Perfectly navigating an intricate balance between a group of diverse friends who are determined to support each other, no matter how distinct their opinions are, can be a challenging, yet equally rewarding and gratifying, process. The four main characters in the new independent comedy, ‘Growing Up & Other Lies,’ which opens today in select theaters and on VOD nationwide, enthrallingly pledge to help each other during their times of identity crisis. The movie’s writer-directors, Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs, who both starred in and produced the project, also remained powerfully loyal to each other on their second feature film collaboration, after they penned and helmed the 2008 comedy-drama, ‘Humboldt County.’ The filmmaking duo inspirationally refused to give up on their dream of creating relatable and emotional independent movies, no matter what obstacles they face along the way.
‘Growing Up & Other Lies’ follows four best friends in their early 30s, who are determined to spend one last Saturday together before their unofficial leader, Jake (Josh Lawson), moves back to his home state of Ohio. Jake is a struggling artist who has decided to move back home to take a legitimate job at his father’s company, much to his friends’ dismay. So the group decides to walk the entire 13 miles that make up Manhattan to relive their greatest moments of their friendships since the times they spent in college together.
Jake’s friends include Billy (Jacobs), the only one of the group who has seemingly garnered a prosperous career. However, he has become paranoid about how he’s going to climb up the corporate ladder as a lawyer at his firm. Gunderson (Wyatt Cenac), who has had a long-standing rivalry with Billy, hasn’t made any real progress in his life since the group was in college. Rocks (Adam Brody), who works as a teacher, is expecting a child with his girlfriend, Emma (Lauren Miller), but he’s still feeling uncertain about the future of their relationship and the prospect of parenthood.
As the four men ponder their friendships and lives, they start their journey from Inwood Hill Park at the northern tip of Manhattan. Along the way, they stop at the apartment they used to share in Washington Heights, which reignites old rivalries between the friends. The group’s reminiscence of their early 20s leads to the revelation that Jake’s ex-girlfriend, Tabatha (Amber Tamblyn), is single again, which makes him question if he’s making the right decision to move back to Ohio. As the group makes a detour to Tabatha’s parents’ apartment for a dinner party, they must all come to terms with the fact that they all have unfinished personal business from their pasts they have to contend with, in order to move on with their lives.
Grodsky and Jacobs generously took the time recently to talk about filming ‘Growing Up & Other Lies’ together during an exclusive phone interview. Among other things, the writers-directors-actors-producers discussed how the idea for the comedy came from one of their friends suggesting they join him on a similar walk through the entire island of Manhattan, and during their own walk, the filmmakers realized it would provide a perfect setting for friends to reevaluate their relationships and lives in a movie; how it was difficult to secure 57 locations throughout Manhattan that they could film at, especially on their 19 day shooting schedule, but as soon as they found places they were drawn to that could represent Jake and his friends’ journey on their walk, they did whatever they could to include them in the movie; and how it was beneficial to star in the comedy, so that they could help direct the scenes from in front of the camera, by allowing the other actors to infuse some of their own ideas into their characters, and then guide the improv back to the script.
ShockYa (SY): You co-wrote and directed the new comedy, ‘Growing Up & Other Lies,’ together. What was the process of deciding to work on the film together, and where did you come up with the idea for the story?
Danny Jacobs (DJ): Darren has dirt on me, and essentially blackmailed me to do it.
Darren Grodsky (DG): I still have the dirt! No, that’s a lie. But Danny and I have known each other since we were six-years-old, and we previously collaborated on another film we co-wrote and directed together, ‘Humboldt County.’ So we made our proverbial beds of writer-director partners years ago.
The way that this film came about was after ‘Humboldt County’ came out, we were in New York, working on a totally different script. One day played hooky from writing that script, when a friend of ours suggested we join him on this walk, which is something he always wanted to do.
So we literally started the same way the characters do in the movie, at the northern tip of Manhattan, near the Broadway Bridge. We then walked over the course of 12 hours, down to Battery Park, and we stopped often for various intoxicants and food.
Over the course of that day of walking the island, we realized that this was a fascinating idea for a movie. So we abandoned our previous script, and started writing this movie instead, with the intent to direct it.
SY: You both made your feature film writing and directorial debuts with ‘Humboldt County,’ which you just mentioned. Were there any lessons you learned from your first film that you brought to ‘Growing Up & Other Lies?’ How do you both think you’ve grown as filmmakers between making both movies?
DJ: Well, the first lesson I learned from our first film, which I unfortunately did not end up following, was not let Darren on the set, because he’s a monster. (laughs) He tends to yell and hit people, and he’s always drunk.
DG: That’s the first thing you said during our exit interview-“You’re not allowed on the set next time!” I agreed with him; I said, “You should not let me on set.”
DJ: Darren and I had exit interviews for ‘Humboldt County,’ during which we joked around about that. But unfortunately, I didn’t listen to that lesson. (laughs)
But I think the real difference between ‘Humboldt County’ and this one was that anytime anyone makes their first film, they have a lack of confidence about whether or not they know what they’re doing. You don’t feel as though you’re fully equipped to make the movie. But by the time you get to your second film, you learn to relax a little bit more.
With ‘Humboldt County,’ we shot in the middle of the woods in Northern California, where we had a few elements to control, but overall, it was pretty manageable. Then with this film, we shot in one of the largest metropolises on the planet. That was a very difficult challenge and transition, as they’re obviously very different shooting environments.
DG: I would add that after shooting ‘Humboldt County,’ we learned that all small independent films have a limited number of shooting days. One of the things we promised ourselves after that movie was that we were going to have more shooting days on our second film. We shot for 18 days for ‘Humboldt County,’ which was an insane schedule to put together for a feature. So we pushed and insisted that we would have a longer shoot for this film. I’m proud to say that we received 19 days of shooting, which was a success. (laughs)
SY: Speaking of the locations, what was the process of finding the settings throughout Manhattan to showcase Jake and his three oldest friends retracing their greatest adventure together?
DG: Our location manager (Ryan Piotrowicz) told us on a number of occasions that this was the most difficult job he had ever had. We had 57 locations over those 19 shooting days, which is an absurd number for any film. But for a movie of our size, it nearly broke him to try to find those locations. Locations can often fall apart, after you think you have secured them, so you then have to find new locations. So the process was extremely difficult, especially on him.
DJ: One of the things we didn’t know going into this is that there’s this thing in New York called ‘The Hot List.’ It’s a list that the city updates every two to three months, and it features locations that filmmakers aren’t allowed to shoot in. The list is based on two things: the number of complaints officials have received about shooting in those locations, and how much production has taken place in those places. You don’t know what’s going to be on The Hot List until the day it comes out.
So for example, we had planned to shoot a lot of scenes in Inwood, because that’s the vibe we wanted to show for the northern part of the island. But that entire neighborhood became unshootable when The Hot List came out about a week-and-a-half before we started shooting. So that was a challenge we weren’t aware that we were going to have to face going into the film. But New York is filled with so many great locations, it’s not the end of the world-you can find other spots. But it was troublesome.
DG: One of the things we knew from when we walked the island was that there were a few locations where we really wanted to shoot at, like St. John’s Cathedral. It’s a very particular location, as it’s a massive, gorgeous and awe-inspiring place. We had those feelings when we walked the island, so we wanted the characters in the film to have that same feeling when they walked into the cathedral.
So we basically said, “Let’s get St. John’s Cathedral,” which is very limiting when you tell your production company. But our production manager did an incredible job. That was one real location where we actually shot at the actual place, where anyone can go and experience themselves. But it was thrilling to shoot in a place like St. John’s, where we ourselves had that literal experience of our jaws dropping a few years back when we were walking around.
SY: Besides writing and directing the film together, you both also served as producers on ‘Growing Up & Other Lies.’ Why did you feel it was important to also produce the comedy, particularly since this was made independently?
DG: I think becoming a producer when you’re filming an independent movie like this is almost inevitable. Nobody wants your movie to get made more than you do as the writer-director, so you end up also taking that producing role. I wish that we didn’t, though.
DJ: I would also say that’s true. In an ideal world, I don’t think you need to also become a producer. Making an independent film is everything but ideal. But when you have more money, resources and time, it’s better to focus just on the directing duties. But with independent films, you do what needs to be done, and sometimes that means taking on some producing duties you may not have done otherwise.
But with that being said, we had some really great producers on the film, and we wouldn’t have been able to make it without them. Katie Mustard is one of our producers, and she was a real superstar in the independent film world. Jason Weiss is a producer who’s been with us since the beginning, and he also produced our first film. Nicole Lederman and her company, Gold Apple, came in with a big chunk of the budget, which was really helpful.
DG: It goes to show you how creative the indie world is. Nicole Lederman is someone we met at SXSW, when our first film, ‘Humboldt County,’ premiered there. I think she produced a short film that was playing at the festival that year, and she had liked ‘Humboldt County,’ and that was our in with her. She became fans of ours, and we became fans of hers, and we also became friends. She said on the first day we met her, “I’m going to produce one of your movies.”
Then a few years later, we were trying to put this film together. At the time, she had recently started her company, Gold Apple, so they came in and helped make the movie. So it was a last-minute heroic save. So like I said, we may be among the producers, but we’re by no means the producers of the movie.
SY: ‘Growing Up & Other Lies’ is having a theatrical and On Demand release. Are you both personally fans of watching movies on VOD, and overall, do you think the platform is beneficial for independent films like this one?
DJ: Yes, I do. Our first film was released by Magnolia Pictures. At that time, this kind of release-theatrical combined with VOD-was very new. But over the past few years, it’s become a very common thing for independent films. With any kind of business practice, there are both positive and negative aspects.
The positives of the VOD platform is that people everywhere can see the film. The negative is that we grew up going to see films in theaters. So there’s a growing fear that I have that independent films are being relegated more and more to television screens, so that communal movie-watching experience is being lost. If you have the opportunity to watch films at home at the same time they’re playing in theaters, it’s both a blessing and a curse.
DG: I totally agree. It’s incredible that anyone in the country can see our movie. Like with ‘Humboldt County,’ I know so many people saw it on VOD and eventually on Netflix. So a lot of people across the country have access to our movie.
But at the same time, our mindset is, and has always been, we’re making films for the big screen. From the time we first image our films, to the time we’re sound editing it, we’re imagining them playing in theaters. So we’d like as many people as possible to see it in that format. But at the end of the day, we’re thrilled that it’s getting released in theaters, and that people who don’t live close enough to theaters that are playing it can watch it on VOD.
SY: The comedy features a diverse ensemble cast, including Adam Brody, Wyatt Cenac, Danny Jacobs, Josh Lawson, Amber Tamblyn and Lauren Miller. What was the process of casting the actors in the film’s diverse roles?
DG: The process of casting, as many have said before us, is basically the most important decision you make when you’re making a film. On this particular movie, like you said, is an ensemble piece, and it follows four guys who have been friends for a long time. So if their dynamic falls flat, then the overall movie falls flat.
So we were really lucky to have worked with our casting director, Avy Kaufman. She’s someone whose resume speaks for itself. She has a genius ability to not only know what actors may be interested in a project like this, but also which actors go together, and who would be believable as friends who would hang out.
So we would put together lists of people we were interested in, and she would respond to those lists. She would also add people she thought would be great. So we would then read people, and put the cast together over a course of many months, as we were simultaneously putting the movie together financially. You make all these plans and feel like you have a cast.
But once the shoot days are actually set, you realize some of the people you had in mind can’t actually shoot when you have the schedule set. So even though we had our initial ideas of who we wanted to cast, I can’t imagine anyone else in the movie. We had to recast some parts in the weeks leading up to the shoot. Again, that’s the time you want to have a great casting director like Avy to guide you, and lean on, throughout that process.
SY: Were you able to have any rehearsal time with the cast before you began filming, to help build their characters’ relationships?
DJ: Since the characters are based on guys Darren and I have known for 10-15 years, their depiction on the pages were really clear. So the other actors understood them, based on how they were presented in the script. So that helped us be ahead of the game before we started filming.
We didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time-as with a lot of films with similar limited schedules and budgets, you never do. We did have a few days of rehearsal, and we walked part of the island with the other actors. That’s another advantage to a film like this-you get to fully experience the narrative.
Outside of that, we got everyone together socially several times, and tried to make things as relaxing as possible. I think the combination of that led to some lovely interactions and chemistry.
SY: You both have experience as actors, in addition to writing and directing. Does your acting experience influence the way you interacted with the cast while you were filming ‘Growing Up & Other Lies,’ particularly since this was the second feature you both directed?
DJ: Yes, it certainly did. It was always our intention to act in the movie, as we both also had roles in ‘Humboldt County.’ I have a decade-long career as an actor, so it’s something that’s a natural fit for us. The character of Billy was also based on me. But I would say our acting did affect our directing, to a degree.
Darren and I also wanted to improvise, but we knew that on such a short schedule, we unfortunately couldn’t go off on ever tangent we wanted to while we were filming. So one of the benefits of us also starring in the film was that I could help direct the scenes from in front of the camera, by guiding the improv back to the page. So I could help shape the scene back to the way Darren and I wanted it to be shaped. So that was one advantage to making the film the way we did.
DG: We started this film with something smarter than we did in ‘Humboldt County.’ In that movie, we starred as a duo, so we were on camera at the same time whenever we were on screen. That was challenging, because with films like this, you don’t really have time for playback.
So with this film, there are maybe only one or two shots where we were on camera at the same time. But I’m only briefly in the film, which helped make sure that one of us was always directing every shot of the movie. It’s hard when both directors are on screen together at the same time, so our process was easier this time around.
SY: The comedy screened at several film festivals, including the Napa Valley Film Festival and the SoHo Film Festival. What does it mean to you that the film played at the different festivals? How did audiences respond to the movie overall?
DG: After working on a project for years, having the opportunity to show the finished movie to audiences who are very supportive of independent films, and are excited to meet filmmakers in cities and countries world, is thrilling. It’s also gratifying to make films that other people are excited about watching, and it’s not just you sitting in the room as the movie plays. So I’ll never get tired of film festivals.
DJ: The great thing about them is that you attend them immediately after you work in the editing room. You’ve been making the film in these very closed environments, and you’re very separated from the world. So you’re suddenly able to come out into the light, after spending months in a cave.
SY: Do you both have any upcoming projects, whether writing, directing and/or acting, lined up that you can discuss?
DJ: Darren and I are working on a feature that we’re really excited about developing. It’s in the vein of ‘Fargo,’ and it’s set in Kansas. The script is almost ready for it. We’re also developing a TV show that we’re super excited about working on. We’re hoping to get starting one of them in the next few months.
Written by: Karen Benardello