9DCU0115HD_Directors_Cut_Studio_Transcript

. .  Why don't you go back to band practice? ( laughter ) We should go.  I don't think so.  Come on! Excuse me, when have we ever been invited to one of their parties? Never.  So what? Face it, we're total geeks.  Speak for yourself.  You know what I mean.  We're not popular.  I know, but we could go anyway.  I don't think so.  Come on, they'll have a keg.  And when have you ever passed up on food and beer? Hello, and welcome to Director's Cut.  I'm your host, Charles Monroe-Kane.  Here at Director's Cut, we're dedicated to bringing you the best in independent films and filmmakers.  Our film this week is "Heather. " The film is a high school drama that follows Heather, a teen outsider, as she tries to get closer to one of the popular boys named Steve.  It's a dark, and well, realistic film.  And for me, a refreshing view on what high school can really be like.  "Heather" was written and directed by Melissa Lawrenz.  Thank you, Melissa, for being on our show today. 

 First, tell me about Heather.  Who is Heather? Heather is a mixture of me, growing up and the joys of high school.  The joys of high school.  So she has the dark make-up, kind of the body posture, even that clip shows, maybe a little insecure, quiet.  Yeah, definitely.  I mean, growing up, you know, I obviously didn't fit in with the popular cliques, or whatever.  But I always wanted to standout, so I did whatever, which was wear black, which was nothing, really.  Is that what you did? Did you do the mascara? I don't think I did that much.  But you know.  It doesn't take much in high school though.  No, it doesn't.  I grew up in the '80s, so wearing bright clothes was the time.  You know, aqua and all that.  So you know, my opposite was to wear black all the time.  When you wrote it and were directing it, were you like, Heather's me? Were there moments where like, I want this to be, I remember this moment in my life, and I want Heather to be like that? Yeah, definitely.  I modeled her after me.  I had blond hair, and whatever, so that changed, obviously, going through casting.  Definitely, I was the model.  I want to show another clip from the film right up front here, because I want to kind of get in the mood of what high school's really like.  This one actually doesn't need any set-up, because it totally, to me, epitomizes the horrors of what high school can really be like.  So let's see another clip. 

 All right, please settle down.  I need to take some papers to the main office, so while I'm gone, I want you to work on problems 1-10 on page 35.  Okay.  Lisa.  Lisa! Give that to me! Hey Matt, check this out.  That's mine! What's it say? Is there a problem in here? Lisa, is there a problem? No, Mr.  Watts.  Gentlemen.  Listen up, everyone.  ( laughs ) Heather. . .  Matt! Shut up! Is in love with Steve! ( laughter ) Oh, isn't that sweet?! It looks like Heather would like to get to know you a lot better.  ( laughter ) A lot, a lot better, if you know what I mean.  Jane's going to be pissed when she finds out.  ( laughter continues ) God, high school sucked! I hated high school! I was such a dork.  In high school, I wore a big Army coat, a big, huge Army coat and these big, thick glasses.  I hated high school.  That's such a painful scene, in a sense, because it really shows there's a pecking order.  Tell me a little bit more about some of the details of your high school experience.  What was high school like for you? You know, I guess, really, looking back, it wasn't horrible. 

 But things happened that you know, I wasn't part of the popular group.  I was like, I don't care, I'm going to go against them and do the opposite.  But deep down, you really wish you could be part of it.  Right.  And things always happen where you get so embarrassed by the stupidest things.  Like, things happen.  And you know, it's like mortifying.  It's like your emotions as a teenager go from one extreme to the next.  It's interesting, I'm curious as I watch this film-- and we're going to see some more clips from it.  There's a sense that this subject matter, unpopular girl, jock guy, it has been done a million times before.  What do you bring to it that makes it more fresh than what we've seen in a thousand after school specials? I think the subject matter is different.  I mean, it's been done before, but I'm hopefully doing it in a different way.  When I watch this film, it doesn't feel-- It has a subject matter of say, an after school special, but it doesn't feel like it at all, nor does it feel like "90210," or some other, like "The OC," or something.  What are you doing as a director differently, to bring in the same thing to it, but having it not feel in that contrived way? That scene has even been done before, but somehow it's more real.  What's the difference? What do you think the difference is? I don't know.  I grew up with John Hughes, who I thought was brilliant.  He always had really strong female characters.  And where I think in modern day Aptow films, they don't have those strong female characters.  Although he says he's a big proponent and he loved it.  So I think I'm trying to bring that back, the essence.  I love John Hughes. 

 And I really would like to see those type of teen movies back again, where in it you had equally strong female, strong male characters.  For a lot of people John Hughes, "Pretty in Pink. " "Sixteen Candles. " Who's John Hughes? We're from the '80s, where John Hughes was a big deal.  He did it as well.  He was able to have these scenes in the classroom.  I remember, I think it was in "Pretty in Pink," where they were in detention.  And you're just like, man, that's how it is.  That's really, really how it is.  Over dramatic, but at the same time, it's real, because, you know, it's a cusp age.  Have you ever thought about that? I would never want to be 17 again.  You're treated like a kid.  But you actually are an adult.  You're grown up.  You can join the Army.  You can get pregnant.  You can drive a car.  It's kind of an interesting moment.  A lot of the filmmakers we've had on, and a lot of filmmakers in general, are men.  I think a man dealing with this film, even that scene, passing a note in class, a woman made that scene.  Because there's really empathy for her. 

 There's this moment at the end where she's like, the one friend says, "I'm sorry. " And the girl says, "Okay. " That's real.  How do you feel as a female director? How are things different for you? I don't know.  I've had men look at this film and they're like, that's so typical, the jock gets, you know, whatever.  But I don't know.  It's hard to say.  Maybe I'm giving it more of an emotional true, real stance to it.  I don't know.  I mean, I think it would be hard for a man to do this film, from that respect, because it's, I don't know, girls go through high school differently than guys.  There's another clip we want to show.  And I would like you to set it up.  This certainly shows what I think a woman would do differently in a film than a man.  Also, I think it shows what makes this film atypical to even what John Hughes would've done.  So if you could set up the next clip for us.  Heather goes to a party that she shouldn't really be going to.  She's not invited.  She meets up with her crush, the guy that was written in the note.  So they meet up.  And he finds her in his bedroom, and things happen.  Well, let's see another clip from the film, "Heather. 

" ( door closes loudly ) What are you doing? I was just looking at your pictures.  What's the rush? Um, my friend Lisa, you know? She's really drunk, so I thought I'd go find her.  So. . .  So.  You're in love with me, huh? You weren't supposed to see that.  Relax.  ( whispering ): Okay.  Stop.  What's wrong? I just-- I don't want to do this.  Sure, you do.  So of course, we couldn't show the rest of that clip, because a bit graphic.  But then Steve rapes Heather in that scene.  Very, very powerful.  I didn't think that was going to happen, actually, when I saw it.  So you went to that moment.  What, as a writer and as a director, why to that moment in the film--? Why did that happen? Yeah.  It's a multitude of things.  I mean, I never experienced rape.  And I think people wonder if I have been raped. 

 I haven't.  But I had experience in sexual harassment at work.  And just how I was treated through that process kind of inspired, I guess, needing to get that out.  And then, yeah, I guess how society treats men and women who are raped, specifically women, just because they're always treated as a sexual object, and they want it, so obviously, you know, it wasn't rape, they were doing it for a reason.  Right, she said in the note.  Exactly.  The whole Kobe Bryant rape thing was happening at the time.  And how the woman was treated, how her name was released in the press, and how no respect was given to her.  Which is what happens in this film.  Everybody in school knows it.  Even the accused, Steve, sees her in the hallway.  There's a moment where she's in the principal's office, this horrible moment in the film.  And he sees her again.  And it kind of almost feels, as some people talk about, being raped again.  I was really surprised to watch it.  Because one of the things I thought about while I was seeing this film, is I've never seen this in a film of this subject matter.  And that happens all the time.  Which I find annoying, initially.  But then I'm like, there you go.  You did it.  What do you think of that idea? Have you ever seen that before in a film? I don't think so. 

 I was inspired by a Swedish filmmaker, Lukas Moodysson.  He did a film called "Lilya 4-Ever," about the sex trade.  And he had multiple scenes of her basically being raped.  But it was from her perspective and seeing the guy's face the entire time.  Oh, wow.  So it was very powerful, but I wanted to do the flip side of seeing just her face, and seeing how she's taking it in.  I don't think we necessarily want to see that or think about it, we just kind of want to gloss over the bad things.  And I think because society has a history of doing that, trying to not talk about the bad things, and just moving on.  Yeah, which is what they try to do in the film.  Her parents, not to give the whole film away, but her parents are basically like, they know that it happened, but then they want her to move on.  He's going to get suspended from school.  He's going to get busted because he had alcohol at the party.  He's not going to be able to play football anymore.  But there's not going to be criminal charges for the rape.  Yeah.  Which is pretty intense.  I'm curious as I watch a scene like this.  And this is a director question for you.  That scene, I assume you're the person-- Are you the person with the camera? No, I had a DP.  You have the camera person.  There's you. 

 You have Steve, the actor.  I don't know how many other people were there.  But that's a pretty intense moment for Heather.  And for you.  What was it like when you were filming? What was that moment like when you were filming, you're choreographing a rape.  What was that like? I couldn't imagine doing it.  Well, I mean it was hard.  When we choreographed it, we practiced it beforehand, we didn't get too intense with doing it.  We went through the motions.  Okay, you need to block here.  This is where we're going to be.  And then we tried to save all the emotional context with it the night that we shot it.  We spent one night doing this scene only.  And then left afterwards? Yeah.  It was the DP who ran camera, the sound guy, and me, and the two actors.  And that's all we did.  What was it like for the actress who plays Heather? It was intense.  She must be a teenager.  She seems fairly young.  Yeah, she was 19 at the time.  So it was intense. 

 I think the guy was okay.  He was okay.  He just kind of joked.  That was the way he dealt with it.  But it was pretty hard for her.  I mean, we had to go to the bathroom afterwards, after each take, and just kind of sit there.  I had to make sure she was okay.  It was rough.  Even though you're shooting it, and it's not real, she put a lot of emotion into it.  Sure, yes she did.  It's a very intense scene.  What helped her? Would you remind her of why the film is important? It's not gratuitous.  Is that part of what would help her, or helped you? I don't think we necessarily said anything specific about it.  I was just, "Are you okay?" You know, I just hugged her, you know, just took the time to make sure that she was okay.  It wasn't, you know, I mean it's going to affect you no matter what you do, because you are playing that role.  You are directing it.  But you just try to, you know, make some jokes and keep it light.  There's a great ending to the film, which again, I was surprised by.  Her best friend, who for a while didn't believer her in the film, in the end she says, "I believe you.  I believe you. " And I was like, that was on purpose. 

 As a writer, as a director, why, "I believe you. " What's so important about those lines for you, for Heather? I think she's a very strong character.  She's going through the motions to prove that she's right.  And she's standing up for herself.  So, she doesn't need anybody to do that for her.  But the one thing she really needs from other people is the support, and the idea that they do believe her, that they actually believe in what she's saying.  And not the outside core of all the people that are going against her.  I think when you're a teenager, you just want somebody to believe you.  It's interesting, I was watching the film and it felt like everything for her was going down.  Yeah.  Then, as soon as her friend said, "I believe you," boom, that's the start of things going back up.  You have some other films.  We're going to show some clips from some of the other films.  The next one is called "Outside of this House. " I wonder if you could-- We're going to show a clip from that film and talk about it, but why don't you set it up just a little for us.  Tell us a little bit about what this film's about.  It's about a girl, she's 15.  Her brother's going away to college, which is kind of traumatic for her, because that's her core at home, which is not a very happy home.  Her parents are bickering.  Her dad's emotionally abusive.  And the morning that he's going to leave, he slaps her. 

 That's the first time it's become physical.  So she's petrified of him leaving and her being there alone, by herself.  So she tries to run away.  This is a scene from "Outside of this House. " ( van doors shut ) ( engine starts ) I hate that house.  We'll get there in about six hours.  Can we stop and get something to eat? I'm hungry.  Let's get a few miles in first.  What classes did you register for? I'm in Astronomy and I signed up for Trig.  And I can't remember what else.  You can't remember?! Idiot! ( laughs ) ( sneezes ) Was that you? No.  Where's it coming from? Back here.  What are you doing in that van?! We were scared sick! Momma, let go, you're hurting her.  A clip from the film, "Outside of this House" by Melissa Lorenz.  Melissa, as I see that clip from that film, "Outside of this House," and your film "Heather," the question is begged here.  There seems to be a lot of tension between parents in both films, very serious tension, and their children.  Is this autobiographical? Uh, yeah, obviously.  ( laughs ) Is that something you feel-- You do fiction, mostly.  Yes.  Is that something you feel like-- Is that where the creative muse comes from, the tension from that autobiography? I think, at least for me growing as a filmmaker, when I started making films, the story content had nothing to do with me.  It was just, you know, this generic, whatever junk I was trying to write, and make it seem real. 

 I guess when I realized I had to start from within, and what I was used to, what I experienced.  You know, what I know as a person, starting with that and moving forward, I think I can break away from doing stories that, you know, the parents being awful and blah, blah, blah.  So I think I had to start with the inner me, what I've experienced, and deal with that first.  Woody Allen never stopped.  It worked for him.  Maybe I never will.  I don't know.  ( laughs ) It worked for him.  He's pretty successful! Yeah.  But there is an emotional resonance to it, though, because you're bringing to it.  I don't know if you ever hid in the back of car with the boxes, but I mean, it's a very powerful image.  She is stuck.  She is trapped.  There's no way she's going to make it.  You know that.  She knows that.  Everybody knows that.  But still, she attempts.  It's kind of a powerful thing.  I'm curious because we have another film that we want to see that is a documentary film.  We're going to show a clip from it. 

 It's about your grandmother.  But before I ask about that, I think about families a lot, and be like, that is kind of what many of us have.  I didn't live through a war.  I didn't go to space.  So the trauma and joys of my family are what I have, if I'm a novelist or a writer.  So it is what we bring.  And I think it's interesting that you say you might want to move away from it, because I think it's pretty rich, don't you think? Yeah, I think that will always be a core.  Even if you do a film about space, you're going to have some sort of context of being a human being, and what you've experienced in family, and whatever, that generates the person that you become.  So you can't deny any of that experience, because that's what makes it real, and hopefully makes the audience understand.  We were talking earlier.  Sometimes you make a film, and you see some of these films, and you're like, yeah, there's skill there, the editing, and all that stuff.  But so what? Where's the emotional resonance? Yeah, exactly.  Well, speaking of emotional resonance.  You have another clip we want to show from your film.  Why don't you set up the autobiography, the documentary.  Yeah, I took some 8mm footage I had of myself growing up, and with my grandmother, who lived in Sweden her entire life.  I was born in Sweden, but I grew up in America.  It's about after her death, I kind of took that time, I guess, to reflect upon our relationship, and review what happened.  And I guess some things I just wish I could've said to her before she died.  This is some things you said to her here.  Let's see a clip from "I Hope, Grandmother. 

" That is a clip from "I Hope, Grandmother. " Melissa, that is so beautiful.  It makes me want to go back and make one for my grandmother as well.  Tell me more about your grandmother.  She was an amazing woman.  And when she died, it was just a huge loss for our whole family.  I guess, you know, this was just an honor to her, because she was such a big woman.  I felt like she needed a little bit more, you know, something to honor her memory.  It's interesting.  We see it a lot, you know, from David Byrne, to a lot of documentary filmmakers, the old stock footage.  The filming of the photo.  Some music.  But it's such a great thing to do.  There's a lot of aspiring filmmakers out there.  How hard is that to do? It's not.  My parents had actually transferred that footage to VHS, so that's what I actually used.  And you could just take still photos and import them into Final Cut, or whatever.  But I filmed the photos, at the time.  But you can do anything.  But it's beautiful.  There's a slowness to it. 

 There's an intimacy.  If you have the camera and you're on the photo, then you can move as slow and as fast as you want, as you would look at that photo.  Yeah.  It's kind of nice.  Just seeing it reminds me.  It's a powerful thing.  We should all make films about our grandmother, because we all have photos.  Yeah, exactly.  It should be a home project for everyone.  Melissa did it.  We should all make films about our wonderful grandmothers.  Who did you make this film for? Who is the audience for this film? A film in Swedish about your grandmother that's six minutes long.  It was for me.  I think it was an exercise for me to really get at the true emotion that was inside me that I was afraid of sharing with people.  And that was really the exercise of this, was to tell the truth about some painful things about my past, which you know, was the death of my grandmother.  So that was really the point of it, was for me to grow as a filmmaker.  When you screened it for your audience, for yourself, how did you feel about it? I screened it for some colleagues, and they loved it because it was honest.  I think that's the real, true goal of a filmmaker, to be as honest as you can.  And my family loves it.  They cry every time they watch it.  That's good enough. 

 To be honest and your family cries.  Thank you very much for joining us.  Very powerful films.  We wish you best of luck.  Thank you.  When you make a full-length feature, give us a buzz.  We'll have you back on.  Thank you.  And thank you all of you for watching today.  on Director's Cut.  For more information on today's film, or to hear more about Melissa Lorenz, please go to our Web site, where you can pick up a copy of her film at: wpt. org/directorscut.  While you're there, send us an email.  We would love to hear from you.  I'm your host, Charles Monroe-Kane.  For everyone here at Director's Cut, thank you very much for joining us.  Check the gate. ECHO is on.