Dances With Films / Melbourne Documentary Film Festival - I am Famous
A short documentary about artist/actor Tom Wilson who became famous with his role as Biff in the Back to the Future films. Since then, people have come up to him to say 'I hate you!'
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Ismaël Lotz
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I thought it would be great to make a small portrait film about the whereabouts of actor, comedian and artist Tom Wilson. I’ve met Tom after one of his shows and introduced myself as a filmmaker and invited him to join my project http://areyounow.com. He said yes, and we stayed in touch after this. When I asked him if I could make a short doc about him, we had lunch and talked it over, and he finally said yes to my plan.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you like film and the business around it. If you like pop culture and what it does to people's minds when they see someone they only know as a certain character from the movies and how they respond to that. If you love the Back to the Future films. You have to watch this film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Universal themes work in the stories that Tom tells us; they are about things that happened to him after becoming famous that are, in general, interesting to tell people. Personal themes are present in the way people take his previous acting role as a bully very seriously, and they always get confused between that and the Tom in real life. They think he really was mean to Michael J. Fox.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The only thing I planned with Tom was to film him and his art and his story of those paintings. The rest came by it self.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Inspiring, funny, insightful are the words most commonly heard.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I am glad the movie gets the response that it gets.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Buyers. But I hope people will find it on my own page some more.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Let the audience see that people who play in movies are just people and they are not their character from that movie.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
My most personal journey so far: living with lung cancer, stage 4. I got diagnosed with that on February 1st. With short personal documentaries I tell my story at http://lotzlives.com
Interview: July 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
I am Famous
A short documentary about artist/actor Tom Wilson who became famous with his role as Biff in the Back to the Future films. Since then, people have come up to him to say 'I hate you!'
Length: 15 minutes
Director: Ismaël Lotz
Producer: Ismaël Lotz
Writer: Ismaël Lotz
Key cast: Tom Wilson (a.k.a. Thomas F. Wilson)
Looking for: producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Social media handles: @ismaellotz
Other: http://iamfamousfilm.com
Hashtags you use: #iamfamous, #iamfamousfilm
Where was this filmed? Los Angeles
Made in association with: De Filmmakerij
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? http://iamfamousfilm.com