00:00What inspired the idea for Together?
00:03Well, I've been with my partner for over 16 years,
00:07and, you know, it's a lovely thing to be with my partner,
00:10but there is a point in a relationship where you realize
00:12you're so fully committing to somebody
00:14that you are genuinely sharing your life with them.
00:17And that was a moment where I thought, this is kind of scary.
00:19Like, I don't know where I end and she begins.
00:22We have the same friends, we eat the same food,
00:24we breathe the same air, like, what a strange thing.
00:27We've been together since I was 17,
00:30so I've never been an adult without this person in my life.
00:34And, you know, I was kind of focusing on the anxieties
00:37and the fears of that and thought, oh, this could be,
00:40this is a theme I'd like to discuss, like to explore
00:43within the realms of something kind of nasty and sticky and gross.
00:47What did Dave and Alison bring to this movie,
00:53like, with their amazing performances?
00:56Oh, yeah, thank you.
00:57They are, I'm so happy with their performances in their film.
00:59They're incredible.
01:00Well, they brought so much.
01:01They brought their own history because they're married.
01:04The couple in the film has been together for over 10 years.
01:06They've been together for over 10 years.
01:08And they brought, like, an emotional reality
01:11and emotional history to the roles.
01:12And also, like, this is my first feature film,
01:15but they've been working in this realm for so long
01:17and they brought this experience and professionalism.
01:20And they had a shorthand with one another
01:23that we would not have been able to make the film without.
01:25They are the reason this film exists.
01:28Being this your first feature film, as you said,
01:31what was the biggest challenge for you?
01:33The thing that I was scared of going into this film
01:36wasn't, like, the horror sequences or the action sequences.
01:39I was like, this is fun.
01:40Like, that's kind of, like, my area of expertise.
01:42But there is, like, genuine, like, emotional sincerity
01:45and a real earnestness to sections of the film.
01:48And I was really scared of not knowing really, as a director,
01:52how to direct these scenes where these characters are crying and emoting.
01:56And basically, if you stripped all the horror out of the film,
01:59I wanted this to be a relationship drama.
02:01And this is a film just about a relationship.
02:03And I can direct a jump scare.
02:04I can direct, you know, but, like,
02:06when I know that Dave needs to cry and really bare his soul,
02:09I didn't know how to do that.
02:10But luckily, again, they just,
02:12we did the first take and Dave nailed it.
02:15And I'm like, oh, okay, we're fine.
02:16I don't need to be scared about this.
02:17What do you hope audiences feel or take away after watching together?
02:23I hope it makes people break up and ruin their relationships.
02:28No, I think that...
02:29It's like a comedy.
02:31Exactly.
02:32No, I think that, I think it's a date night film.
02:35It's a film that's about love.
02:36It's, in my mind, an optimistic film about how it might be scary to fall in love,
02:41but maybe it's worth it.
02:43Maybe it's so lovely.
02:44And kind of the top line thing is,
02:47I hope that audiences come away having a good time.
02:49Like, this was a film designed with an audience in mind that, like,
02:51it's a little scary.
02:52It's a little funny.
02:53It's hopefully kind of a thrill ride that you leave the theater
02:56feeling like you're floating on air and think, oh, that was good.
02:58As an artist, as a director, writer, what do you enjoy the most?
03:03And when is the moment during the day you feel more inspired to write?
03:10There's a Dorothy Parker quote that says,
03:12I hate writing and I love having written.
03:15And I totally agree with that.
03:16Like, I love when I look back and I'm like, oh, I wrote some stuff.
03:19But the writing process is sometimes, like, really, really,
03:22like, just pulling teeth or something.
03:26So my favorite moment of making a film is on set,
03:29like being live with the cast and live with the crew.
03:33You know, there was one take in this film where we had a makeup gag
03:37where something had to be pulled apart,
03:39and it took hours to set up, and we had one take of it.
03:41And so the pressure on set, everybody's holding their breath,
03:44and we do the take, and it worked beautifully.
03:47And I called Cut and said to the set, everybody high-five.
03:51And we all high-fived, and we're all like, yes!
03:53Like, that's sort of the joy of this film,
03:55is how much fun it was creating it with all these amazing artists
03:59that I'm so lucky to have worked with.
Comments