Writers/Directors Charlotte Barrett and Sean Fallon met during their first film production class at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Charlotte grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Sean grew up Saratoga Springs, New York where Virgin Alexander was shot. Virgin Alexander is their first feature film.
What is the current project you are working(and/or promoting) on?
We have been on the festival circuit for the last 9 months with our first feature film, Virgin Alexander. It’s a comedy about a 26 year-old scrap hauler who is about to be evicted from his house. In a last ditch effort to save it from the bank, he turns it into a brothel. The response to the film has been terrific. We’ve won Best Film at the Las Vegas Film Festival & Black Hills Film Festival, Grand Jury Award & Audience Award for Best Film at the DC Independent Film Festival, and The Best of the Fest Award at the Illinois International Film Festival. We won Outstanding Achievement in Editing at Visionfest in NYC. We were also the Opening Night Film at the Orlando Film Festival where our lead actor, Rick Faugno, won Best Performance and the entire cast won Best Ensemble.
You can see the trailer at www.virginalexander.com
What is the casting process like?
The logline to our film is about a virgin who turns his house into a brothel. It’s easy to read the script as just a sex comedy, but we were completely uninterested in making a sex comedy. We wanted to make sure that the film was being represented to actors and their representation in the right way, so we cast the film ourselves. We would meet with all of the actors, usually over coffee, to talk about the film. While auditions can be important, it was more important for us to talk with the actors and make sure everyone saw the film the same way. You’ll be spending long hours with on set with the actors, so being able to communicate is key. The only actor we cast without meeting is Rick Faugno who plays Alexander. We saw Rick perform as Frankie Valli in the musical Jersey Boys and knew he had to be Alexander. Even though Frankie Valli is nothing like Alexander (Frankie is quite confident with the ladies), Rick’s performance blew us away.
We were blessed with our casting. We definitely got a better cast than we pitched our investors. We are a tiny independent film with a large ensemble cast. We thought we would have 2 actors from either NYC or LA and the rest would be local hires. Getting to work with such talented and experienced actors as Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers & True Romance), Paige Howard (Adventureland), Mika Boorem (Blue Crush & The Patriot), David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight), Joe D’Onofrio (Goodfellas), & Elizabeth Masucci (Shame) was a dream. In the end it came down to the script. They all loved the script and wanted to make this film.
What was the "emotional environment" like on set like on set?
We try to create a fun and safe environment for our cast and crew to work in. Just because a scene/dialogue worked in the script doesn’t mean it’s going to work on set. And if that’s the case, we would much rather blame the writers (us) than the actor. We’re more than willing to change a line or a scene to make it better. We’re going to get credit/blamed for it anyway, so if it’s a good idea who cares where it came from. One of the nice things about not having much money to make a movie is that everyone is working on the project because they want to be there.– nobody is in it for the money. So we try to keep everyone happy, well fed and working hard on something they can be proud of.
How do you define success?
No clue. As long we get to make another movie we’re successful.
How do you handle rejection?
Rejection is just part of the process. You’re going to hear “no” a lot more than “yes.” Like any creative endeavor, some people are going to love it, others are going to hate it. Don’t take anything personally, just move on and keep working.
Did you always want to be a filmmaker?
This is where we separate:
Sean – As long as I can remember I wanted to make movies, but it wasn’t until I was 10 that I realized that there was such a thing as a filmmaker. Terminator 2 had just come out and I was obsessed with it. The script was released as a book and my parents bought it for me. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the script, but that was how I realized that some guy named James Cameron made the film and not Arnold Schwarzenegger. That was my introduction to the filmmaking process and it clued me in on why the movies Schwarzenegger made with Cameron were better than his other films.
Charlotte – I didn’t know I wanted to make movies when I was a kid. I always loved movies, but making movies never seemed like an option. It wasn’t until I took an intro to film class at Middlebury College in Vermont that I realized this is what I want to do with my life. That same semester I applied to transfer to NYU.
What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?
We wrote a bunch of scripts before the opportunity to make Virgin Alexander came along. Everyone wants to make their first script. You worked so hard on it and you love it. But it’s probably for the best that it doesn’t get made. We find it best after we finish a script (including it’s many rewrites), to immediately start writing the next one. We want to spend the rest of our lives being filmmakers, so no idea is precious. If something doesn’t work out, move on to the next.
Who is your favorite filmmaker?
How about filmmakers? Just off the top of our heads and leaving many others out: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, Ernst Lubitsch, John Ford, Jean Renoir, Charlie Chaplin, Werner Herzog, Preston Sturges, Buster Keaton, Robert Altman, Agnes Varda, David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jonathan Demme, & Curtis Hanson.
What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to become a filmmaker?
Just keep working, don’t get distracted. All that matters is the work. Let the rest take care of itself. And be nice to everyone.
What do you like to do besides filmmaking?
Going on hikes with our weimaraner, Luna. Check Virgin Alexander’s facebook page for photos of Luna: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virgin-Alexander/135623536471849
Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?
Sean - The jobs we’ve had have been to support our goal of being filmmakers, we never had other careers. When we moved to LA we got jobs that would allow us to focus on writing. Many people get jobs on set as PA’s and while that’s a great way to make contacts, we knew that after working a 14 hour day we would have no energy to write. So Charlotte was a dog walker and I worked in the machine room at a movie marketing company. I basically had to copy DVD’s of new trailers all day, but because there was a lot of electronics in my room, I made people think the job was really hard and complicated, so I was left alone. I had about an hour of actual work each day and would spend the rest of the day writing and on the phone with Charlotte talking over whatever script we were working on.
How would you describe your film education?
We met when we transferred into NYU’s undergrad film school. We were sitting next to each other at our very first film class. We’ve been collaborating ever since. Film school was great but we really focused on continuing our education after school- watching movies, reading about movies and learning about story telling. One of the reasons we love filmmaking is because there is always more to learn.
What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?
I Know Where I’m Going, The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life & Death, The Lady Eve, The River, City Lights, The General, Cleo from 5 to 7, Singing in the Rain, How Green Was My Valley, Stroszek, Grand Illusion, Barry Lyndon, The Searchers, The Social Network, There Will Be Blood, and Hoosiers. We could keep going but will stop there.
And for TV: The Larry Sanders Show, The Wire, Arrested Development, The Daily Show, & Colbert Report.
What's your opinion on crowdfunding?
We’ve never done crowdfunding, but it seems like a good idea. We’ve always wondering how it works in regards to the SEC. Making movies, while an art, isn’t a non-profit. It’s a business. There are many steps you have to take to protect yourself and your film. We don’t know how that works with crowdfunding yet.
How does independent film differ from the mainstream?
Is there a difference? Maybe just budget. All films are trying to communicate to an audience. If being an independent film means your film isn’t mainstream, than what is Virgin Alexander? We’re certainly not a Hollywood film. We have a lot of people that worked on the movie for free, you’re not going to find that in Hollywood. But we’re also a commercial film (at least we hope we are). We want the film to have a large audience, large enough to allow us to make a 2nd film. In our opinion, it’s just budget that separates indies from Hollywood. Indies can be mainstream (the first Paranormal Activity) and Hollywood films can be esoteric art projects (Solaris, for example).
You could go back in time and see and film being made. Which film would it be and why?
Sean – Buster Keaton’s The General because I have no idea how they made that film. Silents are amazing. They have such a can do attitude, create such amazing sets, and feature incredible stunts all with a camera that weighed 500 pounds.
Charlotte- I would love to see how they made Singin’ in the Rain in the height of the musical heyday at MGM. Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote such a funny satire of Hollywood while working in a list of hit songs from the 20’s Arthur Freed either wrote or had the rights to. And it would it be amazing to see Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen collaborate on set. Not to mention Donald O’Connor’s incredible “Make em’ Laugh” number and Debbie Reynolds learning to dance for the production! Ridiculous.
What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?
It depends on the remake and the sequel. Terminator 2 was amazing. Toy Story 2 and 3 were great. Ben Hur was a remake of an early silent film. But then there’s You’ve Got Mail and Lubitsch’s Shop Around the Corner. The remake is nice but it’s hard to improve on perfection.
What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?
They can be great, just don’t be married to the source material. Movies and books have different structures, so what works in a book won’t work exactly in a movie. A great example is Jaws. The movie is really different from the book. If Spielberg had stuck to the book, the movie wouldn’t be nearly as good as it is – plus, Richard Dreyfuss would have died (sorry for the spoiler).
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for having us and thank you for supporting independent film! Please check out the trailer to Virgin Alexander at www.virginalexander.com & join us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virgin-Alexander/135623536471849
& twitter: www.twitter.com/virginalexander
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