In the mid-1990s there was suddenly a shift in the style of
filmmaking, and many purists laid blame at the feet of MTV and the music video
generation. This was not unfounded, especially once MTV began to list the name
of the director along with the song information in November of 1992. Visually
prolific directors had long been created from the world of marketing and
commercial advertisements, but the new medium added an avenue to success.
There was a sudden influx of directors who had honed their craft as an entirely
visual medium, which created filmmakers with a distinct style and newfound
celebrity. Lasse Hallström built a career upon his work with Abba, Michel
Gondry with Björk, Spike Jonze with Weezer and The Beastie Boys, and Gore
Verbinski started out making punk music videos for Bad Religion and NOFX.
Eventually these filmmakers were absorbed into Hollywood
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| Vogt-Roberts and Nick Offerman at Sundance |
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is one of these up-and-coming
filmmakers. Although The Kings of Summer
is Vogt-Roberts’ first feature, he approached it with years of experience and a
collection of valuable professional connections. Vogt-Roberts created a website
with an assortment of comedian friends to showcase videos he had produced and
directed, which led to direction of web content for FOX, Sony, and Warner Bros.
He then created an hour-long special for Comedy Central and directed episodes
of HBO’s “Funny of Die.” While the music video directors of the 1990s built
their careers upon the success of the musicians they were known to work with,
Vogt-Roberts utilized the comedians he has built relationships with throughout
his many online projects (and the offline television off-shoots of and online
video sharing site) in order to create an impressive ensemble debut.
I sat down for an exclusive conversation with Vogt-Roberts a week before
the home video release of The Kings of
Summer, in order to pick his brain about the film’s influences,
improvisation, and the difficulties shooting in the woods.
Ryan Izay: So, I watched the film two times
last night, back-to-back. I think I’m ready to write a dissertation on this
thing.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts: I feel like I have to apologize for
you having to watch it twice.
Izay: The second time was actually with
the commentary track. The first thing I want to know is what kind of dynamic is
going on with you and Gabe (Gabriel Basso)? You rip him a new one in the
commentary track.
Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) I actually haven’t listened
to that commentary. We all just developed that dynamic on set. We’re all really
close and Gabe was just kind of a bully to everyone, and he just took over that
role of telling everyone they were doing a terrible job. And so now we’ve all
flipped it on him and we just give him a lot of shit.
Izay: It made for a very entertaining
commentary. I can tell you all have a real friendship by the way you talk.
Vogt-Roberts: Yeah, we had a lot of fun. Those
kids are great.
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| Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias and Nick Robinson (left to right) |
Izay: I would love to hear how this film
came together. I know that Chris’ screenplay was on The Black List in 2009. How
did it come to be something you were attached to direct?
Vogt-Roberts: It was on the black list and the
company that bought it, Big
Beach
Izay: You’ve got a lot of great bit parts
filled with extremely talented actors; Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”),
Craig Cackowski (“Weeds”), Megan Mullaly (“Will & Grace”), Mary Lynn
Rajskub (“24”), Kumail Nanjiani, and even a very brief appearance from Tony
Hale (“Arrested Development”). How did
you get all these great people involved?
Vogt-Roberts: The whole idea to me, to some
degree, was that I wanted to make an ensemble. I wanted to create a world where
everything is slightly left of center, and in order to do that I felt like
every small part needed someone who could elevate the role a little bit. A lot
of those actors I had worked with in the past on different projects: Tony Hale,
a lot of the comedians like Hannibal Buress, friends of mine I called up and
said “Hey, would you fly into Ohio
 |
| Alison Brie, Vogt-Roberts, Chris Galletta, Robinson, Megan Mullally, Arias and Basso |
Izay: How much was improvised on set with
so many small roles filled with such talented comedians?
Vogt-Roberts: It was a mixture of both. Chris’
script was really great and there is stuff that is verbatim on screen as it is
in the script, and I also encouraged a lot of improv. I encouraged a lot of
riffing and playing around if we wanted to loosen it up, but that’s only
because I’m not fourteen and the writer isn’t fourteen. I wanted the film to
feel a little softer, and to have the kids speaking like a fourteen or fifteen
would speak like.
Izay: I think I heard you mention something
about improv lessons in the commentary.
Vogt-Roberts: Yeah, I put them through improv
training, not so that they would be super quick and witty but because I wanted
them to feel comfortable enough to bring themselves to the roles. I wanted them
to feel invested and I wanted them to be able to show up and elevate each of
the roles. And they did. A lot of my favorite stuff was improvised.
Izay: I’d love to hear what it was like
filming in the woods. It may have just been the way it was shot, but we really
do feel immersed in wilderness for much of the film. What was that like on set?
Was it a pain in the ass?
Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) Yeah, it was kind of
madness, but it was pretty great. A lot of those are cheats, where there’s a
busy road or a house right behind camera that you can’t see. But a lot of that
stuff is pretty deep into the woods, and… (laughs) It was a little maddening.
It really was out there, it’s sweaty and hot, and you’re getting eaten by bugs.
I think there was a whole period of the movie where I don’t think I went to the
bathroom once because I was sweating out all the water I was taking in. It was
kind of horrible and then also kind of great, just thinking, “I can’t remember
the last time I was in the woods for a month at a time.” It just forced you to
bond, which was nice. Everyone was going through the same shit together, so it
was definitely a good exercise in team building.
Izay: Any nightmare days that stood out in
the shoot? Anything you would go back and do over differently, if you could?
Vogt-Roberts: I wouldn’t change much. There are a
few scenes that I would change coverage on, but nothing major. The movie is the
movie. We had a couple difficult days. On the one day we blew up that truck we
were shooting in this dried lakebed and a tree collapsed. It crushed one of our
trucks, and then half of our crew got stung by bees all in the same day. We had
some pretty insane, biblically hard days. I wouldn’t change too much. It was a
sort of rite of passage.
Izay: What about preparation for this
film? Did you watch any other films for inspiration? I know a lot of critics
have been comparing it to Stand By Me,
Son of Rambow, and I definitely saw a
little Wes Anderson in there.
Vogt-Roberts: Before
we started making it, I didn’t watch a lot of films. Before I started pitching
on it, that’s when I watched a lot of stuff. It was sort of a post-modern Stand by Me, to some degree. The kids of
that generation were capable. Our generation, we’re kind of wusses. We couldn’t
survive the way they could. A lot of it was about the differences between those
generations of kids. Stand by Me was
obviously a reference; John Hughes was also a huge influence. In the first two
minutes of the movie, there are references to John Hughes, Kubrick and Terrence
Malick. The movie as a whole is a variation on a mash-up, but I think it wears
its influences very clearly on its sleeve. And it’s really influenced by
Malick, just because I was obsessed with seeing if I could make a really dumb
Terrence Malick movie; can we combine really ethereal images, and then make
jokes effectively? I also wanted to make a throwback to old Amblin movies, but
that still felt fresh, original, and contemporary.
Izay: I
absolutely got the Malick as I was watching it. I’m glad you said it though,
because I thought it was just in my head. So, when did you first realize you
wanted to be a filmmaker?
Vogt-Roberts: I
was the type of kid who would make stop-motion movies with my action figures. I
always loved watching behind-the-scenes specials and I just loved movies. I was
one of those kids. Star Wars blew my
mind. I didn’t really think it was possible until much later. It wasn’t until I
was going to college that I was like, “maybe I should give this thing a shot.”
I just kind of went ahead, and said “let’s see what happens.” Since I was a kid
I was pretty obsessed with the world of movies. I loved going to the movie
theater, making little shorts, and just building things. I just loved the world
creation of it all.
Izay: What are
some of your favorite comedies? Desert
Island
Vogt-Roberts: My
favorite comedies are Ghostbusters, Annie Hall, Boogie Nights, Three Kings.
Some of them aren’t even necessarily comedies but they’re the things that I
laugh the hardest at.
Izay: And what’s
next for you, Jordan? Are there more feature films lined up or are you planning
to go back to making more shorts?
Vogt-Roberts:
I’m making some TV stuff right now; a couple different pilots. But I’m in the
process of setting up a few features at different places. It varies, but I just
want to work in all different mediums. I love making shorts, and I love
commercials because they are a lot of fun to film. I love all of them.
Izay: Thanks
for talking with me, Jordan. I really did enjoy the film. Two times was not as
difficult as I imagined when I started the commentary track. You’ve got a good
movie.
Vogt-Roberts: I
haven’t even heard that commentary, so I have no idea how it holds up.
Izay: You guys
run a little silent towards the end, but it is solid track before you run out
of things to say. And then you get a second wind when the credits start to
roll, almost like you’re ready to start the film over again and keep going.
Especially Moises Arias.
Vogt-Roberts: (laughs) Well, we had recorded two
commentary tracks that day. So Chris and I had just recorded it once and the
kids showed up, and I think I do remember us running out of steam a little bit
at the end. We might release the
other commentary track as a bonus for people online. That one’s a little more
straight and informative, whereas this one with the kids was definitely a
little goofier and weirder.
The Kings of Summer is available on DVD and
Blu-ray today, September 24th.
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