James Roday – Gravy

By starrymag | September 28, 2015

By: Nicole Smith

 

 

 

Q) When was Gravy conceptualized?

 

A) We wrote Gravy in 2005. It was before Psych. We were sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles called El Cholo.

 

Q) You and Todd Harthan?

 

A) Todd and I, yeah, drinking a couple of margaritas and eating arroz con pollo. I can’t remember which one of us noticed this, but one of us made the observation that that joint didn’t have any windows. It was sort of the end of the night and we were kind of like, “We’re the only ones left in the restaurant, but wow, it’s just so dark in here. It’s like a dungeon, there’s no escape. What if someone came in and robbed this place right now? It’s so old and antiquated they’d just get away with it.” We were like, “Oh shit.” That’s honestly how it got started. We got excited about the idea; we outlined it in like 48 hours. We had a rough draft in two weeks. It was one of the fastest things we’ve ever done. The irony is that it then took eight additional years to get made.

 

Q) So, there was equal collaboration here.

 

A) It was ours. That was definitely our weird, sick little baby.

 

Q) Why cannibals?

 

A) Why did we go cannibals? Ah, because we kind of felt like it was one of the few horror sub genres that hadn’t been over exposed. The downside to that is that cannibalism is pretty taboo and they’re not sexy like vampires or fun like zombies or werewolves and a lot of people wanted no part of it because of the cannibal angle, but we stuck with it and persevered.

 

Q) Did you and Todd meet on “Psych?”

 

A) Todd and I went to high school together. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers.

 

Q) Did you have certain people in mind, in terms of casting? I know some of the cast members are your friends.

 

A) Yeah. There was a whole bunch of different casts over the years because we thought we were going to make the movie about five times over the course of the eight years that it took to get it made. So, people came and went. I settled in on Michael [Weston] and Jimmi [Simpson] probably two or three years before we did it. So, they had been set for a while. Gabby Sidibe had been set for a while. She was one of the first people to come on board. Sutton [Foster], I had always been a fan of and she just came in and killed her audition. Molly [Ephraim] killed her audition. Yeah, that’s pretty much how that came together.

 

Q) Was Gabourey cast pre- “American Horror Story?
A) Pre- “American Horror Story.” Gabby’s a huge horror fan. She’s got a sick, wicked sense of humor and loved the script from the first time she read it. She was just like, “I’m in. You just call me when we’re finally, actually going to do it, but I’m in.” So, that was awesome.

 

Q) Gravy was filmed in a short amount of time. Do you think that was a detriment or did it somehow work in your favor?

 

A) Well, I think the easy answer is you always wish you had more time and more money, but we were never under any illusions that we were going to have either of those things on this movie. I think our heads were in the right place and we certainly came at it with the right attitude and the right game plan. For the time that we had and the money that we had, I’m pretty ecstatic with the end result. It’s not a perfect film. There’s always a couple of things that will bug me like had we had two more shooting days I think would’ve made all the difference in the world. But still, everybody was so game for that experience: cast, crew, everybody. We all just got dirty together and everybody was there for the right reason. When you can put together a group like that, a lot of times you can transcend the logistics and stuff that maybe you don’t have, with just pure enthusiasm.
Q) Without giving too much away, was there a scene that was particularly intricate to direct or more difficult than the others?

 

A) Definitely the stuff with the makeup effects. There are a lot of gags in there. I’m not a big fan of CG effects so it was really important to me that all of the effects be practical and prosthetic. Those were the movies that I grew up watching and that’s what I wanted out of this film, but those gags take a long time to set up. You want them to look good and on our schedule, with our budget, you pretty much had one shot to get all of them right because we didn’t have time or money to reset and rebuild a gag. It took a lot of planning. It was all about prep time and then we would just sort of cross our fingers. [laughs] You know, do sort of a test run without setting off whatever the gag was and then just kind of pray. Most of them went off without a hitch. There was one little bit that didn’t go perfectly, but we were able to sort of fix it in post. So, I don’t think anybody would ever know. That was definitely the most difficult part of shooting, knowing that something needed to look really good and we only had one shot to get it right.

 

Q) You had directed some before Gravy, but what new challenges did this particular project bring to the table?

 

A) Working in television was a gift because you’re just used to moving at warped speed and we were shooting sixty page scripts in seven days. So when I was told I had eighteen days to shoot ninety pages, it never felt that daunting to me because I was like, “Oh, that’s a little more than double what I would have if I was shooting an episode of ‘Psych.'” If you come at it with sort of that mentality, it helps a great deal. That’s why I would recommend anybody cut their teeth in television because you can’t beat the experience in terms of thinking on your feet, working on the clock, being told no a lot. You sort of get all that and then you take it onto a film set and all of a sudden you’re just better equipped to deal with stuff that can happen. I would say, probably again, working with the special effects. We had done some on “Psych,: but nothing to the extent that we had done on the movie. That was definitely the biggest new challenge the movie brought because most of it takes place inside a restaurant. So, it’s not like giant action sequences or difficult lighting setups or stuff like that. It’s mostly just a ton of dialogue and some gross stuff.

 

Q) Gravy made its debut at Friars Film Festival and when you were sitting in the theater, you’re waiting on the public to see it for the first time, what was going through your mind?
A) I hope they laugh. [laughs] It’s a comedy sort of wrapped up in a horror Halloween costume. It was a comedy festival and that’s why we accepted the invitation. We thought if we debut it at a comedy festival, people will know that it’s OK to laugh at this movie. So, that was basically our thought. We were just like, “Please, please, please start laughing in the first scene so that everybody knows that it’s OK to laugh the rest of the way,” and luckily they did.

 

Q) What about the response you’ve received so far? Is it what you expected?

 

A) I would say I’ve been surprised by the number of people who like this film that normally wouldn’t. All the gore-hounds and fans of what I do. It’s just sort of what I do on steroids and I knew it was going to reach all those fans, but I think the thing that surprised me most are the people that generally don’t like these types of movies who end up having a really good time, almost to spite themselves. That’s been awesome to see. They look away for parts. [laughs] But I think the film kind of grows on you like a fungus and dares you not to have a good time, even though the stuff you’re seeing is horrifying.

 

Q) All of your projects are always embedded with a greater message. What is the message that Gravy sends?

 

A) I’d love to tell you that there’s some sort of social commentary buried in there. Funny Games was definitely an influence on this movie, which is a German film that Michael Haneke made and then remade in English. He’s certainly making a commentary with his film about the way that we’ve been desensitized to violence, in America especially. For us though, we liked elements of that film, but we kind of wanted to make a theme park ride for adults. You could come in and kind of have a fun, messy ride for ninety minutes and not have to think too hard during or after. In a way, I guess you could say we deconstructed a much more important film and just sucked out the fun elements and turned that into a film all to itself. I love both genres and I wanted to make a movie where we could walk a tight rope between dark comedy and horror and see if we could pull off both. That was the challenge, and we were aiming to make a piece of entertainment, and I think nothing more than that.

 

Q) Do you tip your hat to other horror films in Gravy?

 

A) It’s less pointedly homage-y than our scary “Psych” episodes were. Those were always salutes to things that we loved. I think this is more Todd and I, just our original voice, but it’s impossible not to be influenced by people whose work you enjoy. I don’t think there’s a sequence that necessarily tips its hat to another film, but tonally it’s probably safe to say that it feels like pieces of other movies. But for the most part, we tried to create something as fresh and new as we could.

 

Q) How has Gravy influenced your career path forward?

 

A) Well, it’s pushed me pretty hard into the directing thing. It was something I’ve always enjoyed, but that experience, in particular, it bit me pretty hard. Since “Psych” has ended, I’ve actually done more directing than I’ve done acting, which I think is a testament to Gravy and that experience. You do something like that, you have a good experience and you immediately want to go out and do it because you’re sort of in the groove. Strike while the iron is hot, all that stuff. Let me get out there again and do it better. You don’t want to slow the momentum so I would definitely attribute that to Gravy, just the fact that I’m kind of on a directing track at the moment.

 

Q) You’ve dabbled in many other projects since “Psych.” I think your most recent is Pushing Dead.

 

A) Pushing Dead was a surprise. I wasn’t planning on taking an acting role. I had lined up a couple of other directing gigs and I just finished directing a pilot. My schedule was pretty tight. Then, this script came along and it was just something so different than anything that I had ever done. I was so flattered and humbled by the fact that the filmmaker could actually see me in this role and was pursuing me for it that we looked at the schedule and massaged it a little bit on both ends. I got some help from the other people that had hired me to kind of make this happen and jam it into a little spot. I’m really glad that I did it and it was definitely worthwhile. I just finished a couple of days ago, shot in San Francisco. It’s basically made by a filmmaker who’s been living with HIV for over 30 years and I guess you could say it’s semi-autobiographical. Mostly it’s just the story of a life that thousands of Americans are living that we don’t give a lot of credence to or think much about, but it’s very real. It’s written very honestly with a ton of humanity. I wouldn’t say it’s a depressing film or a dark film. It’s just a movie about a life that’s probably very different than yours or mine and the truth that goes into that, the extent to which these people have to make sacrifices in order to try and keep up with the disease that they have.

 

Q) How did you prepare for that role because that had to be a difficult one to tackle?
 

A) Luckily, I had Tom [Brown], the filmmaker, who answered just about every question that I had. He was an incredible, valuable resource. I’m basically playing him, or a version of him, in this movie. I think the biggest thing for me was just to sort of get comfortable with asking whatever I needed to ask and not worrying about etiquette or are there sensitivity issues here, are there certain things that I shouldn’t ask him to dredge up.  The truth was that you’re making a film that’s pretty transparent and you’re sort of putting yourself out there. You’re basically saying, “It’s OK, come at me,” and once we kind of opened up the lines of communication, I felt like I could ask him anything and that was incredibly, incredibly valuable.

 

Q) Was there a scene in there that really sticks out in your mind that effected you in some way, as an actor? 

 

A) Several. It’s a beautifully written movie with a wonderful cast. There’s a lot of interesting things happening between people. There’s a lot of memorable scenes, but there’s an element of repetition to the film because of how much medication, in particular, that this character has to take because of when he was diagnosed with being HIV positive and the treatment that works for him as opposed to what may work for other people. There were so many scenes where I had to take a whole lot of pills in this movie and I only had to do it for six weeks. You sort of think about doing that every day for 30 years and it kind of blows your mind. I probably swallowed, phew, I don’t know, maybe 250 pills or something like that. You think about that over the course of a lifetime, and it’s just crazy, but that’s just commonplace. For him, it’s like, “Ah, it’s my meds.” For us it’s like, “What, are you fucking kidding me? That’s crazy, dude.
Q) In terms of your other projects, you said you’ve done some directing.

 

A) Before I did the movie, I directed a little pilot for the E! Entertainment Network called “Quest For Truth” starring Brian Dunkleman as himself, which is a half hour comedy that loosely rifts off “The Jinx,” the HBO show. Very strange little show, but I thought it came out great. Very funny, very unusual, very timely with “American Idol” entering its final season, so we’ll see. If it’s the target for E!, we would go into production for that pretty early next year. If not, it will die a very quiet death.

 

Q) And you’re about to direct and episode of “Rosewood” and an episode of “Rush Hour?”

 

A) Yeah, those are coming up back-to-back. Andy Berman is writing my Rosewood episode. Carlos Jacott is writing my Rush Hour episode. So it’s getting the band back together a little bit.

 

Q) Are you looking forward to seeing the guys again and having that family environment?

 

A) Oh, absolutely. Getting to work together again, I think, is always going to be a gift. We didn’t just have fun hanging out. We really, truly, did have fun creating stuff and it was so great to see that everybody is still doing their thing and being able to bounce in and out of each other’s projects. It’s pretty sweet.

 

Q) What do you still hope to accomplish both in your professional and personal life?

 

A) I feel like I’ve sort of reached a point now where it doesn’t make a ton of sense to me to do stuff unless I feel like I’m either challenging myself or I truly do have the opportunity to make something good. Now whether that’s seen by tons and tons of people or nobody, you don’t have control over that. But I sort of feel like until my situation changes or I go broke, I feel like it’s important right now for me to curate whatever it is that I do so that I can feel like I’m contributing something artistically to the ether in which I work. It’s not just enough to be employed, I don’t think anymore, for me. You turn on the news or you go on social media and see how much horrible shit is happening out there and how many people need help. It’s not good enough to just be on a TV show and make bank. It’s not going to do it. So, I feel like I sort of have to challenge myself and reach new tent poles, maybe reach new audiences, and do things in a different way and try to effect change through my work as an artist in order to justify being one. I think maybe that comes a little bit with age and experience, but also…It’s a grind, what we do, in a different way than people who actually bust their asses and get up every morning and go to work. It’s a grind in that you can wake up one day, have work consistently for the better part of 25 or 30 years, have all the money you could ever possibly spend and also recognize nobody gives a shit. Nobody cared about anything you did. There’s a line and I feel like I want to be on the side of the line where I was more than just a guy who worked on some shows (excluding “Psych,” of course. We all know that changed the world).

 

Q) You’re an accomplished actor, producer, writer and director. We know about your dog Franc and your passion for elephants. We know all of those things, but what do people not know about James Roday?

 

A) Oh, man. What do people not know about me? [pauses] It’s a good question. It would be great to answer it with something meaningful and not that I have an affinity for fruit snacks. [pauses] I guess maybe that I’m getting a little soft in my old age. I feel like things effect me that never used to effect me before, like a good, well-acted commercial where a father tells his son that he loves him or a really well executed marriage proposal in an insurance commercial, or something really stupid like that. It’s starting to hit me when I’ve spent the majority of my life…I’m not a very sappy guy, but as I get older, I’m starting to get a little sappy. I think that’s sort of what’s happening to me and I hope it doesn’t take the edge off of my work, but I’ve turned into a cream puff over here.

 

Q) Well, from what I’ve heard you say, I think it’s making you want your work to always make a difference and affect somebody in a positive way.

 

A) That’s true and I do think you’re right. I do think it helps to have that, for sure, where before I was just like, “How many people can I kill in 90 minutes?” [laughs] and, “How many cool ways can I kill them?” Yeah, it’s probably good. It’s probably a natural and needed evolution.
Q) Is there anything else you want to add that I didn’t ask about Gravy?

 

A) I’m just getting really pumped and if you’re going to go check it out in LA or New York you should probably do it that first weekend because there’s no guarantee that it will be around much longer than that.

 

Q) Lastly, how’s the progress coming along with Red Dog Squadron and the new theatre?

 

A) Renovation is still not complete, but it will be this year, at some point. I can confidently say we will be producing something in the first quarter of 2016. Excited about that, taken a hell of a lot longer than we ever dreamed that it would, but it happens sometimes when you’re dealing with contractors, budgets and buildings that technically should have just been torn to the ground because that’s the amount of shit that they’re in. I feel like we can finally see a finish line and it will probably be winter, rather than try to jam something in up against the holidays. Maybe we’ll have a fundraiser or introduce the space in some kind of fun way and then actually produce a show after the new year.

 

Gravy will premiere in theaters on Oct. 2, 2015, in Los Angeles and New York. The film will be released on DVD and video on demand Oct. 6. For more information on the film, visit www.gravymovie.com or follow @Gravy_Film on Twitter. To learn more about James Roday’s non-profit theatre, Red Dog Squadron, founded with his friend, Brad Raider, visit www.reddogsquadron.com. You can follow James Roday on Twitter and Instagram, @JamesRoday.