Month: June 2016

One of our favorite films at the Mammoth Lake Films Festival – and the audience award winner for best narrative – Buddymoon will be coming to theaters and digital media (iTunes, Amazon) July 1st. One of the freshest buddy comedies we’ve seen in years, this sweet tale of friendship and priorities unfolds in the nature of the Oregon woods.

Above, Simmons with the film’s Audience Award trophy, Borg, and the author.

DiversionsLA had the chance to interview director Alex Simmons and co-star Flula Borg about the film, their friendship, and more.

According to Simmons, the film came about because Simmons, Borg, and the film’s other lead, David Giuntoli, lived in LA as roommates a number of years back. “We always wanted to make a movie, but it seemed unrealistic. We had our lives and careers that got in the way, and Dave moved to Portland to work on Grimm. But magically, we all had three weeks free two years ago and we thought that if we didn’t make a movie in that time it wouldn’t ever happen.”

Still, there were obstacles: “We had no script, no other talent, no money  – we just knew instinctively it wouldn’t happen if we waited, so we reverse engineered it. We had two months to prep, including story outlining,” Simmons relates, most of which fell on his shoulders.

Borg says “I was in New Orleans working on Pitch Perfect 2. All I can say is that Alex is the most talented juggler outside of Cirque de Soleil. He juggled all the balls with this film.”

Juggler or not, other issues cropped up: Giuntoli’s shooting schedule changed, and Borg’s extended. They both suggested the film be postponed, but Simmons says “I was delusional enough to push everyone forward.”

With such a hectic pace, Borg notes “The night before we shot, we would write the scenes because we had so little time, the final script was really still overall an outline.”

“Editing saved us,” Simmons laughs.  “Basically,  we knew we had to shoot in Oregon because that’s where Dave was; we decided we should shoot outdoors, because we didn’t have time for complicated lighting set ups, so that piggy backed into our story about two friends hiking. It was very practical, and our creative limitations were a benefit, not a hindrance, in the end.”

“But we had a lot of boundaries to keep,” Borg adds.

“It was kind of like if had been making lasagna, and I discovered I only had a few veggies and a cheese I never ate before – with those limitations, you hope you might come up with something great anyway,” Simmons asserts.

Borg agrees. “Even if you had no pasta or stove, you still have to cook the lasagna and make it delicious.”

Simmons continues the analogy. “It was like a no-bake lasagna – you have to try a short cut, something new like that, in order to finish what you’re making.”

Shot on a miniscule budget – “Our budget was one lasagna versus 45 million lasagnas for a studio film,” says Borg – on a Canon C 500,  the film was self-funded through savings and credit cards.

Above, film festival programmer Paul Sbrizzi, Simmons – with the film’s “Honey Buddies” T-shirt, and Borg. 

Although the film shoot was a brisk ten days, Simmons edited the project over a two year period.

“Editing the film myself was a great lesson. You see what you did wrong and what you did right. I literally cried at 4 a.m. up against a deadline, but it’s something you should do once, like running a marathon. People may ask you if you’ve run a marathon and then you can say you have. They usually don’t ask if you ran it twice – once is usually enough,”  Simmons says. “Editing was like that.”

“I should never run a marathon,” Borg adds.

When the editing was complete, the group’s expectations for the project were low.

“We were surprised and felt as if we have won four thousand consecutive jackpots when we were first accepted at Slamdance and then this sassy Mammoth Lakes Film Festival,” Borg laughs.

Simmons started a Facebook and Instagram page to support the film, which has now found distribution through MGM Orion and Gravitas.

“I was especially excited,” Borg reports. “I saw the Orion logo before so many of my favorite films, like Robocop. It’s like we had one nickle to bet in a casino and we won fifteen cheeseburgers and that lasagna, of course.”

While the rewards – and awards – the team are reaping are exciting, the trio’s friendship continues to be a driving force.

“What I hope shows when you see the movie is that we are all best friends, and the friendship comes through. It’s hard to fake that. There’s an honesty in friendship, it’s not always the easiest thing. There are peaks and valleys.”

And what does the future hold?

“We’ve already shot another film, Johnny Fist,” Simmons explains. “It’s a documentary about Flula making a movie, a western called Johnny Fist, and trying to enter it in Sundance. We shot it between Los Angeles and Park City last year, and are in editing now. It’s more about the journey and the experience of making the film – it’s not a spoiler to say we did not get into Sundance.”

The Buddymoon team is also pitching other shows, separately and together, and we have little doubt that whatever their next project, it’s going to delight.

Look for Buddymoon July 1st and see if you don’t agree.

Above, Borg, Simmons, and award presenter, actor Robert Picardo 

• Genie Davis; All Photos: Jack Burke