[/caption]Julie Keck and Jessica King, who work and play together as King is a Fink, write and direct movies with small budgets and big stories that are at once familiar, uncomfortable, demented, and exhilarating. Julie's a little bit country; Jess is a little bit shut-the-fuck-up. They don’t mind getting a little dark, and they don’t mind getting a little dirty. This is what makes their movies so fun. Keep up with them on Twitter (http://twitter.com/kingisafink), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kingisafink), or their website (kingisafink.com).
Did you always want to be filmmakers?
Nope. Mini-Julie wanted to be an author/astronaut; Lil Jess wanted to be a rock star. As practical kids of practical parents, we pursued traditional jobs in social services and education. Later we explored film as a way to safely (and humorously) explore scary, embarrassing, or awkward trains of thought.
What inspired you to become filmmakers?
A porno. We saw something that was way over our 'line,' and we decided to deal with our anxiety by making fun of it. On film. Via a series of 5 shorts. There's obviously something wrong with us. The first one got into a film festival, and seeing our work on the big screen was very heady and encouraging, so we kept going.
What is the best thing about being filmmakers?
Having something to do other than just eat, sleep, and go to work.
What is the worst thing about being filmmakers?
There's no set or logical way to 'make it.' With other professions, you earn your degree/certification, start at the bottom, get promotions, and, with a lot of hard work, get to the top. With filmmaking, there seems to be a lot of the 'hard work' part and very little of the 'getting to the top' part. The good news is: we have time, we have energy, and we have ideas. We have no reason not to keep on keepin' on.
Who are your favorite filmmakers?
Jessica's is Guy Maddin; Julie's is Almodovar. These can be switched at pretty much any time.
How has your life changed since you became filmmakers?
Our lives have changed in many ways, but the biggest is that we're happier. We had a strong connection to one another before making movies, but now we have a common goal that gives us something exciting to plan and brainstorm together 24/7. We wake up talking about our projects; we fall asleep talking about our projects. We never run out of things to talk about over dinner. It's a great way to live.
What advice can you give to someone else who thinks they might want to make a movie?
Get on it! Be bold. Get an affordable camera, write a short script, and make a movie. Find friends who like to work as hard as you, feed them well for their time and effort, and have fun. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Do NOT go into debt making them. On your deathbed, you won't regret that week of no sleep or those long hours you spent learning how to use Final Cut; you might, however, regret never giving yourself a chance.
How would you describe your film education?
Watching + experimenting + learning to do everything ourselves + seeing what sticks. No formal schooling.
How has social media affected your film career?
We wouldn't have found any of our current collaborators without social media, specifically Twitter. We met Phil Holbrook on Twitter, which lead to TILT, which lead to pretty much every other collaboration we're involved with today. No, not pretty much...all. All of our current collaborations can be traced back to Twitter.
What are your current projects?
We're lucky to be juggling several projects at the moment. Here are some highlights:
We've teamed up with director Christopher Grimes' 5414 Productions for a friendly fire documentary called A SECOND KNOCK AT THE DOOR (http://www.asecondknockatthedoor.com/). Jess is a writer/producer; Julie is an associate producer. Film festivals have just started calling with acceptance messages.
Our first feature, a thriller called TILT (http://tiltthemovie.com) directed by Phil Holbrook, is in post-production in the masterful hands of editor Jeremy Doyle; we're hoping to unleash it this fall.
Our next feature script is for New York-based indie director Gary King (http://grking.com/) (HOW DO YOU WRITE A JOE SCHERMANN SONG; WHAT'S UP LOVELY).
We're also proud to be working with Chicago-based production company tello films (http://www.tellofilms.com/) on a game show called WHO KNOWS HER BETTER and a play called I HATE TOMMY FINCH which will hit the boards this fall and then be featured on the tello site as a web series.
We have a series of "kinky cuties," short, sex-positive films that are in various stages of play: our first, LIBIDOLAND (http://kingisafink.com/our-films/the-idville-collection/libidoland/), is slated to screen in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this summer; WIGGLE ROOM (http://kingisafink.com/our-films/wiggle-room/) is currently touring with the Cinekink Kinky Film Festival (http://cinekink.com/); and we're in pre-production on our third, a story about a unique reunion.
We're also chomping at the bit to work with documentarian Ruth Leitman (http://ruthlessfilms.com/) (WILDWOOD, NJ; LIPSTICK AND DYNAMITE). She's crazy-busy on tour with her latest project (TONY AND JANINA'S AMERICAN WEDDING: http://tonyandjanina.com/), but we're patient. Sort of.
Should we include our accordion lessons and circus acts here, John, or is there another spot for those?
If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Jessica is much too practical for super powers; Julie wants all of them. If hard-pressed, Julie would like the super power of knowing how to play the banjo really well for just one night so that she could jam with Steve Martin. Pretty please.
Do you believe on life on other planets?
Have you looked at pictures of space lately? Seriously, go to the NASA online image gallery (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/) right now, and look at pictures of Saturn's rings and nebulae and the moon's surface and far away supernovas. Our universe is so vast and so mysterious. It'd be arrogant for us to think that no other life exists. Plus, the idea of life on other planets fits with our overactive imaginations.
If you could be any animal, which would you be?
Jess would be a bonobo. Julie wouldn't mind being a turtle as long as Jessica promised not to dig her out of her shell with a pointy stick and eat her.
Thanks for doing the interview Julie and Jessica. You definitely have a lot of projects going on. I will be seeing Tilt when it comes to a festival near me. I'm going to do a google search on a bonobo because I'm not sure exactly what that is.
[...] out what John got us to spill as well as the other filmmakers he’s tricked into sharing their secrets (we’re looking [...]
ReplyDelete