Over the weekend at the 2011 Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival, I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with a number of filmmakers about their film and their work. This week, I'll be posting up my interviews with them, who touch upon not just their film, but also the filmmaking process, as well.
For my first interview, Dir. Kim Noonan, director of the short film Pepper, which played at TVIFF 2011. If you read my post last week before the festival, Pepper was one of the films I had put on my TVIFF 2011 "Watch List" and I am excited to have this opportunity to talk with Dir. Kim, who had a busy weekend with his film.
Anthony Pang | Where did the idea for the film come from?
Kim Noonan | Well, I lived in Echo Park. Everybody there, essentially, is single. It's LA, like everyone, not married, like me, single. Everyone who is single and live in LA, a lot of them have pets and they are mostly dogs. It seems like instead of being married, they're married to their pets and their dogs. They have this special relationship with their dogs. I remember walking and running a lot in Elysian Park, which is in that area, and seeing a lot of dogs, abandoned dogs, walking around on their own. A lot of them were hit and on the ground. I've always wondered what is the right thing to do in that situation, because if you hit a human being, you call 911. If you hit a dog, all the moral responsibility is on your shoulders, and that kind of sucks, to tell someone you hit their dog. I thought that might make for a compelling story.
AP | Have you ever hit a dog yourself or been in a similar situation?
KN | No, but my sister hit a cat when I was in high school and she nearly killed us after she hit it. I'll never forget it, she turned her head around and was not paying attention to the road, and I'm like "Go, it's just a cat!" And that was my whole thing about this film, it's just a dog. But is it really just a dog? Because these people have a special relationship with their dog. I don't get it, but they get it. And there is animal people that get animals and are into PETA and things like that. I don't get it, but they have this special connection with pets that I'll never know. That's one the things I wanted to explore. And also, explore my point of view that thinks it is just a dog or cat that you hit.
AP | Has any animal lovers responded to your film?
KN | No, believe it or not, surprisingly, a great deal of women have loved this film. It's so weird. Most of the women who have contacted me love this film because they get the girl's perspective and the guy's perspective. I think it has to do a lot with the good acting in it.
AP | Now, this is not your first film, right? [KN: No] What did you learn while making this film and what would you do different next time?
KN | Contracts. If you're a filmmaker, you gotta have more contracts. I kind of just put this together as a passion piece and we were just offered distribution by Shorts HD and iTunes. For some reason, and usually I'm responsible and organized, I forgot to do the contracts. That's one of the things I regret not doing.
The one thing I really learned was that you can't really take things personally. Whatever people say, you have to keep moving forward. You can't really think too much about what people say or think. If someone is trying to be a nuisance on your set, you can't give it any attention, you have to think 'this film can't suck.' Keep working on what's moving it forward and what is important.
AP | What was the most difficult challenge and how was it resolved?
KN | The most difficult challenge, so far, is in post. It's always going to be in your sound. An independent filmmaker, you don't have twenty-, fifty-, fifty-five thousand dollars to close off a whole block and tell everyone to be quiet. You're dealing with planes, helicopters, school buses driving by. I remember when I wrote my first short film, my producer said you're never going to get these locations. Be smart about your locations, make sure they are not filled with a lot of people, make sure they are small and intimate, and ask your friends to be extras. I'm like, wow, that's really smart and it made me think about it. If I would advise any filmmaker, it would be always just to simplify things.
AP | We've talked about the difficult stuff. Now, what about the best part of the process?
KN | The best part is that we've sold out our first three screenings, and we played at Holly Shorts and LA Shorts and just killed it. For some reason, probably because of the actors, people really empathize with their situation. And even though Chuck (plays Nate, the lead actor) is such a punk, who does everything wrong thing, people laugh at it. I feel like they would be doing the same thing if they saw this girl, who was distraught and so overwhelmed by her dead dog. And that's what has been so gratifying, honestly, that people got it and then are able to laugh about it. Taking a tragic situation and being able to laugh about it.
AP | Now that you've done a couple of films, what would you say is your approach to filmmaking is?
KN | There's never going to be a single approach. If anything I hate, I don't like drama freaks on the set. If there's going to be one drama freak, that would be me, and that is it. [laugh]
Really though, I equate it with sports. I've always been good at sports and I always think I know what is right for the team. I feel like I am just the head coach, and I have my DP, my sound people and everyone around me. They are my coaching staff, and my players are the actors. If we prepare hard enough and they believe in what I think can get them there, then we're golden. If they trust me, that we're going to prepare enough, and not worry about the win but just worry about the process, we'll do it. I spend 80% of my time with my actors and the story. I care about what things look like, but not as much as I care about what is honest and truthful. That's to God's truth, I care so much what my actors are doing, I love what they are doing.
AP | I liked the point about the football team, it's a good analogy. On a lighter note, what is the most recent film you saw and that you liked a lot?
KN | [Thinking] Hmm...Well, maybe I am prejudice, but I think, honestly, one of the films I've seen is Bridesmaids, because it hilarious and Dana Powell, who is in my film, plays a stewardess. It's not only that, but do you think Sandra Bullock or Kate Hudson is a comedic genius? No, you put really good women who do comedy in a movie and that was the coolest thing. You put real women who aren't that attractive but are funny and you just let them be unattractive and that was what was attractive. You let them show a little rib, be ugly, be vulnerable, be stupid, and that was funny. It was a well-written script and that was one of the funnier movies I've seen.
AP | Alright, last question, also on a lighter note. First person you ran coffee for?
KN | I've never ran coffee for anyone.
AP | Never?
KN | No, I haven't...
AP | Congratulations. [laugh]
KN | Yeah, haven't ran coffee. I've had people run coffee for me, unfortunately, but no, hopefully I'll never be in that position. BUT I'm always nice to person, though....
[laugh]
AP | That's good, that probably makes you a nice director to work with.
For my first interview, Dir. Kim Noonan, director of the short film Pepper, which played at TVIFF 2011. If you read my post last week before the festival, Pepper was one of the films I had put on my TVIFF 2011 "Watch List" and I am excited to have this opportunity to talk with Dir. Kim, who had a busy weekend with his film.
Anthony Pang | Where did the idea for the film come from?
Kim Noonan | Well, I lived in Echo Park. Everybody there, essentially, is single. It's LA, like everyone, not married, like me, single. Everyone who is single and live in LA, a lot of them have pets and they are mostly dogs. It seems like instead of being married, they're married to their pets and their dogs. They have this special relationship with their dogs. I remember walking and running a lot in Elysian Park, which is in that area, and seeing a lot of dogs, abandoned dogs, walking around on their own. A lot of them were hit and on the ground. I've always wondered what is the right thing to do in that situation, because if you hit a human being, you call 911. If you hit a dog, all the moral responsibility is on your shoulders, and that kind of sucks, to tell someone you hit their dog. I thought that might make for a compelling story.
AP | Have you ever hit a dog yourself or been in a similar situation?
KN | No, but my sister hit a cat when I was in high school and she nearly killed us after she hit it. I'll never forget it, she turned her head around and was not paying attention to the road, and I'm like "Go, it's just a cat!" And that was my whole thing about this film, it's just a dog. But is it really just a dog? Because these people have a special relationship with their dog. I don't get it, but they get it. And there is animal people that get animals and are into PETA and things like that. I don't get it, but they have this special connection with pets that I'll never know. That's one the things I wanted to explore. And also, explore my point of view that thinks it is just a dog or cat that you hit.
AP | Has any animal lovers responded to your film?
KN | No, believe it or not, surprisingly, a great deal of women have loved this film. It's so weird. Most of the women who have contacted me love this film because they get the girl's perspective and the guy's perspective. I think it has to do a lot with the good acting in it.
AP | Now, this is not your first film, right? [KN: No] What did you learn while making this film and what would you do different next time?
KN | Contracts. If you're a filmmaker, you gotta have more contracts. I kind of just put this together as a passion piece and we were just offered distribution by Shorts HD and iTunes. For some reason, and usually I'm responsible and organized, I forgot to do the contracts. That's one of the things I regret not doing.
The one thing I really learned was that you can't really take things personally. Whatever people say, you have to keep moving forward. You can't really think too much about what people say or think. If someone is trying to be a nuisance on your set, you can't give it any attention, you have to think 'this film can't suck.' Keep working on what's moving it forward and what is important.
AP | What was the most difficult challenge and how was it resolved?
KN | The most difficult challenge, so far, is in post. It's always going to be in your sound. An independent filmmaker, you don't have twenty-, fifty-, fifty-five thousand dollars to close off a whole block and tell everyone to be quiet. You're dealing with planes, helicopters, school buses driving by. I remember when I wrote my first short film, my producer said you're never going to get these locations. Be smart about your locations, make sure they are not filled with a lot of people, make sure they are small and intimate, and ask your friends to be extras. I'm like, wow, that's really smart and it made me think about it. If I would advise any filmmaker, it would be always just to simplify things.
AP | We've talked about the difficult stuff. Now, what about the best part of the process?
KN | The best part is that we've sold out our first three screenings, and we played at Holly Shorts and LA Shorts and just killed it. For some reason, probably because of the actors, people really empathize with their situation. And even though Chuck (plays Nate, the lead actor) is such a punk, who does everything wrong thing, people laugh at it. I feel like they would be doing the same thing if they saw this girl, who was distraught and so overwhelmed by her dead dog. And that's what has been so gratifying, honestly, that people got it and then are able to laugh about it. Taking a tragic situation and being able to laugh about it.
AP | Now that you've done a couple of films, what would you say is your approach to filmmaking is?
KN | There's never going to be a single approach. If anything I hate, I don't like drama freaks on the set. If there's going to be one drama freak, that would be me, and that is it. [laugh]
Really though, I equate it with sports. I've always been good at sports and I always think I know what is right for the team. I feel like I am just the head coach, and I have my DP, my sound people and everyone around me. They are my coaching staff, and my players are the actors. If we prepare hard enough and they believe in what I think can get them there, then we're golden. If they trust me, that we're going to prepare enough, and not worry about the win but just worry about the process, we'll do it. I spend 80% of my time with my actors and the story. I care about what things look like, but not as much as I care about what is honest and truthful. That's to God's truth, I care so much what my actors are doing, I love what they are doing.
AP | I liked the point about the football team, it's a good analogy. On a lighter note, what is the most recent film you saw and that you liked a lot?
KN | [Thinking] Hmm...Well, maybe I am prejudice, but I think, honestly, one of the films I've seen is Bridesmaids, because it hilarious and Dana Powell, who is in my film, plays a stewardess. It's not only that, but do you think Sandra Bullock or Kate Hudson is a comedic genius? No, you put really good women who do comedy in a movie and that was the coolest thing. You put real women who aren't that attractive but are funny and you just let them be unattractive and that was what was attractive. You let them show a little rib, be ugly, be vulnerable, be stupid, and that was funny. It was a well-written script and that was one of the funnier movies I've seen.
AP | Alright, last question, also on a lighter note. First person you ran coffee for?
KN | I've never ran coffee for anyone.
AP | Never?
KN | No, I haven't...
AP | Congratulations. [laugh]
KN | Yeah, haven't ran coffee. I've had people run coffee for me, unfortunately, but no, hopefully I'll never be in that position. BUT I'm always nice to person, though....
[laugh]
AP | That's good, that probably makes you a nice director to work with.
