MAKE MOVIES

Interview with Last Night director Daniel Macgregor

MAKE MOVIES interview with Daniel Macgregor, writer-director of Last Night.

MM: What inspired the story?

DM: Years of personal experience noticing how class status plays a huge role in American life, plus ideas I had at the time about depression, and a few early experiments with suspense. All that played a part in it.

MM: What were you going for with this film?

DM: I wanted to say something about those who are often overlooked by the business class. And also play with stereotypes about class and our social roles.

MM: Do you feel like you achieved that?

DM: Not really in the way I wanted to. I think the film almost has the tone of a soap opera, and I didn’t intend that. It just ended up that way. There are other ways I could have gotten at those issues, and they are sure to come up again in other films.

MM: What did you learn while making this film?

DM: So much! I suppose the main thing I learned was that shotlists don’t mean anything once you get on location. You can either have every shot storyboarded or you can try to do it on the fly, Wong Kar Wai style. But anything in between is bound to end up messy. And I could have saved myself, my crew, and my cast a lot of trouble by aiming for the latter from the get go.

MM: What are you working on now?

DM: I am writing several short films - one of which I plan to produce very soon - and I’m developing several series for the web with a few other writers.

MM: What do you hope to be doing 2 years from now?

DM: I hope by then I’ll be in post production on my first feature film.

MM: What is the hardest part of making a movie?

DM: Keeping it simple. With all the locations, permits, crew, cast, and all that’s involved with producing, it’s a challenge to keep the original idea at the forefront. But if you lose that, you lose everything. It seems that the more you know what you want - the more you keep your vision absolutely clear about what you want the film to be - the better chance you have of actually making something halfway decent. But you have to keep it simple for yourself and for your cast and crew, and not say everything you are thinking. In other words, focus, on the set, is the biggest challenge for me.

MM: What films inspire you?

DM: The Shining, The Godfather, 70’s cinema… I’m always learning from what I see. Lately, I’ve been really inspired by the films shot in San Francisco in the 70’s and 80’s. Movies like The Conversation, Harold and Maude, Bullitt, Dirty Harry… are films I will keep seeing again and again. I love the way they look.

MM: What do you think about the current state of the movie business?

DM: It’s obviously a difficult time for studio execs and CEOs of the media conglomerates. They are businessmen and the bottom line is everything. And right now it seems the only sure bet is comic book adaptations and remakes. But it’s a great time to be an independent writer or producer. If you have some web or marketing smarts, or can network, then I think you’ve got nothing to complain about.

MM: What does the web mean to independent filmmakers now? 

DM: For those who know how to use it, and use it well, it can be the best tool there is for connecting with other producers, audiences, and studio scouts. To really promote yourself online takes commitment and time. And it’s like any marketplace - it goes both ways. I’ve seen a lot of hyped up, well promoted pieces of shit, and I’ve found some terrific shorts hidden in obscure places. So I guess if you can’t do your own marketing, you should find a friend who knows how to navigate web 2.0. It’s only going to get bigger.

Director’s Interview

Make Movies puts our 10 questions to Brandon Hamilton, director of The Man From Hades.

MM: What inspired the story?

BH: Classic Film Noir, Greek mythology, and my own pathetic love life.

MM: What were you going for with this film?

BH: Something new, something big; bigger than I’ve previously done.

MM: Do you feel that you achieved that?

BH: I think making the film was an achievement in itself. I had 3 shooting days, a skeleton crew, and the most actors and locations I’ve ever worked with. I also cut the film overnight in 7 hours. I get tired just thinking about it.

MM: What did you learn while making the film?

BH: To trust my crew. Having acted in my film I had to put much more responsibility on my crew, given they were seeing the shots and watching the acting. I had to rely on them to tell me when we had a good take or to when to do it again, and they did a killer job.

MM: What are you working on now?

BH: An 80’s style vampire flick.

MM: What do you hope to be doing 2 years from now?

BH: Making movies.

MM: What’s the hardest part of making a movie?

BH: Getting the first shot. It’s a scary thing but once you get past it the rest is a blast.

MM: What films inspire you?

BH: The kind that make you forget you’re even watching a film.

MM: What do you think about the current state of the movie business?

BH: They should lay off the CGI. It doesn’t look as good as they want us to think it does. But the advent of HD allows more people the chance to make films for considerably less, which is great for any upstart indie filmmaker.

MM: What does the web mean to independent filmmakers now?

BH: It means we can get our movies seen, which to me is the whole point of making them.