Thursday, March 29, 2007

AFI Dallas film fest director interview: Midlothia‘s Bill Sebastian

He's uncomfortable around guns. And it shows.

By John P. Meyer

If you missed Monday night's screening of the locally-produced-and-Midlothian-filmed relationship drama with comic Shakespearean overtones, Midlothia, there's no need to hurl yourself, Ophelia-like, into the nearest slough (pronounced "SLEW"), because you'll have another chance to screen it this Friday night (March 30, 9:45 p.m.) at the Magnolia.

(I've got to say, one of the coolest things about this whole film reviewing gig is being able to use the word "screen" as a verb.)

Bill Sebastian (as Fred): "To be or not to be?"

The film's scripter and director, Bill Sebastian, was kind enough to answer some questions I came up with after viewing the film. Here's what he told me:

John Meyer: Constitutionally, is the real-life Bill more like Fred, the testosterone-fueled character you play in the film, or Bill, the sensitive guy with the big IQ?

Bill Sebastian: I have to say both. But beyond that, let’s not forget Duck. There’s something of myself in each of these characters, or conversely there’s something of each of these characters in me. And I guess that’s what attracted me to the play, Pluck the Day, when I read it. I somehow knew these people. They went to my high school. They were my friends.

But to really answer your question, I’m not very much like Fred. I feel very uncomfortable in the presence of a firearm, and I’ve only thrown one punch in my life—at my little brother, and I still feel bad about it. My close friends even advised me not play the role.

As for the similarities to the Bill character, my mom had my IQ tested when I was a little kid, but she never told me what it was, which was probably good, because if you’re a genius like me, that stuff can go to your head. (Ha Ha.) Okay no seriously though, I did grow up attending the gifted programs in school, and I went off to college early, but Bill (the character) is smart in a totally different way. He’s word smart. Book smart. I was good at math. And I stress the "was." I think really I was just a hard worker. I minored in math in college, but I can’t even remember the names of the last three courses I took, much less what they were about. [Ed. note: what are those "course" things, again?] My dad teaches high school math now, and sometimes he’ll talk to me about one of his lesson topics, and I’ll just laugh because I can’t remember any of it. Which is terrible because growing up my dad always helped me with my math homework. I’m going to be a terrible father.

And I have a little bit of Duck in me. At least I’d like to think I do. He has a lot of admirable qualities. He’s the most truthful character in the film. Even when he’s lying, it’s because he thinks it’s the truth. Also, I’m not so good with the big words, like “irrevelent.” [Ed. note: he's got that right.]

JM: Tell me about the source material for the script - a story called Pluck the Day?

BS: Pluck the Day was at the time an unproduced play by Steven Walters, who is resident playwright at Second Thought Theatre in Dallas. A member of his company, who had seen my short films, passed on the script to me because he thought it would be a good fit. I read it and the characters resonated with me. It was hindered cinematically (as most plays are) in that it all took place in one location—literally just the front porch. I brainstormed with Steven about ways to expand it to include more locations and characters. It didn’t expand enormously, but it expanded enough to warrant a new title, as we were now dealing with two different stories. But the characters remain. Even after a major plot turn on page 70, some of the characters’ dialog survived—and if you enjoyed the contradictory nature of these characters, who live in the middle of nowhere but aren’t complete village-idiots, I credit that to the play. That’s what was so cool about it from the start.

JM: Describe any safety precautions you enacted during the filming of scenes involving firearms.

BS: We had a firearms expert (Randall Hearne) on set whenever we were using them. We were definitely concerned, and again, firearms make me quite uncomfortable, so we made doubly sure everybody felt safe at all times.

One good thing was that we only used blanks on one day. Every other day, was a strictly no ammo day. Even then however, before pointing the gun at someone, we would show them categorically that the chamber was empty. And if the firearm left their sight, or left the set, when it returned, we would repeat the operation.

After a while, we all got a lot more comfortable. I know I did. I was wielding that shotgun for two days straight, holding it with one hand a lot of the time, while I directed the scene, pointing at lights or cameras, or actor’s marks. And I gotta say, those things are heavy! But after two days, it felt like an extension of my arm, and I kinda didn’t want to put it down. It felt good holding it, and it made me feel cool, like Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness or something.

On our second to last shoot day, we actually dealt with firing blanks and blowing holes in walls. We brought in another expert - Steve Kieger - to deal with the explosives. We slowed the whole production down a lot, to make sure we didn’t make mistakes. Even so we banged it out [Ed. note: who says this guy ain't a poet?] before lunch, and got on with the rest of our shoot.

JM: Why was Midlothian selected for the setting? Did you have friends/contacts in town already, or was there some other factor behind it?

BS: We shot in Midlothian not by plan, but by accident. We found a perfect place to shoot. The setting was exactly what we needed. We got carte blanche access for two weeks to a double wide with a really cool road leading up to it, with enough foliage around to make it look like it was in the middle of nowhere, and with a really cool abandoned single-wide out back that we were able to pilfer for props and set pieces. Plus Midlothian is really just a stone’s throw away from Dallas. It was close enough that we wouldn’t have to overnight our crew.

While we were shooting, we knew we were going to change the title (from Pluck the Day), but we didn’t know what we were going to change it to. Over lunch we would sit and discuss the curious name of the town we were in, and wonder what the hell a “Midlothian” really was. We decided it must be someone from “Midlothia.”

Without the “n,” the word has this nice ring to it. It sounds like a place, but it also sounds like a state of being. And for some, it even conjures up fairies and trolls and hobbits. It is what it is to different people. I think titles, after a while, lose their original meaning and take on the meaning of the film. Whatever a particular viewer felt or took away, over time, becomes the meaning of the word. For those that have seen it, anyway.

JM: Have folks from Midlothian seen the film, and if so, what are they telling you about the accuracy of your portrayal of the community?

Cement plant profile: no pollution here, folks, honest!

BS: Not yet, to my knowledge. I assume the concrete plant will be glad to know that we were telling the truth when we swore to them we weren’t making an environmental documentary. In the end though, it doesn’t matter. We weren’t making a film about Midlothian. We were making a film about people, and we decided to set it in the fictional town of Midlothia. I do hope that they’re proud that we made it there. We loved the town, and to my knowledge we’re the only crew to shoot there since “Bonnie and Clyde.” If you’re ever there, stop by the Hippie Cowboy and have a burger. It’s good stuff.

JM: Any news regarding distribution of the film?

BS: We have one offer out there. We’re waiting for more. AFI Dallas is our second festival, and so we’re still early in our game. We’ll see what shakes down by the end of the week. Maybe we’ll be a step closer.

JM: How'd you get into the world of films and filmmaking?

BS: I read a sign on a tree advertising the First Annual SMU Film Festival. Submissions were due in three weeks. They were of course referring to films that were previously completed--as in done last semester in film class, or last year. I went back to my dorm room, and told my friend, “we have to make a movie.” So we did. Three weeks later we submitted a 40 minute long short film about a ninja. Eventually I dropped my engineering degree and started studying cinema.

Oh and I should not fail to mention that I saw Die Hard when I was 12 years old. That helped.

JM: Do you prefer acting or directing?

BS: Ha ha. Again I say both! I’ll elaborate. I love acting, because it’s fun. I never have as much fun as when I’m acting. And if I can make a career having fun, I will be a lucky, lucky man. But I’ll never stop making my own films. It’s so rewarding to work on something so hard, make it your own, make it your way, craft it from start to finish.

JM: What's up next for Bill Sebastian? More directing/writing/acting?

BS: Honestly, dealing with the promo on this film has been daunting. I’ve lived with it for more than two years now, and I feel like this is the pinnacle. This is the make or break point, and if I want to make those two years mean something for myself, and everyone else that worked on the film, I have to make sure the film makes an impression on the festival circuit and gets a distribution deal it deserves. So right now I’m not thinking too far into the future.

But inevitably, the next step is writing. There are a couple projects that are sort of in a holding pattern right now, and I plan to get back to them, but until the script is right, I’m not going to be directing again. Unless I find that right script from someone else, which could happen. I’m on the look-out. As for acting, I’ll probably keep auditioning for parts I don’t even really want and get turned down. The life of an actor!

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