Effortlessly bonding with your loving and nurturing grandparent and wholeheartedly supporting a sibling you truly understand are noteworthy familial bonds that are often affectionately presented in the modern society. As a result, those relationships are among the top connections that many people long to form in their own personal lives. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to realistically form those genuine alliances with their relatives, and they can’t truly start to understand each other until they’re placed in a harrowing situation together. That gripping determination to truly connect with your at-times estranged relatives is relatably presented in the new comedy-drama, ‘This is Happening,’ which marks the feature film directorial debut of filmmaker Ryan Jaffe.
The helmer, who also penned the script for ‘This Is Happening,’ based the film’s story on his own personal experience of visiting his grandmother one last time in Florida with his brother. Jaffe chronicled their last family trip and effort to reconnect in his short story, ‘Sweat.’ While he didn’t initially envision adapting the story into a movie, the filmmaker ultimately decided to base his feature directorial debut on the story, as it features relatable characters who find themselves in both comical and sentimental situations that audiences can realistically understand.
Jaffe, along with one of ‘This Is Happening’s lead actresses, Mickey Sumner, generously took the time recently to talk about writing, directing and starring in the comedy-drama in separate exclusive phone interviews. They both discussed the process of collaborating together, as well as with the rest of the cast, to adapt the filmmaker’s personal experiences into the comedy-drama, which is now playing on major VOD platforms.
‘This Is Happening’ follows the struggling Philip Davis (James Wolk), who’s determined to relaunch his career after losing his job, as well as please his girlfriend, Ashley (Emily Tremaine), enough so that she’ll agree to marry him. But at the last-minute request of his manipulative father, Steven (Judd Nelson), he travels to Palm Springs to convince his grandmother, Estelle (Cloris Leachman), to move into a senior community. While Ashley is perplexed at why Philip would agree to leave Los Angeles to help his father and grandmother, with him he doesn’t have the closest relationships with, Philip realizes it may be the last chance he has to help Estelle.
When Philip’s small-time pot dealing younger sister, Megan (Sumner), learns of her brother’s impromptu road trip, she decides to go with him, and assures him that she’s just trying to offer him familial support. However, she actually has a connection in Palm Springs who’s going to give her five pounds of high quality weed, which she plans to sell when she returns to L.A. However, her deception doesn’t help her already strained relationship with Philip, and they ultimately decide that they have no desire to spend any more time together than they must.
After arriving in Palm Springs, the siblings realize that it’s going to be even more difficult than they expected to convince their grandmother to move out of her home, as they barely have any type of relationship at all. When she then decides to flee with her taxidermied shitzu Ralph to her old home in Seattle, Megan convinces her older brother that they must go after Estelle before she gets herself into trouble. What ensues is a road trip where Estelle simply tries to survive, while her grandchildren struggle to keep from hurting each other.
Jaffe first discussed why he was inspired to write the screenplay for ‘This Is Happening,’ and follow the two estranged siblings as they try to track down their run-away grandmother. “It was originally a short story that I wrote when I lived in San Francisco 15 years ago. The story was about a trip I took to Florida to visit my grandmother with my brother, who I didn’t really have the best relationship with,” Jaffe revealed. The director also divulged that he also wasn’t close with his grandmother at the time, “so it was an odd blend of family members who didn’t necessarily belong together for 10 days in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.”
The first-time feature filmmaker added that “I then moved back to Los Angeles to take a second run at being a writer. I had a manager who was a good friend of mine, and he was reading my material.” When his manager read ‘Sweat,’ he told the filmmaker “that this is a story that comes from your heart, and it shows great characters. So you should turn this into a movie.” But Jaffe revealed that he never envisioned his story as a movie, because he thinks “my life isn’t that interesting. But I took his advice, and we worked on it for a year.”
The helmer then noted that he decided to finally adapt the short story into a feature a few years ago. The story “was always the one that was the closest to me, and the most personal. I thought that if I was going to direct something, it was going to be this.”
Jaffe also discussed how besides writing the script, he also made his feature film directorial debut on the movie. “I knew I could write, but I didn’t know I could direct. I knew the script was good, because it attracted talent that was far better than the size of the movie or my experiences as a director,” the filmmaker admitted.
Jaffe also mentioned how he decided to feature such a diverse cast in ‘This Is Happening,’ including Wolk, Sumner and Leachman. “I had previously worked with Jimmy on a short version of the film I had made a few years back. I made it to prove that I could direct a film, and he was kind enough to lend his time. We shot it in a day, and he was really good in the part,” the director revealed.
“As far as Mickey, Cloris and everyone else was brought in by our brilliant casting director, Billy Hopkins,” Jaffe divulged. “I learned very early on that there are people who are very good at their jobs, so it was helpful to listen to their suggestions. Billy was right on every single actor.”
Sumner revealed that as soon as she read Jaffe’s script, she was drawn to play the character of Megan. The actress described her character as being “a really rebellious human being. She’s going through a teenage meltdown during this moment in her life.” Sumner added that she wasn’t able to relate to Megan in that way. “When I was a teenager, I never really went through a rebellious stage. I studied really hard in school, and I never really misbehaved. So when I read the script, I thought, I may finally get to have this rebellious teenage moment that I never got to experience in real life.”
The actress was also drawn to the family dynamic in the comedy-drama. “Families can drift apart, and they can go through problems together and become estranged. What I love about the movie is that it shows that families can reconnect. I found that to be a really touching and important message,” Sumner added. “It’s also funny, silly and sweet. But I really appreciated that at the heart of the movie, there’s this important message.”
Once he began helming the comedy-drama, Jaffe decided that he “was going to let the script do the work for me. I wasn’t going to get too crafty with the camera, or overdo it stylistically,” the director explained. “I was letting the camera be, and let the actors perform. The film ended up evolving as I started working, and doing rehearsals, with incredibly talented actors like Jimmy and Mickey, about a week before we started filming.”
Jaffee added that “We spent every day for a week working on the script. We changed the script to how they saw the dynamics between the characters. I’m a collaborative director, and I welcomed all of their suggestions. So the script definitely evolved through the rehearsal process.”
During his experience of working with the cast, Jaffe started embracing the ideas the cast developed, as he realized for the first time that “the script was more of a blueprint. It was changing all the time, even as we were filming. Even the tone of the film began changing a little bit because the actors’ performances were so strong.” The writer added that while making ‘This Is Happening,’ he learned that filmmakers shouldn’t be afraid to depart from their scripts “if what you’re getting is better than what’s on the page.”
Sumner also discussed the process of mixing improv and the rehearsal process with her co-stars and Jaffe. “We rehearsed with Ryan for about a week before we began shooting. We ran through the scenes and re-wrote some of them all together, based on some improvs that we did,” the actress divulged. “Ryan was super generous, and really let us voice our opinions. He was great about discussing how to bring the characters off the page and into real relationships.”
Sumner also noted that Jaffe had taken on a lot of pressure to make ‘This Is Happening.’ “He wrote the script for 10 years. It’s loosely based on his own family, and their dynamics and history. So we all wanted to deliver and do a good job for him,” the actress said. “But he wasn’t petty about the script. He wanted to make it the best, and really gave us freedom with it.” The actress added that she has respect for first-time directors like Jaffe, as he effortlessly took on all of the responsibilities that were needed to get the comedy-drama made.
The filmamker revealed that Wolk is “different from the character that was on the page.” Due to the actor’s drastic difference in personality from his character, they decided to slightly change Philip. The comedy-drama’s protagonist “was a much more neurotic and self-conscious person…so we found another way to effectively show that neurosis, and that’s a credit to him,” Jaffe revealed.
Sumner also praised her co-stars, saying “It was such a privilege to work with Jimmy. We hit if off immediately, and we had fun. We worked really hard on all of our fight scenes,” which she added that they really rehearsed together before they began filming.
“It was also great to work with Cloris, because she has been one of my heroes since I was a kid. ‘Young Frankenstein’ was one of my favorite movies,” Sumner revealed. “They’re both so professional, and we really fit in well together.”
The actress fondly recalled how she met Leachman at a table read that the Oscar and Emmy Award-winning actress held at her house the day before they began shooting. “That was one of the most hilarious table reads that I have ever experienced. It took four hours to finish, because Cloris stopped every five minutes to tell another joke.” Sumner laughed as she also mentioned how Leachman “also pulled out her dead stuffed dog, which then became a character in the movie.”
With the comedy-drama following Philip and Megan as they travel from California to Seattle to find their grandmother, Jaffe also discussed the process of deciding where the film was going to be shot. The helmer admitted that the places where ‘This Is Happening’ were filmed were mainly dictated by the film’s smaller budget. So he had to figure out how to tell the story “with as many locations as we had between Palm Springs and Seattle, with zero money, and only 11 days to shoot. So it became a very intense linguistical process.”
Jaffe added that he felt lucky that he “had a friend whose parents were tearing down a huge house near where we were filming. So they said, ‘You can shoot here in our house. You don’t have to pay us any money, and you can do whatever you want with it.'” The director reveled in his luck, as he noted that being able to film the majority of a movie’s interior scenes in one location for free “never happens.”
The filmmaker added that the scenes that take place in the siblings’ car were almost entirely shot “on a stage at a company called 24 Frames, which works on a lot of big films and television series. Its technology reaches far behind green screens. Anything you see moving in a car was filmed on the stage.” Jaffe also noted that he thought the resulting shoots looked amazing.
Sumner added that filming the driving scenes in a stationary care in a studio was “cool, because it cut out all of the craziness of maintaining continuity of driving in an actual car. I drive like my grandmother, so I was grateful that I didn’t have to drive and act. I also don’t think we would have made our schedule if we didn’t have that studio time.”
The director also explained that he used stock footage that 24 Frames had used for its own purposes for the background locations, including Palm Springs, as the characters were driving. While the company didn’t have specific footage for Seattle, Jaffe explained that some of the shots he found looked more lush than those he used for Southern California.
“I tried to determine what city was a 13-hour drive away from Palm Springs, because in the original story, the journey took place between New Jersey and Florida,” the filmmaker explained. Since the writer wanted to keep the same distance in the final film that was in the original story, he decided on the Northwestern city.
Besides writing and directing ‘This Is Happening,’ Jaffe also served as one of its producers. The filmmaker explained that he also decided to also produce the comedy-drama because he created the entire project. He also praised the rest of the producers who worked with him on the movie, and emphasized that “I needed every single one of them. But in terms of raising the money, getting the project off the ground and dealing with post (production), this was my baby, so I produced it out of necessity.”
Jaffe added that he “had great help from (fellow producers) Lisa Barrett McGuire and Matthew Weinberg. On set, I did the least amount of producing, so the other producers did their jobs and controlled the set and line producing very well.” The director added that he “love doing every aspect of filmmaking, and I learned a ton.”
The filmmaker added that he also realized that producing an independent movie he also served as the director on in today’s filmmaking environment was at times daunting. So he may not take on both duties on another film of this size at the same time again. “The marketplace is also way over-saturated, so it’s really hard to get money back for your investors. So I’m lucky that the budget on my film was so low, because there’s just too much competition out there. So I’m glad I learned about all of those dynamics about film distribution,” Jaffe explained.
Sumner also mentioned that she enjoys making independent movies. “I think that when you don’t have everything at your fingertips, and you’re struggling with time and budget, it brings people really close together,” the actress explained. “Everyone’s hustling to get the movie made, and I think that shows camaraderie. That close-knit feeling of family that happens on a set is what I’m passionate about, and is why I love making movies.
With ‘This Is Happening’ now playing on major VOD platforms, Jaffe explained why he thinks the On Demand platform is beneficial for independent films. “Unless they’re going to see a huge blockbuster, no one’s going to the cinema. Year after year, you see less people going to the theaters, especially to see small movies.”
While the filmmaker acknowledged the importance of VOD for independent films, he also pointed out that “there are dozens of movies being released every single week onto those platforms. (The major) studios are also releasing their projects On Demand day-and-date, so the space is becoming so crowded. So it’s hard to fight against the competition, no matter where you’re being released. But I’m grateful to be able to release my projects on any platform.”
Also speaking of the VOD release that ‘This Is Happening secured, Sumner noted that she also thinks the platform is beneficial for independent films. “I think it’s sad that people don’t go to the theater anymore. But since people want to instead watch these types of sweet and funny movies at home, they do really well on VOD. So I’m really grateful for these platforms that people can access at home, as they’re really integral to the business,” the actress said.
Before receiving its VOD distribution, ‘This Is Happening’ played at several different film festivals, including the Portland Film Festival, the San Diego Film Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. Jaffe noted his pleasure of the comedy-drama screening at the different festivals, revealing that “Seeing the film with an audience is the best experience I’ve ever had professionally. Going on the festival circuit was so much fun, and it played really well with an audience. There isn’t a greater high than seeing people laugh at something you have worked so hard on. People also cried, because the movie plays with so many emotions.”
Sumner also discussed her experience of bringing the comedy-drama on the film festival circuit, saying that she went to the Sarasota Film Festival. “That was super fun-I love that festival, and have been there a couple of times. They don’t sell movies, so it’s really just about the passion of celebrating filmmaking, filmmakers and actors,” Sumner emphasized.
“We also had a screening here in L.A., and Cloris also attended, and we all had a lot of fun. Since the whole cast went, it was fun to have everyone come back together,” Sumner also said. “Everyone rallied for this movie, and we’ve had some sweet support on Facebook and Twitter. I like that collaborative nature with everyone.”
Jaffe revealed that the film’s crowdfunding for it’s theatrical release wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gone to the Sarasota Film Festival. He also divulged that “I met other filmmakers there who were going through the same struggles, and now we have our own little support group. Whenever our movies are coming out, we talk to each other about the different distribution opportunities that we have. I wouldn’t have any of those relationships if it wasn’t for the festivals, so I think they’re great.”
But the filmmaker also revealed that he thinks ‘This Is Happening’ is a film that’s “a little bit more mainstream, but was made independently. So it doesn’t feel that it has gotten the love from the ‘indie community.’ It’s a sweet film, and it doesn’t try to push too many difficult buttons, which indies typically try to do. So this movie fell through the cracks in some ways. But the overall experience of going to the festivals was great, as I met some great people and formed meaningful relationships.”
Image credit: Adam James.
Written by: Karen Benardello