PD: You've only been part of the Last Resort Films community for a little over a season, yet you came away victorious in multiple categories at your first Golden Reel Awards. What was that experience like?
CT: Incredible. Awards shows generally excite me no matter the topic - I watch the Grammys even when I've never heard any of the songs. But to have my own films in contention and get rewarded was truly a humbling experience. It is the ultimate sign of respect from my fellow peers and thus one I value greatly. That is not to say it is the only form of validation as there are some great films out there that do not fit the traditional awards mold and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In my case, I was ultimately very pleased that both of my wins came in the area of casting as I probably put more effort into my meetings with casting directors than I do in writing the damn screenplays (is that blasphemous to say?). So yeah, that first experience at the Golden Reel Awards felt like an extension of a hand telling me I am welcomed here.
PD: You recently collaborated with another writer on a pitch, how did that come about?
CT: Oh, that was a great deal of fun! Here is how it all went down: I had a story idea that was essentially only a couple of broad stroke details and was struggling to expand into something bigger on my own. It was a story I know I wanted to tell but I did not want to send something in underdeveloped and so I decided I would shop the idea around and see if I could get help. Unlike Mortal Kombat (an established property), this was an original piece and so I couldn't really put a "help wanted" on my website without going into the story details (which I was not comfortable divulging at the time). Luckily, my decision to approach writers individually stopped at the first name on my list. Choosing that person first was a deliberate move as that writer had proven experience within the genre the story is set in. It was fascinating to see the idea bloom from that point forward as the final product is a distant cousin from the original logline I had envisioned (with only one character remaining the true through-line between the two). Without my collaborator, that script would have been accumulating dust on a shelf somewhere, but luckily that person had an immediate vision for where the story could go and then I, in turn, had a much grander outlook on the story as well. It's as if I had planted the seed and my fellow writer cared for the plant and ensured it would bloom healthily into something fruitful. The beauty of collaboration, eh?
PD: With the upcoming Booster Gold you will enter into the DC Comics Universe. Where does your vision fit in with the DC films from D.R. Cobb and APJ?
CT: Tonally, Booster Gold is almost on the opposite side of the spectrum from films like Green Arrow, The Question, and Batman: Gotham Knight. Booster is a character that needs to be comedic or else it just won't work and so I knew that was the approach that was needed. I've been wanting to adapt his story for years now but two recent franchises have really set the stage in expanding the possibilities of the superhero genre: Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool. While you're sure to see strands of those two franchises in this film, it is simultaneously connected to LRF's DC Universe as a whole even with the tonal differences - just as the Guardians are showing up in Avengers: Infinity Wars. The choice was made early on to include Blue Beetle in this film, as he is Booster's most identifiable ally from the comics. I did not want to impede on any of APJ's plans for the character going forward, however, and so I got permission from him to use the character of Ted Kord and decided to make this basically a prequel to most of the films in our DC Universe. That being said, even with the more unique timeline, the film does not shy away from the fact that it still in the same universe as these other DC heroes and thus the door is open for potential team-ups in the future. I'm not sure what kind of film would have Booster Gold and The Question interacting but it'd be bizarre and I gotta say: I'm intrigued just thinking about it.
PD: What are some of your favorite films released by the studio?
CT: Going back to Season 1, A View from the Bridge is one of the most heart-wrenching stories told from the studio and one that, even with five nominations, may have been underrepresented at the first edition of the Golden Reels. Perhaps it just me, but I believe Bobby Cannavale has one of the best supporting turns in the studio's history in that film. James Morgan and Alex Garland's Into Thin Air is another great one, possibly the studio's best original story to date. And the more it sits within my psyche, the more I appreciate Femme Fatale. It takes the story of someone that is not super famous yet surrounded by cultural icons and Suki Waterhouse becomes a real tour de force. Cianfrance's knack for depressing melodrama really meshes well with the tragic life of Sedgwick and so the film has kinda just stuck with me since its initial release. This partially inspired me to develop a story of my own about a tragic artist from roughly the same time period.
PD: What's next for you?
CT: In the immediate future: Booster Gold, a film that I am incredibly excited for and have already went into the detail on. In the season ahead, development is moving along nicely on a film that is a passion project of mine involving a particular group of people who have been very influential in my life. I look forward to bringing that story to audiences. And my fourth release of the season is an original piece that tackles multiple current topics relevant to America's cultural climate. Writing that film was a bit cathartic for me in trying to understand my own feelings on the subject matter and the philosophical questions that are bubbling underneath the surface of our society. Just saying those words sounds so pretentious but hopefully the film can speak for itself and not get too muddled in the self-importance its crazy writer bestowed upon it. In the distant future, I also recently completed a partially auto-biographical story that is my most personal script to date and one that has been very stressful in trying to map out a potential cast and director for. It should probably be the other way around (such as fearing the fanboy onslaught for miscasting a famous character like Batman or Bond or something) but I guess the more personal it is, the more afraid I am that making the smallest wrong decision here or there could mess it all up. But that is still a ways down the line.
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