Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with Elston Gunn's really entertaining interview with the writer/director of WAITING. This Rob McKittrick guy sounds like a blast, taking this whole whirlwind Hollywood rollercoaster ride in stride. Honest, funny and the farthest thing from boring... Good job, Elston!
ELSTON GUNN INTERVIEWS WAITING... WRITER/DIRECTOR ROB McKITTRICK
Rob McKittrick could not have come up with a more appropriate title for his writing and directing debut. When he wasn't waiting tables, he was waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for eight long years to get WAITING..., his first screenplay, onto the bigscreen. As thoroughly detailed in his blog at RobMcKittrick.com production of the script kept getting delayed for reasons running the the gamut from changing producers to the acquiring of Artisan Films to someone else nearly directing his script to 9/11. His filmmaking journey gives credence to Thomas Edison's quote about how our greatest weakness lies in giving up. Next Friday Lions Gate will release McKittrick's ensemble comedy, about employees fighting boredom in a chain restaurant, to theaters nationwide. Maybe he should title his next film RIGHT NOW, THIS SECOND! LET'S GO!
[EG]: From reading your blog one quickly realizes it's been one hell of an eight year-long twisted and bumpy road trying to get this movie made. With the premiere still days away, do you think it's possible something else might go wrong?
[RM]: Dude. Why would you ask me that? I am fucked either way. If I say "yes" I am practically willing it to happen, and if I say "no", the fates will conspire against me for getting cocky. That being said, yes. I am sure something else will go wrong. Par for the course, and shit...
[EG]: How do you feel about the final film? Do you see it as a "gross-out comedy" as the trailers indicate?
[RM]: I feel great about the final film. I have to say, overall, it's really goddamn close to what I saw in my mind's eye. And in several places it's better, thanks to all the actors who improved the material. That's not to say it's perfect. It's definitely rough around the edges in a few spots. There are a couple of places that make me go, "if we'd only had more time..." But given that we only had 23 days to shoot the movie, truly, I am ecstatic about how well it turned out.
And no, I don't see it as a gross-out comedy. I mean, yes, it does have a couple sight-gaggy, gross-out moments, but by and large it's a lot more character/dialogue-driven than the trailer indicates. Don't get me wrong, I love the trailer. I think it really captures the "feel" of the movie. It really *is* about an eight-hour day and a lifetime of memories, sure. But yeah, the trailer certainly focuses more on the antics rather than the banter, and in truth there is probably more banter than antics. Also, let me just say, in the movie, when the Bitchy Lady bites down on her food, there is NOT a loud, over-the-top "CRUNCH" sound.
[EG]: How do you feel about the CLERKS comparisons? Was it the primary inspiration for WAITING...?
[RM]: It's a pretty fair comparison. I mean, WAITING... is much more ensemble-ish than CLERKS, and a little broader comedically in places, but at the end of the day they are both dialogue-driven, R-rated comedies, set in primarily one location. I just hope, once it's out there, that it's compared favorably to CLERKS, and not just thought of as some knock-off. Because I really think WAITING... has its own tone and feel... But of course I think that. I wrote it and directed it.
In terms of the movie itself, CLERKS was certainly a big inspiration to the movie, along with DAZED AND CONFUSED, and, oddly, REAL GENIUS. I wanted to have that slice-of-life nature of DAZED, but with the tone and spirit of CLERKS and, in places, GENIUS. But in terms of actually writing the script and having aspirations to make it, yeah, CLERKS was the movie that made me say, "Maybe I could do that." I was a huge follower (mostly lurker) of the View Askew webboard, and he really demystified the whole process. I didn't know anyone out in Hollywood and I was poor as shit, so the only way it seemed possible for me to break into hollywood was to make a cheap indie, like Smith. So that's what I set out to do.
[EG]: The script evolved out of your experiences as a waiter in different towns in Florida. What was the one moment when you realized "Hey, I could write a movie about this?"
[RM]: I was twenty-four and had just moved to Orlando, with the intention of applying to UCF's film school (though if I'm being perfectly honest, I was really just getting the fuck out of the Bradenton-Sarasota area where I grew up, because I had just been busted for selling ecstacy and needed to get out of the whole scene). I got a job waiting tables at a shitty chain restaurant called Roadhouse Grill, and wallowed in self-pity. It was there that I noticed a consistency of experience between Roadhouse Grill and the Bennigan's and Steak & Ale I had worked at back in Bradenton and Sarasota. It was like the exact same fucking people transplanted up to Orlando, bitching about the exact same type of customers. That, coupled with my own feelings of being a slack-ass loser bore the inspiration to write WAITING...
[EG]: I do know several people who refuse to send anything back because they're afraid of what might be done to the food they eventually get. Would you recommend that people not do that?
[RM]: Sending food back isn't really the problem. It's how you deal with it. If you are nice and respectful to your server, and explain that a mistake was made, chances are they will jump through hoops to fix it for you, because you've been cool with them, and they still want a good tip. If you are an asshole, however, who knows? It all depends on the moral fiber of the server. When I wrote the tainting-the-food scene, I thought I was going waaaay over the top, but I have since been informed by many servers who have seen the movie already that I am much closer to home than I would have preferred. Personally, I've only tainted food once during my tenure as a server, by tea-bagging this one incredibly bitchy woman's steak. Trust me, she deserved it.
[EG]: You have a great cast, including up-and-coming comedians like Andy Milonakis and Dane Cook, I would imagine it was a fun set. You haven't covered pre-production yet in your blog, so what was the casting process like for you?
[RM]: Casting was great... My casting directors, Annie McCarthy and Jay Scully were awesome (unlike that C-word on PROJECT GREENLIGHT 3, Michelle Gertz). I got so lucky with it, man. I mean, I picked some actors, like Dane Cook and Milonakis, because I fucking loved them, and now they are both blowing up (especially Dane, holy Christ-Chex). I got Ryan [Reynolds] attached many years ago, before BLADE or AMITYVILLE. I got Anna [Faris] attached before LOST IN TRANSLATION or SCARY MOVIE 3... I got Justin [Long] before DODGEBALL came out... So fucking lucky...
Once we hit the set, watching all these actors take these lines that I had in my mind for so long and make them their own, man... There's nothing better (with head being the notable exception). It's actually a good thing that it took so long to make, because it gave me some distance from the material as well as some maturity (as evidenced by the "head" comment). I think I would have been too rigid with the script had we made it way back when. But instead, I let the actors ad-lib whenever we had time, and it really paid off in the end. I would say that I probably got an extra ten or fifteen laughs in the movie that the actors came up with... And the best part is I still get credit for it.
[EG]: You shot the film in and around New Orleans, so I'm sure you have some personal and professional ties with the city. Have you been in contact with any of the people you worked with since Hurricane Katrina? Is the restaurant still standing?
[RM]: Well, the Bennigan's we shot in closed down right after we finished shooting, so it was gone regardless. But I heard that the area we shot was actually much less flooded than other areas. I spoke with my line producer, Jacky Morgan, who lives down there and has really close ties to the entire crew, and he informed me that, thankfully, everyone is safe. But so much damage has been done to their homes and belongings. It's awful.
[EG]: After you finally were given the reins to direct the film, what did you think of that process, especially an ensemble piece where you have a lot of characters to keep up with? Are you eager to do it again?
[RM]: The process was amazing. It took me so long to get the movie made that I had a lot of time to prepare, so I really felt ready for the job once we began shooting. The ensemble nature made it particularly cool, actually, because there was always someone new entering the picture to keep things interesting. We started with Ryan, Anna and Justin, who are obviously hilarious. But then, a couple days later, Rob Benedict and Alanna Ubach started shooting, and blew everyone away with their ad-libs... Then, David Koechner shows up the next week and is one of the funniest human beings I have ever met. Then [Luis] Guzman shows up with his crazy Guzman energy. Then Jordan [Ladd] and Emmanuelle [Chriqui] show up and provide the necessary holy-shit-they're-hot factor that Guzman couldn't. Then Dane fucking Cook comes down and does exactly what I knew he would do: Make my lines 10 times funnier. Then Milonakis and Max [Kasch] perform the rap video, which is insane... Then Chi McBride comes in at the end and has such a fucking cool presence... So there was always something new to get excited about, not just for me, but for the crew as well. We were under such a tight schedule to make our days, so there was some really insane, PROJECT-GREENLIGHT-like stress, but having such a variety of actors kept everyone's spirits up throughout the shoot. I am very eager to do it again. Hopefully, that eagerness will be shared by others.
[EG]: With WEDDING CRASHERS breaking $200m and THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN ready to hit $100m, I'm sure you're hoping for similiar success with your film. What's your take on the success of these comedies? Has the country been yearning for mainstream comedies when we had been getting a bevy of horror, animation and big-budget action/adventure films?
[RM]: Anything less the sum of both WC and 40YOV's total box office will be considered a disappointment... Come on! I would be ecstatic if we hit thirty million. I mean, sure, it would be life-alteringly amazing if it made anything close to either of those films, but let's be realistic. Those flicks had a shit-ton more money behind them. Which isn't to say Lions Gate isn't spending a lot of money, because they are. More than I ever imagined. But still, it's probably less than half of either WC or 40YOV's marketing budget. My movie is a lil' three-million dollar comedy, so let's just mitigate expections a bit.
My (completely unique) take on the success of those two films is that it's a combination of two factors. Number one, recently there have been too many safe PG-13 comedies, so audiences were clamoring for movies with a little more teeth. And two, they are both really funny fucking movies that had incredible word-of-mouth. I mean, DEUCE BIGALOW 2 dropped a big Deuce at the box office, so obviously not all R-rated comedies are created equal, but it's certainly encouraging. During the lifetime of waiting for WAITING... to get made I got to see R-rated comedies become super hot thanks to the AMERICAN PIE series and the like, and then seemingly drop off the face of the earth, thanks to the need to have everything be accessible to 13-year old boys... I am glad to see that they are back for awhile...
[EG]: Did Lion's Gate test screen WAITING...? What were your feelings about that stage of the game?
[RM]: We tested WAITING... before Lions Gate officially aquired it. That test screening was one of the single greatest moments of my life. Places that I thought would get smiles got chuckles. Places that I thought would get chuckles got laughs. And places I thought would get laughs got laughs so huge we had to go back in and add a second of air just to give audiences time to breathe before the next big laugh. And then the scores came in... I was expecting what had happened to every PROJECT GREENLIGHT director: Great audience reaction followed by shitty test numbers. Remarkably, the scores matched the reaction. The screening wasn't perfect though. There were a few terminally slow spots that needed to be operated on, and a couple moments that became clear they were unnecessary, but overall, it rocked. That test screening is the reason we got a wide release with a substantial P & A commitment. I actually recorded the screening, so I could see where the biggest laughs and the biggest dead zones were, to aid in the next edit. As I have been getting more and more nervous and anxious about the reaction WAITING... will get, I occcasionally play the recording to calm my nerves.
[EG]: What are you working on next? You've said that you hate writing, but are you making yourself do it anyway? Would you direct something that you haven't written?
[RM]: I am currently re-writing a script called THE WINGMAN, and am attached to direct. The orignal draft was written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (HAROLD & KUMAR), and it is really goddamn funny. I am actually just going through and making some very small tweaks, with their complete blessing. They've seen WAITNG... and loved it. They actually paid me one of the nicest compliments I've ever gotten. They said that they liked WAITING... so much, that if I decided to shit-can them off THE WINGMAN completely (the way many directors do to writers), that, while they would be disappointed, they would feel like it was in capable hands. They are great guys and it's a great script. I also recently finished writing a script called MAN CRUSH, also for Newline, but I'd rather not talk about it, as it will only later be used against me in a court of law.
[EG]: Any advice for struggling writers/directors?
[RM]: Try to find a girl who is at least a little sexually deviant, as it will really increase the chance of the relationship lasting. Ultimately, I don't care how amazing she is, the sex will become commonplace unless she is willing to spice things up from time to time. Apart from that, I the two biggest things you should do are:
1) Move to Hollywood.
2) Write a really fucking good script.
Everyone talks about how, in order to break into Hollywood, you need to know "someone," and that's certainly true. But if you move out to Hollywood you will eventually meet tons of people in the industry, though the normal friendships you make. Everyone is involved in the industry out here, it seems. I was living in Orlando when WAITING... was discovered, so it is possible, but it's significantly easier if you make the move out here. The second piece of advice is so simple and obvious, I always feel condescending when I say it, but it really is the truth. If you write something really fucking good, and live in an area where it's really-fucking-goodness can be recognized, you will ultimately get your foot in the door. There are so many bad scripts out here, many of which sell (because once you get your foot in the door your scripts can be really fucking mediocre and still have a better chance at selling, since you are established), so really fucking good script rise to the top. Of course, unfortunately, "really fucking good" is subjective, which makes it considerably more complicated. I mean, luckily Balis read the script and loved it, and started the process out in Hollywood. But there have been many people who've read WAITING... and thought it was the anti-funny, so it's all a big crap-shoot.
WAITING... opens wide October 7. Check out the movie's official website at this link
Elston Gunn
elstongunn@hotmail.com
