Tyler Ritchie on the set of Bag Head. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).
Tyler Ritchie is back as the director of Bag Head, which will be premiering at this year’s Persistence of Vision Film Festival held at the Frederic Wood Theatre on April 29 and 30 at 6pm. Bag Head is another gangster comedy taking place in the same universe as Vanessa, Ritchie’s 2016 film about two gangsters who in their search for Lil’ Mickey, mistakenly break into the wrong house. The two gangsters, Ricky and Church, return in Bag Head after they find Church’s car was stolen by Lil’ Mickey.
I recently met Tyler to talk more about Vanessa, the production of Bag Head and The Talisman, comedy, his Tarantino influence, and more. The following is a shortened version of our interview. You can find the full interview here.
Marco Fratarcangeli: What is it that you like and take away from Tarantino’s work? And also how would you say you distinguish yourself from Tarantino?
Tyler Ritchie: Tarantino is all about the movie and telling the story. I mean that’s the same with every filmmaker, but I really feel that with Tarantino. If you look at a behind the scenes in Pulp Fiction, they’re doing the dancing scene, the Twist, with John Travolta and Uma Thurman. There’s a part where Tarantino grabs the camera and he’s filming everything and he takes control, and he’s dancing behind the camera with them, and he’s really invested in it. It’s just that part of filmmaking and his passion for filmmaking that I really like. The subtleties in dialogue, that’s what I really like. The whole “Royale and Cheese.” They’re not talking about that, it’s more than that, it’s all the subtext you can get.
But how I differ is, he definitely has a different sense of humor. Mine’s a lot more like Seth Rogen, raunchy comedy, I like that stuff. So I try to make those jokes when I can. Not like fart jokes and stuff (chuckles). I’d say in the humor is where I differ. That’s kind of my own brand.
MF: What drew you to these characters (Church and Ricky), this story?
TR: Originally I was playing off of my favorite film, which is Pulp Fiction, so I wanted to play with the idea of that relationship between Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, but then I was thinking, I wanted someone to be dumb like Michael Cera. I also grew up in Abbotsford where there is a lot of crime. One of my best friends growing up, he was really into the gang activity, so I got a lot of second hand stories that way. I thought of the idea just out of the blue, “What if two guys are trying to find a guy? Then what happens? I don’t know, maybe they get the wrong house. Oh that’s a good idea!” That’s me talking to myself.
From left to right: Austin Kvaale as Lil’ Mickey, Evan Moyer as Ricky, and Eddie Flake as Church in Bag Head. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).
MF: What can people expect of Bag Head?
TR: It’s definitely a little more emotional in comparison to Vanessa, which is more of a ‘shit happens’ movie. It’s a blunder of mistakes, they get the wrong house, “Oh no,” everyone’s mistaking each other, “Oh no, I’m not going to do this,” and it all piles up. Bag Head is a same idea, people making mistakes. The banter between Ricky and Church is very similar. In Vanessa they had just started working together, in Bag Head they’ve been working together for six months or so, so they’re a little more familiar. The story goes that Church’s car has been stolen by Lil’ Mikey, and Ricky has been following this guy back to his safe house, and that’s where he finds the car and Lil’ Mikey. He knocks out Mikey, ties him up, and Church comes over and they have to get the car out, but Ricky didn’t find the keys, they can’t move the car without the keys, so they need to go talk to Mikey, and that’s where everything plays out. So it’s all Ricky messing up and Church trying to teach him. I really tried to focus on the mentorship idea, and there’s more of a moral code for Church in this I guess. It’s a little more serious than Vanessa at the end.
MF: What was your biggest challenge making Bag Head?
TR: I originally didn’t have the script. I had the other script which is Coyote Season, that’s going to be the next one I’m going to shoot. That one was all written, prepared, and I already had locations, actors, everything was basically ready. But I wasn’t allowed to shoot it because I wanted to shoot it out in Merritt for the fields. So I had to think of a new script or not shoot something this year. I was pretty much writing the script from day one, so while everyone was in pre-production, I was in pre-pre-production: I had to think of a new story or I don’t shoot anything.
MF: What was your favorite part of making Bag Head?
TR: Handing it in, finishing it (chuckles). It’s such a relief once it’s done, it’s like “yes!” I think my favorite part was the jitters you get on the first day. UBC’s the first time that I’ve actually spent money on a film, more than just buying my friends pizza for helping out kind of thing. It’s a little more serious, so that first day, when you’re about to actually start… It’s all just been paper and an idea, but now it’s happening. So all the pre-production: done. Production. That’s my favorite part. And also working with the actors. I used to act to so I really enjoy working with them.
I originally wanted to play Lil’ Mikey. I thought it would be funny, but he’s got a bag on his head the whole time. That’s why it’s called Bag Head. So it would be kind of hard to direct with a bag on your head when you can’t see anybody. It would have been like “How was that everybody?” “That was good, it sounded cool.” “Let’s go again!” “Why?” “I don’t know!” (laughs)
MF: How do you direct your actors? Do you have a full script ready, do you write lines while filming?
TR: I really encourage improvisation. I used to do Improv back in high school so I know how much fun it can be and how much fun you can get out of it. So I always tell them “You know the characters, you know the lines, make them your own. If you think you’d say this instead of that, do it. You know where the story has to go, you’ve got your story beats, as long as you’re achieving those beats, that’s what the story is.” So how you get there kind of depends, but if you hit those beats it’s fine. There’s definitely a lot of improvised scenes in Vanessa.
Ritchie going over the script with his actors. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).
MF: What was it like being a DP on The Talisman after having directed your own film?
TR: Generally as a DP, you don’t talk to the actors. You might tell them, “Hey, I need you to move over so that the light hits you better,” but you don’t want to tell them to bring their arms up or something, because that’s acting. There were definitely times where I caught myself, or actually Kayla (1st AC on The Talisman) would catch me. She’d say, “Tyler you’re directing again!” I went up to Nolan (Director of The Talisman) a few times like, “Hey Nolan, if there’s ever something like this, I’m going to let you know that sometimes I do it, call me out!” So there’s definitely a learning curve, but having Kayla up there was definitely helpful in keeping me on track.
MF: Where do you see that you’ve grown the most, or changed, in between Vanessa and Bag Head?
TR: I want to say maturity, in a way. Bag Head’s a little more serious. When I started writing I was going through a bit of a tough time as well. So I was definitely a little more serious as a person, I’m usually pretty joking and everything, so the outside life definitely got into the script. So it’s less so a comedy of errors and a lesson. To me Vanessa was a fun thing, I wanted to entertain. With Bag Head, I want to entertain, make people laugh, and also give a bit of a message. Usually my stuff is almost borderline strictly entertainment, so having a bit of a serious message is a little different. I’m looking forward to seeing the audience’s reaction to it.
MF: Do you enjoy seeing the audience watch your film? How often do you do that?
TR: Depends on how nervous I am. Last year for Vanessa, I went to both nights of POV, which was the first time which anyone from outside of class had seen it, other than like a couple of friends or mom and dad. Actually no, there’s a sex scene. Actually, okay, I showed my dad the scene where Felix is going down on Vanessa at the beginning because it’s her birthday. I was like, “Hey dad, do you want to see a shot from my movie?” He looks at me, then says to my mom, “Sandra! Your son’s making a porn!” No I’m not, it’s a comedy!
I mean it’s definitely really nerve wracking the first time, but once you get that first laugh, if it’s a comedy, then it’s good. If it’s a drama, I wouldn’t even know what to do. Everyone’s quiet and you don’t know if they’re sleeping or if they’re engaged. So when they like it, I like it. I hope they get a couple of laughs this year.
Bag Head will be screening at the Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC on April 29 and 30 at 6pm. For tickets, visit http://ubcpovfilmfestival.rezgo.com/details/121517/pov-27
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