“We’re going to create a sort of psychedelic look to the film.”

Usher Morgan is a 28 years old film producer and director from New York City, who is currently working on a neo-noir narrative short film. In this interview he talks about the concept behind his new project ‘Good Kids’.

Voicu Mihnea Simandan: Your experience is mostly related to making documentaries. How has this influenced the way you see the world around you?

Usher Morgan: I started my career in book publishing, so I learned the “rules” of storytelling early on and had the pleasure of meeting with and consulting with many storytellers over the last few years (authors, publishers, writers and filmmakers). When I got exposed to film in 2011, I fell in love with the medium, I began to realize that film (in my mind at least) was the best form of storytelling and the one I found to be most challenging. And since I’ve always been a “movie-geek” I decided to put that obsession to good use. When it came time to launch my filmmaking career I decided to start with documentaries, the rawest form of storytelling. The plan at the time was to make a few documentaries first to learn as much as I can about the filmmaking process. But at the end, it’s all about the story and the storyteller.

VMS: ‘Goods Kids,’ the project you’re working on at the moment, is a neo-noir short. It seems that neo-noir is a style that is gaining, once again, in popularity…

UM: I remember watching noir films with my dad as a kid, these were his favorite films and I was really influenced by the genre. The first (more recent) film that really opened my eyes to the opportunity of a comeback for this genre was Sin City. Robert Rodriguez and Natasha Leonnet used unusual color grading techniques and plenty of CGI to enhance the noir experience and perhaps changed the face of noir forever. ‘Good Kids’ borrows some of that innovativity yet still brings something new to the table. I first pictured it as an art film and later it evolved into something more. I think that the look we developed for this film will distinguish it from other films in that genre.

VMS: Why have you chosen to direct a crime drama as your narrative debut?

UM: Most of the film-noir’s I’ve seen were crime films or at least had a major crime component to them. Noir and crime seemed to get along pretty well and “the look” contributes a lot to the criminal atmosphere in these films. However, despite ‘Good Kids’ being categorized as ‘crime’ I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “crime film.” The short is really an attempt to enter into the mind of a stoner dad in a way that I’ve never seen in film before.

VMS: The actors playing the main characters in this film are fairly unknown in the movie world. Have you taken a risk casting them in ‘Good Kids’ or are you familiar with their work?

UM: This shoot was very close to being canceled all-together. I’ve had a few auditions in Las Vegas and at the end of it all I could not find the right actor, which delayed the shoot for a while. The main role of Ted required someone who could deliver the lines in a very specific way, especially since his dialog runs for about five pages straight. Angela Ray Clark who auditioned for the role of Kate recommended her friend Vince Tula. He sent me an audition tape for the role and I loved it, so I signed him on the spot. Angela, on the other hand had the look I was after, she has that Uma Thurman look. My biggest concern, however, was the love scene. The two actors were close friends for over ten years and I was a bit concerned that the love scene will come off as awkward. But at the end they were total pros, they did a fantastic job.

VMS: The film looks at the life of a stoned father and his emotionally deprived wife. Why have you chosen these two themes?

UM: I fought my desire to start with a bang. I’ve always visualized my first film as a Bonny and Clyde couple robbing a bank, or a lone gunman taking out a room full of gangsters. But, since I’m still in the learning process I decided that my first narrative short will be 80% dialog, 10% sex and 10% everything else. I wanted to try and make something artistic before I could make more action-driven films. I also learned that dialog is by far the biggest challenge when it comes to writing and directing films. It’s easier (in a way) to shoot an action scene than it is to shoot a dialog scene, because in dialog you need to keep things interesting. Action by its nature is interesting so when writing and directing dialog you have to be extra creative to keep people tuned in. When I decided to go with a dialog driven short, the story just came to me. The couple in the film are actually the parents of a teenager named Eric, the main character in the full-length feature version of ‘Good Kids’ which enters production at the end of the 2013.

VMS: The film already has quite a large fan base on Facebook. Who financed the project?

UM: I own a film production studio so I was the only investor. I also produced, wrote, directed and edited the short. It’s my first time as an editor and my first time as director for a narrative. I’ve been producing films for a while now so I have the experience (and the capital) needed to get a film off the ground at a relatively low cost. The majority of the budget for this film will be going towards post-production and publicity.

VMS: The film is coming out in just a few months, on January 15, 2014. At what stage are you with the filming?

UM: We are currently in post-production. This film will need to shine in post, we used DSLR’s to shoot it so we compensated by utilizing pro coloring and digital effects to enhance the noir look. So at the end it won’t be pure black and white, we’re going to create a sort of psychedelic look to the film – which I think brings something new to the noir genre.

VMS: Where will moviegoers be able to see the movie?

UM: The film will be available online after the premiere; we’re going to have a screening in Las Vegas and run it in drive-ins and a festivals throughout 2014 while simultaneously running it on YouTube and other online sources. The teaser trailer will be released on October 31st and moviegoers can get all the details on the film’s website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

September 9, 2013