Jason Bushman
Jason Bushman is back in the director's chair with Hollywood Je' Taime, his first movie since S Is For Sexy.
I caught up with the filmmaker to talk about the movie, adapting it from a short and what lies ahead for him.
- As well as directing you penned the script for Hollywood Je' Taime so where did the idea for the film come from?
I made a 13-minute short film in 2007 called Serene Hunter, with my Parisian friend Eric Debets in the lead role. It was my film directing debut, and Eric's first gig as an actor. The film did well on the festival circuit, and when Eric was in LA for Outfest that year he received a lot of kudos and attention for his role in it.
This being Hollywood, he started talking to me about what it would be like if he moved to LA for his acting career. I had already pursued the professional acting path myself, and knew how
incredibly hard it was - and I was American!
Eric is this quirky French guy, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he really went for the Hollywood dream. But thinking about it made me laugh, and so I wrote a
script about it.
- How does the writing process work for you? Did you have it completely written before shooting or was is more a work in progress as the shoot went along?
The film was completely scripted, and we pretty much stuck to the script. I come from an acting background myself and love improvisation; but particularly because we were working in two languages, I knew it'd be best to have a very structured document from which to work.
- Do you think that the release of Hollywood Je T'aime will help your friend Eric Debets, as you wrote the part for him especially?
I certainly hope so, because I think he's really talented, and he very much wants to do more acting. This was only his second role ever, and I find his performance to be so natural and subtle.
Since our short film collaboration he's been studying acting in Paris, and I think he's got a good shot of getting some French film work especially - and maybe even some character roles outside France.
- Why did you write the part with him in mind? And what similarities did you see between him and the character Jerome?
Jerome is probably a little more naïve than Eric, because the 'coming to LA with a dream' part of the story is really based on my own experience coming to LA to be an actor - and that was at the tender age of 18. But the French worldview, and the gay adult worldview - that's all Eric.
- How has reaction been to the film?
The reaction has generally been great. We've screened at about fifty festivals worldwide, and we have distribution deals in five countries and counting. So, this being my feature directorial debut, I can't complain.
- Do you prefer acting or directing as you've done both?
Honestly, I prefer writing - because I work really well all alone. But, of the two, I probably prefer directing to acting. Directing is a lot more work, especially if you've written the piece yourself; but to me it's more satisfying.
I have enormous respect for actors, and I treasure my experience as an actor. (I was in my first play when I was six years old.) But acting can be a real head trip; and even though directing is really challenging, it feels more suited to my strengths.
- Do you think that there are enough gay characters out there in mainstream cinema, or is that what you prefer about independent work?
Mainstream cinema, as in Hollywood fare, has barely any gay characters at all! I actually think mainstream television has more real gay characters these days than mainstream films. But yeah, I love independent cinema, because it's much more about the artistic vision of the people making it.
I'd love to make a big Hollywood movie one day - don't get me wrong - but I know full well I'll have to make lots of compromises along the way, if and when I do.
- What do you think could be done to get more gay cinema into the mainstream?
Really, I think it has nothing to do with the film industry at all. Hollywood executives aren't generally homophobic - LA is one of the gayest cities in the US - they're just more concerned about the bottom line than about progressive social values.
If more people come out in their day-to-day lives, and the straight majority feels less gay anxiety, then there will probably be more realistic portrayals of gay people in Hollywood movies. I'm just guessing...
- What was it like showing off your film at the LA Film Festival, especially as the film takes place there?
It was incredible to premiere at LAFF. I mean, it felt like half of our first audience was personally connected to the film; but aside from that it was just a pleasure to present the film to Angelenos.
I've said the film is my 'love letter to LA,' and someone that night asked me if that was the case why I made the city look so gross. But it was never my intention to idealize Los Angeles and - let's face it - LA has as much ugliness as it does beauty.
But that's what I love about it, too: LA is vibrant and alive. And, unlike New York, it's still possible for young artists to afford rent in the city centre.
- Why did you decide to shoot France in black and white, but California in colour?
First off, that was an allusion to The Wizard of Oz - the protagonist unhappy in her environment, then going off to a distant land which ends up making her miss home.. Also, there's the fact Paris is so much older than Los Angeles - I always feel that when I'm there.
The character Norma lives in an old house in LA - it was built in the 1920's - but, for Paris, that's new construction! Finally, it was a reference to Jerome's state of mind: his Parisian worldview was monochromatic, but his vision of LA everything was bright, flashy, and new.
- How big a change was it going from Texas to Paris?
Well, there's not much comparison. If LA is a new city then my hometown - the oil economy of Odessa, Texas, population 91,000 - is a newborn! But I believe there's beauty in every place, and I look forward to making a film in Texas one day, too.
- What are the real differences between doing a short film and a feature?
Finally there's not a huge difference - other than time and money. When I talk to filmmakers who keep making shorts, over and over, I always ask them why. It seems to me you work just as hard - albeit for a shorter period a time - and there are just so many fewer paying venues for short films.
That said, with the advent of online distribution and our culture's increasingly shorter attention spans, shorts may actually be the future. I don't know, really; but in terms of the work involved for the writer/director, there isn't much difference at all.
- When writing, how much of your own experiences do you put into your characters?
It's all my experience. I'm in awe of writers who do things completely outside themselves and their own experience. Every character in Hollywood, je t'aime is based on myself or someone I've personally met.
And, unless someone wants to pay me big bucks to write a Hollywood blockbuster, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm in this field for the artistry, to express my feelings about the world and how I see it; so I don't have much desire to write about things outside my own experience. Maybe that'll change in the future, but that's where I'm at for now.
- Finally what's next for you?
I've got a few irons in the fire. I'm developing a slate of films with my partner Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, including a Spanish-language sequel to Hollywood, je t'aime, and also continuing to write on my own.
One film I'd love to make is about three generations of Texas women, and another is about a homeless American in Paris. And aside from film stuff, I'll be doing more yoga, more travelling, and more living wild and free.
Hollywood Je' Taime is released on DVD 22nd February.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Jason Bushman is back in the director's chair with Hollywood Je' Taime, his first movie since S Is For Sexy.
I caught up with the filmmaker to talk about the movie, adapting it from a short and what lies ahead for him.
- As well as directing you penned the script for Hollywood Je' Taime so where did the idea for the film come from?
I made a 13-minute short film in 2007 called Serene Hunter, with my Parisian friend Eric Debets in the lead role. It was my film directing debut, and Eric's first gig as an actor. The film did well on the festival circuit, and when Eric was in LA for Outfest that year he received a lot of kudos and attention for his role in it.
This being Hollywood, he started talking to me about what it would be like if he moved to LA for his acting career. I had already pursued the professional acting path myself, and knew how
incredibly hard it was - and I was American!
Eric is this quirky French guy, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he really went for the Hollywood dream. But thinking about it made me laugh, and so I wrote a
script about it.
- How does the writing process work for you? Did you have it completely written before shooting or was is more a work in progress as the shoot went along?
The film was completely scripted, and we pretty much stuck to the script. I come from an acting background myself and love improvisation; but particularly because we were working in two languages, I knew it'd be best to have a very structured document from which to work.
- Do you think that the release of Hollywood Je T'aime will help your friend Eric Debets, as you wrote the part for him especially?
I certainly hope so, because I think he's really talented, and he very much wants to do more acting. This was only his second role ever, and I find his performance to be so natural and subtle.
Since our short film collaboration he's been studying acting in Paris, and I think he's got a good shot of getting some French film work especially - and maybe even some character roles outside France.
- Why did you write the part with him in mind? And what similarities did you see between him and the character Jerome?
Jerome is probably a little more naïve than Eric, because the 'coming to LA with a dream' part of the story is really based on my own experience coming to LA to be an actor - and that was at the tender age of 18. But the French worldview, and the gay adult worldview - that's all Eric.
- How has reaction been to the film?
The reaction has generally been great. We've screened at about fifty festivals worldwide, and we have distribution deals in five countries and counting. So, this being my feature directorial debut, I can't complain.
- Do you prefer acting or directing as you've done both?
Honestly, I prefer writing - because I work really well all alone. But, of the two, I probably prefer directing to acting. Directing is a lot more work, especially if you've written the piece yourself; but to me it's more satisfying.
I have enormous respect for actors, and I treasure my experience as an actor. (I was in my first play when I was six years old.) But acting can be a real head trip; and even though directing is really challenging, it feels more suited to my strengths.
- Do you think that there are enough gay characters out there in mainstream cinema, or is that what you prefer about independent work?
Mainstream cinema, as in Hollywood fare, has barely any gay characters at all! I actually think mainstream television has more real gay characters these days than mainstream films. But yeah, I love independent cinema, because it's much more about the artistic vision of the people making it.
I'd love to make a big Hollywood movie one day - don't get me wrong - but I know full well I'll have to make lots of compromises along the way, if and when I do.
- What do you think could be done to get more gay cinema into the mainstream?
Really, I think it has nothing to do with the film industry at all. Hollywood executives aren't generally homophobic - LA is one of the gayest cities in the US - they're just more concerned about the bottom line than about progressive social values.