by Kevin Sparrow

Due to increasing advancements in technology and the popularity of the internet, we live our lives in the open more than we used to. OMG/HaHaHa ties together vlogging, digital video and personal stories to create an emotionally revelatory work about today’s youth and the meaning of family. Director Morgan Jon Fox discusses his vision with Cul de sac Magazine in a recent interview:

CM: The actors come across as very natural; in fact, the film has a documentary feel. What was the workshop process like in order to present character in the way the film does?

MJF: The way I look at creating films at this level, with not much money involved, stripped down and bare, is that I really want to maximize what resources I do have. To me, since I’m making films that aren’t trying to emulate what processes that usually cost lots of money, i.e. special effects over load, big production design, etc…. what matters most to me before all things is that the acting must, absolutely MUST be authentic and come across as naturalistic as possible. I was heavily inspired by the Dogme95 filmmakers Lars Von Trier (Dancer In The Dark, The Idiots) and Thomas Vinterberg (Celebration). [T]hey were previously more traditional or even studio-centric filmmakers who made a pact to create films that were centered more around the actor and strong, organic performances. The way we created OMG was this way from the start.

CM: What was the development process in the script stage of OMG/HaHaHa?

MJF: [M]e and my assistant director, John Tom Roemer, wrote scene ideas back and forth via email. He was a freshman in film school in NYC at the School of Visual Arts. Being from Memphis, he would come back and forth for his breaks and we’d work more on the script and we’d have auditions. We eventually developed a 40-page outline that was mostly a blue print. There were some scenes that had dialogue scripted, but mostly, it was detailed descriptions of scenes. From there, we created even more detailed descriptions for each character…this is a process I value highly…In some cases, a character who may even only be in one scene may have had a 5 page character description that was given to the actor who was cast for the role. Once we assembled the entire cast, we decided that everyone who was cast would have to agree to not know what the story was about, or whom was cast in any particular role, unless they were supposed to have had a history with this person. So, if two characters were supposed to know each other, then of course we’d introduce them, and we’d hold several workshop sessions with improv and basic character building techniques often guided by the Meisner Technique. That’s an acting technique a long-time collaborator, and in the case of this film, actress, Amber O’Daniels introduced me to. Amber played Autumn, the girl who was pregnant. She taught me everything I know about Meisner…. it’s a technique that’s very simple and practical, yet intense and rooted in finding one’s emotional core. So, we’d workshop with everyone separately, and make sure any characters who were supposed to have relationships would have ample time to dig into their character, so that when the time came, basically whatever they did on screen would be from the place of an understanding their character possessed. For characters who weren’t supposed to know each other, we’d make sure they weren’t introduced to each other until the very moment, on screen, that they were supposed to meet. This also applied to the entire outline of the story. No one was allowed to see what the fate of their character would be, or what they were going to face. This was a part of our plan to keep things real and not have the actors get too caught up in pre-determining their outcome, unless this also was a trait of the character’s personality.

Usually, we’d show up for each shoot day with the actors and then explain to them what was going to go down… of course, we’d give them the info that was pertinent, such as, if they were supposed to be working in a clinic, we made sure they had their costumes, etc, and they knew what their job was and all that, but they wouldn’t know who was showing up to their clinic that day, or what was going on in their life… So, questions that would be asked, or info[rmation] that would be revealed would come across for the first time. After we’d do the first take, we’d give direction and end up shooting each scene anywhere from 3 to 5 times…never more than that…I’m big on that…I refuse to wear down an actor; it’s my opinion that if it’s not working after 5 takes, then you move forward and come back to that moment with different plans. It’s super important for me to make sure everyone is comfortable, and in a space where they feel safe, and at ease when we’re working. All the preparation is important for me, because when we get to the set, I want to be able to let the actors shine, and in that sense, we kind of are just there to then document what they’re doing. I don’t think I’ve ever given an actor staging cues…The last thing I want an actor worrying about while they’re performing is where to stand, or where they cannot walk or something as futile as that.

CM: The film utilizes current phenomena, such as MySpace and vlogging, to create an interesting visual palette. Is that specific to this film, or does this DIY style seem to be increasing in popularity in the film world?

MJF: I see more and more references to MySpace and YouTube in film, but not necessarily utilizing the actual formats such as webcams to tell the stories. This isn’t that original, of course; it’s more just a modern day adaptation of what films like Reality Bites did when they started using video cameras that were turned on actors by the characters as a part of their narrative. For me, it wasn’t really a creative choice, or a ploy, so much as it just made sense. This character lives through a different world view…he made it through j[unio]r high and high school by connecting and making friends and getting popular via his MySpace page and LiveJournal posts. So, it didn’t even cross my mind to film him filming himself while he was making his vlogs… people are so used to watching poor-quality video on YouTube anyways, so I figured it just made sense.

CM: Did you have other filmic influences in making OMG/HaHaHa?

MJF: [In addition to the Dogme95 films there are] many others: Harmony Korine’s Gummo and Julien Donkey Boy, as well as Gus Van Sant (Elephant, Last Days), and a newer filmmaker whose work I’m completely in awe of, Cam Archer, who made one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen, titled Wild Tigers I Have Known.

CM: Can you describe some of the benefits of working in the Memphis film scene?

MJF: I was born and raised in Memphis. It’s my home and I love it. The community of artists, and just people in general here that I’ve come to know, they’re my family by all means. There’s not a big queer community here, which to me is rather nice because instead of being separated into a specific community, I’m simply a part of a larger more diverse community of people that I work with in every way…and the whole being a homo thing has never been an issue. I feel very very fortunate to know all the incredibly talented and sincere people I work with here. It’s also very helpful that the city is extremely accessible, in that it’s very easy to shoot here without the hassle of worrying about permits and all that. There’s a lot of locally owned businesses here who are more than willing to help and allow us to use their facilities to shoot.

CM: How is the film being distributed after the festival circuit?

MJF: We are fortunate enough to have gotten a distribution deal through Water Bearer Films. They will be distributing the film sometime next year.

CM: What are some future projects you are working on?

I’m finishing up a documentary I’ve [been] working on for two years that follows a story that unfolded in Memphis in 2005 where a 16-year-old teenager was forced into an Evangelical Christian program that pledges to turn gay people straight. It should be completed in February.

The extended trailer for Fox’s upcoming documentary is below.