Noah Segan: Actor, Underdog, Replacements Fan

Still from Still Green.

Get hip to Noah Segan.

This is not to say, merely: 1) watch a film of his, 2) check off "knowing of him" form your hip independent film credibility list, 3) then move on to the next actor/director/cinematographer whom a friend just told you about. Definitely, check out a film of his. But, watch it closely. Watch Noah Segan closely. See how he fits right into each role.Fits right into each film, and changes it.

This happens whether the role is expansive and lets him unravel his range, or it is minor and showcases more tight and nuanced gestures. The thing is, he is well-versed and carefully-composed for each role.Yet, it is not about posturing, pretending, and pulling one over the audience. You note his eyes, and trust that he shares the same head-space of his character. The temperament, the tone of voice, and the gait are just some of the things that are seamlessly right-on in each Noah Segan role I've seen.

Consider him in Brick, the sleeper hit that is bound to impact the genres of noir, teen film, and coming-of-age. Noah's leather-jacket strutting, edgy loner, Dode, tears across the screen from the moment he is introduced. His moodiness is palpable, and by the film's end, it is easy to see how this is his, "Wow, who is this actor?" role. In What We Do is Secret, he embodies Don Bolles, the singular drummer of the explosive LA punk band, The Germs. He does so without that: "Hey, look at me. I'm a great actor doing a spot-on job in this period piece. I'm as authentic as my period-piece clothing, man!" unfortunate grandiosity that can easily plague a bio-pic. Naturally, Noah call his conviction-based methods "punk rock acting."

Noah's back-to-back acting schedule is paying off, with several films coming out this year. Two of those films (The Brothers Bloom, Still Green) opened nationally in May. Rian Johnson follows up Brick with The Brothers Bloom, a one-last-con story that is as stylistically sharp as it is emotionally textured. Noah rovides an "in the pocket" (to use a jazz term) cameo that adds spunk to the cornucopia of characters we meet. Still Green (a film previously covered on this site) anchors Noah as the visceral, tumultuous underbelly of a compelling ensemble, as they come-to-terms with the vanishing of youth's clear horizons. Then, we will get to see Noah in a slew of much-anticipated suspense and gore films that will offer dark, strange places for him and the audience to explore. Deadgirl, one of these flicks, has received glowing reviews on the festival circuit, and will potentially floor audiences in its not-soon-enough (but upcoming) theatrical release. However, this is not the story of a flash-in-the-pan actor being typecast any time soon. With each film, we seem him honing his craft, expanding his palette and grounding his artistic intentions.

In a phone interview with Noah Segan, I had the chance to hear him unpack his methods, explain why he does what he does, and talk about the artists who have informed his creative headspace. Just as his acting is not filled with fluff and obvious proclamations, neither are his thoughts. I heard the vision of a clear mind that is not afraid to do the real work of bringing to life the dynamic and vivid characters he takes on. As a sign of his well-honed skills getting noticed, Noah is spending the summer acting in the influential director Monte Hellman's upcoming film. As opposed to an actor whose career may come and go with the whims of the film market, something tells me that Noah will stick around. Which is to say, watch a film of Noah's. Watch a few.

* The Brothers Bloom opened in New York & Los Angeles on May 15, 2009 & nationally May 22. Still Green opened in Worcester, MA on May 15, 2009. Still Green will be playing at Naples, Florida's Pavillion CInema 10 June 19-25, 2009; and at Los Angeles's AFI Theater on June 27 as part of NYU's Tisch West Alumni Council’s Cinema Club Screening Series. Other cities TBA on Still Green's official site.

“Dode appears, dusty and black.”

NS: Hey, there

CE: Hi, Noah. How are you?

NS: I'm good. How are you doing?

CE: Pretty good. I'm an old friend of Georgia's and Doug's. I have this interview web site, where I interview people, nonchalantly.

NS: Well, I'm a very nonchalant guy.

CE: That's good. I'm quite a fan of your acting, so far. I'm going to ask you some questions about Still Green, and then some questions about your style. How you get to form these characters, that sort of thing

NS: Yeah.

CE: What lead you to Still Green?

NS: Well, when the movie was happening, I had come off of a really long year. I like to go through fits and spurts, where I like to work back to back to back to back, and wear myself out. Then, I'll take a little bit of a break. I had been just working my butt off, doing all types of fun stuff, like the movie about The Germs [What We Do Is Secret]. I got a call from people who I had worked with at the time, who were packaging together Still Green. Because it was an in-house project, they had come to me with it. I read the script, talked to Jon [Jon Artigo, the director]. Jon is about the most gregarious, friendly, funny guy you'll ever hope to meet. That made me feel good about it. I appreciated that it was an in-house project–- that everybody came with such high recommendations. It made me feel honored to be included in that, so I jumped right on it.

CE: When you say in-house, who in the Still Green family were you familiar with?

NS: I was familiar with Ryan Kelley, who was represented by the same people who, at the time, I was. They had packaged him into it.

CE: You guys know each other from before. You're also mixing with Jon, Andrea, Georgia and Doug, who have been working together for a while.

NS: Exactly. It's always a good thing to work with your friends, and then work with other people who are friends, because it immediately gives the sense that people are collaborators. If they are already set up in a unit, as a team, then they like to work together as a team. It gives me all the confidence in the world that I can join that team and collaborate, which is why I like working on little movies.

CE: Right. Speaking of that, I like the nuances you throw in with your character. I want to know about certain things you brought to the character, or that you felt compelled to focus on. Then, I want to know more about the drawing you do in the film.

NS: One of the things that I immediately picked up on when I came to Florida– I picked up on it in the script, but I really picked up on it when I came to Florida–- was how beach-oriented the cast was. You've got this cast of very good-looking kids who are in great shape, and are very tan and very active. Of course, that immediately gave me the inclination to stay inside [laughs] and put on a couple pounds, which I tried to do for this role. And just create the history of Sean being a little distant, and not necessarily being someone who is out doing and acting exactly like his friends all the time. Because, after his freak-out, the guy became an introvert. One of the ways you could show that is physically. It was a distinct choice that I made, and I think it came across. It definitely felt, when we were making it, like it came across, and it helped me to stay in character.

The drawings: I tend to play characters who have very specific skill sets, whether it's a musician or an artist. The wonderful part about being an actor is that you get to take on all of these jobs and persona that you don't have— to get to really be everything. I grew up in an artistic family, and I've had the pleasure of being surrounded by artistic people. But, I don't draw regularly and I'm not as accomplished an artist as Sean was. I had some help from the art department with drawing, but I made the effort to study art theory, and so was able to do a lot of that myself.That ended up being a big influence on the character. If you're acting like the dude you're playing, then the lines become even more blurred. I tried to create a guy who is sedentary and introverted– physically and emotionally.

CE: It works very well. With your characters that I've seen-- but especially in Brick–- there's a sharp edge in each one. They seem to straddle the line between– the characters are very sincere, but stylized. At what point is it stylized, at what point is it just this sharply wrought-out character that you make? Does it become emotionally taxing for you to get in these places and fully form these characters?

NS: I think it depends. Brick is an interesting example, because the only description of Dode in the script is when he first appears from behind the dumpster. It says: “Dode appears, dusty and black.” [My italics and punctuation.] There was no inclination to take him any other way, other than dusty and black. Well, that's a beautiful phrase, and that's beautiful prose, but what does that mean, in a literal sense, in a visual sense?

When it came time to designing the character, it just sort of came. The leather jacket came, and the boots came, and the haircut came. These were all things that I came to the director, Rian Johnson, with. These were things we spoke about, and I asked for, and we worked out. It happened in a very natural way. The same thing happened on Still Green. There are times where I've had to really push it, The Germs movie being a great example. Because, I was imitating a real-life person, who not only did people know, who not only was a well-known figure, but who I was a big fan of.

CE: Yeah, yeah.

NS: I had a lot of pressure, and I had very little wiggle room. I had to really be this guy. In that respect, that was literally putting on a costume and having to spend time with Don [Bolles], who I was playing. I had to learn how he acted, how he spoke, how he dressed, how he played drums. He had to teach me how to play drums. That was a lot more academic, a lot more mathematical, doing that part.

CE: Was it satisfying, after The Germs movie, to act out this other type of character, in Still Green?

NS: Well, that was part of why I was drawn to Still Green and Sean in the first place. It was a very straining experience, because it's a fictional character. It's a guy who is going to evolve based on how I interpret him, how the director interprets him, as written in the script. That allows for things that weren't in the script to come out and help move the story forward. As opposed to having to do something physically right, or otherwise everyone goes: “Oh, that doesn't work.” So, that was very satisfying. It was also challenging, because it was really switching gears.

CE: With The Germs film, were you satisfied, in the end– with your version of Don Bolles?

NS: I think I am. I'm satisfied with the authenticity of Don, and of how authentic I was able to make him. In the story, it has a lot of drama, and there needed to be comic relief. In the film, that fell upon Don–- for me–- to be the comic relief. Don is a very funny guy, and he's a very irreverent guy, and he's a very smart guy. But, he's also a very deep guy. He was also very involved in a lot of the drama, and the tragedy, and the instigation that went on in the real story and during that time. Of course, in a movie where you're trying to distill five or six years of four people's lives into two hours, you can't get that all across. That became sort of a challenge.

CE: That's what happens in a bio-pic movie. You'll get a version of the facts, but if it feels authentic, that's great. That must have been hard, for the director [Rodger Grossman] to squeeze that story within two hours, and make himself happy and the potential Germs fans happy; while, at the same time, try to get something authentic. It must have been an exciting challenge for you guys.

NS: Yeah. It was very challenging for the people who were really there. What was so beneficial about making the movie was that we had The Germs there. Pat Smear, Lorna Doom, and Don Bolles were there with us. And Hellin Killer and Paul Roessler and the whole group of people that are still around. You know, they are the circle: that whole "Circle One" thing-- that is the song, that is the spirit of The Germs.

Still from What We Do Is Secret.

"Us punk rock actors are

few and far between."

NS: Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. That was my major role in a studio film. It was also something that was very new because I had to be the capable, heroic man. I didn't know about that. I was, like, wait a minute, I play drug addicts and degenerates in movies. I don't play the guy who gets the girl, and he's a bad guy who just makes the right decisions. I don't know who that guy is. So, I ended up watching Bruce Willis's movies.

CE: Ha.

NS: I got hip to Bruce Willis. It was, like, you know what? He's able to hold his own, and it made a lot of sense. I connected to it, for that.

CE: Yeah, yeah.

NS: I definitely make a very strong connection to music and film for my research, and to make sure that I get in the zone.

CE: You had mentioned The Replacements as an influence, especially while making Brick. I grew up about half an hour from San Clemente, where you filmed Brick. In the Laguna Hills/ Laguna Beach area. I felt the kind of dynamic, complex, darker suburban high school experience that's in Brick. I mean, not the drugs and all that, but more the idiosyncratic head space, and that nothing's really clear and good and polished. The Replacements were huge for me in high school, because of that. You just walk down those nice, clean suburban streets of Orange County, and listen to that lyric: "We'll inherit the Earth,/ But we don't want it!" And it fits, you know?

NS: One day, when I was a teenager, I heard Let It Be on vinyl. Somebody put on Let it Be, and I was, like: “Wait a minute. These guys are completely telling me everything I needed to hear." And with the utmost sincerity and truth, in spite of everything, in spite of–- it sounds like they shouldn't be able to do this.

CE: Right, right.

NS: If you could sound just like the underdog, that's what those guys did. There's a great biography you should check out on the 'Mats [The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History by Jim Walsh]. It's an oral history, like a Please Kill Me kind of thing. I mean, if I can work with anybody outside of the film industry, creatively, it would be Mr. Westerberg. I think that the guy is able to channel a very specific kind of truth.

That's how I tend to pick and choose my roles, and how I tend to perform my roles. I tend to perform characters who work in spite of, and to me that's how Westerberg works. Like, how do you tell the truth in spite of, and then fill in the blank. That's what their music is to me. Like: in spite of not having a girl, not having a job, not being at home, not knowing what the fuck to do. How do you get that out there? I tend to play those roles and I tend to listen to that music and watch those movies.

CE: Yeah, I see that in your face, with your different characters.

There's this ballsy, ballsy conviction, that you throw around, but it's, kind of, stuck in place. It's mixing with this other energy, where your characters are coming from. It's really strong. I think some actors— younger, older, but especially younger actors— will try to do that in a stylized way, and try to hype it up, but it doesn't seem sincere.

There's some real conviction in where you're coming from. Like you're saying, you're coming from the voice of the underdog. That energy comes out in your characters, definitely.

NS: Well, you know, us punk rock actors are few and far between.

CE:[Laughs.] Right.

NS: [Laughs.] There's not a lot of us punk rock actors. But that's what I call it, punk rock acting.

CE: Oh, that's a good way to put it. That's a good way to put it.

The mark of a true auteur

CE: So, tell me about working on The Brothers Bloom.

NS: Rian [Johnson] was doing The Brothers Bloom. Because the Brick family is just that–- a family–- he made sure that a couple of us from Brick did The Brothers Bloom. They were trotting all around Europe, and I came out to Serbia to do a little part that's in the beginning of the movie. I play opposite Mark Ruffalo in the scene. I got to hang out with Mark and spend time with Adrian [Brody], and ended up getting to know the new family. It was amazing.

I mean, the mark of a true auteur is coming up with a flick, and then hiring the exact right people to work on that flick with you.

CE: Right.

NS: Rian does that like I've never seen it done before. I showed up to Serbia and I met these actors, whom I'm a huge fan of. I'm a huge fan of these actors, and it was like hanging out with an uncle, like an estranged uncle or a second cousin, whom I just happened to have not seen for a long time. There's just this connection. It was a fun time. The role is just a simple role. We figured it out when I got there. The guy who I play is called The Duke. He is loosely based on the Thin White Duke [David Bowie], of course, because everything is [laughs].

I just showed up, played this fun character, and I had a great time. Just like I said, it's sort of like being at home, and I had to go halfway around the world to find it. It's going to be a really good flick, and I don't even have a big part in it.

CE: That sounds sweet. When you see the work and read the writing of different filmmakers, especially auteurs, you notice that they develop these families. Like Jarmusch, and the actors he works with. And the older auteurs [who wrote for Cahiers du Cinema]–- Rohmer, Godard and all those cats. And more recently, Spike Lee and Linklater, they're working with the same people again and again. It's amazing to see, like you're saying, the families that emerge. The actors will play various characters, and new actors join in on later films, but it doesn't seem out of place.

NS: To me, the most important connection while making a movie, whether the movie is good or bad, or the script is good or bad, or the actors are good or bad: it could all be helped and pushed along as long as we they're all making the same movie. I don't know if that makes any sense to you.

CE: No, it does. It does.

NS: The only way that I could put it is that we're all making the same movie. We're all trying to do our little part to get the same grand scheme and concept across. That's where that collaboration and that family come in. And that's why, as long as he'll have me, I'll drop whatever the fuck I'm doing and show up for Rian Johnson. It's an honor. To be able do it. It makes me feel complete. It makes me feel like I've done my job.

CE: Definitely.

"And that's what I want to do." ....

"And that's communication."

NS: Let's get this out of the way. My favorite movie is The Cockfighter. It's a Monte Hellman film, starring Warren Oates. Monte is my favorite director and Warren is my favorite actor. Those are guys who worked together a lot. Warren also worked with Peckinpah a lot–- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is another favorite movie of mine. Those were guys who found each other, and found out that they could get a grand scheme across by maintaining that relationship.

CE: Speaking of Peckinpah. In Bring Me the Head, there's that scene where he [Warren Oates] is running through the mountains and cavorting with the woman, then she's taken away by the biker [Kris Kristofferson]. Later, Warren shoots both bikers dead, in retalliation. It's just, it's just so jarring. At the same time, when I saw it, I was floored with the grace that the guy had.

NS: It is a Peckinpah film: it's all about the great, true, honest, sincere sort of violence that you would expect out of it. Something that I respond to is: there has been an emasculation of young men in film, as far as I'm concerned, over the last 15, 20 years.

Masculinity, and the true archetypical concept of what it means to be a man– it's been lost. Of course, you go into the western, and the John Houston, John Sturges, and the John Ford whole concept, and then you bring it up to Hellman and Peckinpah, in the 60's and 70's. These were guys who were telling very basic stories. They were telling classic tragedies, in an accessible way.

CE: Right.

NS: I don't see a lot of that being made these days. And so, I really appreciate it. I think movies like that cover the basics. There's a reason why we still read Shakespeare today. Those guys were telling very similar stories. And that's what I want to do. That's why I do it: to get very basic concepts of communication across.

CE: Yeah.

NS: Then, we have a guy like David Lynch. His movies are pure cinema. In my mind, I don't think that there's really anybody who is more versed in using cinema to communicate what you can only communicate in cinema, than Lynch. He uses every element of film– whether it's narrative, whether it's dialogue, whether it's visual, whether it's movement, or editing– and it's to tell a complete story that is a cinematic story. That isn't a painting, or a picture, or an essay.

I think that Lynch goes beyond all of the tricks to create a visceral experience that could only be described in a movie. And I want to see more of that. I think guys like P.T. Anderson do it. I think, obviously, guys like Rian Johnson do it. I think Chan-Wook Park does it. Chan-Wook Park's movies, coming out of Korea, are like the best movies being made right now. The Vengeance Trilogy, in my mind, is the best series in years.

CE: Old Boy is so, so gorgeous and strong.

NS: He's taking very basic concepts of masculinity, of revenge, of responsibility– things that existed thousands of years ago, in stories– and he is making them accessible, in a modern sense. And that's communication. That is something to work toward. It's out there. It's happening. And I'm just trying to do my little part and make my way in there, so I get to hang out with some of these guys.

CE: Just to go back to what you were saying about everybody making the same movie. I definitely hear that– my father is a theater professor, so I can see where you're getting with that.

It seemed like that happened on Still Green, on some level. There are no actors that are acting outside of the other ones, or beyond the others. All the scenes work together to tell you the story of this house that these friends are in, and of their time together. How did you like working with the family of Still Green, so to speak?

NS: They were really accommodating, they really went beyond. I've worked on a lot of independent films where I can say the people were accommodating and helpful for an independent movie, which means, all things considered, it was still great. On Still Green: in any respect-- on the biggest movie in the world-- these people would have still been the most helpful, the most accommodating, the most understanding group. From Jon [Artigo], who is– not only is Jon always in a good mood, but he's very accessible. He's always willing to give it up to you as an actor, in terms of forcing you to do your job and stop and help you work something out. He doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but he's there to guide you, he's there to direct you. He did a great job of it! Then, being able to have the writer on the set, being able to have Georgia [Menides] there, is a huge blessing and a huge benefit. You end up with these questions, like: "What is the intent here?" And you want an answer– you want a strict answer, sometimes. Of course, the person who wrote the thing is going to be the best and most qualified to give you that answer. It was great having her there.

And the other actors were a lot of fun: whether it was the kids from Hollywood, who were all there to inject a little bit of by-the-book professionalism, or it was the kids from Florida, who were there to work their buts off and do something completely new. It helped everybody out. Everybody had a foothold, one way or another.

CE: Right. Is there a favorite scene you have in the movie, or something you were glad you got to do, as an actor?

NS: I gotta look at it as the big picture. There were some really fun days, yeah. There were moments that I remember, viscerally. The peanut butter sandwich scene with Brandon Meyer [Daneck] was a pleasure, because I love working with that guy. We got to become good buddies and great comrades. That was nice. That scene in the canoe [with Meyer] was really groovy. It wasn't a big process trailer, giant film shoot. It was just a couple kids out in a canoe somewhere, and somebody was just shooting it. And we talk about authenticity, and that was, like, authentic. You know?

CE: Yeah.

NS: Two boys going out for a boat ride!

Still Green: Teen Film Makes Waves

Teen films have a way of taking you back. Whether the film is a spot-on representation of your high school years, or it makes you think, "that is not it, at all," they often make your reckon, reminisce and reconsider that time. Those years of being with, coming up, living under, going through, and growing up. The good news is, many of us have crossed that tumultuous threshold. That's also the bad news. When since have friends been as available? How much time a week, a month, do you have to figure yourself out? How heartfelt was each turn on your adolescent learning curve? Among other things, the treacherous certainties of adulthood make this writer sometimes yearn for the tenuous openness of youth.

Still Green is a teen film that wades through the the quintessential end of that threshold: the summer after high school. The story line: 1) friends, enemies and lovers wile away their time in a beach house; 2) a member of the party dies; 3) the surviving ones are left to come together, cope, and try to live on. However, what unravels is a complex mosaic of: little conversations and big events, echoing moods and sudden changes, individual resolve and collective uncertainty. The characters flow through sun-drenched scenes of coastal Florida. They share thoughts both shallow and deep. They are filled with longing, yet, anchored by the lingering they still have to undergo. Their disposition is akin to holding your ear to a conch shell, hoping for the right melody, all the while being pitched on the undertow of the current moment. The viewer is a trusted confidante, as the ensemble ride the currents of their fears, friendships, and transformations.

Doug Lloyd, producer, and I met at the start of college. We had just finished "that summer," and were on to our alleged adult lives.We have kept in touch, and have seen each other ride the waves of our twenties. Georgia Menides, writer and producer, and I crossed paths around the time she and Doug were starting their film company, Uncovered Productions. I had met up with them during Still Green's first run of festivals-- a successful streak that included awards for Best Narrative Feature (New England Film and Video Festival) and Best Ensemble (Spirit of Independence category; Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival). They were joined by Dave Weston, post-production assistant, at a BU screenwriting class screening. I had seen the film a few times before (as a potential music consultant), but not this cut, nor on the big screen. I put the sea conch to my memories, and heard it resonate with the film. Afterwards, we talked about mermaids and flirtations, the actors and their convincing spark, films and memorable popcorn moments.


Yeses Along the Way

DL: We don't need it to be edited. You can definitely do whatever you want. I trust you.
CE: So, so, Still Green. After the BU grad school screenwriting class screening. I'm talking with Doug Lloyd, producer. You did quite a lot on this film. Now, we're just walking over to some coffee. We were talking about audience reactions to the movie. What is it like to have gone through several investor screenings, test screenings, and now, showing it at festivals?

DL: Well, first of all, this is my favorite cut. That was cool, to show my favorite cut. In the past, everyone that we screened it to--at all the test screenings--- had some connection to us. It's hard to be completely unbiased when having some sort of connection. At the festival, there were a lot of people there who had no idea who were, just personally. It was cool to get a stranger's opinion of it, to see strangers loving this project.
CE: Right, right. You just did the 32nd Annual New England Film and Video festival. You guys got the award for Best Narrative Feature. How did that feel, this being the first official film festival that it's gone to?
DL: Well, it felt great. That in itself was reassuring. Not only did we know that people really liked it, but they said so in an award form. It also takes some of the pressure off. Now, we can go to other festivals and we don't have to worry, "Oh my god, is something going to happen? Is something going to happen?" Because, at the very first festival, we get best feature.
CE: You've already secured this interest in the festival market. It's a big yes being thrown your way.
DL: Exactly, yeah!
CE: Which must be great. It seems like there's stress, on and off, while making a movie, but there are also all these yeses along the way. Like working with the cinematographer, Brian Crane.
DL: A lot of things just came our way. We really lucked out, but it's not complete luck because we tried to get ourselves in a position where it would happen. Getting Sarah Jones as the lead actress. She was incredible. This movie would not be the same without her as a lead.
CE: She's still on Big Love?
DL: She is still on Big Love. Getting her, getting all of our other main actors and actresses, and getting Brian Crane. Brian really knows what he's doing. Even though its' a low-budget, independent movie, it does not look like it.
CE: It looks gorgeous.


Maybe There Are Mermaids, Dude

[We reach our destination. I separate from Doug, as he and Dave get the coffees. Georgia and I look for a place in this multi-floor bookstore for the four of us to continue the conversation.]

CE: I'll just start recording.
GM: Right, right, because you never know, something funny can happen on the escalator, on the way up here, and you get it.
CE: Let's start talking about the movie.
GM: If you said, "Well, I don't understand why she does a, b, c." That kind of stuff, I like. My favorite thing, honestly, is when people start discussing why Kerri [Sarah Jones] makes the choices she does toward the end of the film. Some people get so upset, and I love that. They are like, "I love that girl, and she let me down." And this other guy was like, "What, a beautiful girl let you down? That happens all the time." I love that people have different opinions about it.
CE: The characters, even though they might be a little stylized, like in any movie, they're really believable. You're going to pick up on the character and think, "I would do this. I wouldn't do that." You're having a critical conversation about the characters. That just shows that, from the minor to the major ones, you have this high appreciation for them.

GM: If you're upset that she did that, then you care.

CE: I was wondering: are there any characters, considering the different script drafts and the way they've turned out on film, that you have strong feelings about? Maybe feelings regarding how they turned out, or from seeing the characters face to face. On the set, you were basically walking around with characters you wrote.
GM: Yeah, pretty much. Well, for Kerri… Sarah Jones looks nothing like how I pictured Kerri. I pictured a brunette, athletic, kind of girl.
CE: Hmm. Maybe even dark.
GM: Dark, yeah! Dark hair, dark skin, super cut. When I first saw her, it took a little adjusting, because she's this curvy, voluptuous blond. But then, I totally got into it: wait a minute, she's curvy and voluptuous. I pictured someone a little more spazzy, but she's way chill. You know, she's like [in a breathy tone], "Maybe there are mermaids, dude." So, I started to love how she basically took the lines that I wrote, and instead of everything I thought would be in them, made them completely different. And it worked perfectly.
CE: I think, for the audience, the idea of this late-teen blond girl having all these feelings and revelations could be a little unsettling; at the same time, you get on a level with her from the beginning.
GM: Yeah.

GM: Wait, I bet this is Doug. [She checks her cell. Then, to Doug, on cell:] So, were on the second floor.
CE: Yeah, we're on the second floor. In the art and architecture section.
GM: Second floor, by the new arrivals, in the art and architecture section. We're back here. Sweet!

CE: I think she really plays it well, in a balanced way. Not balanced in this predictable 50/50 way: not 50 percent this, 50 percent that. Her character is developed, and you see this range. There's the heavy stuff, the different topics—like the mermaid trope—which take on heavier meanings. Then, you also see her talking about boys, the whole penis-anaconda bit. She's even falling off the skateboard, in the very beginning.
GM: Yeah.
CE: You just follow her.
GM: She's got such a range.
CE: Yeah, I definitely feel you could be in the room with her, so to speak.



























Sarah Jones (Kerri) has such a range, you can't help but
follow her character, as she unravels from scene to scene.

Like My Friend, So and So

GM: [To Doug and Dave, who have just arrived with coffee] Thank you. Oh, you didn't bring the sugar?
DL: Oh, I just heard the cream part. Let me get the sugar packets right now.
GM: Talk amongst yourselves—and I'll be right back--because we've been talking amongst ourselves.
DL: Heh, heh, heh.

CE: We were just talking about a couple things. The conversation led to Kerri. We were saying that all these people are having dynamic reactions to the characters. So many times, you either see dramatically heavy, sincere, overly-stylized and emotionally arresting American Beauty types of youth in teen films, or you see archetypal, predictable characters. And in Still Green, they are sincere and yet somewhat stylized. That said, I think it's done in a way that makes you care about them. You get the range of emotions from each character.It's an accolade of the film that the characters are believable, and that you want to kind of have a relationship with them. You do have a relationship with them-- you have a reactionary relationship, if not a compassionate one. Even the most critical person may say, "I can't believe this is happening." That means you're getting involved with the character enough, you're relating enough.
DL: You're connecting.
CE: For example, Sean [Noah Segan] has quite a character ark: he's able to be that artsy quiet kid, but also want to punch the heck out of someone.
DL: That's the thing. The worst thing that could happen is for someone to say, "Oh, I didn't care." If they're having strong emotions-- in whatever direction-- about what these characters are doing, then they're connected with them. And that's one of the things that I'm really proud about with this movie. It's definitely great for Georgia's writing. It shows that Georgia wrote it very well, the acting was great, and Jon's directing was great, too. With those three elements combined, they turned into very believable characters. You watch them, and you like them, because everyone finds someone that they connect with. It's like, "Oh, this is just like my friend, so and so."


Everyone Is on the Cusp

[Georgia is back with her finely tuned coffee. The conversation continues.]
CE: The film have has this complex mosaic of emotions and events going on.
GM: And it's all there. If you're the kind of person that pays attention, it is all there. But sure, you do kind of have to work for it. It might be in a glance or one line.
CE: Yeah.
DW: It's all right there, in that scene after the death. You see the sequence of every single person by themselves. It's really intense.
CE: Yeah.
GM: Yeah.
DL: Yeah.
DW: Everyone goes on their own, after you think they might want to be together.
DL: They're all dealing with it on their own. They're dealing with their different issues; not necessarily about the death, but how it relates to them.
CE: The voice-overs keep bringing up this week, how it's going to be different, and that after this week, everything will be different. This cusp quality is huge, throughout the film. It's there, with and without the death. And all the cusps they're on, with each other. Alan [Ryan Kelley], he's on the cusp of rationalizing and pushing out his feelings for the girl he likes. This person is on the cusp about that thing, and that person is on the cusp of another thing. Everyone is on the cusp.
GM: You're right, I hadn't thought about that. Sean is on the cusp of drawing. Daneck [Brandon Meyer] is on the cusp of should he or should he not sleep with Monica [Ashleigh Snyder], what if she gets pregnant again? Alan's on the cusp. Yeah, everyone is on the cusp.
CE: A cusp also means that they've gone somewhere, gone through something. It may not be believable to everyone. A criticism may be: Oh, kids don't really do that much drugs and drinking. Kids can't be that involved with their emotions. Or, they can't be both. But, everybody is.
DL: It's funny, because everyone really is.
DW: You worried so much about everything in high school. You didn't know how to deal with anything, so your emotions were all over the place.
DL: Exactly. The biggest thing in your life was emotion. Because you didn't know what was going to happen. All you knew was what you were feeling at that moment. And a lot of kids do drugs, and feel all that at the same time. I think it's what's so believable about the film. It's not the good kid versus the bad kid: the good kid dealing with their emotions and the bad kid doing drugs. No, everybody does everything. Everyone is mixtures, in all these different shades.
GM: We made those decisions. The good kid steals. The good kid definitely needs to be seen with the bong. The good girl definitely has to have sex.

CE: And scene by scene, it gets more mixed. Like, who's talking about The Outsiders? Everybody does, and from their own point of view. Even Bill [Douglas Spain], the biologist kid, who's like, "Why are we watching this movie?" He's the one who hits home with what the movie is about: "They can't go back, you know" [paraphrase]. This is such a great, self-reflective but natural scene. This is what you might do when you're with friends. You rent a movie, you all have a talk about it. This comment is so poignant, though, as it builds on and pushes the said theme along.

And the way the camera is positioned in certain scenes, you're implicated, if not involved. You're in the room. In The Outsiders scene, you're the one at other end of the couch. Maybe you're the one closest to the TV, who has to crane their neck. Or, when they're on the beach, you're sitting on the sand, nearby. Maybe you're part of that group, maybe you're not. Maybe you're an adult, seeing it from afar.

DL: I think that's different for each person. That's what gets the film the different responses. Some people do feel like they're really in the middle of it. They connect really well with it, and understand what the characters did. Other people see themselves as the parent that should be telling the kids what to do; even if they like the movie, they'll disagree with the actions. I can understand why someone, especially an adult, would say, "Maybe I will be that adult, to give them the control that they need to have, because they're just a bunch of kids, renting a beach house."

Sean (Noah Segan) and Alan (Ryan Kelley),
riding their own cusps.

Nothing Happens, but Everything Happens

CE: Let's discuss the films that Still Green is related to. If people have been saying, "I like it because it reminds me of these films." When you're dealing with investors, maybe you're selling it as a cross between a couple films.

GM: We get The Big Chill for teenagers, a lot.
DL: Yeah, there have actually been quite a few different comparisons. It's also a lot like Mean Creek, in some ways.
CE: There being no adult presence.
GM: Yeah, Ryan Kelley.
DL: Yeah, Ryan Kelley's in both movies! Also, the fact of having that one big decision that gets made, that some people agree with and others don't. They're also young kids dealing with death on their own, before they should have to deal with it.
CE: Mean Creek also takes it back to River's Edge, which brings up this issue of—I mean there are adults in River's Edge, but that was a film where critics said, "Where are the adults?"
GM: Yeah. That was the main theme of River's Edge.
CE: Why are the only adults Dennis Hopper (the sketchy druggy guy), or the parent that doesn't understand the Keanu Reeves character?
GM: The only adult that cares is Dennis Hopper's character.
CE: There are more and more films coming out where the adult presence isn't there. It's great how you guys did it, without making it the edgiest film.
GM: We weren't trying to make Kids. We weren't trying to make Bully. We weren't trying to make that kind of film. We did wan it to be edgy. At the same time, Doug and I have talked about how we feel some teen films go too extreme in the other direction. Everyone is suicidal and sadistic and smoking crack at age 13; well, that's as bad as saying everyone is going to the prom and picking dates and voting for best hairdo. We just wanted to present something in the middle.

CE: That's kind of like The Big Chill. Let's explore that film. Let's talk about your responses to the film and your feelings about people seeing parts of The Big Chill in Still Green.
DG: I saw The Big Chill, but it was so many years ago. I do remember that I really liked it. So it is cool, to have people comparing it to another movie that I know I liked. That people can watch this and be like, "Oh, it's just like this other movie that I personally love."

I love Still Green. No Matter what happens with it, I know that we made a movie that I just love. That is already a huge success, right there: I can sit down and watch a movie that I absolutely love, and I created it.

CE: Honestly, it's astounding. It can be a teen movie that people are going to remember in five years and say, "Wow! I'm glad that film was entered into the vocabulary!" Without it being American Beauty, without it trying to be a great American movie.

GM: Well, the thing about The Big Chill I like is that nothing happens, but everything happens. They basically have breakfast and they cook dinner, they go to sleep, they go for drives, and they go jogging. With Still Green, they go swimming, they party in that house, but everything happens inside those relationships, and what they're saying and what they're not saying. And, I mean, that was one of my first favorite movies, ever. And I'm a dialogue whore, so.
CE: So, yeah!
GM: For me, it's just like, every line. And it's constantly throwing you for a loop. It's about an event that, it's like someone died, but he's still there, you know?
CE: Yeah, yeah.
GM: And that event is part of it, but also isn't part of it-- there's so much that happens that has nothing do to with it. To be compared to The Big Chill, for me, it's the ultimate compliment. It's also proof that you can make a movie where people just sit in a house and do boring things, and it's not boring.

CE: To me, it's proof that you can make a movie that is similar in film vocabulary and plot-- that's similar in cell structure-- to another film that's been made and make it original. I think it's unique enough, yet, it's wonderfully analogous. And so relevant is this issue of "nothing happens, but everything happens." [In Still Green] The conversations come from the histories these high school kids have had with each other, and with themselves. It's about them sharing their feelings with their friends, not sharing them, or finally sharing them. After the death occurs, the mood of the audience shifts. Knowing that these kids are going to go through death makes you linger with everything that happens, more. This little conversation is even more important, because it's part of the cornucopia of emotions that they're going through, too.

DW: It would switches gears a lot: from emotional to funny, and then there's that catharsis.
DL: Actually, what I noticed from sitting in the audiences at New England Film & Video Festival, we got so many more laughs than ever before. Every little moment that was kind of funny to me, everyone was laughing. And I love that Still Green actually takes you there. One of the biggest things I love about movies is just the journey of emotions, whatever movie it is. If a movie can make me feel whatever it makes me feel, that's a success to me. And that's what I've always loved about Still Green. I know it so well, so I connect with the emotions very easily, but it's cool to watch it in the theater where people are really paying attention. Seeing all the people connect with it, how it takes them from really happy to really sad, and to all these different places.
DW: The music helps that along, too. I listen to the soundtrack a lot. For me, music is tied to nostalgia, so when you hear the songs, it evokes that emotion. The movie connects me, through the music, to the emotion.
CE: One thing I liked about it, en masse, is that there's no song "of our generation" on there, so it's not going to feel too much of a certain time. It's not like you'd play it and say, "Oh, that was '95, because that was when Green Day blew up."
DW: Yeah, because it would be played on the radio all the time.
CE: Or: "Oh, this is when this big hit song comes in." It's more like, "This is the song from when Kerri's swimming alone in the ocean."
DL: It's about the song and it's about the moment. It's not about anything else. And that's what I like about the actors, too. Even though we have some actors who are doing other stuff, for the most part, they're not hugely recognizable. So, people will watch it and they won't connect with any other roles that they've had. Which I think is so big, because its just about connecting with them.



The Still Green trailer.

Voice-Overs & Lively Oceans

CE: So, let's talk about voice-over. Let's talk about any movies that you might have spoken about with the actors. Maybe you've seen voice-over in this movie and you loved it, or you've seen it in that film and made sure not to do it in that way.
GM: I'll tell you this: Ryan Kelley and I talked about voice-over. He said, in Mean Creek, originally in the script, there were tons of voice-overs. And they all got cut, except for the one at the end. He said it really helped his acting, to have so many written in the script, because you just know so much about the character. Then I asked some of the other actors [of Still Green], and a lot of them said the fact that there were so many voice-overs in the script didn't bother them, because it really helped them get into their roles. But for me, it was actually a writer. Her name is Jodi Piccoult, and she wrote Songs of the Humpbacked Whale.
CE: Yeah, yeah, her books are getting popular.
GM: She's a local [New England] writer, but now she's getting known. The first book she wrote was Songs of the Hump Backed Whale. The title of each chapter has the character's name that narrates it. The story keeps getting told, just switching around between the characters. It made me think, "I want to write a screenplay where there's no main character, and where it keeps switching between everybody's voice." I would say that the book and Jodi Piccoult were big inspirations.

CE: Other film elements stand out, like the camera work. Jeez, the more I see it, the more I think, wow, this is a beautiful film.
DW: Some of the scenes are just unbelievable.
GM: When they're playing in the water and the waves are just, like, whoosh.
CE: They're jumping in the water. That's gorgeous! Yeah, and it makes a difference. The first time I saw it, it didn't hit me. Okay, it's a sunny day and there are a handful of kids swimming at the beach. The more I saw it, I thought the sun is glinting in a way that it traditionally shouldn't. It's kind of falling on them. There's a lot of light and shadow play in the film, but it's not overdone.
GM: I will say one thing about the nature, though. The whole reason that it's shot like that is that ocean is life. It is full of fish and dolphins and birds, and it's just teeming with life. That this ocean would be the vehicle for death, and the irony of that, is something that we wanted to expose, which is why we edited it the way we did. It's not just like, "Oh, gratuitous ocean." That's why we're cutting to these shots of birds and the ocean, and-- the cycle of life. It's not the North Atlantic, which is cold and bitter and of course it's going to take life away. This is an ocean that's known for giving life, so that's one of the reasons that we picked it and really spent some time with it in the film.

Jon Artigo, Andrea Ajemian, Georgia Menides, & Doug
Lloyd at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Artigo/Ajemian Films, Uncovered Productions, Collaborative Filmmaking, & Some Popcorn

CE: Let's see, you guys have 10 more minutes, 20 more minutes?
GM: We have to be at our first thing at 7:40, but we have to drive.
DL: Well, I have to pick up my suit pants at 6. It's right down the street. It's 5:15 now.
CE: Let's go to 5:25 or less than that. Okay.

CE: Cool, cool. Let's just put things in the context that you guys have made other films. You guys are coming from having done this for a while. The three of you have gone to school for film. Still Green is only the recent manifestation. I want to talk about the projects, ideas, and experiences you've had being creative people, creative business people. So, Doug Lloyd, you went to Clark with me, from the late nineties through the first part of the 21^st century.
DL: Yeah.
CE: And Georgia, you went to NYU, Tisch, for...
GM: For Screenwriting. I graduated in 97.
CE: In 97, so when I was going through some of the Still Green Stuff, you graduated from NYU.
GM: Ha ha. Yeah.
CE: Ha. It's cool, it's cool. I have known you, Doug, since '99, and I've known you, Georgia, from '02, '03, I want to say.
GM: Yeah.
CE: Dave. You graduated BU in '06?
DW: Yeah, I got my master's in '06. I went undergrad a long time before. I graduated undergrad in '96.
CE: You got your master's in screenwriting?
DW: Screenwriting, yup.
CE: And you got involved with this group through Artigo/Ajemian?
DW: Yeah, kind of randomly. They were working on what is still the next project, We Got the Beat. I just found an ad of theirs on Craigslist.
GM: Brandon Meyer found us on Craigslist!
DW: You know, I just graduated. I was thinking about going to LA, but I figured I would take a shot locally, first. Then I hooked up with these guys, kind of got sucked in, and now I'm still here. Ha.
DL & GM: Ha.
CE: So, was that your first time in Worcester?
DW: No, I had been in Worcester before. I had gone to the Centrum, at some point, for a basketball game.

CE: Hmm. So, Uncovered Productions has joint offices with Artigo/Ajemian in Worcester.
DL: Yeah, the offices are shared between the two companies, because we're very much working together on the same projects. Uncovered Productions did Still Green, in association with Artigo/Ajemian Films. And then We Got The Beat is Artigo/Ajemian Films, but Georgia and I are still working on it. We're the production designers.
CE: How about a brief summary about We Got the Beat?
DL: We Got the Beat is an eighties-era teen comedy. It's about this high school football star who doesn't want to play football any more. He quits the team to start the first-ever boy band. The script is really funny. Right now, it's in development. Jon and Andrea are working on raising the money for that.

CE: Let's talk about the idea that, with each movie you make, there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. At the same time, it's about getting to and going beyond the rainbow. Let's discuss Still Green, compared to experiences you've had making other films. Or, if it's building up any dreams you've had.
GM: The whole thing you were talking about, each film being a climb. Still Green is going to do whatever it does, it's made for whatever budget, and this and that. Then, We Got the Beat is the next step: in terms of budget, actors, just level of film. Then We Got the Beat will be the next step to Dave's script, or whatever is next. It is a constant climb, and one of the things you want to do by the end of each film is to enable yourself to make the next one. We want Still Green to do well, because it's our baby and all these incredible people worked on it, etc. But, we want to position ourselves to make We Got the Beat, and to make the next one even better than Still Green.
CE: Each is still a great film that you guys put your heart and soul into and push like nothing else.
DL & GM: Yeah. Exactly.
CE: I've seen this idea of climbing chart itself out since Rutland, USA; though, not all of it. I just found out about the road trip documentary that Andrea made.
GM: Oh, Green House Girls. You should see that. It's wonderful.
CE: Each film is a project from the heart. They're very professional. Each attempts to push itself out there, as both the product of a community, and a marker of your creative growth. While Freedom Park was a great film, with the skills and resources you could have later on, it would be completely different.
DL: Exactly. I like to have goals set way higher than I should ever be able to achieve, and then get to those goals, and then set higher ones. That's really what's been happening with the movies. This is definitely a good industry to do that in: as you achieve more things, you get more people who realize what you can do. They start working with you and you can keep growing together, as a team. So, it's definitely going to keep going and going, and we're going to keep getting bigger and bigger projects. We'll just keep growing our teams of people, as word gets out about what we can do.

GM: And I totally remember saying, "Doug, if you and I are just sitting in a room, like eating popcorn, watching Still Green, and it's a movie, we have succeeded!" And I really meant it. And now, we've been in that moment 300 times. It's just funny. Now, it's like, okay, once our investors make their money back, we'll have succeeded. A year ago, to be even where we are now, would have been like, "We're done."

CE: Definitely. Let's talk about the community environment of Uncovered and Artigo/Ajemian. Even though you guys are in LA now, too, it's still a community. Tell me about the community of filmmakers working together.
DW: It's amazing. That's probably why I've stuck around so long. It's just such a collaborative thing. Everybody treats each other like equals. Everybody listens to each other's ideas. There's not just one guy saying, "Let's do this, or let's do that." Everyone's opinion is valued. I think that's how you make good films, by combining everybody's collaborative passion.
CE: So, it must be nice to see that manifest. What is it like to feel it and be there, on a daily basis? It's something you believe in enough to work for many years with Jon and Andrea.
DL: On a day-to-day basis, it just happens on its own. Every once in a while, you reflect back and are like, "Oh my god, this really is happening." We get to look back and say, "We made Freedom Park." With Rutland, USA, Georgia and I were involved at the end, with promoting it. Just to look back and say, "Remember when we all made Freedom Park together and our goals and our dreams then?" Actually, we've been remembering how we've grown from Freedom Park, thinking back to moments when we were going off to film festivals, getting the audience's responses. I love that we could be at this moment again, with Still Green.
CE: It's almost like going through the same technical aspects: writing, producing, directing, filming, acting, post-production, and releasing a film. But it's an evolution, each time. Of every month, of every week: of the evolution of your filmmaking.
GM: I think what makes it interesting, too, is that we are not getting paid. Within the framework of these six years, if you want to start from the beginning of Freedom Park, we all have had jobs that, obviously are our day jobs, that some of us are passionate about. Jon is teaching. Maybe, I have a job that I care about. Moves, break-ups: Doug and I started this as a boyfriend and girlfriend, living together. Now, we're just business partners, dating other people.

Within the encapsulation of that, so much else has gone on, as well. I think that makes it interesting, as opposed to if we were just doing this full-time and getting paid, and we were in that film bubble. That would be something else. But I think all those dynamics add to it. That there's all these-- you know, Jon can't come out to the festival, because he has a class. The whole thing about everybody's place of where they put their art, and who has the time to do what; and whose voice takes over, often just because of other things people have going on in their lives. That whole mix, I think, is something that's really cool.

CE: Like, Jon's trust that you're showing what another director would call his film.
GM: Yeah. He knows that we're not going to screw it up. Exactly. He said, "I know that, at the end of the day, you're going to fill the house, even if you have to bop people on the head and throw them in the theater!"
DW: It's weird. This occurred to me today when we were in front of the film class. People kept asking about the director. If you were at the office every day, you would see four filmmakers, really. People always think it's the director's film, or the writer's film, but it's the four of your's film. I feel that everybody is equally responsible, it's just different jobs.
GM: It's everybody's film. Switching the order came from Andrea. She randomly had a brainstorm in the middle of the night, and we thought great!
CE: How long did it take for you guys to like it?
DL: When we saw the new cut, we realized we had do it this way. It definitely works better. We were agreed that we wanted to make the changes. I can't wait until when we get distribution, if it gets theatrical. I will be so happy. What we're screening now, that's not even the full way it can look. I've seen how it can look in the theater. Not many eyes have seen the true quality of how Still Green can look. Oh my god! If we can get theatrical distribution, it's going to blow people away.

Unpredictable, Entertaining, Oh Wow

GM: We have negative 3 minutes to talk, now.

CE: Apropos the film, it's as though you're hearing about a group of friends your best friends have, if they're not your friends, already. Like when you go to college and hear about your new friend's high school friends. This is that group. You're seeing that, you're seeing these realistic people.

I'm going to ask one last question, quickly. To keep this personal nature in mind: let's talk about one scene you subjectively really like when you see the movie. One thing you're glad you're seeing. Something with that oh, wow, it speaks to me quality.

GM: Personally, the scene where Alan is teasing Kerri, after she's hooked up with Brandon [Paul Costa], and they're talking about how big his dick was. That thing where you want that person, but you're doing that whole game. And you're getting all into it like that. I feel like that is just like so many people I know, certainly me personally. I'm so glad that scene is in there.
CE: That's funny, but also emotional. Like we were saying earlier, it definitely shows Sara's and Ryan's range as actors.

DL: For me, it's the moment after the death, when they're all dealing with the fact that their friend just died. Even though they're dealing with the issues that they already had, they're now dealing with it in the framework of: "Holy shit! All this trivial stuff that we thought was such a big deal, is now nothing. Our friend is dead." And that's just a final thing. I just love the fact that no matter what's happening in their life, no matter what things they think are really important, they're really not. When it comes down to it, their friend just died. Nothing can change that. I just love the finality of that, and how trivial it makes the rest of their lives-- for that moment, at least-- just to put things in perspective.

DW: I was trying to think of a couple things. I guess one of the things that really hit me was when Daneck and Sean are in the canoe.
GM: Ah.
DW: They're clearly pretty close. Even though it's kind of sappy, Daneck is coming to grips with the fact that he's going to have all these new experiences with new friends, but he's leaving his best friends behind. He's not liking it. It seems to him he's not going to have fun. He's having trouble realizing, you know, you are going to make new friends, but you don't want to leave old friends you've had for a long time.
CE: The cool thing about that scene is you think these are the guys that aren't going to connect, that they're friends by default, because they were in the same class with these other people that they're closer to. But then you think, no wait, they're all connected.

The scene, it's realistic because there's the beats of silence. It's almost like they're approaching the emotions, but they're approaching them in a way that speaks to where they're at. It's not a strong: "I'm going to miss you. I'm going to open up." It's more like Daneck is saying, "I'm going to miss you, I'm going to open up. It's huge, but I don't know how to say it. And I know you're going to finish my sentence, because you're the emotional guy."

And the cool thing is that it's not between two obvious heavies in the movie. It's with between a heavy, and this other guy you come to like.

GM: Yeah.
CE: Which makes it different different than all these other films I love. It's usually very obvious, because it's often between these two best friends who are polar opposites.
GM: Like The Falcon and the Snowman.
CE: Yeah. I love it--it's one of my favorite films-- but that part of it is so obvious, you know?
GM: Yeah.
CE: This is more, you know, it's uh, unpredictable, without being out of place. That's what I like about it.
GM: COOL!
CE: And I think that's essentially the film. It definitely speaks to certain genres, certain things you've seen, certain moods and relationships you've had. But it's not trying to be a dead-on, realistic portrait, and it's not trying to be a cutesy teen movie that's kind of serious. It uses the metaphors of friendship, house, and change in lively ways. Everything is living and transforming. I think the house is breathing and things are happening in it. Yet, it's also an entertaining film.

It's just great to have seen it evolve and hope to see it evolve, some more. So, go to the myspace page, and share it with your friends. And see it at the festivals!

DL: Myspace.com/stillgreenmovie and just stillgreenmovie.com. Definitely check that out. We'll keep updating those.
CE: And um, look forward to the next few films, which are probably going to be nothing like Still Green.
GM: That is for damn sure!

DL: Yeaaah…
DW: Yeah. We'll be at dozens of film festivals.
CE: And Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian [of Artigo/Ajemian Films], and Doug Lloyd and Georgia Menides, [of Uncovered Productions] and Dave Weston are names to remember.
GM: Whooo!
CE: Great. take care.




















The cast of Still Green: everything would be different after that summer.