It wasn’t that long ago that I came across what I still believe to be one of the best comedies that’s been out in a while. I was so impressed by Chick Magnet that I wrote a review. The movie definitely wasn’t given the exposure that I felt did it justice and had hoped that a review would help fix that issue. Well if it did nothing else it was at least seen by Rolando Millet who then shared it with the director Ryan R. Williams. They were both great guys to chat with even if it was only via email and in the end I was able to score an interview with Ryan R. Williams.
MOVIE BUZZERS-How did you come up with the overall idea for the movie?
RYAN R. WILLIAMS: I was shopping around an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s, “A Doll’s House.” The funding wasn’t in place, so I decided to make my own masterpiece. When that fell through, I decided to make “Chick Magnet.” We were torn about titles. Initially we bandied around names for the film such as: “Donkey Punch”,”Pussy Shirt” and “Fuck Jacket.” But I had a hard time picturing those on a one sheet. So we went in another direction. The original title of the film was: “The Wheelchair Lesbians.” I didn’t know the distribution company had changed the title to “Chick Magnet” until I saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster. The concept itself was born in the throws of whiskey filled weekend when I was volunteering as a college cheerleading instructor–the details are fuzzy.
MB-You mentioned that the film was shot on an ultra low budget. I’ve seen a lot of those types of movies and they usually show it but Chick Magnet definitely didn’t. How was the process of making the film on such a tight budget, yet making it look like you had a little more breathing room than you actually had.
RW– I was the co-owner of a sound stage and production company at the time. We had piles of fancy gear but I was getting tired of managing a downstream chroma-key (green screen) operation. I wanted to direct another film. I decided to take all the toys out for one last spin before I left the company. So, in a sense, the gear was free. I was also the Director of Photography on “Chick Magnet.” That helps. Other than a loan boom operator, a make up artist, a fantastic production designer, and the actors, I was a one man crew on most of the shoots. Sort of Stanley Kubrick style–minus the profound material and the genius. At some point it literally became just me and the actors when the boom man went to Hawaii. Had to run the sound myself too. I still got a lot of coverage (camera angles). That looks expensive, but cost me nothing extra. The locations were all freebies and favors. People brought their own food, their own cloths–slept in their own cars.
I knew we only had a month to pull it off so I figured we would do a quick and dirty comedy. It was made for about 30k. The post production costs were more than that but what you see on screen cost very little. Directing music videos and regional commercials in my previous life–I had learned how to turn a nickel into a dollar. I called upon the actors to chip in where they could. I recently phoned the lead actress, Meili Cady, who plays Phil’s wife in the film, to see what she could remember and she had this to say (I took dictation):
MEILI CADY: “The memory that stands out, and, oddly enough, it’s one I’ve largely repressed, is when the producers assigned me the task of location scouting in Compton. I was alone, but the men in the area were very friendly. After one group of local men who were sharing a home which they affectionately called ‘the drop spot’ gave me a tour of their ‘crib,’ they asked me to participate in an impromptu photo shoot with them in the driveway. I politely obliged and stood awkwardly next to their low rider as the leader of the house snuggled to my backside and whispered encouraging words of, ‘You got to give me that ass.’ A job well done. I was also the one who found the original magical shirt costume for the movie on the vintage strip of Melrose in LA. It was one of a kind, and I had to compete with a “Billy Jack” fan who had his eyes on it. I out-bid the bastard and rushed over to Malibu Canyon at 3pm to wake you (Ryan) up and show off my takings. As I recall you grunted from beneath your covers, ‘What the fuck is that? God, I guess it will work.'”
RE: Meili was invaluable. We still work together. She wrote the scene where Yanni craps the bed in the film. Need I say more? She is a real sport.
MB– One aspect of the movie that I really liked was the celebrity cameos. They look as though they are enjoying being part of the film. I hear Rolando played a big part in making those happen. Can you tell us more about them and his role?
RW-The celebrities we shot were all funny people and Josh did a fine job of making them feel at ease within the scenes. The best stuff from that sequence didn’t make the final film, sadly, but I didn’t have final cut. Rolando Millet, (aka The Shirt Guy)–who is a lead in my new film, “Nowhere Fast: The Forgotten Story of Approach Control”– tipped us off to most of the red carpets. That’s where we horns-waggled the cameos. Rolando is tapped into the goings on in that part of the Hollywood world so he could alert us as to where and when to post up. On the new film, “Nowhere Fast,” I think we outdid ourselves in terms of the all new celebrity cameo sequence. I called Rolando and asked him to share his thoughts on going after cameos, and here is what he had to say:
ROLANDO MILLET: “Ahh, yeah, buddy. We did the new cameo sequence for “Nowhere Fast,” the same way you and Josh did it on “Chick Magnet.” It takes a lot of hustle and fast talking to get cool with the publicists and the red carpet staff. It was harder the second time around. More security. Can I say that, Ryan? Do you want me to tell the names of the celebs we got for the new film?”
RW: Let’s keep it a mystery. But the names are a bit bigger than the ones in “Chick Magnet.” And I like that the cameo sequence ties into the story more organically in “Nowhere Fast.”
MB-Another part of the film that I know anyone of the male population will love to know more about is all the women that fall under the attraction of the shirt. Where did you find all of them and did they know what their role was going to be before they were selected or was it more of a surprise?
RW– It would have been hard to spring it on them on set. “Surprise! Your in a magical fuck jacket movie.” The truth is, they were all ex-girllfriends of mine. Rim-shot, please! No, the actual truth is we held auditions on my stage in the Valley and put out breakdowns. I’m sure the guy with the carpet store across the way was finally convinced we were shooting porn–seeing all the girls come and go. Beauty is very common in Hollywood. But beauty and a sense of humor is vary rare. The actresses we found for the film all possessed both qualities. They had a great attitude from the start.
MB– There’s a descent amount of nudity(not complaining) in the film was it easy finding actresses that were willing to do that?
RW– You know I thought that would be really difficult. But we came across some performers who were real troupers about it. They were comfortable with their bodies. Strangely the sex scenes were more uncomfortable for the male actors and myself. Nobody wanted to be that sleezy movie guy who says, “Alright, sweetheart, now take your top off.” All of the girls who went there were leading the charge. And god bless them.
MB-In talking with you you mentioned that you received a fairly wide distribution deal for the film considering its size, how did that come about?
RW– I don’t know. I wasn’t there. My role as director naturally ends at a certain point and you fumble the ball to someone else. I think despite it all the film had a commercial core, and some basic entertainment value that was recognized by Showtime and the other international outlets the film found. Plus it’s hard to find a decent Dirty Sanchez scene in mainstream movies.
MB -As you know I’m a huge fan of Chick Magnet, is there anything you’re working on now that we should keep an eye out for?
RW– “Nowhere Fast: The Forgotten Story of Approach Control,” as I said, is in the can. It got much bigger laughs in the prieviews than “Chick Magnet,” and that also got some solid laughs in the screenings I saw. So that is exciting. We are going the festival route with the new film and it should be out this winter. “Nowhere Fast” has a bit of a dramatic streek to it and it’s a musical. A hybrid musical/comedy. It is the story of a washed up synth-pop band from the 80s. They are brought back together in Las Vegas to compete on a reality TV show and madness insues. I have also been taped to direct a teen comedy for an established distributor this summer. But I can’t say much more about that until the ink settles. Does ink settle? Let’s stay in touch. It warms my heart to read your kind review. Sometimes it’s the only thing that stops me from crying myself to sleep in the fetal position in the shower. Stay tuned.
Recent Comments