Compromising your beliefs is never an ideal situation as you set out to obtain what you want in your personal and professional lives, but sometimes that concession is the only plausible way you can truly achieve your goals. Such is the case with the seemingly admirable politician in the new drama, ‘The Runner,’ which marks the feature film writing and directorial debuts of producer Austin Stark. The visionary leader respectfully sets out to protect the citizens of his city who have been negatively impacted by a recent natural disaster, only to devastatingly see his personal motivations and career derailed by an inadvertent scandal. So he ultimately considers relenting to his adversaries’ demands to not only protect himself, but the public in general, in the film, which is set to open on Friday in a limited theatrical and VOD release, including on iTunes, and on DVD and Blu-ray on August 25.
‘The Runner’ follows the personal and professional dilemmas of idealistic Louisiana Congressman Colin Pryce (Nicolas Cage) as he sets out to convince his colleagues in Washington, D.C. to stop oil drilling altogether, in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that was caused by BP. The politician is immediately thrust into the national media, and garners sympathy from the public, after he gives an emotional televised testimony before Congress about the impact of the spill on local New Orleans businesses. However, that compassion soon begins deteriorating when it’s revealed that Colin, who’s been married to cunning lawyer Deborah (Connie Nielsen) for two decades, was caught having an affair with a cheerleading coach who’s married to a local fisherman.
The scandal not only wreaks havoc on Colin’s personal life, as Deborah files for divorce, but also on furthering his political aspirations and helping those who are still affected by the oil spill. As the tainted politician then begins to quietly rebuild his life, including starting a non-profit charity that aims to help those who have been affected by the oil spill, he begins to rekindle his strained relationship with his father, Rayne (Peter Fonda). Colin looks for advice from his father, who served as New Orleans’ mayor during the civil rights era, and survived numerous of his own scandals. But the recently disgraced politician is unable to handle the stress of trying to reverse the problems in his life. That pressure leads him to begin drinking again, despite being a recovering alcoholic for the majority of his marriage.
Colin also turns to his recently separated campaign publicist, Kate Haber (Sarah Paulson), for support in his efforts to improve his personal life and career. He seeks her guidance as local companies that are reliant on drilling try to convince him that they can help him revive his plans to run for the Senate if he publicly changes his stance on using eco-friendly measures in their businesses. While Colin personally remains loyal to his belief that BP and its partners should compensate the local Gulf businesses that were affected by the oil spill, he contemplates whether he should publicly change his stance, as that’s the only way he’ll be able to revive his dream of furthering his political career.
Stark generously took the time recently to talk about making his feature film writing and directorial debuts on ‘The Runner’ during an exclusive phone interview. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed how he wanted to delve into helming a feature, particularly one that was based on politics, after collaborating with diverse and talented directors during his almost decade-long career of being a producer, and becoming passionate about the subject after majoring in it in college; how Cage, who was at the top of his list of actors to play the role of Colin, signed onto the political drama after he responded to the material after reading the script in three days; and how incorporating authenticity into the film was always important to him as the screenwriter and director, so being able to actually film in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, and being able to speak with locals in the coastal towns who were affected by the BP oil spill, was really beneficial to the story.
ShockYa (SY): You made your feature film writing debut with the new political drama, ‘The Runner.’ Why were you interested in creating and penning a story about a flawed politician who was determined to repair his career and personal life after a public scandal?
Austin Stark (AS): Well, I had been producing films for a number of years before I started writing ‘The Runner.’ Writing and directing was always something I wanted to do. After working with and learning from some incredible directors, like Werner Herzog (‘My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done’), Maya Forbes (‘Infinitely Polar Bear’), and Tony Kaye (‘Detachment’), it felt like the right time to take that step.
In terms of subject matter, I wanted to make a political film because I’m passionate about politics. I studied politics at Georgetown. Some of my favorite films are political classics, like ‘The Candidate’ and ‘All the Presidents Men.’ So, ‘The Runner’ came naturally for me. Also, the concept of following a politician in the aftermath of a sex scandal felt timely, considering the various scandals we’ve experienced over the past fifteen years.
SY: Besides writing the script for the movie, you also made your feature film directing debut on the drama, like you just mentioned, after penning and helming the short films ‘Love/Death/Cobain’ and ‘Killing Pedro Rivera.’ Did writing the script influence the way you approached your directorial duties on ‘The Runner?’
AS: Yes, it definitely did. Since I had a vision while I was writing the screenplay, I didn’t have to interpret the text like I would if I were solely directing. Essentially, it removed a layer of interpretation. So, as a first-time feature director, being the writer was a huge benefit.
I had the opportunity to work with some very talented actors, like Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson, Peter Fonda and Connie Nielsen. Having written the script also helped a great deal in getting them to believe in me.
SY: Speaking of the fact that the drama stars Nicolas Cage as the main character, as well as a diverse supporting cast that includes Sarah Paulson and Peter Fonda, what was the process of casting them?
AS: I was thinking a lot about Nick Cage while I was writing the script. I often pictured him as Colin Pryce (the main character), which helped me write organically. He’s done so many films throughout his career, but he’d never done anything like this. Casting him felt interesting and unexpected, so he was at the top of my list when it came time to cast the film.
How it went down was that we sent Nick the screenplay on a Friday, and I got a call Monday morning that he really responded to the material. The next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Austin, Texas to meet with him at the SXSW Film Festival. We had a very productive chat, where we connected creatively. It was clear that Nick understood my vision, and since we also got along well, he agreed to be in the movie.
As far as Peter goes, he had recently produced the documentary, ‘The Big Fix,’ which is about the BP oil spill, a cause he’s passionate about. Since ‘The Runner’ is also partially about the spill, it interested him, but more importantly, he loved the character he played, Rayne Pryce. Even though Rayne is a relatively small role, he’s multi-faceted and extremely important to the narrative.
It pretty much worked that way with everyone else. We’d send out the script, and find actors who were passionate about it. But once Nick signed on it validated the project, and made it easier for us to reach actors like Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen, Wendell Pierce and so on.
SY: Speaking of the 2010 BP Oil Spill, the film follows Colin, a Louisiana congressman, as he fights to protect the people he serves in New Orleans in the aftermath of the disaster. Why did you decide to set Colin’s story against a real issue that still has social, economic and legal relevance today, a few years after it occurred?
AS: I felt like the oil spill had been swept under the rug. It was an issue someone needed to be talking about. I spent a couple weeks in Louisiana a year after the Macondo well was capped, in the summer of 2011, doing research for the film. I hadn’t originally planned on setting ‘The Runner’ in the wake of the disaster, but during my research, it became clear to me that the Gulf Coast was still devastated by the oil spill. People were no longer talking about it in the rest of the world. It felt tragic and relevant, and I wanted to bring attention to the cause. In fact, the spill is almost as relevant today, with BP settling for $18.7 billion across five states just a few weeks ago (in order to settle its legal liabilities over the spill with the US government).
From a narrative perspective, it felt organic to set the story of a politician trying to rebuild his tarnished career in that specific time and place. The region as a whole was struggling to recover, and I felt that worked well metaphorically. The specificity also spoke to me, because I thought if you’re going to make a movie about a politician, he should be dealing with real issues.
SY: What kind of research did you do into the oil spill before, and while, you were penning the script?
AS: It was a very extensive process that began before I started writing and didn’t really stop until I finished editing. I spent time in Louisiana, meeting with fishermen, motel and restaurant owners, as well as people in local politics and the media. I read whatever I could about the spill, and also watched random YouTube clips and other things people wouldn’t normally think to look at, in order to portray that time and place as accurately as I could. Colin Pryce is a fictional character, but the world he inhabits is a very real one.
SY: Colin insists throughout the film that he’s not going to compromise his morals, particularly when it comes to helping those who were affected by the oil spill. But since his life doesn’t start improving after the scandal, he considers changing his political position to receive support for his Senate run. Why do feel it was important to show that he was willing to eventually compromise his morals to obtain what he wants?
AS: Unfortunately, that’s a reality in our political culture, and I wanted to be true to that. It would’ve been easy to tack on a happy ending, but that didn’t feel authentic to me. The heart of the film deals with a man who’s trying to become a great leader without having to sacrifice his beliefs. It points to idealism, and how it’s not tenable in contemporary politics.
SY: Did you base Colin on any real politicians, or did you want to create an entirely fictitious protagonist for the film?
AS: I drew from many real politicians, including some who have been involved in scandals, and some who haven’t. Colin is a composite of various politicians, but I think where he lands closest, and how I always saw him, is a young Bill Clinton.
SY: Your company, Paper Street Films, served as one of the drama’s production companies. How did your previous work as a movie producer, as well as one of the founding partners of the company, help ‘The Runner’ get produced?
AS: From a logistical standpoint, it helped get the film made, because my company produced it. I think having produced eight films before ‘The Runner’ also gave our investors the confidence that I was ready to direct a compelling and successful film.
Creatively, it really helped to be so close with the producers, who are good friends of mine. We’ve all been working together for years, so the film wasn’t made in the traditional sense where the director was on one side, the producers on the other side. We were all working for the same vision, which was refreshing, and I think that ultimately made for a stronger film.
SY: ‘The Runner’ was filmed on location in New Orleans and Washington, D.C. As a director and a producer, why do you feel it’s so beneficial to shoot on location, as opposed to solely on a soundstage?
AS: You can feel the cities and their texture in the film. Shooting on stages often ends up feeling artificial, to some extent, especially if you don’t have a huge budget to work with. Authenticity was always most important to me, so being able to shoot New Orleans and Washington for New Orleans and Washington was tremendous. Although a casual viewer would never think about it, it gives the film roots.
On a side note, New Orleans is an amazing place to film. It’s such a vivid and beautiful city, with some the most stand-up people in the U.S. I highly recommend shooting there.
SY: The thriller is set to open in theaters and on iTunes nationwide (tomorrow). Why do you think the On Demand platform is so beneficial to independent films like this one?
AS: Well, as a filmmaker, I’m a purist, and would prefer that people see my films in theaters, where they play optimally in terms of sound and color. That said, studios are spending less and less money on theatrical marketing for indies, with the industry shifting further in the digital direction every year. What’s great about digital platforms for an indie filmmaker like myself is that more people have access to your films than ever. ‘The Runner’ will be in millions of homes the same day it’s released in theaters, which means that ultimately more people will see it. That, to me, is most important.
SY: Besides ‘The Runner,’ do you have any other upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss? Are you interested in continuing with writing and/or directing political films?
AS: I can certainly see myself making more political films in the future, but I’m interested in working in other genres as well. Right now, there are a couple projects I’m interested in directing – none of them political – but nothing is set yet. I’ll keep you posted!
Written by: Karen Benardello