My Interview with Film-Maker, Eric Amadio

Eric Amadio sprung onto the movie scene with the brilliantly clever After Sex. He's worked alongside and received recognition from actor/producer Kevin Spacey. He started his own production company (Final Cut Collective.) He's currently writing, producing and directing a film whose cast includes Brittany Snow, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Taryn Manning and Rumer Willis.

This up and coming filmmaker is Eric Amadio, and I guarantee you'll be seeing more of this man in years to come.

For now, check out my in-depth interview with the writer/director, where we discuss his past movies, prospective projects, the hardships of the film industry and our love for Kevin Smith:

What is the basic concept behind Stuntmen? How did this idea come to you?

Stuntmen was a product of watching Christopher Guest films... I was a little obsessed with Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, and even all the way back to Spinal Tap. It looked like a lot of fun to make a movie like that; it's a whole different type of movie-making. I just love the stunt world, and I originally had the idea to do like a Best in Show, but in the world of stunts. I wrote the script in 2002-2003, and it was sitting on the shelf for forever... we had a window to do something in late 2007, and I said "Screw it! Let's put the money together and make this movie!" And that's kind of how it happened.

I was curious if the world of stuntmen always interested you or if you felt it was a "mockumentary" that Hollywood didn't get to yet.

I'm glad I waited until I did to make the movie, because I had so much more experience in being able to mock Hollywood since I'm kind of a living, breathing part of it now (laughs.) But I really used the stunt world as kind of a way to make fun of how serious everyone takes themselves in Hollywood and how much energy is put into the most trivial things.

I can't wait to see it! So how did Final Cut Collective come about, and how would you compare it to other production companies?

Final Cut Collective was a product of losing creative control on my first film, After Sex. It was a classic, first-time director's horror story... And it wasn't a negative thing, but it was heartbreaking for me. At a certain point I had to walk away from the film, because I felt like my integrity and trust between myself and my actors was being compromised.

I believe I read an article describing the situation, but the movie was still made, correct? So what went wrong?

Basically, I was three weeks away from shooting the film, when my manager called me and told me someone wanted to finance the movie. And I went in and met with these people, (and they were great people,) and I came in and said, "It's coffee and cigarettes on Viagra." They said they loved it, they put a million dollars into it and the script attracted the cast that obviously ended up in the movie. But after the first assembly, they decided they wanted American Pie, and I said "Good f**kin luck."

So it got to the point where they wanted to start making creative changes, and the straw that broke the camel's back was the Mila Kunis/Zoe Saldana scene. That scene was supposed to be a very honest scene about a young lesbian girl coming out of the closet for the first time, and they turned it into the stereotypical, male pornographic fantasy. And that wasn't what I intended... I have a lot of gay/lesbian friends, and a lot of these characters were rooted in real people. I felt like I had an obligation to portray them honestly... The other problem was that they were compromising the trust that I had put in the actors. Mila and Zoe agreed to do what was on the page, and that's what we were all on board to do. Once you start changing the rules in the middle of the game, that's when things become sticky, and be it a gift or a curse, I have integrity, and I wasn't going to break that.

I'd say it's a gift, and hopefully audiences will recognize that trait in your movies. So back to the creation of Final Cut Collective...

The bottom line is the golden rule: whoever has the gold makes the rules. So I realized at a certain point, I didn't want to make movies unless I had full creative control. It was kind of the goal when creating the company, to ask, "Is there a way you could do this yourself?" and "How can we create an umbrella to help other like-minded artists that are in similar situations, and do it in a responsible model?" So I was fortunate enough to build a lot of relationships, from movie stars to producers to finance people. I had all of the resources; I just needed to put it all together. So FCC opened its doors in April, and we did production of Stuntmen in December 2007.

Basically, we want to be a collective for like-minded artists that all are working with a sense of mutual respect, and the goal is to make uncompromised work. The way we do that is keep our costs down, make our movies at a responsible level and put a lot of main talent in them. We just wrapped a film in New York that starred James Franco and Josh Lucas. It's called, In Praise of Shadows.

... So in return for making less money up front, what we do is offer full creative control to our artists. We're looking to basically be a brand and associate our brand with excellence, so anytime you see our stamp on something, you know it's going to be quality.

So what made you first become interested in film?

I kind of grew up in the movie theaters I started writing when I was seven, and I've always been this story teller. I realized I wanted to make movies when I saw a combination of two films: Slackers by Richard Linklater and Clerks by Kevin Smith. It was the first time I saw something that looked like someone like me had made it. I grew up in the 80s, and that was the era of popcorn flicks; everything was big and kind of didn't seem real. Then I saw those movies and it was like, "Holy sh*t! It looks like someone shot this with their own camera, and they're talking like how my friends talk," and I said, "I can do this!"

And I have to say, the one movie that made the final decision for me, that made me want to become a director, was The Doors. It was the first time I recognized what a director did; the first time I gave a sh*t to ask, "Who directed that?"

For the first part of my career I was actually a music major; a movie career seemed out of reach. The type of environment I grew up in, no one was really dreamers, except me. But at a certain point I got sick of music, and I decided, I'm going to give this a shot. So I saved up every dollar I had, and I put it into my first short film. And I wrote and directed it with the help of some friends, and it ended up being a cool kind of calling card.

And that was Spare Change?

Yes! And from there I hibernated for like a year and a half, I wrote like eight or nine scripts to find my writing voice, and then came After Sex, and the rest is history (laughs.)

So is it fair to say directors like Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater have been inspirations for you? Is there anyone else that has positively influenced your film career?

Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, Tarantino, Rodriguez... all these guys were definite inspirations for me, because (the 90s) was when I was really getting into film. As far as directors that really influenced me, I'd have to go with Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Soderbergh; I think he's the best we have right now. Another director who really influenced me on a more personal level is Carl Franklin, who did Devil in a Blue Dress and One True Thing. I went to college with his daughter, and he was like the first real director I'd ever met. And although we don't get to spend a lot of time together, over the last thirteen years he and his family have been such amazing sources of strength and guidance for me, and he is one of the most talented guys out there.

I think it's awesome you named Kevin Smith as one of your influences; I think he's very much underrated in the film world.

You know it's silly, but I really am a big Kevin Smith fan. I think he does something really cool, and I really respect what he's done as far as his career's concerned, because he's built a fan base and community of people that just love his work and will continue to support him, and I admire that. That's something I'm hoping to do with my own career; to kind of just build your own fan base so you can do what you want. I know the industry snobs like to sh*t on him because he doesn't do what they want him to do, but good for him. I think Kevin's created an entire universe for himself, where unfortunately the demand is bigger than the supply because you can only make a movie a year or every other year. But he's got a huge group of people that really bought into that certain brand of humor. I'd love to see him branch out and start producing other filmmakers, (ala Judd Apatow.) But here I am, giving Kevin Smith advice in my own interview (laughs.)

It happens! So are there any upcoming projects you're working on? Can we expect to see anything else from you within the next couple of years?

I have my baby that I've been working on for three years, and it's called Walks. It takes place in the world of underground street art in New York. The story surrounds the friends and family of this convicted graffiti artist, who is coming home after being gone for four years for getting busted for painting the top of a skyscraper in the financial district. There are a lot of elements of After Sex in it, as far as the types of characters and the voice, it definitely has my stamp on it and it's something I really care about.

I was actually out in New York earlier this year to go make the movie, and we ended up having to go in a different direction right before we shot. We decided to put a hold on it, so now we're kind of regrouping, finding out who we want to make this movie with, whether or not we want to make it with a distributor, or whether we want to go the indie-financing route. This is one that I want to make sure is handled properly, and we've all worked so long and hard on it that I want to be sure it's treated properly and it's given the best chance for success.

Awesome! Do you have any idea when shooting will begin?

The soonest I could see us shooting it would be October. At this point I've been hesitant to give out any dates, because for the first time in my career, I can kind of choose who I want to work with. When you're coming up in the indie game, sometimes you have to deal with elements that normally you wouldn't deal with. But the company's been in business for two years now. We just produced our first film with A-list talent. We finally have a little pull over our destiny. So I'm in no rush.

Now I noticed that you have been using some of the same actors in your films, like Marc Blucas in Stuntmen and After Sex and Emmanuelle Chriqui in Walks an After Sex. Is this something you hope becomes a trademark of yours, or are these roles simply open to anyone who wants them?

I've been fortunate that people want to continue to work with me. Maybe it could be considered a trademark that I bring people back, but I have a good group of people in my life. I've kind of set a path for myself where I really only want to work with my friends. And when I first started out, I had no main actor friends... I didn't know any of these people, and through my work in After Sex, I was able to build relationships with all of these really cool people who are really talented. I think they dig the work and dig the writing, so there's mutual respect there artistically. I'm consistently humbled by it.

I would really aspire to create what Robert Altman did, where he kind of had a company of actors that he used on all of his movies, and there's nothing more fun than making movies with your friends. That's why I started the company, that's why I'm as masochistic as I am and make life so hard for myself, instead of being a sellout whore and going the easy way. I work a lot harder and sacrifice a lot more than a lot of people in similar positions, because I want to have integrity and I want to have fun. My friends like it, and I like it, and it makes me happy. If that translates into long-term revenue and monetary rewards, great. If not, I'm still going to do this. I can't not do it. And fortunately, I built a business for myself as a producer so I can make a living, but as far as my films are concerned, I'm going to continue doing stuff that I love.

Amen to that!

Receive updates of Amadio's work at www.ericamadio.com.