{"id":103,"date":"2017-04-25T18:03:54","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T01:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/?p=103"},"modified":"2017-11-06T22:01:13","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T05:01:13","slug":"if-tarantino-were-to-direct-seth-rogen-i-would-love-that-movie-it-would-be-so-good-an-interview-with-tyler-ritchie-by-marco-fratarcangeli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/if-tarantino-were-to-direct-seth-rogen-i-would-love-that-movie-it-would-be-so-good-an-interview-with-tyler-ritchie-by-marco-fratarcangeli\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIf Tarantino were to direct Seth Rogen, I would love that movie, it would be so good!\u201d An Interview with Tyler Ritchie By Marco Fratarcangeli"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tyler Ritchie on the set of <\/em>Bag Head. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).<\/em><\/p>\n

Tyler Ritchie is back as the director of Bag Head<\/em>, which will be premiering at this year\u2019s Persistence of Vision Film Festival held at the Frederic Wood Theatre on April 29 and 30 at 6pm. Bag Head<\/em> is another gangster comedy taking place in the same universe as Vanessa<\/em>, Ritchie\u2019s 2016 film about two gangsters who in their search for Lil\u2019 Mickey, mistakenly break into the wrong house. The two gangsters, Ricky and Church, return in Bag Head<\/em> after they find Church\u2019s car was stolen by Lil\u2019 Mickey.<\/p>\n

I recently met Tyler to talk more about Vanessa<\/em>, the production of Bag Head<\/em> and The Talisman<\/em>, comedy, his Tarantino influence, and more. The following is a shortened version of our interview. You can find the full interview here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Marco Fratarcangeli: What is it that you like and take away from Tarantino\u2019s work? And also how would you say you distinguish yourself from Tarantino? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tyler Ritchie: Tarantino is all about the movie and telling the story. I mean that\u2019s the same with every filmmaker, but I really feel that with Tarantino. If you look at a behind the scenes in Pulp Fiction<\/em>, they\u2019re doing the dancing scene, the Twist, with John Travolta and Uma Thurman. There\u2019s a part where Tarantino grabs the camera and he\u2019s filming everything and he takes control, and he\u2019s dancing behind the camera with them, and he\u2019s really invested in it. It\u2019s just that part of filmmaking and his passion for filmmaking that I really like. The subtleties in dialogue, that\u2019s what I really like. The whole \u201cRoyale and Cheese.\u201d They\u2019re not talking about that, it\u2019s more than that, it\u2019s all the subtext you can get.
\nBut how I differ is, he definitely has a different sense of humor. Mine\u2019s 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\u2019d say in the humor is where I differ. That\u2019s kind of my own brand.<\/p>\n

MF: What drew you to these characters (Church and Ricky), this story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: Originally I was playing off of my favorite film, which is Pulp Fiction,<\/em> 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, \u201cWhat if two guys are trying to find a guy? Then what happens? I don\u2019t know, maybe they get the wrong house. Oh that\u2019s a good idea!\u201d That\u2019s me talking to myself.<\/p>\n

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From left to right: Austin Kvaale as Lil\u2019 Mickey, Evan Moyer as Ricky, and Eddie Flake as Church in <\/em>Bag Head. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).<\/em><\/p>\n

MF: What can people expect of Bag Head<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: It\u2019s definitely a little more emotional in comparison to Vanessa<\/em>, which is more of a \u2018shit happens\u2019 movie. It\u2019s a blunder of mistakes, they get the wrong house, \u201cOh no,\u201d everyone\u2019s mistaking each other, \u201cOh no, I\u2019m not going to do this,\u201d and it all piles up. Bag<\/em> Head<\/em> is a same idea, people making mistakes. The banter between Ricky and Church is very similar. In Vanessa<\/em> they had just started working together, in Bag Head<\/em> they\u2019ve been working together for six months or so, so they\u2019re a little more familiar. The story goes that Church\u2019s car has been stolen by Lil’ Mikey, and Ricky has been following this guy back to his safe house, and that\u2019s 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\u2019t find the keys, they can\u2019t move the car without the keys, so they need to go talk to Mikey, and that\u2019s where everything plays out. So it\u2019s all Ricky messing up and Church trying to teach him. I really tried to focus on the mentorship idea, and there\u2019s more of a moral code for Church in this I guess. It\u2019s a little more serious than Vanessa at the end.<\/p>\n

MF: What was your biggest challenge making Bag Head<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: I originally didn\u2019t have the script. I had the other script which is Coyote Season<\/em>, that\u2019s going to be the next one I\u2019m going to shoot. That one was all written, prepared, and I already had locations, actors, everything was basically ready. But I wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t shoot anything.<\/p>\n

MF: What was your favorite part of making Bag Head<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: Handing it in, finishing it (chuckles). It\u2019s such a relief once it\u2019s done, it\u2019s like \u201cyes!\u201d I think my favorite part was the jitters you get on the first day. UBC\u2019s the first time that I\u2019ve actually spent money on a film, more than just buying my friends pizza for helping out kind of thing. It\u2019s a little more serious, so that first day, when you\u2019re about to actually start\u2026 It\u2019s all just been paper and an idea, but now it\u2019s happening. So all the pre-production: done. Production. That\u2019s my favorite part. And also working with the actors. I used to act to so I really enjoy working with them.
\nI originally wanted to play Lil’ Mikey. I thought it would be funny, but he\u2019s got a bag on his head the whole time. That\u2019s why it\u2019s called Bag Head. So it would be kind of hard to direct with a bag on your head when you can\u2019t see anybody. It would have been like \u201cHow was that everybody?\u201d \u201cThat was good, it sounded cool.\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s go again!\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know!\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n

MF: How do you direct your actors? Do you have a full script ready, do you write lines while filming?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u201cYou know the characters, you know the lines, make them your own. If you think you\u2019d say this instead of that, do it. You know where the story has to go, you\u2019ve got your story beats, as long as you\u2019re achieving those beats, that\u2019s what the story is.\u201d So how you get there kind of depends, but if you hit those beats it\u2019s fine. There\u2019s definitely a lot of improvised scenes in Vanessa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Ritchie going over the script with his actors. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger).<\/em><\/p>\n

MF: What was it like being a DP on The Talisman<\/em> after having directed your own film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: Generally as a DP, you don\u2019t talk to the actors. You might tell them, \u201cHey, I need you to move over so that the light hits you better,\u201d but you don\u2019t want to tell them to bring their arms up or something, because that\u2019s acting. There were definitely times where I caught myself, or actually Kayla (1st AC on The Talisman)<\/em> would catch me. She\u2019d say, \u201cTyler you\u2019re directing again!\u201d I went up to Nolan (Director of The Talisman<\/em>) a few times like, \u201cHey Nolan, if there\u2019s ever something like this, I\u2019m going to let you know that sometimes I do it, call me out!\u201d So there\u2019s definitely a learning curve, but having Kayla up there was definitely helpful in keeping me on track.<\/p>\n

MF: Where do you see that you\u2019ve grown the most, or changed, in between Vanessa<\/em> and Bag Head<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: I want to say maturity, in a way. Bag Head<\/em>\u2019s 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\u2019m usually pretty joking and everything, so the outside life definitely got into the script. So it\u2019s less so a comedy of errors and a lesson. To me Vanessa<\/em> was a fun thing, I wanted to entertain. With Bag Head<\/em>, 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\u2019m looking forward to seeing the audience\u2019s reaction to it.<\/p>\n

MF: Do you enjoy seeing the audience watch your film? How often do you do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TR: Depends on how nervous I am. Last year for Vanessa<\/em>, 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\u2019s a sex scene. Actually, okay, I showed my dad the scene where Felix is going down on Vanessa at the beginning because it\u2019s her birthday. I was like, \u201cHey dad, do you want to see a shot from my movie?\u201d He looks at me, then says to my mom, \u201cSandra! Your son\u2019s making a porn!\u201d No I\u2019m not, it\u2019s a comedy!
\nI mean it\u2019s definitely really nerve wracking the first time, but once you get that first laugh, if it\u2019s a comedy, then it\u2019s good. If it\u2019s a drama, I wouldn\u2019t even know what to do. Everyone\u2019s quiet and you don\u2019t know if they\u2019re sleeping or if they\u2019re engaged. So when they like it, I like it. I hope they get a couple of laughs this year.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tyler Ritchie on the set of Bag Head. Image courtesy of Matthew Reisinger (Instagram: @MatthewReisinger). Tyler Ritchie is back as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[814],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcufsa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}