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Don’t Make Me Go director Hannah talks about the challenges of filming in New Zealand and the importance of personal connections in projects

Writer and director Hannah Marks, who began acting in projects such as Received, weed, bad manners needed s Dirk Gentle’s Holistic Detective AgencyHe made his feature film directorial debut. after all, who also wrote. And he made another movie that he wrote, Mark, Mary and otherswhile driving don’t force mewhich is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

For Marks, directing a film he didn’t write was something he “really enjoyed”.

“It was a great experience because I was able to get an outside perspective of the material and it was a lot of fun to explore the material that already existed,” says Marks. the hollywood reporter. “We did some improv and played a little bit because everyone was so cooperative that they got involved.”

But that doesn’t mean creating don’t force me It was not without challenges. The film stars John Cho and Mia Isaacs as a father and daughter who take a trip from California to New Orleans, ostensibly to Cho’s Max, to attend a college reunion. But the trip is actually a way for Max, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, to reconnect his daughter Wally (Isaac) with her mother and give her some useful life lessons.

with Cho living in New Zealand while working at Netflix cowboy bebop In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marks and company had to choose between acting and filming an American road movie in New Zealand.

“The borders were closed and it was impossible for John Cho and the United States to exist, so we chose John Cho because at the end of the day, even though it was an American story, that was the most important aspect. The father-son relationship between Johnny and John was so perfect for the role that we knew we had to do it,” recalls Marks. “There were no cases of COVID in New Zealand at the time, so it was incredibly safe for us to go there and shoot the movie. Of course, there were many challenges, as you can imagine. “

As for what those challenges were, Marks is quick to point out a few: “It’s an American travel movie set in the summer, and we were in Oakland in the winter. The weather was a challenge. Every trip was a challenge. They are crossing the road. They also don’t have as many roads and highways and they’re not allowed to close them, so it was difficult. “

He adds: “Also, left-hand drive cars are illegal there unless it’s a vintage car, and that’s how Max’s Wagoneer was born. It was not originally part of the story. While driving some kind of modern Toyota… it was fun, there were so many random things that you don’t realize are just weird, like the doors. I noticed that the door handles and handles were taller than there are here. Trying to sell California, New Mexico, New Orleans, Florida, all in Oakland. There is no other New Orleans.

Despite all these difficulties and adapting aspects of the story, such as the car, to geography, Marks says filming in New Zealand “finally” made things “better”.

“We had a really amazing local team that was really supportive of trying to do American things,” he says.

after not writing don’t force me and the upcoming film adaptation of John Green’s bestselling novel turtles downthat he filmed for HBO Max, Marks finds himself writing future stories.

“I will probably write the next one because I haven’t written the last two and I’m worried about coming back, although I loved the scripts I was able to do and I’m very grateful, but really wants to do something.” write,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean Mark didn’t have personal connections. don’t force me. speak THRMarks talks about how he got involved with the film, why he resonated with it, making movies for streaming services, and his future as a writer and director.

How did this project come about and what made you want to direct it?

I had a general meeting with Peter Saraf at the Big Beach New York offices. I was a big fan of his because he created Little Miss Sunshine s adaptation And all these great movies. And he sent me the script. don’t force me After our meeting, I read it immediately and enjoyed it very much. I was so shocked by the twist ending, and I thought it was so bold and gritty at both the beginning of the movie and the end, so it resonated with me emotionally. And I’ve had a lot to do with that in my life. So that’s where it all started.

Can you work out the connections with your own life?

My father taught me to drive and is also a cancer survivor.

[The following paragraph contains spoilers from Don’t Make Me Go.]

Also, I have a heart problem. That’s why this twist really hit me. I really hope and believe mine won’t kill me, but I have a problem with the valves in my heart that I control and control, so I don’t always talk, but I really relate to the turnaround that’s happening.

[Spoilers end]

What do you hope people take away from this film?

I hope they take that away from you so you can come of age at any point in your life. It’s not just about the 15 years, but also the 40 years of his father. It’s never too late to change or try something or take a risk. I hope to keep trying to pursue my dreams and different careers and ambitions when I’m around. I want to sing at the end of the movie.

This movie debuts on Amazon and your next movie turtles down It’s for HBO Max. What do you think of this movie coming to a streaming platform in this era where the future of theatrical releases is a bit in doubt?

I love going to the movies and it makes me very nostalgic because I think it’s very important. I don’t like to talk shit about streaming because it means a lot more artists will be able to make movies and I’m lucky to be one of them. Streaming allows me to do projects I wouldn’t normally do. I don’t regret streaming or not having the film in theaters because it really allows us to tell so many more stories and reach such a huge audience.

turtles down It’s been in development for a while, and they called you too: first it was on Fox and now it’s on HBO Max. What was it like to be a part of this project when it took a few twists and turns?

It was great because I think I grew up with the project. When I started doing interviews for this movie, I was 23 or 24, and now I’m 20. In my personal life, I’ve changed and grown, and it’s interesting that my perspective has changed on the project. The story became even more relevant during the pandemic as the main character is very scared of germs and infectious diseases, and now that’s something we can all relate to, not just people with anxiety or hypochondriacs. I think we’ve all had that experience by now. So, in a weird way, the movie became even more universal during that period, and I really don’t think it was supposed to be done until now.

What kind of stories do you plan on telling in the future as a writer and director?

I think I will always focus on the core relationship and my characters will always be my main focus. I want to add a higher conceptual edge to what I write. The last one I wrote that I haven’t released yet has a robot and is set in the near future, and I really enjoyed that process and it was a lot of fun, but of course, it’s still a relationship movie. Even if you have a robot.

This interview has been edited and summarized for clarity.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

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