Steal of the Day

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An Interview with Filmmaker Greg Morgan
by Tony Farinella

Greg Morgan was kind enough to grant me almost two hours of his time for an exclusive interview over the phone for Matchflick. Greg is an enthusiastic, friendly, and approachable director who is looking to make films that get people talking. He is a part of a new movement of indie film directors who prove you don't need million dollar budgets to get films made. His upcoming film is his third film and a film with bigger name actors such as Vanessa Lengies (STICK IT, WAITING, THE PERFECT MAN) and Ray Wise (GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK AND Television's 24.) It is entitled THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR. For more information about the film, check out the film on MatchFlick, MySpace, or filmpunk.com. Greg discussed his early directorial work, thoughts on film making, and his upcoming film. This is part 1 of the interview: Getting to know Greg Morgan. Starting out, his early love for film, and how he got started.

You can read Part II here.
You can read Part III here.

Greg Morgan on the set of THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR

TF: Greg, thanks for taking time out of your schedule to grant us this interview.

GM: Thank you for inviting me.

TF: Tell those of us who are not familiar with your work, a little about yourself?

GM: I'm a down and dirty independent filmmaker, who has been making films since 1995. I was making films even earlier as a little kid with a Super 8 camera and I just continued to make 'em. As I got older, I went to film school at California State Northridge, and from there I just started working on different film shoots, at different positions, like a gaffer or a grip. I worked for free on all these film shoots just to get my feet wet, to network, to get to know people and whatnot. All the while I was writing different scripts, and, now as I look back on them, I can see they are just awful.

I paid my dues writing and learned the craft of writing screenplays, until I finally wrote one entitled 17 & UNDER, which is a drama. I wrote that with my wife, Jeanne, and we were able to raise the small amount of financing for that film to actually make it. We shot that film 35mm, which is pretty tough to do on such a tiny budget. But everyone on the crew worked for nothing including the cast, which were all no name actors. The film went to the film festival route for a year or two and then we got picked up by a company called Spectrum Films, who did the national release on video. It was also picked up by another company which released it worldwide.

TF: How did your love for film start and grow?

GM: That's a pretty good question. I don't really have a great explanation for it. I think just purely a love for films. I had a strange love of films from a very young age. When I was just a tiny kid, I think four years old, my mother took me to see Franco Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET. She wanted to see the movie and she didn't have a babysitter, so she brought me with. I ended up bawling at the end of the movie when Juliet died and my mother was like "what's going on with this kid?" So even as a little kid, I think I understood the film, even though it's spoken in Shakespearean English. I still remember that after all these years. After I got older and saw more and more films until I finally saw THE GRADUATE. Seeing the directing style of that film just really inspired me and I realized that films are not just entertainment, they are art. That really intrigued me to want to make my own films. From there, it's just really history. I got the camera from my parents and started making films with my friends.

TF: Growing up did you know you wanted to be a director, or did you just see it as a fun hobby?

GM: It started off for the first few months as a fun hobby and then I realized, this is what I want to do, I want to be a director. I can remember when I turned 11 years old that this is what I want to do. I paid my own way through film school by making money in Real Estate Appraisal. It was a pretty tough jump to go from making decent money to making no money and becoming a starving artist.

TF: Were your parents supportive of your choice to become a director?

GM: Yes, they were actually. That kind of surprises me now. As I have my own kids. My mother was extremely supportive and said, "Do what you want to do." I think my father thought I would change my mind and do something else, although, I never did. I think my father said one comment though like, "Are you sure you want to do this?" But, basically besides that, they were pretty supportive of it.

TF: Have your parents seen some of your films, and if so, what are their thoughts on them?

Greg's first film, 17 & Under

GM: (laughs) Boy, that's really like a touchy subject.

TF: I'm sorry.

GM: No, no, I'm going to hit that question. It's hard for me to show them the films. My parents are now divorced and I show each of them the films separately. My films are usually very low budget and I think my folks being older, are kind of expecting a Ron Howard movie and then they see a low budget movie and are not sure what to think. My mom usually says she loves them, but how can I really trust her opinion? My father was TOO honest with my first film by saying "I just didn't like it". That really hurt me, so from now on, I tell him he can see my movies, but I don't want a comment from you. (laughs)

TF: So would you say your father is worse then some of the film critics out there?

GM: With him, I would like to actually just avoid it. Avoid him seeing it. It's a tough deal. It's a very touchy subject.

TF: Tell us about some of the schooling you had and what that was like?

GM: That's a great question for the future film makers who are reading this. I went to a film school, a University film school. There are other ones out there like Columbia College, which is an "all film" school, and you can get a degree from there. Really, film school did nothing for me. I did learn a lot about all the famous film makers, which did help me, I guess. But I would still say that most of my influences are from films I watched and enjoyed as opposed to films I watched in school. Maybe school opened my eyes to some new directors I may not have seen by myself. As far as everything else, it got me a degree. That's really all I can say about it. Whereas the school of hard knocks, actually working in the field with other film makers, taught me how to really make a movie. At least a low budget movie, from the ground up. I hate to be harsh on film school. And I'm a big proponent of a university education. But as far as really helping me, it probably just helped me in life. I can say I got a degree. As far as really making films, you got to put in your dues.

TF: It's funny you mention that, as one of the most famous directors who never went to film school was Quentin Tarantino.

GM: I used to know Quentin as my real estate office was right next to his video store. Roger Avery, who co-wrote Pulp Fiction with Quentin, went to high school with me. It's funny because Quentin's type of films are not the types I like. Yet he and Roger, at the same time I was going to film school, were writing screenplays. I give them props as they were able to raise the funding for RESERVOIR DOGS. They did it without film school and you do have to give them props for that. He is one who would always recommend movies for me when I would be at the video store. He would say, "You gotta see this, you gotta see that." I was floored when I heard he directed RESERVOIR DOGS. I was like Quentin? The video store clerk? I couldn't believe it. And now look at him. Fascinating little tidbit.

TF: Can you tell us some of the films he recommended you?

GM: He would recommend something every time I came in there. I'm a huge foreign film fan and he would tell me foreign films to see. Many times I wouldn't like them, but sometimes he would recommend some good ones. He just liked a different genre then I did.

TF: Who were some of your favorite actors as a kid?

GM: I've always loved Dustin Hoffman and George C. Scott. Back when I was a kid, George was a pretty big name actor at the time. I just thought he was an "actors" actor at that time. But over the years, it changes.

TF: Favorite film makers growing up?

Greg's latest film, The Substance of Things Hoped For

GM: Terrence Malick definitely has the type of vibe I like. He just did THE NEW WORLD, which is really controversial. Some people loved it and some people hated it. Some people are claiming that he's the new eccentric type director, like Stanley Kubrick. Terrence is kind of taking Stanley's place. I dunno if that's true, since Terrance has his own style. I guess if you watch my first two films, you'll think, "How did Terrence influence Greg?" But if you see my third film, THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, you'll see why I love Malick and how my style is very much like his films. I was able to put in what I wanted. I was able to really plan ahead. My second film was produced by someone else who wanted me to direct in a certain style, and I did. With my first shoot, it was such a hard shoot, like you wouldn't believe. It's the perfect story of independent film. 18 days and 18 hours a day. It was really incredibly tough and I can fall back on that excuse. But my new one, I would say, I'm extremely proud of. It's very Terrence Malick style. Although, when you say you are going to go for a certain style, it ends up something else. Like when you write a script, you think it's going to be one way and it ends up another. It always is different than what you thought it would be. But in SUBSTANCE, you will see that it is my style.

TF: What were some of your favorite films growing up?

GM: THE GRADUATE is definitely number one. THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, ROMEO AND JULIET, DAY OF THE DOLPHIN, APOCALYPSE NOW, those are all films that influenced me as a kid. THE SHINING, MARATHON MAN, MIDNIGHT COWBOY is wonderful. I love the THE PIANO, and that director. BLUE, RED, and WHITE series. Those are a huge influence on me too.

TF: So you have the schooling, how do you go from the classroom to making a film?

GM: That's a great question for those young kids who want to become film makers. You have to write, you can't go around saying I'm going to be a filmmaker, without a script. You can get a script from other writers, but someone might steal that one from you unless you have some kind of option on it. They can say, "Get rid of this kid, he doesn't know what's he doing." But if you write it yourself, it's yours, and you are attached to it. It's a done deal. If you write something good enough, and get people interested, there's a couple of ways you go about it. You can go to studios and try and get someone to read your script, which is, let me tell you, hard. It's really hard. Or you can go to everyone you know and try and raise money. If you know some wealthy people or some companies, then you might be able to get the funding. You can say I'll print your company name on the movie or something. Or do product placement for your film. You really gotta work hard to have that kind of enthusiasm to get people and companies to back you. If you have that kind of enthusiasm, like this is going to be the greatest thing you ever saw, then you might be able to convince these people to do it. That's the low budget way, and if it's successfully enough, and you can convince people to let you do another, then you get an agent.. It didn't happen that easy for me, I just finished my third low budget feature and I'm still hoping to get there. I had a manager and it didn't help me much. I'm hoping I get to the point where I don't have to beg and plead to make another film. I hope I get to the point where people say "It's a Greg Morgan film, let's fund it". That's what I want.

You can read Part II here.