Interview: Alex Conn

In this edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan sits down for an interview wither writer Alex Conn (The Letter J, Scream 5) to discuss the success of The Letter J and his upcoming directing effort, Drugstore Perfume.

PD: Your most recent film, The Letter J, earned your first Golden Reel Award nomination in an acting category and biggest hit with the box office and critics. How did you react to the success of that film?

AC: I was so emotionally high when Letter J got the success that it did. I worked my ass off on that film and Kogonada and the whole cast did a great job and the success made it so great. It's so great that a non superhero not action film got a box office success. Teenagers want to see themselves on screen and I think I proved that with Letter J.

PD: Why did you decide to direct your latest film, Drugstore Perfume?

AC: It was honestly because the story was so personal to me. It's a drama that's about growing up and the fear of growing up. A lot about being 18 is about facing adult problems as someone who is technically an adult but still very much a child. That conflict very much resonated with me. Also it's a love story which I wanted to tell and also I wanted to make a very intimate film. I wrote the first draft very quickly and it was so experiential that I knew I had to direct it. Also I wanted to work with Alex and RJ they are such a good pair and they work so well.

PD: You've directed two films for the studio now, Oh Johnny Boy and The Virgin Suicides. Oh Johnny Boy received mostly positive reviews and made a slight profit, while The Virgin Suicides bombed at the box office with mixed reviews. What did you learn from the varied results of your first two directorial projects?

AC: I think that I learned that I work well with very intimate personal projects and I wanted to make something simple. With Virgin Suicides I felt that I bit off more than I could chew. I wanted to make a very operatic somewhat experimental film that captured the teenage experience thru music and acting and sound and photography but I am not a director who can do that. With this film I am making a very small very emotional very story based films.

PD: The title of the film, Drugstore Perfume, obviously doesn't really help the audience know what kind of film they're walking into. Why did you decide to title the movie that instead of the film's original title: The English Teacher?

AC: I changed it due to their being another film called that with Julianne Moore and it's a great little film and I love that movie and I didn't want any confusion and also I was sitting down on my couch listening to Gerard Way's solo album Hesitant Alien which is a beautiful album and there is a song called Drugstore Perfume that really captured the melancholy mood of the movie.

PD: What's next for you?

AC: I have a lot of projects coming out. Next season I have a Morrissey biopic and a lot of projects I choose to keep secret but I'm writing the best stuff I have ever written so I'm excited to see them come out.