Interview: 'Hired Guns' Filmmakers Devin Curry and Alex Rueda

February 14th, 2012 at 12:24 am | by?Bronwen Winter Phoenix

Fancy a bit of action, comedy and tongue-in-cheek racism? Well, look no further than Hired Guns, a new project released today from young hotshot filmmakers Devin Curry (30) and Alex Rueda (29). And the talented pair are showcasing their talent to the wider Internet audience by releasing their latest short film, which can be found here:?http://www.hiredgunsthemovie.com

Hired Guns centers around a team of young mercenaries who have been hired to rescue a kidnapped hostage from a warehouse filled with professional killers. But, as you?d expect in these situations, things don?t exactly go quite to plan.

Bronwen Winter Phoenix spoke to Devin Curry and Alex Rueda to find out more?
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B: Hi Devin and Alex! First of all, thanks for agreeing to the interview. So, Hired Guns went out to the public today, feeling pretty psyched about it?

A: Absolutely. As my first film project, I?m thrilled to have the world see something we worked so hard on.

D: We pretty much spent the entire year of 2011 working on this movie, so it?s really exciting to finally have it out there.? For me personally, it?s also the most substantial project that I?ve directed, in terms of production value and complexity.

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B: So, for those who don?t already know, it?s an action-comedy short film ? what made you come up with the idea for this, and what other films have inspired it?

A: It started out as an exercise of sorts to help us with other projects we were writing at the time. It was mostly Devin and I shooting ?what if? scenarios back and forth at each other.

D: We had already decided to focus our efforts in the action genre, and I wanted to work on my directing craft in a short.? So going into it, we knew we wanted to do some awesome fight sequences and do them our way ? fast and brutal, like the early Steven Seagal films I love so much. As far as inspirations go, I think that Big Trouble in Little China ? one of Alex?s and my mutual favorites ? had a great combination of humor and action that has influenced our writing immensely.? Also, I grew up watching The A-Team on TV, which is probably the source of the mercenary team element.? Without The A-Team, I?d probably be making rom coms or something.

A: I definitely would have to agree on Big Trouble in Little China being a big influence. For me personally, that movie has always been a great example of how to successfully mix action and comedy. It?s also got classic Hitchcockian elements of ordinary dudes put in an extraordinary situation, which I?ve always found timeless and fun.

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Devin Curry

B: How long did Hired Guns take to produce, from writing right up until the finished product?

A: We started writing Hired Guns around this time last year.

D: We shot the film in four days on back-to-back weekends. The film as you see it today was finished in November 2011.

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B: So, you both co-wrote (and co-produced) the story, right? How did that go ? good team, no fall-outs?

D: Alex and I have been friends for five or six years now.? When we started working on Hired Guns, we had been writing a feature script together for about two years before we embarked on this project, so we already had a really good working relationship.? I?ve seen productions during which friends had falling outs, but that was definitely not the case here.? In fact, everyone on the cast and crew really had great chemistry and it was a fun shoot.

A: Probably the worst experience of my life. Kidding, of course. Seriously though, by the time we had started writing Hired Guns, we had already been working together for over a year on another script, so this was really nothing new. I think being good friends is the foundation of why we work so well together. That aside, we also have very similar approaches to film in terms of what we like to see and what we think works.

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B: Was it hard to get the mix of action, comedy and tongue-in-cheek racism just right, or did it all just flow right from the start?

A: I?m a comic, so for better or worse, racism is just one of many things I?m compelled to think about and comment on in my daily life. As an action movie genre enthusiast, mixing the comedy and action did actually flow from the start. The difficulty, as a writer, lies in finding balance and making sure that everything is placed in the right context. For instance, early on, we committed to the action having a military style to it. They?re mercenaries who have seen things, and while they can be bumbling idiots, we still wanted to portray two ?professionals? in their industry with their own quirks and isms.

D: Prior to this project, Alex and I had been working on a feature script that had a similar blend of action and comedy, so we had already somewhat established a collective comedic voice, as well as a good understanding of how to write together.? As terrible as this may sound, I think we both find a lot of humor in the flaws of humanity, such as racism (by the way, 3/4 of this team is of Asian descent), and it?s entertaining to watch characters get themselves into trouble because of those flaws.? On a somewhat related note, the James Bond film You Only Live Twice starring Sean Connery is one of my favorite movies because it?s filled with so many awful racist jokes and stereotypes that were totally acceptable back then, but are glaring in their impropriety now.? Unfortunately, our culture has yet to conquer all of these demons, so until it does, I will continue to laugh about it.

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B: You?ve used some quite distinct camera styles, so for the tech-savvy out there, what was the set-up like?

D: We primarily shot with a single-camera setup.? We didn?t have much of a budget to work with, but our amazing director of photography Douglas Knapp was able to borrow a Panasonic Varicam from a friend (we also picked up a few shots here and there on my dad?s Canon 7D), as well as assemble an incredible professional camera crew, including camera operator Lance Fisher, SOC, who all brought so much to the film.? Visually, I believe in letting the story dictate the style.? For this film, I wanted to convey dynamism without relying upon excessive camera movement, a trend in modern action filmmaking that I would prefer to avoid.? Some of my favorite films of the 70s, such as All the President?s Men and Three Days of the Condor, were able to convey so much action and suspense without being stylistically over the top.? Our friends who owned the warehouse lent us their action dolly, which we used for the key moving shots.? Our days were pretty packed schedule-wise, so when we did complicated set ups, we wanted to pick shots that would provide maximum impact.

A: What he said. I?m new to the technical aspect of the game, so as long as Devin doesn?t elect to shoot on a helmet cam or use star wipes as transitions, I?m pretty much on board with technical decisions and equipment being made and utilized respectively.

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B: Hired Guns is now available to watch on YouTube ? it?s a great way to showcase talent. Any comment on how the Internet has turned filmmaking on its head, and would a project like this even have been possible 10 years ago?

A: It almost goes without saying that this project would not have been possible 10 years ago. The fact of the matter is YouTube gets filmmakers like us what we so desperately need to succeed, people. There are so many great stories of filmmakers getting their shot from YouTube, and we?re hoping this is ours.

D: The digital revolution has been huge in democratizing content creation, and I find that really exciting, especially at a time when one can argue that a lot of big movies are out of touch with what the public really wants.? I?m hoping that we?re poised for a new renaissance of cinema similar to what happened in the 1970s, with filmmakers such as Scorcese, Copola, and their contemporaries making fresh, exciting movies that really connected with audiences.? However, movies are still expensive to make? hopefully when the economy gets better, there will be more maverick investors willing to take chances on new filmmakers (hint, hint).

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Alex Rueda

B:? Do you think Hollywood is starting to lose its grip on the production of quality pieces, what with production costs in the hundreds of millions and the widespread piracy problem? And do you think what you?re doing could be the answer to that ? is this the new face of entertainment?

D:? I agree that there?s been a shift in the industry towards making more franchise and branding-oriented content, which I think is unfortunate.? With studio films being so expensive to produce, it may seem necessary to aim for the lowest common denominator in order to be successful, but audiences have shown time and time again that they are far more sophisticated than they?re given credit for.? Take Inception, for example ? a challenging but very successful film.? Had Chris Nolan not made a gazillion dollars with the Batman movies, Inception probably wouldn?t have been green lit.? As far as piracy goes, it?s definitely a problem that affects filmmakers at every level.? I hope that industry leaders and politicians can look to the future and find a solution that actually makes sense.

A: Unfortunately, I?d have to agree. Films, sadly, are no longer treated as artistic ventures, but as investments. Studios would much rather take a chance on the second or third iteration of a franchise than a smaller, more substantive film. What we?re seeing in television with the success of basic and premium cable shows, is what I?m hoping to see reflected in the film industry, which is a viable outlet for ?everyone else.? With the Internet, social media, and rapidly developing technology as a whole, we?re seeing a significant long-tail effect across the board for demand in various types of music, film, and television. As more niche demands emerge, some semblance of a supply should be offered. I feel television and music, somewhat, have done that, and it?s my sincerest hope that the film industry can do the same. On piracy, it?s my belief that we?re seeing a compensatory reaction to box office prices inflating dangerously out of control. I think we?re soon approaching a ceiling on these prices, and people probably think they?re not getting their money?s worth. We?re seeing that reflected in increases in the streaming of media, legal and illegal alike.

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B: Devin, I read on your website that you began making videos at age five, and your childhood involved visiting television and movie sets ? sounds like an interesting way to grow up! Tell us a bit about that, and your early inspirations/influences.

D: My father works in the industry and I really loved going to work with him growing up.? Among the hundreds of projects he worked on was an 18-year stint on the Star Trek series, from The Next Generation ? which started when I was five ? through the end of Enterprise ? after I finished film school.? I particularly loved TNG as a show, and knowing the artifice of how it was made ? meeting the actors, seeing the spaceship sets were made of wood, etc. ? gave me a slightly different perspective about what I was seeing on TV.? Because of the franchise?s longevity, I?d known some of the crew members for years? and some of them even worked on Hired Guns.? My father is a big time classic cinema buff and passed that along to me early on.? Errol Flynn swashbucklers, John Wayne westerns, and The Great Escape were among my favorites growing up.

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B: Alex, you?re a bit more of a mystery to me, tell us a little about your background, and how did you guys meet?

A: While I don?t have the film pedigree Devin has, I?ve always had a love for film that I never dreamed I could make a career of. Until recently, my forays into academia and the working world were fairly uneventful and ordinary. I have a BA in psychology from UCLA and a Master?s degree in business from Cal-State Northridge. After finishing grad school last spring, I took an office job and absolutely hated it. I made a decision to pursue stand-up comedy, screenwriting, and film production soon thereafter and haven?t looked back. I?m reticent to tell the story of how Devin and I met because it?s one of great nerdiness, but what the heck, right? We met in a fantasy basketball league.

D: We met in person for the first time after I was in the league for a few months.? Our mutual friend Rex invited me to play poker at Alex?s house and meet my leaguemates. I made a great first impression by taking everyone?s money.

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B: Hahah, awesome! This is a question to both of you now, what are your top five all-time favourite movies?

D: I had a feeling that Alex and I were going to be good writing partners because of our common love films like: Bloodsport, Cliffhanger, Big Trouble in Little China, Predator, and, of course, White Men Can?t Jump.

A: In no particular order, 12 Angry Men, Rocky, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Yojimbo, and The Shawshank Redemption. Honorable mentions (for the right and wrong reasons): Rear Window, Blade Runner, Wall-E, Superbad, Bloodsport, Conan the Destroyer (yes, the sequel with Wilt Chamberlain), Rocky IV, Grosse Pointe Blank, and the incomparable Big Trouble in Little China.

D: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, All The President?s Men, Die Hard, Blade Runner.? Honorable mentions: Manhattan, Rio Bravo, Kiki?s Delivery Service (hard to pick just one Miyazaki film, though), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hard Times (Walter Hill in general), The Yakuza, Coming to America, Ghost in the Shell, and Under Siege.

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B: If you could get absolutely anyone to star in one of your films, who would you pick, and why?

D: This could easily become a very long answer if I?m not careful.? As far as contemporary actors go, I think that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the most exciting and versatile talents of his generation.? Like most reasonable people, I?m also a big fan of Liam Neeson?s work.? It?s been a real treat to see an actor of his caliber in so many action films.? Part of the reason why Taken was so fun was because of the gravitas Neeson brought to the role.? No other actor else has pulled that off since Charles Bronson in Death Wish. ?Lastly, I?d like to go back in time and make a film with Robert Mitchum.

A: Well, if I get to pick anyone, I?m bringing Gene Hackman out of retirement. I can barely articulate how good Hackman was. Every time I see him in a movie, I just say, ?Wow, that?s an actor.? Also high on my list would be Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Aaron Paul for fairly self-evident reasons. Awards aside, those actors embody everything it means to bring a character to life. They possess that uncanny ability to take words on paper and turn them into something real that walks and breathes in our universe, and in some cases, take them to a place beyond what the writing intended. Some act, these individuals, in my opinion, transcend.

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B: What?s the best or most interesting location you?ve filmed in so far, and why?

D: When I was in film school at USC, I directed a short film that we shot in the famous Vasquez Rocks natural park just outside of LA.? It?s some pretty spectacular desert scenery, and it was also interesting because of the history; hundreds of famous films and TV shows have been filmed at that same location.

A: This was my first time on location, so best, most interesting, as well as any other superlatives are one in the same for me, being a sexy little warehouse in Van Nuys, CA.

B: I?m seeing a bit of musical talent from you, too, Devin. According to the credits, you performed ?Brothers in Arms? along with Michael DeMeritt and Stephen Lai. I think it was a good choice for the theme of the film. Tell us a bit about your project, Grand Atrium ? I hear your debut EP will be out soon?

D: Making that song was such a blast, I?m glad you liked it! ?80s power ballads weren?t exactly my specialty, so I had to listen to Stan Bush?s ?You Got the Touch? and King Kobra?s theme from Iron Eagle about 50 times apiece to pick up the subtleties of the genre. Fun fact: Michael DeMeritt was not only the vocalist on the track, but also the line producer for the movie.? Grand Atrium is my solo electronic/synth pop project that I record in my home studio.? Some of my big influences are Hot Chip, Classixx, Aeroplane, and The Tough Alliance, as well as older stuff such as Prince, Herbie Hancock, and the Bee Gees.? I?ve done a couple remixes for indie bands Twin Sister and GIVERS, and I?ve got several original songs in the works that are almost ready for mixing.? I?m hoping to have the EP done by summer so I can start shopping it to labels.

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B: What?s next for both of you ? any other upcoming projects we can look forward to?

A: We?ve finished a full-length feature titled Black Belt, White Powder that we?re currently shopping around. We?re also in pre-production for our next short, The Moneymaker, starring Hired Guns alum, Paul Pinckard.

D: Hired Guns was such a great learning experience, and I can?t wait to apply those lessons to directing the next project. I also look forward to making our first feature? hopefully sooner than later.

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B: And finally, what advice would both of you give to any budding filmmakers out there?

A: Collaborate and make as many movies as you can. If you want to make a career of it, you have to put in the time and hope a little luck comes your way too.

D: Don?t put too much pressure on yourself to make every project you do epic and career-making.? Go out and have fun making movies with good people, work on your craft, and the rest will follow.? Also, if you?re going to have stunts in your movie, make sure to use professionals!

B: Thanks again, Alex and Devin, and good luck with your future projects!

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You can watch Hired Guns here: http://www.hiredgunsthemovie.com

Source: http://www.picktainment.com/blog/2012/02/interview-hired-guns-producers-devin-curry-and-alex-rueda/

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