by William Goss
The "Natural Causes" Pitch: "In the wake of a brief, but intense relationship with Shaina, David struggles to find the same connection with Cara, his new flame and Shaina's former best friend in this beautiful romantic drama."
Describe your movie using the smallest number of words possible.
:(
No, seriously, as Aaron Katz said, "It's like the greatest hits of a relationship." As we say, "It's a horror movie where no one dies."
Is this your first trip to SXSW? Got any other film festival experience?
It's the first time for all three of us on this side of the fence, but Mike is a programmer for the Woodstock and Philadelphia Film Festivals and has traveled extensively to other festivals as a writer. His least favorite part is finding accommodations. His favorite part is jumping the fence.
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?
An ex-boyfriend. A filmmaker. Now we're all both.
Not including your backyard and your dad's Handycam, how did you get your real "start" in filmmaking?
This is it.
Do you feel any differently about your film now that you know it's on "the festival circuit?"
We're just really excited to be premiering at SXSW. It's humbling to be included in such company as "Quiet City", "Spellbound", "Billy the Kid", and "A Prairie Home Companion", to name just a few. And this year, we're showing alongside "Reformat the Planet", "Yeast", "Intimidad", "Order of Myths", "Medicine for Melancholy", "Baghead"… so many talented people.
Of all the Muppets, which one do you most relate to?
- Alex: Old mustache balcony guys
- Mike: Mokey
- Paul: Bowie, Goblin King
During production, did you ever find yourself thinking ahead to film festivals, paying customers, good & bad reviews, etc?
We didn't have time to think about much beyond making each day. We shot the whole thing in 11 days.
How did this film get rolling at the beginning? Give us a brief history from writing to production to post to just last night.
It was just time, really. We had all been out of film school for a few years and wanted to finally get back to what we love. We were also all fresh out of serious relationships, which lent a sense of urgency to the whole thing. When we decided to sit down and write a movie, we said that, whatever happened, we were going to start shooting in a month and a half. Three days after our first meeting, we had written over 70 pages, and found that each of us had had very similar experiences even though, when they occurred, they seemed so unique and individual to each of us. After that, things just fell into place. We spent the next month and a half pouring out our blood and guts, memories both good and bad, onto paper. We wrote, rewrote, and workshopped together and were brutally honest about some of the scenes we were writing. At the same time, we held auditions and cast the best actors we've ever had the privilege of working with, rented equipment, and collected the finest crew around. When production started the schedule called for 16-hour days at the very least. Michael Tully, our Assistant Director, called it the most insane schedule he'd ever seen. Eleven days later, after shooting for 20 hours a day, we collapsed with 1000 minutes of footage, some parking tickets, a few stitches, and our first film. When we finally woke up a couple of days later, we went directly into post, and nearly five months later, we're still in it. We hope you like the result.
If you could share one massive lesson that you learned while making this movie, what would it be?
Hire a production sound mixer. "Natural Causes" sounds good. Truly. However, it's because of the tireless efforts of our post sound team, especially Jake Riehle and Neil Benezra. Without them, you'd only hear the mouth breathing boom operator.
What films and filmmakers have acted as your inspirations, be they a lifelong love or a very specific scene composition?
David Gordon Green. Noah Baumbach. Lynne Ramsey. Joseph Losey. Pedro Almodovar. Wong Kar Wai. Park Chan-Wok. Paul Thomas Anderson. Bong Joon-Ho. Wes Anderson. Too many to mention. Beyond that, we've gotten inspiration from our friends, many of whom are filmmakers who are bound for great things.
Did you watch any movies in pre-production and yell "This! I want something JUST like this, only different."?
"All the Real Girls". "In the Mood for Love".
What actor would you cast as a live-action Homer Simpson?
Danny McBride.
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?
- Alex: "Junior" – sequel. ("Junior 2": We all know that men can have babies, but can babies have babies?)
- Mike: "Equus" – remake.
- Paul: "Hook" – remake.
Name an actor in your film that's absolutely destined for the big-time. And why, of course.
We can only pick one? The performances are the best part of our movie.
Finish this sentence: If I weren't a filmmaker, I'd almost definitely be...
- Alex: …in publishing.
- Mike: …a programmer and a boyfriend.
- Paul: …in less debt.
Who's an actor you'd kill a small dog to work with? (Don't worry; nobody would know.)
- Alex: Beethoven.
- Mike: Benji.
- Paul: Air Bud.
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!"?
Yeah, we made it. We took ten days off work and got into SXSW. Imagine if we took 20.
Honestly, how important are film critics nowadays?
Just as important as anyone else who watches a movie and passes along an informed opinion.
You're told that your next movie must have one product placement on board, but you can pick the product. What would it be?
Stratego… oh, wait, we already did that. Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt Energy Drink.
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?
We'd have shot coverage.
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?
One of the best things about filmmaking is that it's a collaborative effort. Some of our friends definitely thought that having three directors would be an issue or cause problems, but it was the only way this film could have or should have been made. We compliment each other's abilities and used our individual experiences and strengths to bounce off new ideas throughout the entire project from pre-production to post. Additionally, on set, we helped keep each other sane. Around hour 20 on day 5, when somebody starts losing their mind, it was nice to have someone else to step in and keep you grounded. On top of it, we still actually like hanging out. So really, three different people had the final say. Or, no one did. It should also be noted that, even though we had three directors and a very small crew, we couldn't have done it without a large amount of creative input from the rest of the team, particularly Michael Tully, our DP, Asif Siddiky, and our main actors, Jerzy Gwiazdowski, Leah Goldstein, and Shonda Leigh Robbins, all of whom were huge driving forces in the direction of the project. So, yeah, it's a film by the three of us (as it says in the opening), but it's also a film by all of us, which we think you'll find we covered pretty well when you see the unique way we handled our end credits.
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?
Simple. Write "Will Smith may or may not appear in this film" on the poster. Everybody loves the Fresh Prince.
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Alex Cannon, Michael Lerman and Paul Cannon's Natural Causes will play as part of the 2008 South By Southwest's "Emerging Visions" slate. For more information, click here.
link directly to this feature at http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/feature.php?feature=2432
originally posted: 03/05/08 09:33:22
last updated: 03/05/08 09:36:28
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