{"id":1243,"date":"2017-05-09T17:30:57","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T17:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commarts.pleather.us\/2017\/05\/09\/filmmaker-in-focus-series-filmed-in-texas\/"},"modified":"2017-05-09T17:30:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T17:30:57","slug":"filmmaker-in-focus-series-filmed-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/2017\/05\/09\/filmmaker-in-focus-series-filmed-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmmaker In Focus Series: Filmed In Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Our next two featured filmmakers directed wildly entertaining independent comedies that won audience and jury accolades at the 2017 Festival. Directors Jason Headley<\/strong>\u2019s Bad Idea Gone Wrong<\/em><\/strong> (Special Jury mention) and No\u00ebl Wells<\/strong>\u2019 Mr Roosevelt<\/em><\/strong> (Louis Black Lone Star Award and Narrative Spotlight Audience Award) wowed audiences with their first feature length films. Headley\u2019s short films have played on NBC\u2019s TODAY Show<\/strong>, SundanceTV<\/strong>, Banksy\u2019s Dismaland<\/strong>, the TED Conference,<\/strong> and more. He\u2019s also been commissioned by Heineken, Sony, and Chrysler to write, direct, and produce original short films. Wells grew up in Texas and is a graduate of the Radio-Television-Film program at UT Austin. After graduating college, she joined a house sketch team at the Upright Citizens Brigade in LA where she was then cast as a featured player on SNL<\/em>. She recently played Rachel on Master of None<\/em> and starred alongside Jessica Williams<\/strong> in The Incredible Jessica James<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Tell us a little about your film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “It\u2019s a comedy about two would-be thieves who forge a surprising relationship with with an unexpected housesitter when they accidentally trap themselves in a house they just broke into. We shot it in seventeen days in Ft. Worth, Texas between Thanksgiving and Christmas and no one got hurt. Physically, I mean. Emotionally we\u2019re all shadows of the people we once were.”<\/p>\n

Q: <\/strong>What motivated you to tell this story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “I\u2019ve written quite a few screenplays over the years, but they all required a certain investment of time and money to actually make. No spaceships or explosions, but enough characters and locations to make it add up. So I decided I was going to use the best of the storytelling craft I\u2019d been honing and tell a really good tale with the fewest moving parts. Just take away as many barriers to production as possible. But always with an eye toward telling a story that was funny, heartfelt, and clever. That\u2019s my trifecta as a filmmaker.”<\/p>\n

Q:Tell us a random fact?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “A short of mine played at Banksy\u2019s Dismaland. But I have not, to the best of my knowledge, ever met Banksy. I\u2019ve made a couple of viral shorts that have garnered tens of millions of views. One of them became a book and an app which, I\u2019m pretty sure, makes me a media mogul. But I have not, to the best of my knowledge, ever met Oprah.”<\/p>\n

Mr. Roosevelt<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Tell us a little about your film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “This is a coming-of-age comedy about a struggling comedian who returns to Austin after a family member falls ill. Over a weekend, she stays with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend and examines her failures in her career and life.”<\/p>\n

Q: <\/strong>What motivated you to tell this story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “Mostly, I wanted to tell a story that took this character, Emily, on a journey of self-discovery. I’ve had the idea of a version of her since college, and it sprung out of seeing so many “millennials” and people around me struggling to find their voice, chasing their dreams, looking to belong, and grappling with insecurities, while ultimately suffering from chronic self-centeredness. But I didn’t want this to be an indictment, I wanted it to be an opportunity for a character to go through something seemingly absurd that really forces her to come to terms with her selfishness. I wanted to give her a chance to realize that success won’t ever fill her heart like a strong community does, and that the antidote to my generation’s woes is empathy, towards ourselves and our adversaries.”<\/p>\n

Q:Tell us a random fact?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> “I used to have pet tarantulas and squirrels and also I was on Saturday Night Live.”<\/p>\n

Explore More Content From SXSW 2017<\/h3>\n

Get inspired by a multitude of diverse visionaries at SXSW \u2013 browse more 2017 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A\u2019s on our YouTube Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and SXSW News<\/a> for the latest SXSW coverage, recaps, late-breaking announcements, and updates.<\/p>\n

The post Filmmaker In Focus Series: Filmed In Texas<\/a> appeared first on SXSW<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: SxSW Film<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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