Ross Munro joined us to give us the inside word on everything we need to know about A Legacy of Whining and why you should see it!

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Can you start by telling us a little bit about you and A Legacy of Whining?

Well, like a lot of filmmakers I grew up as a kid spending all my weekends hanging around movie theatres – I would watch the same film all day long (including all the trailers, shorts, cartoons)! The first movie I went to without my parents was Red Sun with Charles Bronson back in 1972- I’ve been obsessed with movies ever since!

A Legacy of Whining was created as an homage to the very popular ’70’s buddy film genre which I loved seeing so much back in my early moviegoing days- with a healthy dose of Woody Allen’s sarcastic humour thrown in.

Recommended Reading You Can Act On Camera Click a cover for more details The Art of Voice Acting Secrets of Screen Acting

What should audiences expect from the film?

Hopefully, audiences will find many of the painful situations that my character gets into not just funny but they will also recognize the universal themes of what it’s like to question where you are in life and whether you’ve made the right choices in trying to achieve success i.e.- what’s your legacy?

You wrote, directed, starred- Can you take us inside your creative process for building the script, prepping to play the character, bringing the overall vision to life?

As for the script, once I settle on the central idea or concept – in this case, a buddy film about two mismatched former high school friends who reunite 30 years later – I like to take some time to just think about it, let it germinate. I buy a fresh notebook and continually jot down info about character, plot, situations, scenes- any and everything that would seem to fit the film. Then when I have the main ingredients for the body of the film, that’s when I get on the computer and do my official first draft – using the blueprint of my now – hopefully- overflowing notebook.

As for preparing to play the main character of Mitch, I found that while still in the writing process, I kept visualizing him- with all his sarcastic commentary and never-ending complaining- as very Woody Allen-like as he’s always trying to talk his way out of jams a la Bob Hope (Woody Allen’s self professed influence for his cinematic persona).

Bringing the vision to life is the most exciting part – when you get to bring in all your cinematic collaborators – camera, costume, actors, production design, music, etc. – and share your vision with everyone and see all the amazing ways they contribute to taking it from the page to the screen!

What was the most memorable moment for you during the making of this film?

It was probably the very first day of shooting. We were filming the Fred Astaire-like 1930s dance fantasy sequence- I remember I was dressed in my tux and top hat and looking around at how our amazing crew had transformed the studio into an old Hollywood musical set and thought to myself, “Wow, we are actually doing this!”

The feeling of accomplishment at bringing a film all the way into the production stage is something I never take for granted and at that time, I felt so blessed- especially to be collaborating with my wife, Maria Munro, one of the film’s producers.

What was the biggest challenge in creating the film and how did you handle it?

The biggest challenge was the unique situation of trying to maintain my directorial vision over the course of the six months of filming. A Legacy of Whining takes place over the course of one crazy night- from dusk to dawn. The challenge was keeping my focus and always re-calibrating my cinematic compass to make sure the film’s structure and events always flowed smoothly. Needless to say, myself and the other lead actor, Robert David Duncan, who played Dunc, had to also assume the daunting task of keeping our physical look the same over the course of the six months filming for the sake of continuity  i.e.- keeping our hair, weight, clothes , complexion etc. – that was not easy. I even made sure not to be in the sun too much or end up having a tan that would not match previously shot scenes in the earlier colder months!

Any books/authors that have influenced you in your career so far?

I am and have always been a voracious reader- I’ve seen great film directors mention what a great influence in their work that books bring and I have to agree! One book that I go back to again and again that influences me greatly is Catch 22 by Joseph Heller for his absurd but deadly accurate satirical style. Another of my favourites is Chilean author Roberto Bolano – especially his awe-inspiring opus 2666.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in your career? 

It’s the most cliche but also the most true – never be afraid to follow your dreams and visions! If you have passion for what you believe in, you will never stop until you achieve your goals! Also, surrounding yourself with like-minded talented individuals who believe in what you’re doing and have the same commitment and passion will only elevate your work!

What advice do you have for actors who would like to write and direct their own material?

I grew up watching many of my favourite actors write and direct their own films – Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, Jacques Tati – so it wasn’t a hard leap to want to climb into that arena. I think it’s important to prepare your film as much as possible as both the writer and director so that by the time you’re on set filming, you are able to then focus more of your energies as an actor as most of the technical aspects – like shot lists, blocking, performances of the other actors, etc. – have all been worked out ahead of time. But mostly, if it’s something you want to do, then just ignore the terror that you might feel at that daunting prospect and just go for it!

What’s your opinion on the current state of the Canadian film industry?

Working as a Canadian independent filmmaker, especially here in Vancouver, it seems like there is a lively, thriving community of fellow filmmakers, acting talent, and amazing behind-the-camera crew people. Everybody seems to know everyone else and there is fantastic support amongst everyone and a willingness to help and encourage that I am constantly in awe. Basically, whether it’s docs, shorts, features of any/all budgets- there really are an abundance of creative people with that do-it-yourself spirit!

Where can we find more info about you and A Legacy of Whining?

Twitter: @rossbrew

Facebook: Next One Productions and World Premiere Screening Event

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Thanks to Ross Munro for speaking with us!

Don’t miss A Legacy of Whining at the Vancity Theatre on April 5th at 6:30PM!

Tickets available through VIFF.org.

The post The Biz Interview: Ross Munro appeared first on Biz Books.

We wanted to learn more about Kim Barker’s memoir, her thoughts on seeing it brought to the screen, and her opinions on how journalism is portrayed in film and television.

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Beyond writing the original book, what kind of influence and involvement did you have in the production of the film?

I had absolutely no influence on anything.

I mean, this is what happens when you’re a totally unknown author and you sign away the rights to your book… I’ve had friends who have gone through the same process. I don’t know if it was William Faulkner, but I think it was William Faulkner who said if Hollywood gets a hold of your book, just go to the border of California and – I could be making this up out of whole cloth – basically give over the book and take the cheque and turn around and go away.

Michiko Kakutani is the chief book critic at the New York Times. I was working at ProPublica at the time and she reviewed the book and she said she loved it. She named it one of her Top 10 of the year. She said it was like I had created a Tina Fey character in the book… So Tina Fey, I don’t know who brought her the book, if her people did or if my agent sent it over, but somehow she got her hands on the book and read it, loved it, and within two weeks of that review, Paramount had optioned the book on her behalf.

So she was pushing Lorne Michaels to do it – like it’s been a long time since there’s been a dark comedy about a war, it’s time. Robert Carlock has been her right-hand guy at many a project – 30 Rock, the Kimmy Schmidt TV show – they’re very much a partnership and he writes her voice very well. So he basically was in charge of writing the script and so he met with me and he was always super honest with me – like who knows if they’re going to make this? It’s a dark comedy about war – let’s see if this gets greenlit. He met with me often, he met with a lot of other folks who had been in Afghanistan and Pakistan – a lot of journalists, people from the military. I think he met with folks who had been in Iraq.

So then he came up with the screenplay based on talking to them and then also using the book as a frame to hang things on. Some of it’s my story – it’s all my narrative arc – but there’s definitely fiction in there… I just decided not to be too involved in it.

What was it like for you seeing Tina Fey and other actors bringing to life people that you knew?

I had lunch with Tina… We had lunch together, talked and of course got along. Then I went out to watch shooting for a couple days last March and that was the first time I actually felt like it was gonna be real.

I just saw a couple of the military scenes filmed and in one, I was complaining to the Pentagon consultant. I was like, “You know, there’s no way that a colonel from the Marines would ever say that to me. Tell them! Tell them!”

And he’s like, “Eh, it’s a movie.”

And I’m like, I guess if like the Marines aren’t worried about it, I guess that I should stop worrying about it, you know? Cause I was just like, “Well they would treat me with more respect.”

And then I was also like, “Look, I was super naïve when I went over there, but there’s no way I would’ve worn high-heeled boots on an embed. That wouldn’t have happened. They’d send you a list and I most definitely brought my hiking boots and I was wearing those. My trouble was in the other direction. I didn’t understand that there was a party scene there and I actually had to have clothes that were reasonably Western.”

Then they changed that particular scene a little bit after I pointed out the boots thing. So that was my big influence in the movie.

When it comes to movies that involve journalists, are there movies that stand out where you feel that they get it right and others where you feel the get it totally wrong when it comes to portraying journalists?

Most definitely Spotlight gets it right – I thought that was a great movie. Look, I saw and I read All the President’s Men when I was a little kid. I think I read that when I was 10 and saw the movie and I was sold. I think there’s a lot of truth. Obviously that’s also got its Hollywood aspects, but I thought it was a pretty good journalism movie.

Some of them are just so bad. It’s just frustrating.

I thought The Paper was pretty funny. Then there was that one with Russell Crowe as a reporter in competition with the online person (State of Play) – I thought that was a little simplistic and the whole idea of the evil online, that was also super simplistic in House of Cards. That I found to be ridiculous – like the whole online vs [print], it was just very simplified.

Also what (Zoe Barnes in House of Cards) would do to get a story and the whole idea that her big scoop on the education bill was going to be front page and everybody would be talking about it? That was hilarious to me.

House of Cards’s portrayal of journalism and women sleeping their way around to get stories – [it’s] offensive and totally wrong. I really hated the House of Cards portrayal of journalism… I think House of Cards was damaging because it’s like this whole idea – and you see this in a lot of movies – where female reporters sleep with somebody or do something really sleazy to get a story. That’s just not the way it works – or you just sort of take one source on a story and you run with it. You can’t do that. You’ve got to vet things if you want to be credible.

What would your advice be for people who want to write a memoir?

I think it’s interesting. I think if women write a memoir, it’s probably different than if men do.

I don’t know if that’s the case but I definitely had some people coming, saying to me, “Well, why are you writing about what you’re wearing or writing about this stuff?” and I’m like, “Because I’m a character. I’m basically like the doorway opening into this other world, so of course I want to give the reader a sense of what I look like.”

I think that men probably wouldn’t get that same sort of scrutiny. Maybe I’m overly looking at that… but I would also say that you should write truthfully. I really tried to show my warts and all in the book. I was not necessarily the smartest person in the room. I was really naïve when I went over there and covering the things that we covered for a really long time, I was not always very likeable. I tried to write the other people who in the book as well – just like honest human beings and real human beings with flaws – and I’m okay with that.

So some people are like, “At certain points in the book, you’re not likeable” and I’m like, “In certain points in real life, I’m not likeable.”

So that’s okay. I could live with that.

So if you’re going to do a memoir, it’s best to be honest – and dark comedy always helps, right?

Are there any authors that you looked to for inspiration or any memoirs that stood out for you that guided you with this at all?

No, not memoirs, but I mean I have most definitely read like Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller, and Catch 22 when I was really little. So I think I always loved the idea of blending dark comedy with serious subjects like war. I also really loved MASH, so those sort of comparisons are always welcome to me. I’ll take it.

What kinds of things are you up to these days?

I definitely want to do more books. I’m looking at doing a book, like looking at some of the stuff I’ve worked on in the last year and hanging out with these guys in New York and sort of looking at the other 1%, former addicts and current addicts, how the other 1% lives in a city as expensive as New York. There are other ideas that I have.

But I’m a metro investigative reporter for The New York Times now, so I’m basically also just really swamped with work.

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Thanks to Kim Barker for speaking with us!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is now in theatres!

For more details on the film, please visit the official site at WhiskeyTangoFoxtrotTheMovie.com

The post The Biz Interview: Kim Barker appeared first on Biz Books.