WEBVTT - Ep77 - Brett Haley / "Hearts Beat Loud" 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:17.759 M m m. You're listening to Playback, a Variety I 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:21.799 Heart Radio podcast. I'm your host, Variety Awards editor Chris Tapley. 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.400 This week, I'm talking to director Brett Haley, whose recent 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:26.439 films I'll See You in My Dreams and The Hero 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.440 have helped establish him as a prolific voice in independent cinema. 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.479 His latest is called Hearts Beat Loud, starring Nick Offerman, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.880 kirsy Clemens, Ted Danson, and Tony Collette. We talked about 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:37.440 that film, which is sort of a love letter to 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.120 Red Hook Brooklyn, and about the state of independent cinema 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.440 in general, among other things. So sit tight. This is 0:00:43.479 --> 0:01:03.040 Playback was in April. Yeah, that's awesome, dude. It's almost 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.920 two turns two in June. That's awesome. Going back east 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:10.800 for that North Carolina. Yeah, yeah, totally. That's great man, 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:13.520 living the life. I know. We both met our our 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.800 women in college. I didn't know that. Yeah, Linda. Linda 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.480 was in the drama program. Oh I didn't know it. Yeah, wow, 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.080 she's like she's the Burrife. She gets some stories. Then, 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.440 oh yeah she did. She did not like me back 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.920 back in in actual college. It was a it was 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:37.520 a thing. Yeah, probably probably the same way. Well, we're recording, um, 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.000 you know, half hour chat about your flick dive right in. 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:44.199 I'm here with Brett Haley everyone, director of Heart's Beat Loud, 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:47.560 which was your Mr. Sundance lately. Man, you keep going 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.280 to Sundance with your stuff. How's that? Thank you for 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.040 doing the show. Oh well, thank you for having me, Chris. 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:57.640 I mean, being at Sundance three times in four years 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:02.840 is certainly you know, it feels good. I mean, getting 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.840 the Sundance deal of approval is always a big deal. 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.880 And I'm never sure I'm going to get in, and 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:10.480 I think we'll see you in my dreams. It was 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:12.919 like a total shock, you know, I just submitted and 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.680 had you know, didn't know anybody over there, and the 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.320 fact that it got in and did so well, and 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:21.160 and then the hero and hearts to be Loud. After that, 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.919 it's you know, if you you want to sell your movie, 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.320 you go make a true independent film. That's the place 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:30.120 you want to be. So I'm very I'm very grateful 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:34.200 to them. I'm glad they liked my movies. Absolutely. What 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.280 was it like this time compared to the other couple 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.919 of times, you know, with coming in with Hearts. Yeah, 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.679 I mean we were the closer closing. Yeah, that was 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.440 a little bit different, just because we premiered so late, 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:49.640 and obviously it's a you know, it's a it's a 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:54.079 business driven week for every filmmaker. They're trying to sell 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.359 their movies. So we had like some press screenings and 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:01.280 early screenings for buyers. Then Sundance was very good about that. 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:04.000 They they you know, gave us a lot of screening 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.440 so that people could see the movie early. And um, 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.880 you know, I think everybody felt, um, you know, a 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.720 little bit more pressure this year than other years, just 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:18.480 because certain buyers weren't making moves and you know, the 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.560 industry is constantly changing and evolving, and you know, but 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.359 if you look at it, there's really strong movies coming 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:28.040 out of Sundance this year. You've got Hereditary, You've got 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:33.760 Blind Spotting, You've got you know, um American Animals, and 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.360 it's a lot of really good films, you know, coming out. 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.720 And the film that I saw you at um Search Search, 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:43.120 you know. I mean there's some really great films coming 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.400 up that I think are going to feed you know, 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:48.560 audiences this summer and the fall. And I think it 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:50.960 was a good sundance all like when the dust settled. 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.120 I think everyone was kind of freaking out at the festival, like, 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.800 oh things are a little slow. Yeah, I came in. 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.760 There was that feeling. But if you look at it, 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:00.800 it's like, hey, sorry to that. He was getting a 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.680 huge release and blind Spoty is getting a massive push. 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:05.839 We're getting a push. I think it's I think it's 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.280 when the dust settles. I think we'll look back and 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.360 go everything's the same, it's what people are looking for you. 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.960 I was there for the tail end for the second 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:15.960 half of the festival, so I came in on Tuesday 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:18.960 already it's like, oh, this is a week's sundance, blah 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:20.960 blah blah. First thing I see a hereditary I'm like, 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.479 what is it all down after this or something? And 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:25.600 and everything I saw I really liked. And I think 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:28.799 people are just expecting it to be another big, sick, 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:31.080 mud bound kind of year. Call me about your name. 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:32.839 It's like that, that's a that's a big year. But 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.000 like this year, I thought they were solid films. It 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:37.520 was more spread around. There wasn't and that's always I 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:40.960 think that's good when there isn't one movie that everyone 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.760 is talking about from the festival, but rather like five 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:45.880 or six or seven movies and everyone's like, I really 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.880 like these movies and they're doing well, and you know, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:54.360 I think that's more ideal than anything. So I'm excited. 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:58.080 And all these movies are getting big theatrical pushes and 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.400 and we sold our movies. It's Sundance, and mean, that's 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.000 the whole goal. So you know, every every can, every Sundance, 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.359 We're always going, oh, what's going to happen? And I 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.160 think it's just you know, it's evolving. It's about staying relevant. 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:12.920 But I think those festivals continue to be extremely relevant. 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.120 You guys are with Gunpowder and Sky. Yeah, what do 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:19.520 you think about this company? I really like the Powers. No, 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:21.680 they're great. I mean they did such a good job 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.120 with Jeff Nis film last year, The Little Hours, and 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:26.960 there are obviously a new company, but they're all people 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:29.000 who have been doing this a very long time. You've 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.720 got a lot of film buff people. And then Van 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.159 who ran MTV and was you know, a huge part 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.160 of MTV films. You look at the films he put out, 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:39.920 like he put out Napoleon Dynamite, he put out Election, 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:43.120 he put out you know Varsity Blues. He put out 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.880 all these movies that I think really you know, hustle 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:50.240 and flow, and Van just knows he's he's It's a 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.719 great partner for us because he knows music, he knows 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.280 the music world, and he knows the film world. And 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.479 I think they've been very smart about how to approach 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:00.760 this movie. And frankly, I went with them over other 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.719 companies because they were just really passionate about this film. 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:07.039 They really understood it and how to get it out there. 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:10.840 And you know, they're they're really they're putting their money 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.000 where their mouth is. They're putting it out and we're 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.400 gonna get a push, and obviously we have to do well. 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:17.839 You know, we have two people have to come see 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:21.600 it opening weekend, and we're doing an expansion on Father's 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:24.039 Day weekend, which we think could be a good thing. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:26.599 But they've been great, and I think that the more 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.960 of these companies that come out, the better for the industry, 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:32.640 because what's happening with the bigger companies is they're doing 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.160 stuff from the inside. But I think there's got to 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:40.200 be room right now for filmmakers to be able to 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:43.120 make something completely outside of the system and for companies 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:45.599 to pick pick it up. I think it's crucial that 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.200 everything isn't developed within and and that's happening more and more, 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.200 and I think that's good. Hey you get an Amazon 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:54.520 deal or deal, that's great. But I also think there 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:56.680 should be room for like, nobody really wants this, but 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:59.840 I'm gonna go make the movie anyway and then sell 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:02.560 it and see what audiences think. Because I've made all 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.240 all of my movies that way. I've never had a 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:07.000 big company be like, yeah, we want to make this 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.280 within the system. It's always been after the fact that 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:13.360 the finished product speaks for itself and audiences are responding 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.400 to it, and then it gets it finds it's you know, 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:19.560 it gets a distribution deal from from there. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.160 I had you know, had Cats on the show a 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.000 few weeks back, and we were talking about his film 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:27.040 and his take on just kind of the state of 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.920 independent cinema and what it's like out there. Uh, you 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.000 tell us what's it like for you guys? I mean, 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.640 I for me, it's been an incredibly healthy you know, 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:41.679 I've I've had the opportunity from the you know, minor 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.880 success of my films to go and make more films. 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:47.880 You know, I think that the level at which you 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:52.320 can make films is is going to be limited. And 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:55.040 that's just that's just how this this works. You're not 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.520 going to get the five or ten million dollar completely 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:02.360 independent movie with no distribution in place. It happens, but 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.240 you've got you know, John Apatow or something behind those 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:08.360 types of films. So what I've had to do is 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:14.120 I've had to change my vision basically to create these movies. 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:18.320 And Mark Bash my co writer, and I think, right, 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.760 write it down. You know, it's like, hey, we wanted 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.000 five million for this movie, we got X. You know, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.960 we got much less than that. How do we go 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:30.120 about now approaching this right? So I think that it's 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.360 a challenge in a way. But also as a filmmaker, 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:37.080 you want to feel like you have the ability to 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.439 flex your muscles, that you have the ability to do, 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.160 to have more time and more money to do more 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:47.880 interesting things with coverage, with blocking, with cinematic beats. And 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:50.360 I think I've done all of my movies in eighteen days. 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.320 You know, there's no time for that. And I try 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.520 my best to put whatever I can into it. But 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.640 what I have to do as a director has put 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.719 my my eggs in one basket, and that basket is 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.400 the script, and it's the performances, and in this movie 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.760 that obviously the music, and and so for me, it's 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:10.640 like it's a it's a gift to be able to 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.080 make a film, any film, and so I've been very 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.480 pleased with it. I do look forward to the moment 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:18.439 in which someone is like, Hey, we're gonna give you 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.400 a little bit more time and money to to actually 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.160 execute something, because I think you're getting some version of it. 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:28.200 But the independent I think it's it's vibrant. I mean, 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:31.800 if you look at all the avenues, there's so many 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.679 avenues for movies to get out now. So I think 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.400 more movies are being made, more good movies are being made. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:40.120 There's obviously always going to be bad movies, but no 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.760 one is trying to make bad movies. Everybody's trying to 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.200 make good films. And I don't see it as a 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:47.839 big like red alert, Oh my god, what are we 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.440 gonna do? I I still think movies are you know, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.800 We've got these huge movies and we've got this these 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.640 kind of you know, you can go see Solo and 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.640 go see Hearts to be Loud in this this summer. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.400 They're both sitting there for the audiences to see. So 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.920 I'm not freaking out about it in any way. You 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:11.360 have strong feelings about the streamer world about you know, uh, 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.760 companies like Netflix, that the amount of product they're putting 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:20.640 out is crazy. Yeah, it's a lot. It's part of 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.280 their business model to have like a stranglehold on on 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.800 that in a way. But you know, do you do 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.040 you have any strong feelings about people seeing your stuff 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:29.960 on screen on a big screen or not or anything 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.199 like that. I think that there are certain movies that 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.880 play really well on a big screen. I can tell 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:36.920 you from people who have seen Heart Speed Loud on 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:41.120 their computer versus seeing Heart Speed Loud on with an audience. 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:45.080 It's always better with an audience. And you know, I 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:47.839 think as old school kind of you know, our generation 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.400 that there was not a streaming service growing up, it 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.840 was like we had to go to the movies and 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.400 Blockbuster was our you know, our Netflix if you will, 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.000 and it was a big deal. We had to wait 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:02.640 like a year to see a movie on video. So 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.320 it's it's a it's an adjustment to be like, but 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.120 then you look and you're like, look, at the movie. 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.240 Look at the who Netflix is giving their money to. 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.600 They're giving them to people who maybe normally wouldn't because 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.880 the studio system, and I don't blame them, is relying 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:22.360 on I P it's relying on big things that everybody knows. 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:29.479 Netflix is giving avenues for big, big movies, for filmmakers 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.080 and a tours that maybe normally wouldn't be there. Amazon 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:34.560 is the same thing. I said. It's to me, it's 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:38.560 all good. You know. I think that whether your movie 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.520 lives on it, you're just looking at different stakes. Basically, 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.080 like when your movie comes out in the box, in 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.120 the in the theater, you've got to deal with how 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.199 are the critics going to respond because that's going to 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:51.320 drive business, how is the box office going to be? 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.040 And then there's awards at the end of all of that. 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.880 It's just stress upon stress upon stress. And there's something 0:11:57.920 --> 0:11:59.880 about this idea of like, oh my movies on Netflix, 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:02.360 there you go. I'm moving on with my life, you know, 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.960 moving on to the next project. I've to some degree 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.400 I'm very much that kind of filmmaker. I like to 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:11.560 just be like I'm I've done what I can for 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.839 this movie, and now I'm moving on. There's but there's 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.959 nothing better than knowing that my movie is going to 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.200 be out in theaters, but of course no one could 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.120 come and see it, and then it's like, oh, well 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.160 that's a bummer, or it could be a hit and 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.960 everybody comes see and that's a really good feeling. But Netflix, 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.120 you know, while you don't get those highs, you don't 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.599 get those lows either. It's just sort of like, Okay, 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:37.360 I'm done the movies out, people can see it. I 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:40.559 mean I read somewhere that like eight million or nine 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:44.240 million people streamed Roxanne Roxanne. Like people are watching movies 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:49.040 on them on on this on this platform. So um, 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:51.000 I'm open to all of it. I really am. I 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:52.920 would love to make a movie for Netflix or have 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.120 Netflix by one of my movies. I like my movies 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.080 being in theaters. I think it just I think they 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.600 know exactly what they want and what we'll play on 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:01.920 the platfor form. I think there. I think they're doing 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.960 smart things, and I like, I like how many options 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.680 there are for for movies. How many you know avenues 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:13.959 there are absolutely Uh, let's talk about how prolific you are. 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.840 Pretty pretty prolific lately, stacking up projects, walked in here, 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:20.360 you said you were working on another one. I'm working 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:22.160 on like six other ones, on a number of them. 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.360 How do you stay motivated to keep writing like that? 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.680 It's hard. I couldn't do it without Mark Bash, my 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:31.880 co writer. I mean, like, if it was just me, 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.840 I wouldn't have I wouldn't be nearly as prolific as 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:38.120 I've been. I think Mark and I have a really 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:42.640 great working relationship, and we push each other, you know, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:44.520 we say like, look, we've got to we've got to 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:47.160 write a movie. And I think now we're looking to 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.480 kind of graduate, to get to the next level. As 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.080 I was kind of talking about to try to get 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:54.439 a bigger movie. And I'm not talking like a Marvel movie. 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.360 I'm just saying, which, by the way, if you're listening, Marvel, 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.280 I'll take the job. But it's been meeting the meeting 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.040 at least, just you know. I love all those I 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.640 love big movies, like you know. I went and saw 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.360 Deadpool two as soon as it came out. I saw 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.920 Infinity War the second it came out. I really do 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:17.960 enjoy big movies. I also enjoy these small films, and 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.800 and I think that to be as prolific as I've been. 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.120 It's because I've I've chosen to make small films, four 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:28.520 small films basically in a row, three very very close together. 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:30.840 And for me it was sort of like, well, I 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.400 can sit around for two or three years trying to 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:35.920 get the next big thing going, or I can just 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:38.440 keep making movies. And I'm really addicted to being on 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.160 set and working. I just love it, and I feel 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:45.160 sort of empty if I'm just writing, if I and 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:48.520 not being and not directing. So I'm driven, I think 0:14:48.560 --> 0:14:51.600 a lot by just the allure of being back on set, 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:55.160 because I'm happiest and kind of the best version of 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:59.520 myself on set. So that sort of addiction keeps me 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:04.640 like going and I and it's been something that you know, 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.000 God bless Mark for just kind of sticking with me 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:11.040 and pushing and working really fast and hard and rewriting 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:13.040 on set and doing everything we can to get to 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:15.560 the next thing. But I think, you know, my goal 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:17.680 is to do a movie a year at least for 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.560 a while. You know, that's a pretty difficult thing to do. 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.440 I don't know if that'll be something that I can accomplish, 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:24.960 but if you can shoot them all in eighteen days 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:27.120 to be able to do that, and at some point 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:28.800 we got it, Like I said, we gotta get Maybe, 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.760 I don't know, I'll take twenty four. It's anything anything 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.200 more than eighteen Uh. This one hearts beat Loud. It's 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.720 about a guy on his record shop. Uh, widow, widower, 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.600 single father. Um. He and his daughter kind of strike 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.560 up a band and they have a sudden hit kind 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.200 of Uh in the summer before she goes to college. 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:51.240 Where did this idea come from? You know, it's something 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:54.520 that like I I love, you know the I think 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.120 I wear my inspirations pretty squarely on my sleeve on 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.200 this one. You know, there's a dad ash of high fidelity. 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.480 There's some that thing you do. There's a little inside 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:08.760 Leewin Davis, there's a bit of once. I love those movies, 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:12.560 and I specifically high fidelity and and that thing you do. 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.080 I kind of grew up on and really feel a 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:18.920 connection to those films. So I think that it's always 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.320 been kicking around, Like as a filmmaker, I'm constantly thinking 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:25.560 about ideas and genres that I want to kind of 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:29.720 be in. I'm a huge musical fan. I love musicals 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:31.960 like full on musicals, but I also love band movies 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.280 or movies about music. I'm a bit of a music snob, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:39.080 and this was an avenue in a way for me 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:42.360 to to kind of get that part of me out there. 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:46.240 And then working with Keegan and knowing how talented Keegan 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.880 de Witt is and knowing that he could write these 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:51.440 songs like I, I just had a feeling. It just 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:53.560 sort of kind of came together because of a mix 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:55.480 of influences and things that I wanted to do in 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:58.560 the kind of movie I wanted to make. And once 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.000 I had the premise mark and I through the writing 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:04.800 of it, really that's where the themes really started coming in. 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.320 And I think there's this film on the surface is 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.399 quite simple. Even even if you look at it and 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:13.000 watch it and walk out of the theater enjoying it, 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.159 you can say that was it was pretty simple. It 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:18.560 was pretty straightforward, but it's actually quite layer. There's a 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:20.840 lot going on beneath the surface. I think of all 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:24.680 my movies, but particularly this one, that there's more going on, 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:26.960 and I really like that. I really like the subtlety 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:31.679 and and and what is beyond behind the dialogue or 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:33.720 behind the scene or behind the moments and what the 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:38.480 movie is really saying about family, what it's saying about creation, art, music, 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.920 about lost dreams. There's a lot going on in this movie, 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.920 and I think people are hopefully connecting with that aspect 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:50.400 of it. But you know, it's something where I knew 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.600 I wanted to do a musical for lack of So 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.040 this is kind of my version of a musical, like 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:59.040 an indie musical. Yeah, big school rock fan. I love 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:01.320 School Round. I mean, you can watch that movie. If 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.040 that movie is on, you're watching it. It's one of 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:07.600 those movies high fidelities, so top top five, side one 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:11.959 track ones good Man. Yeah, I almost could do it, 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:14.439 but I'm not going to. Uh, this one kind of 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:17.119 lives or dies by the chemistry between these two obviously, 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:21.399 Nick Offerman and Kersey Clemens. What what made them the 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.880 right match? You know, it was a bit of magic. 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:27.479 You know. I like to think that I know how 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.960 to cast a movie and I have a feeling about 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:36.320 like who's going to be good together? And frankly, I 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:38.359 didn't know with Nick and Kerssy, I just I just 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.960 they didn't know each other. I I knew that Nick 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:47.199 Nick's one of those actors and people who just everyone 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.720 who meets him loves him. He's just that kind of guy. 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:53.840 He can And great actors, by the way, are like 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:56.560 that because your job is an actor. One of your 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.800 jobs is to connect with the other actors you're working with, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.159 whether or not you have a connection with them in 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.080 real life or not. It's like part of your job 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.200 is to create that chemistry. And Nick is so open 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:11.359 and he's so genuine and Kiersy, you know, I didn't know. 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:13.199 I just knew of her work and I was a 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.720 huge fan of hers, and when I discovered she could sing, 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.920 I just made the offer. And so I was like nervous, 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:22.639 you know. I was like, Nick and Kirsy are literally 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:24.639 meeting like three days before we start shooting, and we've 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.919 got to do band rehearsals and all this stuff. And 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.879 they met, and immediately I knew because we started a 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:35.439 text chain and immediately they started like busting each other's 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:38.120 balls and banter, and I was immediately like, Oh, we're 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.640 going to be fine. But I think Kirsy and Nick 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:43.440 just have that talent of of sort of opening themselves 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:48.320 up and and allowing themselves to be able to connect. 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.920 It requires sort of opening the Gates and saying I'm here, 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.679 I'm available, Let's let's do this. And they both have 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.160 that ability. I mean, Kirscy Clements can walk into any 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:01.719 room and just own it without being just she just 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.520 walks in and you're like, watch out, here comes Scarcy. 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:09.399 And their chemistry was just, I think, really genuine, because 0:20:09.400 --> 0:20:11.800 I think both Nick and I have this with Cisy 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.760 where we're trying is so cool. We want her to 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:18.600 think we're cool. So I think it was like Nick 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:20.320 was all he said that a lot that he's just 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:21.480 like I was just trying to get her to like 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:24.200 me and think I was cool, and that's very dad, 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.280 and it just sort of fell right into that. So 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:28.720 they just had this natural thing and then the music 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:32.479 and but I really just they're both just such open 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:35.719 and genuine people that I think it was just just 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.600 we got We got really lucky with that. Now, what 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:41.720 was the conversation like convincing Ted Dancing to play a 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:46.719 bartender again? It was actually way too easy. And I 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:49.720 just remember Ted because I remember saying that would be 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:51.360 such a big deal to get him back behind a bar, 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:55.000 but he probably won't want to. But Nick his friends 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:57.200 with him, and Nick is an executive proaster on the movie. 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:59.119 So Nick called him and he's buddies. They worked together 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:00.720 on far Ago, and he's said, look, I want you 0:21:00.760 --> 0:21:02.640