Interview: Mo Buck

 

For the latest edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan sits down with one the studio's most well-regarded writers, Mo Buck, to discuss his recent film slate....

PD: After a handful of seasons away from LRF you returned with Collapse last season. Did your approach or goals as a writer change in those five seasons away?

MB: I wouldn't say my goals changed. Obviously, I'm not someone who's too concerned about box office returns, given the genre that I usually work in, but it's always nice to have nice box office returns. I'm still trying to write films that will get good reviews and hopefully win some GRAs down the line. But I would say that my approach changed. I'm taking my time to write now, instead of trying to write as much as possible. Collapse and Death of a Comic are the last two movie concept I developed before my hiatus and were written over more than a year. I think there are subtle changes you'll see in my future films.

PD: Speaking of Collapse, the film didn't do very well at the box office but did manage to win a GRA and scored solid reviews. Are you happy with the outcome of your return film?

MB: I'm happy with the outcome, but obviously I'd love it to at least break even. I had some nice reviews, which is always nice and I'm really happy for Sally Field, although I didn't envision her winning a GRA when I was writing the part. I'm disappointed for Ryan Gosling, but I have to recognize the competition and tip my hat to Dwight Gallo for his work with The Punisher. I'm not the biggest fan of comic book movies, as I've grown really tired with the oversaturated genre, but I really enjoy what he's done with the character.

PD: Death of a Comic has a similar "ripped from the headlines" feel as A Reputation did back in Season 15. Can you talk about your influences for this project?

MB: I'd say that most of my original stories are inspired by my life, or things I read about, or things I've heard. This particular project had a lot of changes from what I originally intended it to be. It was going to be a movie about a group of washed-up comedians going on-tour together for one last shot at fame, but I took inspiration from newspaper articles I read and completely changed the story. The comedy scene is quite different between the US and Quebec, where I'm from. The comedy scene is saturated and the biggest comedians have a god-like status and are universally loved, no matter what they do. Something came out about a couple of them that was less than glorious and it shook the industry. I tried to imagine what would happen when one of these big stars isn't what you thought he was and that's when the story of Death of a Comic was born.

PD: What's next for you?

MB: I wrote two movies with other writers that I'm really excited about. I don't want to overshare about these two particular films, but I think we did great work and have good casts that can elevate our work. As for my solo projects, I've written an original sports drama that was also ripped from the headlines, although at a more local level, but that still shook me. I've surprised myself by writing two adaptations, one of a novel by the same author of the book I adapted into 7 Days all the way back in Season 10, and another film based on an obscure French Canadian film, that will reunite an Academy Award winning director with a frequent collaborator, an Academy Award winner himself.