Robyn Candyce
“The Lookalike” a new black comedy/crime thriller from Yellow Brick Films brings an new story to the big screen. William Spinks (John Savage), a drug lord who has a curious affection for Sadie Hill, uses his friends Bobby and Frank (John Corbett and Steven Bauer) to arrange a meeting with her. When she dies unexpectedly a major deal is threatened, and so Bobby and Frank embark on a mission to find a lookalike to replace her. By doing this they unknowingly set off a string of events that would intertwine an unlikely group of events together, leading to the most unusual and unexpected of situations.
Moviehole’s Robyn Candyce had a chance to interview Michele Gray, writer of the fast paced, unique film while she was in New York.
This is probably one of the best scripts I have seen [produced] on screen in a long time. Where did the idea come from?
Michele: It’s an interesting thing – where ideas come from – this one, much like the film, was not one particular thing. Just like the film, it was a mix of things. I’ll try to keep it short, but basically I had two short films I on my computer. One of those short films was about an hearing impaired girl who had a prosthetic leg and met the love of her life in the men’s room. It was a very short little story, we never shot it, but yes it was this little short film about this couple that met under these odd circumstances.
Then I had this other short film which was part of a play called “Done Deal” and anyway, that short film was this strand of “Holt and Lacey” where Holt manipulates Lacey because he’s an addict, and he pretends to be the good Samaritan who can save her. So it was kind of a combination of those two things, and then Richie and I were moving to America from Australia. We had a lot of projects on our slate, and he said “I would really like to have a crime film”. He’s written a script called Mila dies, that’s all it was, it was five pages.
Anyway, he said he wanted a crime film and so I had those two scripts and his five pages and I married them all, and it just built and built. You sort of asked what could happen next, and that’s where it went. I also just wanted to make a crime film that was something girls would like too, because I love a good crime film. I love these multi-plot action films, but I always want a little bit more depth and heart when I watch those films. You know, people kill someone they might feel something and they never explore what’s going on this sort of emotional level. So I wrote a film that I really like.
So the twist, we don’t want to mention it – I don’t want to spoil the film – but there wasn’t one, only one, was there? You never know what was going to happen, you just can’t predict it!
Michele: Yeah, I know and we do terrible things. We kill – I shouldn’t be talking like that – we do things that are really hard to take. We do so many horrible things to these characters, but then good things come from that. We still, as an audience, come away feeling a sense of hope because a good thing comes from a bad situation.
I notice fate kind of had a big role in this.
Michele: Yes definitely.
Was that something that was important to you, or was it just kind of an accident?
Michele: Yes, and that’s something with this film, is it’s about all these characters that are in very desperate situations, and then an event occurs; a deal is going down. From that deal, the characters – some in good ways, and some in very negative ways – are all searching for something, they have needs. Some are trying to start over and this deal can sort of help fix things for people. So fate plays an enormous role in these characters getting involved in this deal.
You have one character – I won’t say which one – who from the start is doomed. You don’t know exactly what it is, but you can kind of figure it out. Anyway, this character is like completely doomed, and at the end does something so remarkably surprising and selfless-
Michele: This character makes such a decision and look, there are some scenes – you have to keep the pace up in this film – there were a few other scenes and moments that explored that character’s back story a little more, and we didn’t get to have that, and I would have like it. We made the right decision though, in the end, which was to keep the pace up. So yeah, I hope people resonate with the decision that character made. I think it’s so remarkable; in the end, it’s about sacrifice.
Once the film was cast, did you have to change any of your script for these actors?
Michele: Most definitely. I loved that. I’m in such a privileged position with the relationship I have with Richie, because the writer doesn’t usually have – well sometimes they do – there are some wonderful writer-director collaborations or co-director collaborations. I’m very lucky that I get to sit on set, at the monitor, with Richie and work with the actors, and edit as we go in rehearsals. I changed things on the floor. So, there were some things I’d say “No, just give me that for tape, I have to know we have that”.
Justin Long, who is a very good actor, he came – and he is a very good improve actor – and he would take the essence of a scene and he would give his own spin on it. There were some beautiful moments of comedy where he elaborated on something or put it in his own words. All the cast, they were just so tremendous and giving, and Scottie and I worked really well. Some lines don’t gel with an actor so you change them; you never know what’s going to happen when the actors get to the floor. Especially when they get right into it, and you never take it as deep as you think you can because you know a writer is exploring every character, and an actor is just exploring his or her character.
What’s your process with creating?
Michele: I never sit down and think I would like to write about this thing. I really work from odd situations. An event happens and I think that would be funny, and I might write a scene, just a random little scene. That’ll spark an idea, and I’ll build upon that. So I kind of work from a little moment, or an incident – or a scene – and then I think, well what if…and then about the little random stream of consciousness within the dialogue of those characters; the characters are completely changed by the time I make a film out of it.
The ideas for me, they come from little situations and then I build upon that. For example, that short film of “Holt and Lacey,” I thought what could happen next? Would it be fun if this thing happened? It always changes but you just build, it’s just building blocks. Then themes come from the situations I’m writing about, and they are themes I really love and am passionate about. I don’t write from a theme play, at least I don’t really think I do.
I wanted to ask you about the use of the leg as a character in film, the fake leg took on its own life. Was that intentional?
Michele: Yes. Richie did some wonderful directing with it, and we had gorgeous cinematography –which I would love to mention our fabulous cinematographer – and they worked really well together. Richie and Scottie shot with it religiously, and I did write for it to appear in some places, but they did their own stuff (Richie and the cinematographer ) the way they captured it. It was lovely.
Did you have any say in who was cast?
Michele: Yes, because I’m a producer as well, I’m a producer on all our films and casting is my favorite, favorite thing. I’m no good with excel documents but I love, love casting. Richie is so wonderful that he let’s –well he’s the director – so we work together on that, but I go off and do all the research, and work with the casting director on that.
What’s the most interesting part of producing for you?
Michele: It would be the casting. I just really love to do it, and it’s heartbreaking as well, because you get your heart stuck on an actor, and you know they are going to be right for the part, but there is so much bureaucracy, there’s pilot season, and so many things that come into play. You know you jast want them so badly but then…You know though, it does work out often.
Sometimes you can’t get someone you want because of finances.
Michele: Yeah.
Maybe that person hasn’t blown up yet, or maybe they did, and now you just can’t get them anymore.
Michele: Exactly. The casting might not go your way for so many reasons. It’s a miracle to cast a film, a miracle.
This was incredibly well cast. Scottie had mentioned, I believe, that she had gotten a hold of the script and she wrote a passion letter because she wanted to be part of it. Was that common practice? Did a lot of the actors who were in this approach you guys, or did you go out and seek them?
Michele: Richie went out and took a few meetings. I didn’t attend the meetings. I watched all the show reels, and you know that’s for him to go and connect with the actors – as the director. He took a lot of meetings with Gillian Jacobs who I really wanted, and I really liked Scottie. I loved her look. We were thinking about Gillian for Lacey and I knew that it couldn’t be any other way. It just wouldn’t have worked.
So let me tell you about this because it was really funny. We were casting for Sadie, and I felt like the characters of Bobby and Frank because they are searching for a lookalike, and we had casted Gillian Jacobs as Lacey, so now I was searching for a lookalike. I was searching on IMDB pro looking for some her doppelganger and I found some amazing lookalikes, but some of them weren’t available, and the ones that were the screen test didn’t quite work out for. We didn’t want them to look exactly alike, so we played with the idea of Gillian playing Sadie in addition to Lacey, because you know, Lacey is Sadie’s lookalike in the film, and I thought well, why not? Let’s just do it. So we got her into makeup, and they did some amazing effects. They puffed her nostrils up and they put in some teeth, and it was just awful for her to talk. That was a truly funny, life-imamates-art situation, where I was sitting there trying to find a lookalike for our lookalike.
Did you get to sit in on the scenes as they were being filmed kind of as a script supervisor?
Michele: Yeah I do. Richie and I work together. I take things off, and say I’m really happy with whatever we’ve got. We are very lucky. He is a beautiful director and he has no ego to sit there and say “Do you feel good? I feel good”. We but heads all the time, but I’m so grateful to be able to be there and be part of that process. I love that, seeing it come to life.
What is your endgame with this project, where do you hope this will go?
Michele: My end game with this film, I’m not so certain of what my endgame is. You never know what the reviews are going to be. For me, all I wanted from this film, and it’s actually already been achieved. We were in this packed 350 people cinema last night, and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to see this in a theatre – packed – and know that everyone was really into it, and they were and it was incredible, and tonight everyone was so responsive. That’s actually enough for me.
“The Lookalike” opens nationwide on November 7th, 2014. For more information about the film visit http://www.yellowbrickfilms.net/portfolio_page/the-lookalike/. To see the trailer visit wellgousa.com.
