Brian Lederman, director of the droll new short “Pushover,” used to buy gear from a musical instrument and equipment company. But the company wanted to take this casual relationship to the next level.
“Months after a purchase, I’d get a call out of the blue asking me if I was enjoying the gear,” says the New York City-based filmmaker. “Very kind, but it always struck me as a tad strange and a little awkward.”
These experiences, as well as “constant emails from Amazon asking me to ‘please review a purchase,'” inspired Lederman to make “Pushover,” a tight, tensely funny film about an office worker barraged by calls from a person desperate for feedback on their product, a small paperweight. It plays this weekend at Los Angeles’ beloved Beyond Fest, one of the most respected of all genre festivals.
Lederman, who has honed his comedic sensibility working for the Brooklyn-based comedy studio Hatched.nyc, has taken to heart Shakespeare’s counsel that “brevity is the soul of wit.” In a sea of overlong festival circuit shorts, “Pushover” clocks in at a pleasantly digestible seven minutes and 27 seconds. In that time we get a terrific setup, raised stakes, a twist, and a wild surprise.
Also Read: 5 Documentary Recommendations — and Interviews With the Filmmakers Behind Them
It’s all anchored by a very sympathetic, unaffected performance by New York actor Josh Tobin, who has a Tom Hanksian affability as Aaron, the customer/victim of unending phone calls. Lederman often works with performers from New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade, of which Tobin is a veteran.
In addition to writing and directing comedy, Lederman has done work from directing drama to editing reality TV. “Pushover,” his second short film, marks a return to his early passion for cinema. We talked with him over email about how the film came to be.
MovieMaker: You keep this short short. How did you settle on the ideal length?
Brian Lederman: It’s my belief that each story wants to be as long or short as it needs to be. For this particular idea, this is just the length it took for me to convey the story in the most impactful way possible. I’m sure my years of directing and editing sketch for YouTube played a part in it’s brevity as well. I’ve become much more adept at identifying fat and killing darlings.
MovieMaker: Your lead is so terrific – how did you choose him for the part?
Brian Lederman: Josh Tobin is amazing! I got so lucky with him! At my day job, we work with quite a bit of the NYC comedy community, Upright Citizens Brigade, et cetera. I needed to cast a role in a sketch we were shooting, and Josh was recommended.
I already had the script for “Pushover” and wasn’t looking forward to a casting call because of the specific nature of the role. As we were shooting the sketch, it became obvious to me that I had found my guy. He fell into my lap.
Brian Lederman on the Challenges of ‘Pushover’
MovieMaker: What was the biggest obstacle you overcame in making this?
Brian Lederman: The movie itself was the obstacle! All of it. I mounted it myself from the get-go, took out credit cards, put my mental health on the line, all of that fun stuff.
But more specifically, the paperweight prop caused quite a few aneurysms until I found an amazing craftsman and collaborator in Christine Pfister. Also, right as we started shooting on the first day, a Labor Day parade started down 5th Avenue, a week after Labor Day. No fun for sound. Yet, we made it through.
Any film ends up being some kind of miraculous accomplishment, I think. I’ve always felt that you need to be a little crazy to even attempt it.
“Pushover” screens at Beyond Fest Saturday, September 28 as part of SHORTS BLOCK 1: A miracle of rare device at the Los Feliz Theater in Los Angeles.
It will also screen at FilmQuest on October 30th at the Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, Utah. Details to come.
Main image: Josh Tobin in “Pushover.”