ANDERSON COWAN INTERVIEW ON “GROUPERS”

Global Digital Releasing announced this week that they’ve acquired the worldwide rights to writer / director Anderson Cowan’s feature film debut,  Groupers.

The film centers around two all-American high school jocks Brad and Dylan (Peter Mayer-Klepchick and Cameron Duckett) who are out for a night on the town when they are approached by the beautiful and seductive Meg (Nicole Dambro) at a local bar.  Ready for what they hope will be a night to remember, the guys are subsequently kidnapped, drugged and awaken tied up face to face in an abandoned pool in the middle of nowhere. Absurdity and insanity ensue as we learn that Orin (Jesse Pudles), Meg’s overly flamboyant brother has been the target of Brad and Dylan’s homophobic bullying and that Meg is actually a grad student who plans to perform a psychological and somewhat sadistic experiment on them as part of her thesis, which poses the question, “is homosexuality a choice”.

The film is set to open in Los Angeles on Friday, September 27th at the Laemmle Music Hall theater and will expand into additional markets on October 1st.

Ahead of the theatrical season, we spoke to writer/director Anderson Cowan.

 

What was it about this particular story that appealed to you, Anderson?

Hypocrisy is a lot of fun to expose and this story afforded me an opportunity to do a lot of that. Also loved the challenge of taking such an absurd scenario and trying to keep it grounded, I think I did that.

 

And serious questions right off the bat- have you experienced prejudice and the kind of treatment projected here?

For sure, I think just about everyone has at one point or another in their lives. I got bullied and beat up a lot when I was chubby kid in grade school and then again when I was a teenager for wearing makeup. I was called every gay name there was and I think I brought a lot of that on myself and somehow enjoyed fighting back during that period. I was a punk was/am a punk fan and was just more comfortable being on the outside of the mainstream. It was always real satisfying when I’d win some of those fights, mascara and all. Some of my fondest high-school memories were telling bloodied jocks that a dude with makeup just gave them the business. That’s kind of sad now that I think about it.

 

Having worked in an industry where there’s ‘all sorts’ of people, ever hear any frightening stories that you later weaved into the script?

In my many years working on Loveline I heard literally tens of thousands of phone calls from troubled people, most of them young adults. I’m sure that all those calls had a deep effect on me and will continue to do so. Never heard a call about anything resembling the paces I put my characters through in Groupers, but the tone and themes of what many of those callers brought every night definitely bled into the script . I don’t think I could’ve written the movie without all those years of hearing those calls.

 

Tell us about your cast. Where did you find them?

I used 3 separate casting sites and looked through thousands and thousands of resumes and headshots. Found 8 of my 10 cast through those sites and the auditions that followed. Nicole Dambro, the lead who plays Meg was introduced to me via my producer Max Landwirth. He had worked with her previously on a film called The Axiom and he kept suggesting her. Once she came in and read I was blown away. She was the only actor who could effortlessly play cute and crazy. Hank/Travis Stanberry, one of my 2 gutter punks  is the only other actor I didn’t have to go out and find. Travis had starred in a student film I made in 2002 and I always wanted to work with him on something real. All the things that go into making a feature film I’d have to say that casting is one of the most exhilarating, finding the right people for the characters you’ve created is one of the biggest thrills I’ve ever experienced.

 

How long of a shoot was this?

Fourteen days and I’m proud to say that we didn’t need any reshoots.

 

If you had to compare it to another film, what might that be?

I’ve heard Hard Candy and Jawbreaker, but Rashomon and Courage Under Fire are the two films that I would have to site, both of those go back to the beginning multiple times and reframe the same events from multiple points of view. Have always loved that quote about every story having three sides:  Yours, Theirs and The Truth. That’s one of the many things I set out to tackle with Groupers.

Thanks for the great questions, that was a good time. And thanks for covering our movie.