On this edition of INSIDE GAY CINEMA, Matt Kugelman talks To Wong Fu, Texas Heat, and his crush on Fred Savage...
by David Davila (musical theatre writer)
A fierce storm is making it's way around the globe, and its name is HURRICANE BIANCA, the new film written and directed by Matt Kugelman and staring the now infamous actor/comedian Roy Haylock also known as Bianca del Rio. Of course Bianca del Rio jumped to fame two years ago when she became the biggest winner in RuPaul's Drag Race HERstory. Since then she's been one busy cookie touring the globe with her unique brand of comedy and filming movies and television specials.
Before you continue reading, let me make one thing very clear: this movie is EVERYTHING! Writer/director Matt Kugelman has created a gay masterpiece, a camp classic, the kind of movie we'll be quoting for years. It has a hell of a diva as it's underdog star, a brilliantly funny villain, a bevy of cameos by our favorite drag stars, non-stop one-liner action, and sexy cowboys. I will repeat myself: THIS MOVIE IS EVERYTHING!
(Check out the film's trailer)
Matt Kugelman is a writer/director from outside of Chicago who got his start editing documentaries for Michael Moore before getting hired at CBS to edit and produce shows daily for CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning. I had the pleasure of meeting Matt through a group of writers and performers in New York who produce their own work and when he invited me to a screening of HURRICANE BIANCA last February, I was floored.
I caught up with Matt amid his busy film premiere schedule and chatted him up about the process from page to screen. Here's what the talented writer/director had to say:
(David Davila) First off, the film is magnificent! It's a new camp classic! Did you go into the writing process knowing you wanted to create a camp classic?
(Matt Kugelman) Thank you! Not really. When I started the writing process I really just thought this would be something fun to do that my friends and family would enjoy. Watching it snowball and gain more and more exposure has been really mind-blowing!
(DD) How did you get involved with Bianca del Rio and the other queens from Drag Race?
(MK) I met Bianca a little over ten years ago. We were both fairly new to New York and I'd seen him perform once in a bar and thought he was hysterical. So I emailed him on Myspace and asked him to be in this little roast video I was making for my friends birthday. He'd never met the guy, but pulled out all these jokes outta thin air and you could hear me cracking up off-camera.
After that we started making more and more little short videos and would enter them in these commercial contests (and won a few of them!) That's when I started writing Hurricane Bianca.
(Roy Haylock aka Bianca del Rio & Matt Kugelman)
(DD) Where did you get the idea for Hurricane Bianca?
(MK) After film school, I'd always wanted to make a feature film. At this point, I'd been friends with Roy (Bianca) for a few years, so basing the story around the character that he'd created seemed like a fun thing to do. I knew I wanted it to be a revenge story where he creates Bianca to get back at everyone that was nasty to him. Originally I was thinking he would "go postal" so to speak, so I had him working as a mailman, but then the teacher idea seemed more fun, so that she could yell at adults AND kids!!
(DD) What are the considerations when picking a distribution deal for the film (vimeo, cinema, netflix etc.)?
(MK) Right before we premiered in Toronto, we had a couple of offers from distributors and decided to go with Wolfe Releasing. As this film is like our baby, we definitely wanted to go with a company we felt we could trust, and Wolfe has a great reputation and a solid track lineup of films I knew that I already enjoyed.
(DD) Talk us through the timeline. How long did the film take from script to filming, to final cut?
(MK) My god it feels like 84 years! I work as an editor at the CBS: This Morning Show full-time, so the writing and re-writing process took a while. We started crowdfunding online and raised a pretty solid amount just within the social networks of our friends and family, and then Roy decided to audition for Drag Race. We had our final fundraising party the night before Roy was secretly planning to leave for the start of Drag Race filming! And then the second they put the crown on her head in Vegas, we were ready with another round of crowdfunding! That campaign pulled in over three times as much as the first!
(DD) What kind of camera did you use?
(MK) Austin Schmidt, our brilliant Director of Photography, recommended the Red Scarlet camera, which was beautiful quality but also fit within our budget.
(DD) What was the hardest part of filming?
(MK) Well the most obvious answer was the Texas heat! It was pretty brutal, and worse for those who had to pile on the layers of makeup and heavy wigs! But for me, the most difficult thing was battling the countdown of the ticking clock. We had eighteen days budgeted in Dallas, which may sound like a lot, but there were days when it felt like we were running from location to location. Deciding if it was worth spending the time to do one more take of something would potentially risk having to cut something at the end of the day.
(DD) Can you share some advice that you learned on the film shoot that maybe no one ever shared with you?
(MK) Looking back, I think a major thing that I learned (and something we did well) was how important it is to make sure that everyone is having a good time. Not just the cast, but everyone in the crew as well. They worked their asses off, but so many people would mention that this was the most fun they've had on a set. I think this really translates directly to the final product, especially in a comedy.
(DD) Okay... now some really personal questions... How do you feel about the 31 genders issued by the city of New York?
(MK) The more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned.
(DD) What's your favorite movie of all time?
(MK) There's too many! I've always been a huge Tim Burton fan, so I'm obsessed with Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. And I think that I could watch Tarantino's Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill on loop!
(DD) Can you remember the first time you ever saw gay characters on tv or in film?
(MK) My grandpa took me to see "To Wong Fu" in the movie theater when I was very young, which was way ahead of it's time. Other than that, it wasn't really until Will & Grace in the 90's that really took over the media and started to make gay characters that you could really look up to.
(DD) What an amazing Grandpa! Would you mind sharing one of the first times you realized that you were gay?
(MK) I always pretty much knew... But I remember watching Fred Savage on "The Wonder Years." I was too young for it to be a full-on sexual crush, but I really wanted to be his best friend. (And have slumber parties where we stay up late and watch movies.)
(DD) Ha! I actually looked like Fred Savage when I was younger to the point that Carson Daly called me Fred Savage when I was on TRL. Love it! Love the movie! Where do you see yourself in ten years?
(MK) Hopefully working on another fun, crazy project!
(DD) What advice do you have for young gays out there that want to make movies?
(MK) I would just say don't be afraid! There were people that said I'd never make it in New York, and others that laughed when I told them how much money I was trying to raise for Hurricane Bianca. Keep at it! Even if it takes forever... if it's something you're really passionate about, you'll find a way to make it happen!
HURRICANE BIANCA is now available on Vimeo, Amazon, iTunes, and on DVD at wolfevideo.com.
Photos by Alberto Milazzo.
DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
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