REED FISH |
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Small-town radio personality Reed Fish's (Jay Baruchel) life is thrown into an uproar when his high school sweetheart returns home in this quirky comedy. A big fish in the little pond of Mud Meadows, Reed has it all: He hosts a radio show with the mayor (Katey Sagal), and he's about to marry the town beauty (Alexis Bledel). But when aspiring singer and ex-flame Jill (Schuyler Fisk) reappears, he makes some choices that throw his life into chaos.
TONY: For those who might not be familiar with you, tell us about yourself.
REED: My name is Reed Fish.
TONY: Nice to meet you.
REED: Exactly. I'm from a small town in Northern California. I've always wanted to make a movie, so I wrote one. My background is actually in Visual Arts. I went to school for Photography. I did that for a couple of years and showed my work at different art galleries. I decided one day that it wasn't quite enough, so I wanted to make a movie. I decided to write one. Six years after that day, I'm sitting here being interviewed by Tony.
TONY: Tell us about the six year journey you have gone on to get this film made. You have gone through a lot of highs and lows.
REED: There were quite a few lows. To make a movie like ours, which is a passion project, is really daunting. It takes a lot of effort and time. The hardest part was working outside the system. It's very hard to figure out how to get your script to the right people. I really credit my producer and my director for that. We all worked as a team to get Hollywood interested in our movie. That probably was the lowest point, which was most of the process. I started working on this project when I moved to L.A. about four years ago. Once we got it going, things started to turn out pretty good. The first day of shooting was quite a high. The second day of shooting was probably my favorite. When Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls came on and started acting, it was surreal. She's reading the lines that I wrote. That's a pretty great day when you see these recognizable actors saying your lines. When we premiered at Tribeca last year, it was a pretty nice night. There's a lot of great stuff as well. That being said, it's been a long journey.
TONY: How happy are you that your film is finally going to be seen in theaters?
REED: I'm ecstatic. It's a dream come true. I could go on and say every cliche in the book, but it's great. People are actually going to pay money to see my movie. It will be on the marquee with other movies. I couldn't be more pleased. While I sometimes wish it was being shown in more theaters, I'm just happy to have the chance to have a movie out there. It's a huge success. So many movies get made and don't get shown in theaters. I feel so fortunate that we're going to get that opportunity.
TONY: Why is this story so important to you?
REED: That's a good question. I don't think I've ever been asked that question. I believe it's important to tell because it's a story that organically came out of me. It's not like I'm trying to teach anyone a lesson with this film. It's not a big statement film or anything. When I sat down to write, this is the story that came out of me. It's a coming-of-age story. It 
REED FISH scene |
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might be my own coming-of-age story. I don't want to get into what in the movie is out of my life and what isn't. That being said, the film does feature elements of myself. It represents my own coming-of-age. I think any coming-of-age story is important to get out there. It's the process we all go through to become an adult. I think I'm an adult at this point. (laughs)
TONY: How long did it take you to write this story?
REED: The first draft probably took me about four or five months. That being said, I probably wrote forty drafts in four years. It was a constant rewrite for years. It took three months, but it took five years. It was four years from the time I started writing to the time that we started shooting. I'm also writing on set. After the film is shot, I'm writing voice-overs. It doesn't seem to ever end.
TONY: Did you ever consider directing your film?
REED: That was the original idea. I wrote it in order to direct. My interest is directing. I was so far outside the system and didn't know any screenwriters. I wrote a script in order to direct it myself. Through a long sequence of events, it landed in the hands of a producer in L.A. He actually wanted me to be the director. We agreed on that. As we went along with the process, we weren't getting any traction with it. When you have a first-time writer and a first time-producer, it's hard to be taken seriously. I didn't have a short film to show them that I could direct. We found it hard to get anyone to take it seriously. We decided that the best thing for the movie was to hire a different director, which is what we did. We hired Zack, who had done shorts and music videos. He was a little more industry savvy than I was. I'm just happy that we have a movie to show for it.
TONY: How did you get so many big-name actors for your film?
REED: I have no idea, Tony! I'm still amazed by it myself. It was really just the process of sending them the script and getting them to like the script. I think that they really related to the script. They met with us and liked us. They wanted to come on board because it sounded like fun. There's no magic way of doing it. It was a lot of leg work on our part. The biggest battle is just getting them the script. Once you do that, it becomes a little easier if they like the script. It's still far from easy.
TONY: Since you are Reed Fish, did Jay Baruchel ever come up to you and ask you for advice on how to play the character?
REED: Not really. I tried to step back a little bit because I felt like the movie shouldn't have two directors. Whenever anyone wanted my opinion, I certainly gave it. In terms of telling the actors how they should act, I left that to Zack. I would whisper in his ear on occasion. Jay Baruchel is a great actor. He really doesn't need my advice on how to act. He's pretty spectacular. He's going to be a star. I'm just happy I know him.
TONY: How surreal is it to see your film on screen?
REED: It is pretty surreal. That first night at Tribeca, it was amazing watching it on the big screen. I definitely admit to getting pretty emotional. It was quite a night to see it up there for the first time. I can't wait until it plays 
REED FISH at Tribeca |
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in theaters for real. Film festivals are amazing and wonderful, but it's not the same as seeing it in the theater.
TONY: What kind of audience do you think your film will find?
REED: I've been surprised by some of the people who have enjoyed the movie. It's really diverse. I think because we have such a young cast, the automatic assumption is that it will appeal to teenagers. You think it will be a teenage movie for girls. Those people have liked the movie, but I've also had grandmas come up to me! I've also had grown men come up to me as well. We also showed our film in Aspen, Colorado. I had a group of ski bums tell me that they liked it. The appeal has been pretty broad. I'm hoping that continues on. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
TONY: How do you feel about your film as a final product?
REED: Well, that's a good question. It's hard because I see the flaws. Ultimately, I'm ecstatic with how it turned out. As with anything, there's always room for improvement. When I did the crossword puzzle this morning in the paper, I look back and see the mistakes I made and I get annoyed with myself. You can't help but wonder what could have been. At the end of the day, I realize it's a pretty good movie and people really enjoy it. That gives me tremendous satisfaction. I think we really succeeded, so I'm delighted.
TONY: How can people see your film?
REED: We open June 1st in New York City at the Quad Cinema in the Village. Our only other confirmed city is Austin, Texas on June 8th. I know we're going to open in two or three other cities to start. You can check out my myspace page for information. I will post information as soon as it becomes available. It also depends on how we do. If we do well, we will expand to more cities and there will be more opportunities for people to see us. If we don't do so well, we'll be on DVD this fall. You'll be able to get the DVD from Netflix or Blockbuster. If you're in any of the areas that we open in, please go see the movie. We really need your help. You'll really like the film.
TONY: Why should people see your film?
REED: They should see the movie because I think they'll like it. It's very sweet and romantic. You'll laugh! You might even cry! There's an element to the movie that will absolutely take you by surprise. There's a few twists in the movie as well. It's almost like a murder mystery. There's no murder or violence in the movie, so don't worry. I think there's a little something in it for everybody. Who doesn't want to see DJ Qualls doing karate?
TONY: From talking to you, I know you're a big 49ers fan. How do you think your 49ers will do this year?
REED: They probably have as much chance of winning the Super Bowl as we do of winning an Oscar. I think the 49ers are going to make a run for the playoffs. I think they might get into the playoffs. Depending on how strong the Seahawks come out, we'll challenge for the NFC West Title. I still think we're about a year away from really challenging for the Super Bowl. I'm pretty excited about the direction of the team.
TONY: I think they'll lose in the first round to the Packers. They always do!
REED: You killed me on that. Ouch!
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| Tony Farinella |
Tony is an Oak Lawn, IL based film reviewer and columnist looking to have fun and share his unique views on film with everyone. Tony also has an unhealthy obsession with Vanessa Lengies, but that is neither here nor there.
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