E-News Article - Danny Thebeau

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    30TH ANNVERSARY INTERVIEW WITH DANNY tHEBEAU

    By Tim O'Neill

    Tim O'Neill: How and when did you first get involved with the NB Film Co-op?

    Dan Thebeau: Through a friend producing in Nova Scotia, where I'm originally from; I was learning how to write scripts. He had actually coached me on buying my first camera, a Sony VX2000, and was encouraging me to write and shoot as much as I could. But shoot who, what? I convinced a friend and singer/songwriter to let me shoot a music video for her. Although the experience was fun, it was a disaster, I had no idea what I was doing... but I had a vision and passion. I think it was summer 2004, my friend was busy and I felt terrible about constantly emailing him questions, so I started looking for resources on the Internet. To my surprise I found New Brunswick Film, but couldn't really see how they could help me as a novice filmmaker…but through that research…I stumbled onto the NBFC.

    I emailed Cathie and asked about the Coop and she sent me a package for me to review and consider if it was right for me. The whole idea died there for a while as I continued to write and produce little league hockey videos around town. In the spring 2005, once the hockey season over, I contacted Cathie again and I convinced a friend writer to come with me for an orientation of the Coop. This was during the moving out of York Street and the place was in complete chaos. Cathie did her best even in the mess they were in. I may have felt a little intimidated…because I was from a different town. I again put it off until the fall when I was perusing the website and noticed they were getting ready to release the workshop lineup for 2006. I wanted to take advantage of the savings for the workshops so I ended up joining as an Associate Member. I saw that Dennis Poirier, who was from Moncton at the time, was listed on the website and I contacted him via email. We ended up meeting at Starbucks and had a pleasant chat about filmmaking over lattes. It was weeks later [when] I met Donovan Richard (I had a donation of toilet paper and paper towels for the Coop). Donovan dropped by my house to pick it up. We had a great chat and it hit me. I have to surround myself with guys like this so to feed off that energy for inspiration.

    I ended up taking my first workshop: that was Screenwriting with Amy Whitmore. I had a blast. I had already written a seven-page script for which I asked if Amy would critique and she did. It took a couple workshops for me to realize just how valuable the Coop would be to me in reaching my goals as a filmmaker. Cathie put me in contact with Ralph Pritchard, then Jason Chisholm, and other talents... suddenly all these people were popping up around me who had the same drive as I did.

    The NBFC has played an integral part of my development, it serves as the hub that bring all us like-minded individuals together who help me become a better storyteller. Without the Coop, I fear that filmmaking would still be a dream rather than a reality.

    TO: It sounds like you've approached filmmaking through the writing first, then directing...at least in your beginnings. Would this be a good way of putting it? Is there one discipline you favor over the other? Or are they both part of the same thing in your mind? Or to put it another way, are your scripts the necessary first step you take to get to the directing, or is it the writing/directing approach to filmmaking that you prefer?

    DT: Yes, my first approach to filmmaking was writing. Though I have the ability to flesh out a story in my head relatively quickly, like many, writing things down is often a challenge simply because you're confined sitting in front of a computer for a painfully long time... at least for me. After spending some time doing both the writing and the directing, I find myself most satisfied when I'm directing. I love actors, I love working with them. I love framing things, and working the movements, the flow of imagery, and seeing my imaginary world come to life. There's no better feeling. To be honest, in a perfect world I'd have someone write down my ideas, and have them write the script, and I would direct it. I find the writing process lonely and at times frustrating.
    I write with directing hat on. I'm guilty of writing for actors in mind, which can be limiting or subjective [sometimes]…but so far it has worked for me. The talent pool in our area has increased dramatically over the past couple years and [looking] through the camera lens, we have a beautiful province to shoot in. So I absolutely begin directing the moment I start writing.

    TO: I have a feeling that a lot of directors share your frustrations about the writing process.... Your writing, as you have said, has been, up to now, an isolated process, at least as it compares to your directing efforts. Tell me a little bit about how the collaborative process has helped to drive you creatively. Has it helped to inform your writing since? Does the collaboration improve, or challenge the ideas you have when you go into a project, or is it more about problem solving to achieve your original vision?

    DT: For me the collaborative process begins with people talking. I've not yet gotten into a writing situation where there are two writers though that could be interesting and I would be very much open to it. The times that I've worked with others in the writing process was me walking around in circles in my living room talking through a story and have a scribe recording my thoughts as I lose myself in my story. The person asks questions and this triggers more ideas and solves plot issues. I found that being confined to the laptop typing away in the early stages of story development interrupts my thought process. I also request critiques of my scripts after a good draft is done. This has been…a "hit or miss" [situation] for me. The issue is having the right person critiquing or helping the writing process. One that understands what I'm trying to accomplish otherwise it just becomes confusing.
    My family always said that I had a unique sense of humor. I love brazing the absurdity in all things. You should see inside my mind sometimes. Though I'm trying to steer away from the absurdity in my writing these days, and try new things in the dramatic genre. I had never felt ready to tackle drama until now because poking fun at the dramatic through comedy was more interesting to me. Now that I've gotten that out of my system with "Do-Gooders", I'm ready to go for it. The timing feels right, and if it doesn't work for me, I'll re-adjust. In the end, I could never abandon the filmmaking process altogether but I could see myself leaving the writing to prolific writers and direct other writer's scripts.

    TO: Yeah, I've sometimes found the critiquing process a little frustrating. Often times it is not only finding the right people to critique it but the right person at the right time because you need different things at different times. And you are always left wondering, "was there something I did wrong" or what have you. And having a critic "being of like mind" can sometime be a good thing or a bad thing, depending. (By the way you can be both dramatic and absurd at the same time: it is called Satyr). Tell me a little bit about "Do-Gooders." Was this your first major work? What did you set out to accomplish with this film? You mentioned you played against the dramatic with comedy.... Was it about challenging the forms of existing drama? Or more just about making people laugh?

    DT: "Do-Gooders" was to me as fun to make as fun as "A Day's Grace" was. The difference was I felt in control. I had a clear vision as to what I was making and what we were getting. "Do-Gooders" is 100% intentional. "Do-Gooders" was not my first major work; I think "All Revved Up" was my first major work. "All Revved Up" is a NB Short Film Venture that audiences are responding well to. It's safe. "Do-Gooders" is a little more risky, I think it's one of those films that you'll like or you'll hate. It's totally messed up and characters are ridiculous. At first I cared about the critiques and hoped it would help me assess whether…to put out there. I got great reviews and I got some not so good reviews. The problem was the not so good ones were never consistent in what they seem to "picking" on. So I though fuck it. I will make what I like to watch and I did. I'll listen to the audience; in fact welcome the criticism. I aim to please. Every film is a new experience to learn from. When I'm done learning, I'll wrap it up and take up pottery.

    TO: "All Revved Up" was a much larger project than you had done up to this point, was it not? How were you able to run this shoot, efficiently? What, if anything, did the Co-op give you that helped you to complete this project as well as you did?

    DT: "All Revved Up"…was a short film venture. It's been two years since the production of "All Revved Up" so it seems like a long time ago. "All Revved Up" like any other production was a great learning experience and yes was my biggest project to this point. What made the "All Revved Up" a success was a combination of different things: [the first was] the selection of cast, which is ultimately important for any film. (It's a travesty to watch a film that you know the script was great, but the wrong casting negatively impacted the film). This was not the case, I believe, for "All Revved Up." [In] hindsight I would not make one single change in the cast. The second thing that made "All Revved Up" a success was the dedication of the crew.

    The script, though is not my strongest, was fun and solid. Coming back to the casting, when I was writing "All Revved Up", I had a good idea who I wanted to cast since I had met or worked with these wonderful actors before. It was easy for me to play with these characters because to some degree [the characters] fit their true personalities. Imagine my excitement to learn that it earned Tracey Carney An Outstanding Performance by an actress, and an Outstanding Performance by an actor for Jason Chisholm. But in addition to these winners, there were other really strong talented actors like Mike Prangnell, Keith Ruttan, and of course Josh Linton with his rapturous wit. It was great to have the film nominated as best comedy…though, you may find this odd but a good friend, Mike Clattenburg, once told me that not winning was better fuel. I live by those words. I do prefer the nomination to a win because I'd hate to think that I've achieved best at anything yet since I've just begun and I have so much more to learn.

    In addition to the cast selection, I think the crew selection was incredibly important. You not only have to respect them for their work but more importantly they have to respect you [and know] that you know what the hell you're doing. I can't say that "All Revved Up" went off without a hitch. We had a couple hurdles, which called for spontaneous script changes and some crewing adjustments. I was incredibly lucky to have Jeremy Robinson as Director of Photography and Corena Walby as First AD. Britany Sparrow as PM, Donovan Richard for his pre-production PM and AD work, Jason Chisholm for editing the piece, and Ronaldo Richard for scoring it. With that [amount of] strong of leadership, they made the rest work easy for me and all involved.

    So many other things helped with this production. Location freedom, we shot at my sister's house, which allowed us freedom to do whatever we wanted regardless of schedule.

    In regards to the Co-op, this film would never have been made had it not been for the mentorship and opportunities that the NB Film Co-op provides: the networking [opportunities] that the Co-op promotes, the relationships--and if one uses and manages those relationships correctly can achieve just about anything. One cannot make a film on his/her own.

    I've never thought of "All Revved Up" as my film, it's OUR film. I just happen to call myself producer, writer, and director--but that's a drop in the bucket when you look at what it takes to put a production like this together. I owe the success of "All Revved Up" to NB Film, NB Film Co-op, and to all cast and crew. It truly is OUR film.