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| SXSW '08 Interview: "The Lost Coast" Writer-Director Darren Gabriel Fleming |
by William Goss
The "The Lost Coast" Pitch: "High school friends reunite for Halloween in San Francisco: Mark, who is now gay, and Jasper, who is straight and soon to be married, are forced to confront their unspoken sexual history in this haunting, spare look at the subtleties of sexuality, friendship, and loneliness."
Describe your movie using the smallest number of words possible.
A haunting film about two friends, one straight and one gay, both unable to get over their unacknowledged high-school sexual relationship.
Got any other film festival experience?
Favorite part of festivals: all the free booze. Least favorite part of festivals: all the free booze.
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?
I don't remember my answer to that childhood question, but knowing me, I probably would have said I wanted to be an astrophysicist.
Not including your backyard and your dad's Handycam, how did you get your real "start" in filmmaking?
Right out of college, I worked as the apprentice editor on a 100 million dollar action movie that was pulled out of theaters after only two weeks, due to lack of interest. After putting all that hard work into something that nobody noticed, I thought, "Hey, I might as well work in independent film!"
Do you feel any differently about your film now that you know it's on "the festival circuit?"
I know I'll feel differently about the film after the festival circuit, I just don't know how. In a way, the important thing is how I'll feel about it ten years from now.
During production, did you ever find yourself thinking ahead to film festivals, paying customers, good & bad reviews, etc?
When you're in the process, you're not supposed to think about how it will be received, but it's hard not to. I really try to keep those thoughts away, or at least put them in a different section of my brain.
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 came up with the idea in late September of 2005, knowing that it would have to be shot, at least partially, on Halloween. It seemed too tight a turnaround, but I thought I'd give it a try. Wrote the script in three days. Went through a whirlwind casting process and just barely finished in time for the first night of production, October 31, Halloween, where we filmed among the 200,000 people crowding San Francisco's Castro district. After that, we shot various weekends between February and June. The bulk of production was in March, almost all outdoor shoots, during the rainiest March in San Francisco's history (it rained 29 out of 31 days). We decided to take our sweet time with post-production. And now, here we are.
If you could share one massive lesson that you learned while making this movie, what would it be?
Perfectionism is counter-productive.
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?
I hope to direct "Star Trek 23: Let's Milk This Space Cow Into The Ground." Actually, I would love to do a space movie.
Finish this sentence: If I weren't a filmmaker, I'd almost definitely be...
An astrophysicist (sometimes I wonder just how much schooling I'd need to switch into that career).
Have you 'made it' yet? If not, what would have to happen for you to be able to say "Yes, wow. I have totally made it!"?
Does anyone ever say "I totally made it"? Isn't that the existential paradox of human happiness? Pish posh, I say! I already have made it!
Honestly, how important are film critics nowadays?
With the continuing democratization of film production and distribution, critics play an increasingly crucial role as advocates for films that otherwise wouldn't reach their audience. There's so much media out there these days that we as viewers rely on trusted sources to say: "See this! It's worth your time!," and we as filmmakers rely on those same critics to inform the people who would like our film of its simple existence. (And I'm not saying all that just to suck up.)
You're told that your next movie must have one product placement on board, but you can pick the product. What would it be?
I would never do a product placement. But I do enjoy a nice refreshing Snapple Iced Tea.
You're contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated film to your producers. The MPAA says you have to delete a sex scene that's absolutely integral to the film or you're getting an NC-17. How do you handle it?
Honestly, I'd be more concerned with posterity than the theatrical release. If that crucial sex scene could be restored in the video release, I'd probably consider that more important.
What's your take on the whole "a film by DIRECTOR" issue? Do you feel it's tacky, because hundreds (or at least dozens) of people collaborate to make a film - or do you think it's cool, because ultimately the director is the final word on pretty much everything?
The finger of authorship can usually be pointed somewhere between the writer and the director. I think auteur theory still has its merits.
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?
Usually, when I try to convince someone to watch my movie, I start with some overblown grand statements about film, such as: "American independent film has lost its sense of cinema!" or "Whatever happened to filmmakers like Kieslowski or Tarkovsky!?!", at which point I notice the person's eyes glaze over, so I switch tactics and say "my movie has partially naked cute guys!" That usually works.
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Gabriel Fleming's The Lost Coast will play as part of the 2008 South By Southwest's "Narrative Competition" slate. For more information, click here.
link directly to this feature at http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/feature.php?feature=2431
originally posted: 03/05/08 09:17:05
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