David Limacher recently sat down with Aaron Schneider whose Feature Film Directorial Debut is coming out this week, “Get Low” starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek among others. David sat down in Chicago and talked about an array of things such as Aaron’s hometown, how he got into making movies, winning a Academy Award, and his first Feature Film.
DL: Aaron, I just wanted to start off by saying that Get Low was my favorite movie I have seen this year, and it really was a warm welcome change from the CGI films we have become accustomed to.
AS: Thank you very much. This movie was such a pleasure to work on, and the people involved made the experience of directing my first feature film that much easier. I agree that this film offers a change from the CGI that is in most movies now, and I hope people enjoy the film for what it is.
DL: I read that you grew up in my hometown area of Peoria, Illinois. Is there anything you miss from the small town life?
AS: I really miss certain restaurants. We are in Chicago that has so many different choices for places to eat, but I still miss certain restaurants I grew up enjoying. Other cities don’t have those local places.
DL: I understand that, and speaking of restaurants I did some research on you and found out that you originally started going to college at Iowa State University studying in Engineering. I read that you were through your sophomore year at school and really didn’t like the direction your future was headed. While on vacation, in Florida, you were in a restaurant with your family explaining to them that you wanted to do something else – when you saw . . .
AS: . . . Billy Crystal, of all people. I was talking to my mom and she told me that I should go and talk to him about how to get my start in the film industry. I worked up the courage and introduced myself and told him that I really like special effects, and I was wondering if he had any advice on how to start a career in the film industry? He looked right at me and said “Film School. Go to a good film school and learn everything that you possibly can learn about the industry.” I took his advice and transferred to USC film school that fall. It really opened my eyes to all the aspects I might have taken for granted, and it also helped open a few doors for me.
DL: I would say it did! Looking at some of the projects you worked on in your past. You worked with a few acclaimed directors and producers and used what they taught you to win an Academy Award in 2004 for Best Short Film. What was that like for you to win an Academy Award?
AS: (Sarcastically) It was terrible! It was just awful, I mean nobody wants that high an acclaim! (Seriously, this time) It was unbelievable. It is really a good feeling that something you put your time and hard work into was so well received that the highest award in film is granted to you for your work. The only down side becomes asking the question ‘Where can I go from here?’ The answer was of course feature films and doing my best work to win the Best Film Academy Award.
DL: Now ‘Get Low” is your feature film debut. What was it like working on a feature film with such a good cast like Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek?
AS: It was an AMAZING experience. Robert has his own style of preparing for a role. He takes everything very seriously. Robert invited me out to his ranch to talk so he could get a better understanding of the character and what he felt I wanted to do with the character of Felix. We exchanged notes, and when it came time to film he was ready and all about the character of Felix. Billy, on the other hand, was just as you would expect him to be – he’s a joker. He was the nicest guy in the world who would help the crew move their equipment into place, and just had fun with everyone on the set. We had a production assistant who was a short little thing and he would pick her up over his shoulder and ask “Now where does this go, Aaron? I want to make this shot PERFECT so I need to know where this goes?” He was just a funny guy. Sissy was just fabulous to work with as well. She was much grounded and has such a good grasp on her craft that she just was fun to work with. I felt that the people I worked with on this movie made my experience that much better for everyone involved.
DL: I saw that you weren’t only the director of this movie, but you were also the editor as well. What was that experience like for you?
AS: I was lucky that it wasn’t just me working on editing the film. The producers would come in and help me with the process and also the Director of Photography helped out quite a bit himself in making sure our best was released, and I feel as if we did that.
DL: I will tell you again that I really enjoyed the movie and liked how it was like a big, humorous puzzle where slowly all the pieces started being put into place. I especially enjoyed at the end how everything that happened over the course of the movie all came together and made sense.
AS: I am glad you enjoyed it so much, and I get the feeling that you “got” the movie. This movie isn’t something of a mystery where people will easily get lost watching it, but like you said it has it’s pieces and they all come together to make sense at the end. There are scenes that make you think one thing, only later you realize what you might have thought was the wrong thing, but it still fits and makes sense.
DL: Now Get Low has the very interesting concept of a “Living Funeral”. I was wondering how this concept came about?
AS: It is actually loosely based on a True Story. There really was a man named Felix Breazeale who held himself an actual Living Funeral in the 30’s. We changed some of the details around, but the story was based on a true story.
DL: Well Aaron, the Movie opens in New York City and Los Angeles on July 30th, and Chicago and other locations on Aug. 6th. I was wondering if you wanted to say anything else to possibly get our readers to want to see ‘Get Low’?
AS: I just would say that I really loved making this movie, I feel that it is great for audiences to just go to the movies and laugh and have their heart strings pulled on as well. The story is something new and different that people may not have seen in a while or ever . The thing that might get people talking the most is the WONDERFUL acting by Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek . This movie really brings out each of their talents and is, once again, a showcase for the talent that each of them has to offer.
DL: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sitting down and talking with me about yourself and “Get Low”, and once again how much I enjoyed everything about the film.
AS: Thank you, David. It was great talking to you about everything, and I’m glad you enjoyed the movie as much as I did making it.
To see what questions Aaron had for David Limacher, you have to join our Facebook fan page – exclusive content awaits. Here’s a hint, click the lower-case “f” at the top right in the blue box – genius!
