Interview with Joel Miller
Joel Miller, the writer/director of The Still Life kindly agreed to answer a few questions for Rachel Miner Central. In a conscious effort to keep the questions interesting for Mr. Miller to answer and, hopefully, for us to read, I chose to cover a wide range of aspects involved in writing and directing a first feature film and, of course, here and there, touching a bit on Rachel Miner.
Hope you enjoy it. Gateflicka
Though you brought a variety of experiences to the project, this is your first film as both writer and director, right?
Yep, I'm a rookie here. I was trying hard for a while to find a manager or agent to help me get the project going. After a while though I realized that I should just do it myself. And I did. =-)
How long did it take you to write the script? How many drafts of The Still Life were there? Great title, by the way -- at what point did you come up with it? Did you do any or all script editing yourself or did you have others read it and give you suggestions?
I'm really not certain how long it took me to write the screenplay but it was off and on over a 3 year period. There were literally hundreds of writes and rewrites. I've written a lot of screenplays now but I kept going back to The Still Life and fixing it and changing things. I got to the point where I hated the script. That is when you know you are done...
Funny you ask about the title. It was originally called An Artist's Art. I loved the title but everyone hated it. Even my mom didn't like it! So my girlfriend talked me into changing it. I came up with The Still Life while I was sleeping I think lol. I really liked it though and it passed everyone's test. I still think An Artist's Art is a good name though even if I am the only one who thinks so. I had a friend from college read it to fix grammatical stuff but that is about it.
Was the actuality of helming your first feature close to the way you imagined it or far different? Did you encounter difficulties mostly where you expected them? Were there any big surprises in the directing experience? Was anything much easier than you anticipated?
Well I anticipated it to be a lot of work. And it was really hard. I'm not sure if I knew where I would have issues but I think that across the board things pretty much went as I figured they would. All in all it went pretty well. No big surprises in directing though. That was fun and I liked it. Terry Moore said I did a great job and was a very good director. From someone like her that was a major compliment. NOTHING was easy. lol
Making a film is tough work...
How long did you prepare before production began?
Well I started assembling Letters of Intent years before production. But I was in full pre-production for about 4 months. And that was night and day work, 7 days a week.
How did you assemble your crew? Is there a process similar to the actors' casting process? Did you know some of the crew beforehand? Had you worked with any of them before? Were some of them referred by friends or professional acquaintances? Did you go through resumes, conduct interviews? Do prospective crew members submit samples of their work, say in reels, DVD's, photos?
95% of my crew came from Craislist.org. The rest were from word of mouth from the people hired on. I hadn't worked with anyone on board. For the actors I went though Breakdown Services. Breakdown Services releases blurbs about each character you want in your film. All Agents and Managers in Hollywood get the breakdowns and submit their talent. I did hold some auditions but I think I only hired one actress from one. And that was actually Rachel. All the other people I hired I either hired based off of their reel or I met up with for a cup of coffee or a beer and liked them. The only crew person I hired based off of his reel was my Director of Photography, Richard Barbadillo. I liked his reel and hired him.
Did you shoot on film or digital video?
We shot on digital. The camera was a Panasonic DVX 100A
Did you feel ready when principal photography began? Even though it seems that you were prepared, was there maybe a moment or two of panic? What was the greatest challenge you found during shooting? Did you get *any* sleep during production?
I did feel very ready. I had been working on getting it all going for so long that when it finally did I was happy just to finally get into it. I really don't remember any panic. We just started and kept cruising till we were done. Nope, I never got even a wink. I swear I must have slept a total of 10 hours for 3 weeks. I was in bed for 4 days sick as a dog at the end of the production. I also lost about 20 some odd pounds and I'm a little guy. The whole thing kicked my ass...
You described the production vibe as "chill" in your Splat interview. What do you think contributed to that relaxed atmosphere the most? That kind of tone is usually set by the director. How did you maintain your cool even under pressure?
I'm really not sure what the proper tone is. I think I was "chill" because of my past work as a stage manager. Making sure a film production runs smoothly is much like making sure a rock show goes well. Keeping calm always makes things run smoother. I learned a while ago to always keep calm. When I get mad that usually means that someone screwed up really bad rather than something got screwed up really bad.
The posters and production stills have a unique and lush look with a very earthy color palette. You mentioned using poses from existing works of art for the main character, did you design the film to reflect the specific art within it (much like Frida or Girl with a Pearl Earring)? Did you do the artwork for the film yourself? If not, who did? (Forgive me for this last, if you answered it in an earlier interview, I could not recall or find it.)
Most of the murals I picked and then modeled the wall off of, we found muralists to paint them up. The paintings were also created from an array of different artists. The poses I was talking about open a few of the scenes. The artists I took poses from were Michelangelo, David, and Rodin. The poster was designed by a friend of mine, Josh Geyer. I totally dig them! I think the lush look from the stills are all the feel of the set.
You mentioned that your casting process took 4 months, approximately how many actors did you see for each role? Which roles were the easiest to fill? Which were the most difficult? Was anyone in the cast on board from (or near) the beginning? Did you have any actors in mind when you were writing the script?
I think I hired Jonathan Davis first. Then I hired Jason Barry. After Jason was in the mix I think everything happened very quickly. I had selections and I was just trying to make sure I picked who I wanted. It's a hard thing to pick someone and hope you are right. Overall I am very happy with the people chosen though. When I wrote the script I was thinking of getting Giovanni Ribisi for the lead. I had worked with him on a movie called "All the Rage" and was blown away by his performance. I still think the guy kicks ass... He wasn't able to be in The Still Life though due to other projects he was already involved in at the time. Jason Barry Rocked though. Now I couldn't picture anyone else playing the role.
You mentioned Phyllis Diller as being one of the people who believed in your script and who gave you help. Would you like to give us some idea of what she did? Ms. Diller was originally listed on IMDB for the role of Mrs. Stratford, the landlady. What brought about the change in casting? Was it just scheduling conflicts or was there something else?
Ms. Diller invited me over to her house to have dinner. We talked about Lucille Ball to Louis Armstrong (both of whom she was friendly with). It was soo cool. I think the main thing she brought to the project was how much she loved the script and the character of Mrs. Stratford. She told Terry Moore that it was the "best role offered to her in her career." That for me was the ultimate compliment. Unfortunately, she took ill and was unable to play the role. She's back rockin' and rollin' now by the way. She in turn recommended to Terry Moore that she take the role. Terry and I have become close friends and so now I look at it like I had the opportunity to meet two fine women. And I now definitely have two inspirational role models.
There was also another actress listed for the role which eventually went to Rachel Miner. Is there a story there you can share with us?
The role of Robin was really hard for me to cast. I just couldn't find the right actress. There was another actress who was on the imdb but I hired Rachel the night before shooting. Rachel called me at 11PM I think and we started shooting at 2PM the next day. It was something crazy like that. I ended up hiring Rachel because I thought she was a stronger actress than several of the other actresses we were considering, she was friends with Joel Michaely who I had already hired for a role, and of the women I auditioned she was the only audition I liked. I think she was the only person I hired from an audition.
Are you satisfied with the way the story and characters evolved overall? Did they sometimes seem to take on a life of their own? If so, did you find that more often exciting or annoying?
Yeah, I am totally satisfied. For what I had to work with (budget wise) I am very very pleased with how the film came together. Watching a character come together well is very exciting. My leads all were awesome and the rockstars were very cool.
How long did you spend on post production after the principal filming ended? Were you actually able to do some editing, etc., as you were shooting?
No we didn't do any editing till after everything was done. I had just too much going on. I didn't find my editors till about a month after we wrapped. We are actually still finalizing the music for the score and soundtrack. Darius Rucker is scheduled to sing one of the songs for the soundtrack written by Dean Dinning (Toad the Wet Sprocket) and I this Friday. So I guess we are still in post.
Is the end result of the film close to your original vision? To the extent that it may differ, do you feel it was improved or diminished? Anything lost that you pine for? Anything gained that feels like a gift?
It's certainly not like my original vision. To be honest I'm not even sure what that was. I cut the script down by 40 pages or so. However, it is a lot like I anticipated it would be during shooting. I feel that the film is certainly a gift. I had a tough year. A close friend, both of my grandmothers, and my father all passed away during pre-production and production. Making this film and putting so much energy into it has kept me going when the times really got tough. The film is a gift that I really needed.
You were working on finishing the film for submission to the Sundance Film Festival. Did you make that deadline? If so, how long before you learn whether The Still Life has been accepted?
Yep, we just made it. I stayed up all weekend cramming to put it all together. I'm sure I wasn't the only filmmaker cramming over the weekend though. I won't find out about Sundance till December.
You said in your Splat interview that you are working on another screenplay and would produce and direct for Albion again. Any updates there? Anything in the planning stages? Will your next screenplay be about art? Are there other areas you want to explore? Do you think you'll employ musicians as actors again?
I will probably always employ musicians to act. I love the idea. I've actually co-founded a management company called Miller Payne Management. We are managing Dizzy from Guns N Roses to Terry Moore for acting. I'm all about crossing over from music to film and vice versa. I am talking to several individuals and companies regarding a number of other screenplays. I'm not sure which one will be the next one to hit pre-production. None of them are about art though. =-(
Anything you would do differently on your next project (besides not taking on so many jobs yourself)?
I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would love to have the ability to hire good people so that I wouldn't have to wear so many hats. That is about the only thing I can think of that I would definitely do differently.
Thanks to Joel Miller. Looking forward to seeing the film. Hope it makes it into Sundance.
Check out Albion Entertainment's official website for The Still Life.
You can put The Still Life on your Netflix queue.