought/voice-over moments (in a good way!). Maybe Homer could be acted by him and still be voiced by Dan Castellaneta. I did that a little in my movie. It's fun.
Say you landed a big studio contract tomorrow, and they offered you a semi-huge budget to remake, adapt, or sequelize something. What projects would you tackle?
It's a secret.
Name an actor in your film that's absolutely destined for the big-time. And why, of course.
In my opinion, there are only great actors in my film.
Who's an actor you'd kill a small dog to work with? (Don't worry; nobody would know.)
I love the way Werner Herzog speaks and hope I could ever come up with the voice-over role he'd want to do w/ no dogs harmed. The process of casting was fascinating to me. An actor's response to the script/project could be so much more informative about their suitability to a role than their previous work.
In closing, we ask you to convince the average movie-watcher to choose your film instead of the trillion other options they have. How do you do it?
(I don't believe there are average movie-watchers.) The movie's about how it's magic to be human. Hopefully, most humans will leave "The Toe Tactic" feeling that's the case.
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Emily Hubley's The Toe Tactic will play as part of the 2008 South By Southwest's "Spotlight Premieres" slate. For more information, click here.. And visit the website
link directly to this feature at http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/feature.php?feature=2396
originally posted: 02/20/08 19:54:27
last updated: 03/06/08 10:50:10
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