Made In Melbourne Film Festival - Lazybones
Ben, a wannabe stand up comedian in Melbourne, doesn’t live for the weekend like the O’Jays hit song, in fact he finds that philosophy kinda depressing. Spending most of his life on the stage, in his Uber and hanging out with his friends, he floats through life wondering - is there more to this?
Interview with Caitlin Farrugia & Michael Jones
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We've always been drawn to films that focus on character and story rather than plot. We really wanted to challenge the idea that you need lots of money to make a film by working with available equipment, existing locations and design. We both love naturalism and we guess this was an exploration and an experiment of this style. And thankfully naturalism and low budgets go hand in hand. We also wanted to paint a picture of modernity, presenting real people with real, honest and simultaneously ugly-beautiful stories. We guess above all else, to make people laugh.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's not a film you would usually be exposed to. We hope that people will watch 'Lazybones' and understand the vast possibilities visual narratives can gift. We think it challenges what we watch, why we watch, how we make and how we connect to the visual medium.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Ben and Lucy are designed to represent the experience of the indecisive young person. People with university degrees (half of or too many) but no jobs, people bereft of solid direction, swiping right to unsatisfying relationships, paying rent instead of a mortgage, travelling at an age when their parents were having kids. Then you have Sam, Jean and Troy who have more direction but it's still unfulfilling, it's still a long climb. 'Lazybones' presents all these themes of fulfilment, modernity, youth, love, friendship. We think the characters show the depth and diversity of each these themes.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
We started by putting together a treatment scene by scene, really loosely. When we finished casting, the actors brought a lot of their own characteristics to the characters and from there we were able to create and refine the script a lot more. We also did encourage a lot of improvisation and that was key for creating believable performances. When we watched the first cut we were surprised with how much it resembled a documentary - we love that, that was totally unexpected. Saying that, a lot of the dialogue and scenes did turn out very close to how they were written in the script.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We've had a lot of 'slice of life' comments. We like that. We've also had compliments on the comedy, that was very nice too! A recent review said that is was 'One of the finest examples of independent filmmaking we’ve seen in years' which is very encouraging.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We anticipate not everyone enjoying the naturalistic style and that's totally okay. Generally films aren't so alternative. And perhaps that is something to be mindful of, how can we make films for no money within the naturalistic style and still entertain people? We feel like we've given ourselves feedback too on writing, you grow from everything you write.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It is always good to get more exposure through these platforms. We just hope to be able to make people more aware of the film and maybe expose them to a film that they wouldn't otherwise know about.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Right now, it's always good to get more reviews and coverage for the film so that more people can know about it. More than anything we want people to be able to see it, so for us it is all about getting an audience to connect with it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
'Lazybones' is largely character driven in the sense that we watch character's lives unfold naturally. Gritty bits, not finding our feet, not trying hard enough, indecision, just a chunk of life that people often experience. I think therefore, the conversation becomes about craft - how we make films, how we make films with no money, the stories we tell and why its important to explore different styles of filmmaking and be artistically different.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What are you doing with your life? And I suppose even more so the question is: Do you like it?
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are currently in production on a new feature 'So Long' that we are both co-directing and hope to have finished early next year, we're working with a lot of the same actors from 'Lazybones'. This film follows a couple after their breakup and the two women regaining independence. It's a really beautiful feeling working on this one as we are surrounded by so many inspiring women.
Our lead actors from 'Lazybones' Jackson and Fab have just wrapped on a web series together which will also be screening at Made in Melbourne Film Festival called 'No Pink Cowboys' - very funny, definitely worth checking out as well!
Interview: November 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Lazybones
Ben, a wannabe stand up comedian in Melbourne, doesn’t live for the weekend like the O’Jays hit song, in fact he finds that philosophy kinda depressing. Spending most of his life on the stage, in his Uber and hanging out with his friends, he floats through life wondering - is there more to this?
Length: 82 minutes
Director: Michael Jones
Producer: Caitlin Farrugia & Michael Jones
Writer: Caitlin Farrugia & Michael Jones
About the writer, director and producer:
Michael Jones is a passionate filmmaker and editor based in Melbourne. 'Lazybones' is Michael's first feature film and he is currently in production on a new feature film 'So Long'.
Caitlin Farrugia is a writer and producer from Melbourne who focuses on social culture. She is making her directorial debut with 2017 feature film 'So Long'.
Key cast: Jackson Tozer, Fabiana Weiner, Troy Larkin, Tegan Crowley, Eva Seymour, Francis Greenslade, Maude Davey
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Distributors, Film Festival Directors, Journalists
Funders: Private funding
Made in association with: Blazing Arrow Media
Release date: TBD
Where will it be screened in the next month?
Saturday 10th December, 6.30pm, at Backlot Studios in South Melbourne as part of Made in Melbourne Film Festival.