Hey folks, Harry here with our faithful indie reporter, Sean Archer. This time out he's taking a brief break from his regular beat of indie reviews and is instead honing those sharp-edged perceptions into the realm of interview. Who is it? Spielberg? Cruise? Gary Coleman? Nope... None of these. In fact, it's a good chance you have never heard of these fellas. You see... They're the fellas that never get interviewed... until they've picked up distribution and a giant deal at some festival somewhere. They're a couple of fellas making a movie with the likes of M EMMET WALSH and SEAN YOUNG... and folks... When you've made a movie with Bryant and Rachael from BLADE RUNNER... welll... That's just cool in my book. So here ya go, some old fashioned indie filmmaking. Sit back and read...
Hello fellow Indie fans. A few weeks back, I wrote up a little review on
the script for “Goodbye Sunrise” and, to show you the power of the net,
within days I had heard from the writer, director, and one of the producer’s
brothers! Well, being the ever-inquisitive fellow that I am, I wasn’t going
to pass over a chance like this, so I decided to interview them. So, here
are Michael Addis and Tony Urban, the creators of “Goodbye Sunrise”. Hope
you enjoy!
Sean Archer(SA): Tony, the idea for the film was yours, correct?
Tony Urban(URBAN): Yes, it was. I had actually just started working on the script when Michael became interested.
SA: How did you hook up with Michael Addis?
URBAN: We had never met. As any other struggling writer, I was emailing everyone possible about my previous script, a drama. Michael passed, but asked if I had any comedies. I mentioned “Goodbye Sunrise”, passed along the logline, and he was intrigued. He asked me to write up a treatment, so I did, and sent that off to him. That evening, he emailed me back and asked me if I would be interested in co-writing it with him. Well, I wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity like that, so I jumped.
SA: Michael, when Tony first sent you the treatment for "Goodbye Sunrise", what appealed to you about the story and made you feel strongly enough about it to take the time to develop it into a script?
Michael Addis(Addis): I liked the idea of a mom who would rob to help her son realize his dreams. The real story (based on real people) had a mom robbing homes and stealing frozen dinners - all the while, trying to bring her son up right. I thought there could be a lot of humor there, but also heart. And I'm a big fan of writing stories about ordinary people who turn to crime to deal with what society dishes out to them.
SA: Your script deals with a lifestyle which in not commonly seen in film, or if it is, the characters are cartoonish buffoons. You dealt with a poor family with love and compassion and seemed to truly understand their plight. How did you do the research for this often overlooked sector of the community?
URBAN: I live in a small town, actually the basis for the town of Sunrise in the screenplay. I know people like the characters, I have friends and acquaintances that come from this background, and I certainly didn’t have an affluent childhood, so there wasn’t any research necessary. “White trash”, the “working poor”, whatever the media wants to label them, they aren’t any different from you or I. Part of the problem is that they don’t have any opportunities to rise above their familial history. I’ve seen dozens of extremely intelligent kids end up working in Wal-Mart or grocery stores. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s practically impossible to support a family on $6 an hour. That’s the problem facing “Michael” in the movie. Here’s a very smart kid who’s looking at a life of menial labor because he can’t afford to go to college. “Linda”(Young’s character), wants better for her son, and that’s what drives the script, a mother’s love for her son.
ADDIS: I have more of an affinity for the have-nots than the haves. I don't have any desire to write about rich people. At the same time, I don't consider these people to be trailer trash - they are just really genuine people who happen to live in trailers because they want to own their home, and not rent. I grew up in an area of San Diego called El Cajon - not a high tax-bracket area. I draw a lot for this movie on being the only Jew in a primarily redneck community. Tony also came from a similar background. I had some execs in Hollywood who didn't understand this part of the population (making under $100K a year). They didn't understand why a grandfather would screw over his grandson. This to me shows people strangely out of touch. Most people in the country understand family screwing each other over. Some writers would paint people like that as being especially evil or cartoonish, but a lot of the really sleazy greed that exists in the world is all around us and is part of a good many families.
SA: It took almost 2 years from the time you began writing the script until it went into production. Is this slow/fast/average compared to the industry norm?
ADDIS: It's fast. Really most films take at least 5 years to get made. My next one, Die Wholesale was written a couple years BEFORE Goodbye Sunrise. A lot of really great films took 10 years to get made. It's sad to think how close they came to NOT getting made. It's strange that some really shitty films get put on the fast track and Unforgiven takes 11 years. You never know... you just have to have faith that your film should be made.
SA How did you get the script to Kingsize?
ADDIS: I have known Lori and Mark for some time (the heads of Kingsize). When my agent sent the script to the studios, Lori asked for a copy because she likes my writing. She loved it and told me that she was going to make the movie with me as the director. At the time, I was going for a big studio sell-out and was only interested in making money - screw my directing career, so I didn't pay much attention to her assertion. But luckily the studios didn't buy it and I reconsidered my big shot attitude. I told my agent, let's let Kingsize take a shot at making it. I was surprised how quickly they moved and what a great job they did producing. I owe it all to Lori and Mark who fought a lot of odds to get the movie made. The world needs more producers like them.
SA: Were you pleased with the deal(aka money)or were you hoping for a six-figure sale?
URBAN: I was very pleased, but then, it was my first sale, and I was just happy with the credit.
ADDIS: At the time I wrote this, I was in a horrible lawsuit with some idiot actor who torpedoed what was to be my directing debut and - as I said - I wanted to just get some money so frankly I could afford high powered lawyers. I didn't get my six figures, that's true, but the deal I made with Kingsize was very good. Not only did I get to direct, but I got paid just fine – and I did get a very good lawyer (the lawsuit was settled without him though and now I'm free to make that first film).
SA: Did you have any problems with marketing the script's rough edge and did the lack of glamorous characters make casting more difficult?
URBAN: I didn’t think it was rough, just real. They aren’t stylized caricatures that we see in every other studio film, they’re real people. That’s my favorite aspect of the script, that we gave the characters real hopes and dreams, real desires and pain. We never had to cave in change the characters or their motivations just to make it more commercial. Frankly, I have enough faith in the movie-going audience that they’ll embrace the realness of the film and the people that inhabit its world.
ADDIS: Actually, I never saw the film as having a rough exterior but I'm probably wrong. I just wanted to make characters that are interesting to watch... I designed Linda Bronco to be the female version of characters played by Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood earlier in their careers. That may not be glamorous, but it's certainly entertaining. And we attracted a great cast because of the lack of glamour - William Devane really liked saying the profane, bizarre things Ron Lake says and a lot of people wanted to play Lennie Lake because he's a very strange young man as well - who needs glamour, when you have a character remark that he doesn't want "some asshole spending (my) best friend's tuition money to fuck (my) grandmother!!" I'm just trying to entertain the people - I really think we did that.
SA: Did you have any actors in mind when writing the script?
ADDIS: Yes, I'm a big Dennis Hopper fan, and I wanted him to play Ron Lake, the ex-con lawyer. Also Reese Witherspoon for Sandy Lake (I'm a big fan of hers as well - I even talked to her about being in Die Wholesale), his young wife. But instead, we got William Devane and Jaime Pressly who I honestly thought did such a great job, that I couldn't imagine Hopper and Witherspoon being better. I always try to avoid having actors in mind when you write - it's a bad habit, because you get attached to people who may not get attached to your project. It's kind of like dating, you can't describe the exact person you're going to be attracted to, you just have to get out there.
URBAN: I know Michael didn’t know this, but I was always a HUGE fan of M. Emmet Walsh, and constantly had him in mind when we were working on Judge Pike. Michael was going for someone older, but he was my ideal, and it was like a dream come true when he signed on.
SA: Jaime Pressly is relatively unknown(by the film-going audience), yet you cast her for a pivotal role. What made her stand out for you?
ADDIS: I think Jaime is headed for big stardom and very soon. I don't really think she's an unknown - most people in Hollywood feel she's ready to break, so we were lucky to get her. We auditioned dozens of girls (Reese had already become a big studio star AND was pregnant - so she was never really an option), and so many were terrific, but Jaime is an amazing presence, not to mention very foxy. But you forget her foxiness quickly and realize that she's a very powerful person when she's around. She's also a brilliant comic actress. When she'd run her lines, Jason London and I would look at each other and be floored - there's just nobody better for this role. You'll see.
SA: How did you end up in Benton, IL?
ADDIS: The co-producer was from Benton. Kingsize flew me out there to location scout and we realized it was perfect. The people are terrific and the locations are amazing. We shot at a 100 year old maximum security prison, we repainted water towers and took over courthouses. I dug the people of Benton. But I think they might have been glad to see us go. A few of the crew members were too popular with the ladies - it was pissing the local guys off.
SA: Shooting on location as opposed to soundstages offers up it's own unique series of difficulties. Did you run into any problems with the weather/locals/etc?
ADDIS: Funny you should mention. The heat was 105 every day (which was perfect for a story that begins with the line "This summer is going to fry my scrotum off."). 80 people died in Illinois this summer and we were in the worst of that. None of us died - I'm very proud of that. We were a strong group. The sound man had a hard time as expected - but we'll be fine. We have one of the greatest sound designers in the country. Martin Lopez. He designed the voice of Godzilla and many of the wind noises in Twister. He worked on my first short and is a good friend. We're lucky to have him.
SA: Did the cast meet your expectations?
ADDIS: Mostly yes. I was very pleased. We had some brilliant moments. Jason London stands out as a guy who exceeded my expectations. Tony and Jacob also had such a great chemistry. Sean also kicked ass - and it was tough for her - she's not used to such crummy conditions. Obviously Devane did and I'm embarrassed to say that I thought Emmet Walsh wouldn't be as good as he was. After every take the room full of onlookers would burst into applause - he's really that good. I think it's unfortunate how he was used in Wild Wild West - the guy is amazing.
SA: Were there any unforeseen difficulties during the shoot?
ADDIS: Of course the heat was straight from hell. And the vomiting dog... who was a bit too friendly to be vicious - we eventually got him angry enough. The schedule was a bitch. We had a lot of constraints because of actors' schedules, so scenes were strewn all over the schedule, when it would have been nice to shoot a little more in continuity. We were really big on planning and prep work, so there wasn't too much in the way of unforeseen stuff. It did rain one day, which was frustrating, but we got all our shots in, despite a major time setback. Oh, and we also started running out of film. But in the end, we had enough.
SA: Tony, you mentioned that you and Michael had never met. Not even once you started writing?
URBAN: No, not until I arrived in Benton for the shoot. I saw a picture of Michael and Sean on the Kingsize website, so I sort of knew what he looked like.
SA: What was it like meeting Michael.
URBAN: It was... different. I left my home on the 4th of July, and we drove straight through the night and arrived in Benton about 8 the next morning. I stopped at the hotel, found out that we couldn’t check in until that afternoon, so we’re sitting there, in the car in 95 degree heat twiddling our thumbs. I went to a pay phone, called Michael and he said he’d pick me up. So, this guy pulls in driving a mini-van, with blonde hair. The picture I saw showed him with jet- black hair. Turns out he dyed it 2 days before. He picked me up, drove me to the office and we spent the whole morning doing a minor polish on notes from Sean Young and William Devane. That evening, while Michael was in rehearsals, Ashley Wellman(Mike’s assistant)and I made copies of the “blue pages”. I’d been awake for about 42 hours straight, so I was more than happy to get back to the hotel, take a shower, and go to sleep. The next 2 days were shooting, and I don’t think Mike and I spoke more than 20 words, it was so busy.
SA: What was it like meeting Tony Urban for the first time?
ADDIS: Weird. We were a couple days from shooting and I meet my co-writer. That's probably the first time that's happened - a story written over the internet that gets so far into pre-pro before the writers meet. I was in such a frenzy, I just shook his hand and told him to get to work - rewriting a scene. Not much time to reflect on how strange it was that we communicated for months and years - all via email.
SA: Tony, I assume this was your first time on a set?
URBAN: Yes, I was amazed at how much work goes into a film. The crew definitely doesn’t get enough credit. Without them, everything would collapse.
SA: What was it like working around show biz veterans M. Emmet Walsh, and William Devane?
ADDIS: Those vets are definitely bad-asses who will kill a director who doesn't know his shit. You can't fuck up around these guys - so I stayed on my toes. Devane and Walsh are notoriously as tough as they are talented, and have eaten directors for lunch with Dijonaise mustard. But I was well organized and I have a good amount of experience directing music videos and shorts. They ended up being very cool and we got along fine. I will say this... it's much "easier" to direct your first feature with unknowns - but it's not supposed to be an easy job. The performances made it all worthwhile.
URBAN: I had the good fortune of meeting a few of the cast members, Devane, Young, London, Denman, Pressly, and Tierney, and I must say everyone was extremely nice. You see these people on TV, hear the horror stories and assume they’re all self-indulgent egotists, but they’re just regular folks. That was a pleasant surprise, as I didn’t know what to expect, but the cast and crew couldn’t have been more welcoming. It really blew all of the myths straight out of the water.
SA: We’ve all heard and read the stories about Sean Young. Are they just stories, or are they facts?
ADDIS: People have been asking me how it was working with Sean Young. You know, it's funny, because when I wrote this script, I hoped we'd get a really talented actress who's currently being under-appreciated. Somebody who's really great and we can remind people how great she is. That's exactly what happened. The sad and ridiculous fact is that Sean has been stuck with a reputation that simply isn't true. She's an incredibly hard worker, immensely talented and damn beautiful to boot. I still feel bad about putting Sean Young through the hell of an under-budgeted location shoot in the middle of a heat wave that claimed 80 people in the state. But she was always a pro. Sean did a great deal of research for her part, did her own make-up, drove herself to the set and even threw a huge party for the cast & crew. And, as you'll soon see, she gives one of the best performances of her career.
SA: There were a few stunts which must have been time consuming and very expensive for an Independent film, were they successful and as good as you had imagined?
ADDIS: I didn't realize how ridiculous it was for me to write these huge action sequences in such a low budget comedy. I consider John Landis a God, so I studied Blues Brothers before we shot. Foolishly, I was trying to do some of that in a low budget - yet our 4 stunt people and 2 special effects guys pulled it all off - they were amazing. We did have one accident that wasn't meant to be... it actually ends up in the film. You'll see what was supposed to be a near miss... but isn't. It works very well for the film though. Luckily no one was hurt in the making of the film. The dog barfed though.
SA: Are there any nude scenes?(for the readers, not myself, of course)
ADDIS: Well... I'm very sorry to say no. I considered it... but couldn't find any places for nudity. It just didn't make any sense. God knows that Jaime Pressly is easy on the orbs and who wouldn't want to see her sans clothes? But there were only two scenes in which she could have been naked, and one was where she wrecks a hospital room and the other was in a basement of Mr. Snak. She just wouldn't be naked in either scene. I again apologize. As a writer and director, I have failed my brothers. Sean is not naked, also - again, I'm sorry.
SA: After the film is completed, what are your goals? Distribution, festivals, etc?
ADDIS: I'd like to get picked up by Miramax, Universal or one of the other big distribution arms that is reaching out to us right now. They're circling the project - which is great because I see this as a mainstream studio movie that the studios didn't actually make - only distribute. We'll proceed to try to get into Sundance, but I think we'll get snatched up before we get there.
SA: Michael, was directing your first feature as exciting/intimidating/difficult as you had imagined?
ADDIS: Yes. I woke up early ever day, like Christmas. But it wasn't as tiring as I thought. I have a lot of energy and it was a good thing.
SA: All successful films have sequels. Are there any sequels in the works?
URBAN: Michael and I have tossed around a few ideas, but nothing definite.
ADDIS: Not right now. Tony and I talked about a sequel, but I'd really like to see what people like about the first one before I start shaping the next one. There's a lot of stuff I cut out of the first script - so it will be nice to see the characters doing some stuff I've always wanted them to do. We had an idea that Lennie would become a security guard and discover some KKK –members who planned on blowing up a building in town - to divert attention from a robbery. Ridiculous ideas like that seem fun, but I don't know which direction I'll take right now.
SA: Do you have any other projects in development?
URBAN: Nothing actually in development. I’ve optioned a few other scripts, have a possible deal in the works, stuff like that, but nothing firm. I have one script for an absolutely huge true story/disaster picture which everyone loves, and even earned me a phone call from a very well-known writer. He raved about the script for almost an hour, saying how wonderful it was. I’ve been trying to drum up interest for it, but the budget is just killing me. I suppose that’s the hardest thing to take, knowing you have a real kick-ass script but that it might never get made because of the budget. A development exec one told me “I’m not going to bullshit you. 99% of this business is luck”, and it’s probably the most honest statement I’ve ever heard. But, with the advances in computer generated effects, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Otherwise, I’m primarily focused on getting an agent and/or manager and writing. Always writing.
ADDIS: Die Wholesale shooting in Winter. Also, a romantic comedy about a young stud magazine writer who has his girlfriend stolen from him by a reclusive elderly writer. So the magazine writer dates the elderly man's ex wife - and actually falls in love with her. I'm developing a TV show right now and prepping to do a short for my company, Merciful Shorts (making short films using inner city teens as part of the crew). I dive into editing for all of September.
SA: Any closing thoughts?
ADDIS: I hope you think the film is funny.
URBAN: Thanks for deeming us worthy enough to interview.
