Advertisement
The Doorman Opens Up
Wayne Price straddles the line between fact and fiction
(Page 2)
MM: The Doorman features real-life big names like Peter Bogdanovich and Thom Filicia. What was it like to work with members of the world that your film seeks to skewer?
WP: Again, my film really doesn’t seek to skewer anybody except Trevor himself. Thom Filicia and Peter Bogdanovich don’t hang out in that world much, but as celebrities, can totally understand what it’s all about. Working with them was a total treat—they both have an amazing sense of humor and innate understanding of this world in which Trevor lives. If anything, people like Amy Sacco, Frederick Lesort, Jean-Marc Houmard and Fabrizio Brienza would be better examples of working with people more closely tied to that world. And all of these guys were incredibly cool, fully recognizing that we were not out to skewer what they do or the world in which they make their living, but rather to shake up the face of their world, that being the doorman. He’s a character they all know and respect, and therefore, feel comfortable having a good laugh with, and at. It also helped that Trevor W. is not a real doorman. Easier to make fun of somebody who isn’t real.
MM: As writer, director and editor of The Doorman, you had almost total control in shaping the movie, yet most of the scenes were improvised. Was it a difficult balance? As the creative force behind the project, do you think it’s important to draw a particular line in such a setting? What are the pros and cons to having such freedom on the set?
WP: The hardest part was trying to make the film evolve, and thus exist, naturally, while trying to stick to a script. I tried to be as loose as possible, allowing scenes to unfold as they will, people to act off Lucas as they felt they needed. On “set” so to speak (which was always real world locales), I said very little to propel a scene, unless I was involved in the scene. I would rather allow Lucas, as Trevor, to run the show and I stood with Patryk and watched, only cutting in if I felt it was going too far or needed some steering. Thankfully, most of our moments with real people were very short (in front of the clubs for example), and those scenes with one or two other people (Thom Filicia, Peter Bogdanovich, etc.) were somewhat controlled environments where we felt free to explore.
The true challenge came later on, in the editing room, when I had to sit with all this footage and try to tell an intriguing story, maintaining a constant tone. The line was always in my mind, between documentary and fiction. I tried never to cross too far into either. We had to kill some very funny moments as they gave it away too easily. My goal was always to keep people wondering, “is this real?” When people ask me that after a screening, I feel satisfied. The pros of working this way is a very relaxed flow, where almost anything can be used in the final cut, and you aren’t worried about mistakes. The cons are that you have hours and hours of potentially usable footage to go through in the editing room. That drove me crazy on numerous occasions. The final cut of the film was probably cut #21 or #22.
MM: In addition to the improvisation, The Doorman features several real-life characters portraying themselves, meaning that the line between fact and fiction is a little blurry. How significant was this ambiguous reality to the message of the film?
WP: Very significant. Unlike Christopher Guest films, where you know from the start that these are actors, I wanted people to believe that Trevor W. really is who these other non-actors say he is. Lucas Akoskin is not a famous actor (yet), and that plays to our advantage because people can believe that he’s Trevor. Using the real people from the world in which he exists further helps sell the reality we are trying to create. I guess we could have shot it in a more vivid, Hollywood-esque style, and created a safer environment for the viewer, and it probably wouldn’t have made the film’s message suffer. We chose this rugged documentary style because it was really the only way we could afford to shoot it from the start. Handheld cameras were employed, shooting miniDV. That instantaneously lent itself to a feeling of reality, somewhat like The Blair Witch Project. Or the film that inspired me to make this one, Man Bites Dog. You know somewhere deep down inside that what you are watching is not real, yet half the fun is in questioning yourself while watching… “But it seems so real!”
MM: What’s up next for you?
WP: Another fictional doc that I’m writing with Lucas, in which he will also star. But we’ll probably be shooting this with bigger cameras and have a bit higher production value. Yet none of the comedy will be sacrificed.
The Doorman is in theaters now.
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
Latest from the blog:
Cadillac Records Premiere to Benefit Phoenix House
Every now and then the glitz and glamour of the red carpet gets to be something more than just a flashy excuse for a new outfit or a ride in a limo, allowing the superficial side of moviemaking (pose for the camera!) to become something of substance, something more akin to the reason why a movie is made. With the New York and Los Angeles premieres of Cadillac Records, a period piece centered upon Leonard Chess (played by Adrien Brody) and the lives of the blues and soul artists who were part of his Chess Records label, the red carpet gets to do just that.
Posted 11.21.08 | News/Commentary | No comments yet...
Other recent posts:
In Theaters Now: Twilight, Bolt, Special
Notes from Movieland: Do It Yourself Distribution - Part II
Gotham Independent Film Awards Series Comes to NYC
Posts people are talking about:
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
