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Noir Journal had the honor to get an exclusive interview with filmmaker Ryan Dunlap, creator of the soon-to-be released GREYSCALE, a noir with an intriguing twist--the protagonist has achromatopsia (he can see only in black and white), a great homage to early black-and-white noirs.
Before the interview, here's the info about GREYSCALE.
(Photo from Greyscale)
The Interview
NJ: Ryan, Your new film, Greyscale,
sounds really intriguing. Can you give us a brief synopsis of the story?
RD: Sure thing. Greyscale is the story of Oliver Allen, a painter who suffers from achromatopsia (full color blindness) after an explosion that takes his wife from him. We also learn that the son of a crime organization leader died in the same explosion, so they're trying to track Oliver down to see what he knows and/or kill him.
Not being inclined to get involved, he goes into hiding until one
day he's found by a femme fatale who has some photos that hint that his wife
may actually be alive. . . but the catch is that he has to delve into her world
and jump through her hoops to try to find his wife, if she's even alive.
In order to do so, he has to dredge up his murky past and call on some old
friends and enemies . . . .
NJ: As the writer of Greyscale,
where did you get ideas and material?
RD: [I]t's a mix of practicality and my personal storytelling proclivities. I knew I wanted to make a feature film, and I looked at what resources I had around me, and since I had done just about everything but lighting, I thought a black and white story would make production a little simpler. The title preceded the plot, believe it or not.
I wanted the monochrome scheme to be motivated by the plot, so I explored colorblindness, and how that could play into the film world. We spend most of the time with the protagonist, so we're in his world . . . when he concentrates, he's able to pull up certain memories of colors to aid him, but it never lasts long.
The locations I had access to lent themselves well to the gritty, neo-noir genre. I also (for the most part) wrote the roles around actors I knew I could get. We eventually did some casting in LA to bring in people like Tim Russ, Doug Jones, and Anthony Tyler Quinn, and I expanded the script after our first casting call to expand the scope of the story.
NJ: You call Greyscale "neo-noir." How do you define neo-noir? Why did you decide to use the neo-noir sub-genre to tell this story?
RD: I see neo-noir as a genre that has many of the trappings of old school noir, but usually packaged in a more modern way. Not having a studio budget, I appreciated . . . the minimalist lighting setups of old noirs. Also, I appreciate that it usually gives us a flawed character working through issues [that] someone in the audience can possibly relate to.
The other element is
that neo-noir doesn't always play in safe areas, whereas a lot of films resolve in a
tidy fashion with an upbeat ending, the audience of a neo-noir isn't sure if
the protagonist is going to make it to the end or not. I like
leaving the audience in a state where they aren't sure how things will resolve,
and the genre lets me dabble with that.
NJ: What elements of noir and neo-noir will viewers find most powerful in Greyscale? For example, in terms of story, characters, mood, and setting.
RD: Since I had already decided on the black and white scheme, I found
myself sitting between the old and the new. You occasionally see neo-noirs
made in black and white like the Coens' The Man Who Wasn't There.
I wanted a visual style that would stand out . . . .
A lot of archetypes from the old films made it into Greyscale. Most notably is our femme fatale, played beautifully by Marisa Draeger. She took what some could have played as a stock character and saw the depth in the role.
The setting of having our protagonist living in a world familiar, yet foreign to anyone without achromatopsia was one that I've come to appreciate the more I consider it. The film's title . . . is a meditation on the choices we make, whether we forgive or are forgiven, and what the opposite of that produces in the characters. All but one or two of the characters are just "shades away" from Oliver. They're examples of what he could have become, for better or worse, if he had made different choices, or [if he] succeeds or fails in his tasks during the movie.
NJ: Why did you specifically
give your main character achromatopsia—the inability to see color?
RD: As our tagline states "Forget what you're used to seeing." The world of achromatopsia is almost a purgatory for him. It's devoid of the happiness he used to have, and he can only recall glimpses of it. It's rife with allegorical content that I expect a minority of the audience to delve into, but I hope that the general audience will be able to feel the tone of the film come through as the black and white is juxtaposed with the color flashbacks (from before he suffered from the condition).
NJ: I hear that you’re a fan
of the film Memento—it’s one of my favorites, also. What elements of Memento
might viewers recognize in Greyscale?
About a quarter of Greyscale is actually in
color, which is about the same amount is in black and white on Memento.
They both deal with someone who has lost their wife and gone through a trauma
that has forced them to deal with the world differently. Greyscale
becomes a little more adventuresome by the third act and has a much larger
cast, but with both being in the neo-noir genre, quite a few elements play into
both films.
NJ: What other films or
directors, noir or otherwise, have most influenced you in the creation of Greyscale?
RD: Rian Johnson's first
feature film, Brick, was a major influence... almost as much as Memento.
It was a low-budget neo-noir that showed that you could have style and be
unique without a cast of major Hollywood actors. . . granted Joseph Gordon-Levitt
has done some major films before and since then.
I'm also a fan of Hitchcock
and learned greatly the difference between surprise and suspense and how to
play with both.
NJ: Please tell us a little
about your own background and how it led you to the creation of Greyscale.
RD: I became interested in filmmaking in college when a friend asked me if I wanted to help him edit a project, and ever since I've been hooked. I ran around with a borrowed camcorder, telling stories and gradually upgrading my equipment with each project. I took Film Studies as a minor and majored in a far less interesting subject that would pay the bills to provide the resources to keep telling bigger and better stories. After college, the crew I had amassed dissipated, and I was left with some equipment and a few ideas. . .
A couple
years after graduating, I attended a local filmmaker's meeting where someone
was pitching an idea for a new film festival, and the idea to shoot a feature
film kept nagging on me. So, I looked at what I had to work with (which
wasn't much at the time), and started writing to suit what resources I had
around me.
NJ: And what about Daros Films and the Greyscale project came together?
RD: Thankfully momentum was on my side and I found some very talented individuals who came on board very early and we were well into pre-production. I quickly learned that people are far more interested in coming onboard your passion project if they feel like it's going to get made whether or not they are a part of it. . . it takes the pressure off. But really, I couldn't have pulled any of this off without them. We've become a tight knit community that works together well and we're currently penning another feature at the moment.
Daros Films was a company my wife and I had started before Greyscale with the support of some of my college friends. We pitched in the funds to buy the professional equipment to make a film and have since gone on to make several award winning short films in the downtime after we wrapped on Greyscale, which has been a great calling card for people not sure whether to entrust two hours to a first time feature director.
NJ: How did you put together
the cast of Greyscale? What was it about each main actor that you felt
would be a good fit for this film?
RD: A large number of the cast were actors I had worked with previously, and each of their roles were specifically tailored to match up with their strengths. I also worked with each actor to make sure that the dialogue was something that felt natural to them. A few major roles weren't included in the first draft of the screenplay until I knew from the actor that they would be available to be in the film, so the story would evolve as our cast came together.
Our LA cast members were some of our final additions, and once
cast, their scenes were re-written to capture the strengths that they had shown
in other projects.
Working with seasoned pros was a dream for being a first
time feature director. Doug Jones brought a certain creepiness to his
role, and Tim Russ has this great voice that lends gravitas to any scene. Anthony Tyler Quinn has only a few scenes, but I'm convinced that the
character arc of Oliver wouldn't have sold well if a lesser actor had played
his role.
Marisa Draeger (Rachel) got to play this fun role where you're
never entirely certain what she'll do next. You know she's always on her
own side, but beyond that is anyone's guess. Add in Brian Shoop (Gabe),
Jason Knight (Blake), Sarah Dunlap (Julia) and Mark Gullickson (Winston) for
the heart of the film, and it rounds out what could have been a film that would
have been much darker than I anticipated.
I love my whole cast, but
I'll save your readers from having to read a love letter.
NJ: Where and when can we
expect to see Greyscale in the theaters?
RD: We have leads on a few major distributors, and as soon as we have a
screener of the DVD, we'll be taking meetings with them and see who bites, but
we're feeling pretty optimistic about where it will go. As soon as the
ink is dry on a distribution contract, I'll let you know.
NJ: Thanks Ryan. I really can’t wait to see Greyscale.
RD: Thanks! We'll
keep you up to date and let you know as soon as possible when it's ready for
showing!
All for now.
Remember Chicago's Printer's Row Lit Festival, June 12-13. I'll be there Saturday the 12th.
Take care,
ML
That sounds like an intriguing premise for a film, and I'll keep an eye open for it. Good interview, too.
The film of "The Killer Inside Me" is out now, and I plan on seeing it this week. Do you plan on covering it?
Posted by: Chris Wood | 06/07/2010 at 05:22 PM
Chris,
From what I've read about "Killer," the violence may be gratuitous. Need to read more. Maybe if you see it first you can let me know.
Mike
Posted by: Mike L. | 06/07/2010 at 06:23 PM