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‘The Art of Self-Defense’ Interview with Director Riley Stearns

Way back in March, we saw the world premiere of The Art of Self-Defense at SXSW. The film centers on Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) who is determined to muscle up by joining a karate dojo after becoming the victim of a brutal mugging that leaves him shaken and traumatized. At the time, we praised it for its dark and humorous take on toxic masculinity, and how it’s a film that’ll “make you think twice before you caveman that beer in front of your friends.”

Fast forward two months and the film made another appearance at the Seattle International Film Festival, and along with it came writer-director Riley Stearns. During the festival, we had the opportunity to speak with the director and discuss where the idea came from, the process of scripting such a tact-sharp comedy, and whether or not he himself knows karate.

Below you’ll find a written transcript of the interview as well as the audio recording of our discussion with Stearns. The interview has been edited for clarity and readability.

G: One of the themes in The Art of Self-Defense deals with toxic masculinity and the absurdity of it all. Where did the idea come from and what set you in motion?

R: The initial feeling is one I think a lot of men have and one they aren’t willing to admit having and that is they don’t feel like they’re enough of a man. I didn’t feel like I was as masculine as other guys presented themselves as, and I didn’t know that I related to men in the same way that I was supposed to. I kinda wanted to explore what that meant.

That was also how i got into jujitsu without even realizing it. I started out as, “Oh I want to learn how to defend myself, and I’m super into watching MMA fights, but this jujitsu element seems really cool.”

The deep-seated thing in my head was that I don’t understand who I am. It came from a real place of wanting to deconstruct what it means to be a man, and tackle it in a super literal way. And if you present these things as literal as possible, then it can be easy to see how absurd it is.

G: The scenarios are very spot on. You talked about how literal it is at times. For example, not being able to learn French because it’s a feminine language. It’s like a hyperrealistic form of our own reality that’s not so far removed from experiences in normal conversation.

R: Yah, people have over the years said that sort of thing, and that’s why it’s so dumb. This is something we’ve heard before, but we’re gonna say it even more in the film — it’s gonna be louder. There’s a scene where — and I don’t think I realized it as I was writing it — when Alessandro [Nivola — Sensei in the film] is explaining masculinity versus femininity to Casey, he says the word masculine four or five times in the scene. It’s just hammering it home. It’s being super overt and that’s where the humor lies for me . . . being as on the nose as possible in some scenes.

In other scenes, you can be more subtle. People are very black and white about how they present their thoughts and feelings. Imogen’s [Poots — Anna in the film] character is the one who can present the gray area. Sensei is super on the nose. Jesse is just like a sponge that soaks up everything he is learning. Imogen gets to play devil’s advocate and fill the role of the audience. I liked exploring all those thoughts in a comedic way.

G: One other question I had was how early on did Jesse Eisenberg sign on to the project because he fits that role very well.

R: It’s so weird to think about it now, but at one point his name was brought up, and I said, “No he’s not right for it.” The initial idea was that Casey was supposed to be in his forties so it would be even more ridicules and sad that a middle-aged guy wasn’t feeling like a man. And when he signs up for something like karate, I thought of how ridiculous that would look — like jumping, kicking and punching along side teenagers in the class. I was really set on that age for a while, so when Jesse’s name was first brought up, I thought, “He’s not the right age,” but as we went down that path, we began to realize a lot of guys around that age didn’t feel like they could do the role.

I had one actor tell me in an email something along the lines of he didn’t want to play a weak character. That kind of struck me, and made me realize why I wanted to make a movie like this. Like, why is Casey considered weak? He’s just trying to figure out who he is, so why is that weak? He’s actively trying to better himself and figure out who he is for himself instead of letting expectations define him.

When Jesse’s name was brought up later on, it kind of just clicked. The fact that he got the script as well as he did, it was a no brainer, but at the same time, that also meant once he said ‘yes’ his schedule was very finite with regards to how much we could shoot with him. He was coming off a project and had another one starting at the end of the year after Self-Defense. He said he wanted to make it in late June or early July 2017, so the second he said that, we started prepping in Kentucky. I think we were in Kentucky in August 11th until September 11th.

So from the beginning of July to September 11th, that’s the amount of time we had with Jesse from him saying, “Ok, I want to do it. Figure it out,” and actually shooting. It was a 25 day shoot. It was fast and by the seed of your pants sort of thing, but we did it. It’s still insane to think that we were able to put everything together in the way that we did.

G: The film works in a lot of dark, dry pan humor. Do you have any personal inspirations that worked their way in there?

R: I don’t necessarily feel like I’m inspired by films while I’m writing. I want it to feel like a world with my own thoughts and views. I’d say in general that people who inspire me are Paul Thomas Anderson, Hal Ashby, Yorgos Lanthimos… I really respond to people who like to blend tones … oh, the Coen Brothers for sure. People who blend tones and aren’t afraid of making people uncomfortable for laughing at something really dark or uneasy. That kind of stuff is fun for me. In terms of tone, I definitely borrow from those people. I’m very inspired by them, but I definitely don’t try to give an homage to something or put other people’s shots into my movies. That’s just the way that I work.

G: When I was watching The Art of Self-Defense, the first thing I connected it to was Dr. Strangelove and how that situation is very similar to this film — that being a serious situation that’s set to absurdist escalation.

R: That’s super cool to hear you say. I actually hadn’t thought of that film with regards to this movie in a long time, but when I first put together a director’s packet and I was sending the script to certain producers to get the feel if people wanted to work on it, I did mention Dr. Strangelove as a film The Art of Self-Defense could be loosely inspired by tonally. I hadn’t thought of that in forever, but I remember that.

G: Tone management for a comedy is very important. Your film goes from an absurdist comedy to being pretty serious about its subject— it reaches a tipping point where it is no longer a funny. Spoilers, but Casey ends up carrying out the same acts of violence that were committed against him.

R: He becomes a tool for Sensei’s machine. It’s fun to play around with that . . . to have a character that you are relating to go down a path that you know is wrong and still hope that they come out on the other side in a positive way. Being able to play around with the darkness while they’re in it is fun.

G: How many revisions of the script did you do?

R: Zero. I don’t like to rewrite. It’s probably out of laziness more than anything. Faults [Stearns’ first feature] is a first draft. The Art of Self-Defense is a first draft. I say first draft as in the script is what it is. What is in the movie is on the page. That first draft gets modified dialog and situations change here and there, but for the most part, the shooting script is almost identical to the first draft. It’s not that I’m not thinking about it though. I think about a movie for up to a year before I start writing it.

That time is coming down because I just want to do more things, but I like to really figure out exactly what I want to happen— in terms of structure —and then fill in the blanks with writing. That’s the fun part, discovering fun things that happened or making a good callback. That sort of stuff isn’t what I think about when I make the story’s structure, but I usually let the idea percolate a while before I start writing. I’ve almost done all the rewrites before I start writing. It’s not just like I go in blind and be like, “Oh, he does this and then that which leads to this.” I know what I want to do, and then when I don’t do a rewrite, it’s because I’m lazy.

G: You usually hear stories about actors or producers who give input and then the script goes through rewrite after rewrite to the point where the original is a distillation of the original script.

R: I’m in a very lucky position where for two movies now, I’ve met producers who trusted my perspective and vision. Keith Calder and Jess Calder [producers on Stearns’ first feature] for Faults loved the script. That script is a first draft, and it ended up on the Black List that year — I think it was top ten for that year, what ever that means. People liked it and it was great. People would say, “Well, if I would do that script, I would need another ten rewrites.” Well, then you aren’t the right producer for it. I’m looking for the things I want to make and I hope I find people who want to do the same. When I send the script out, that’s the film.

Self-Defense was the same thing. I found Andrew Kortschak [producer on the film] and he got what I wanted to do, trusted that vision, and didn’t make me rewrite anything. The edit was where we go to collaborate. If something really isn’t working, that’s where we talk about it and have back and forths. But yah, if you want me to do ten rewrites on something, then we’re not gonna be the right team. I’ve gotten to the point now where I don’t have to worry about that. On this next movie I’m working on called Dual, I met these producers who are incredible and make really incredible movies. They are trusting me to be like, “This is the script. This is what we’re making,” and they’re not coming in and changing anything.

G: I don’t know how much you can say about it, but how different will Dual be from your prior works?

R: It’s definitely in the same vein. It’s more along the lines of Self-Defense than Faults in the sense that it is more heightened and pseudo-sci-fi. There’s a cloning element involved with a female lead. It’s its own beast, but still very dark and very comedic. I don’t think I would be able to make something that isn’t funny — not in an egotistical way — but i just like making stuff that’s funny, so I’m not gonna try to make something that is exclusively dramatic. I’m always gonna be trying to have a sense of humor about something. That’s something that’s always gonna stick in my work hopefully.

G: The comedic payoffs in this film are really good, especially with the finger technique punchline. When you are writing, are you threading these jokes into the film as you are writing it?

R: There’s two things that come to mind. It goes back to the idea of filling in the blanks after the structure is there. In Faults, there is a part in the beginning when the two characters get to the motel and one of them reverses the door knob so that the other character can’t lock herself in the bathroom. He reverses the knob so he has control of the lock. That was just something I had in my head for the narrative.

I didn’t think anything of it until later on when I got to a scene where the two were gonna have to be trapped in a confined space. I realized that would be how they’d be forced to talk. It was something that came about as I was writing. It wasn’t planned, but it became a cool callback, and I really love those.

Self-Defense has moments like that too, in particular that finger moment that you brought up. Without spoiling things for your audiences, there is a moment when Sensei is explaining his signature technique that his master never taught him. It seems so unrealistic, and in the moment as I was writing, I thought it was just this fun thing that I would figure out later. I myself believed the finger technique was real. Later on, I knew how the movie was gonna climax, and I had this epiphany moment where I could connect those two elements. It’s a callback that ended up informing the dialog after the fact. It made the original story be rewritten as a fake legend that circulates the dojo. Sensei believes it, but the grandmaster was probably lying.

That was something that came about in the moment. I like how you can have an idea about a character or a line of dialog, and then something happens later on that makes you rethink your motives or that character’s motives. All that kind of stuff is really fun to play around with and that’s where the experimentation comes into play with the writing process.

G: One last question, you mentioned it way in the beginning, do you actually know karate? You mentioned jujitsu.

R: I’ve been doing jujitsu for six years now. I go five times a week. Haven’t gone since last Saturday.

G: The junket messing up your scheduling? You’ve been on the festival circuit right?

R: I have, but I’ve been in L.A.. This is the first festival in a string of festivals coming up. I went to Maryland a couple weeks ago then this one leads into a lot of others. I was just sick all last week, so my voice is a little lower and weaker than usual, but it effected my training. I’m like addicted to jujitsu now. If I don’t after a couple of days, I start feeling a little weird. Right now, I’m just in the mood to go choke somebody out.

I would be training in Seattle, I just don’t think I have enough time. I’m here for two days, and then head back to L.A.. I’ll train there, and then in Oklahoma City hopefully, then in New Jersey. Internationally, there’s one in South Korea that my instructor told me about and it’s great. I don’t have to speak the same language, but we’ll understand each other through jujitsu.

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Crystal Swan Interview with Screenwriter Helga Landauer – SIFF 2019

During SIFF 2019, Ivy Pottinger-Glass had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the screenwriter of Crystal Swan, Helga Landauer. During the interview, they discussed the historical context in which the film takes place, the collaborative process between Landauer and the director Darya Zhuk, and the personal connections to the film’s main character Velya. 

A full transcript of the film can be see found below, or you can listen to the whole interview as well! The written interview has been edited for clarity and readability.

Ivy’s review of the film can be found here.

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I: I’m really interested in how your prior work focused on documentary filmmaking, and the creative switch between documentary and feature length filmmaking. What was your process and approach?

H: I’ve been writing for other projects, and this is what I do. Darya [Zhuk, the director of Crystal Swan] was the producer on several of my prior films. When she came to me and said she wanted to direct her first project, I was really supportive and pleased. 

I: Do you find the process between documentary and feature very different?

H: When it comes to writing, of course it’s going to be different. I feel when people make documentaries, they mistakenly think that if they have a subject, they can just film whatever happens and retroactively figure out how to structure the film. It never works. You have to have a screenplay. Even if deviate from the theme or subject, you will eventually change it, but if you have a sketch for a screenplay, it’ll have some coherence. Without it, the material won’t fit together. You’ll be like, “I wish I shot this,” and, “I don’t have enough of that.” It just doesn’t come together like you want. 

With a feature, it’s a different thing. You can change dialog and various things during production, but it’s much more streamlined and developed as something with a different level of precision. You pretty much what go with what you envisioned first. 

I: So you said you worked with Darya before. How was it working together to make the screenplay? Did you work collaboratively on the screenplay? 

H: It was initially her idea to write a story based on the situation of a phone call — which was a true story that happened to a friend of her’s. The initial idea of the story came from her. However, when you write a screenplay for a director, you always work together on the screenplay. You write a draft. You send it over. She comments on it. We talk it over. We think about what we need to add or take away from the scenes, but it wasn’t joint process from a writing perspective. It was in the realm of typical collaboration when writing screenplays for someone else. The screenplay is always for the film, for the director. It’s not like I envisioned it, it’s how she wants it.

I: How did you envision the central character Velya? Was that something you based on a conversation with Darya or something else?

H: I was about Velya’s age in the 1990s when I was leaving Russia. I didn’t live in Belarus. I lived in Moscow, so I went through a number of things myself. Being a young woman out of college trying to adjustment into this completely changed social and economic climate of 1990s Eastern Europe. 

Darya had a different experience in Belarus, and she was younger. I was trying to create a character that would be more connected to her experience. Someone that is based on her memories or occupation — which she actually was working as a DJ at the time. She was involved with different music at that time. She knew it well and it wasn’t my realm. I was trying to incorporate my experience, but mainly make the character that would speak to Darya first as a director. It was kind of like a hybrid between Darya and I.

I: I noticed that there was a sense of latent political unrest within the story. Do you think that it was symptomatic of Belarus is in the 90s?

H: Of course. It was a time of immense, sudden freedom, and also simultaneous restraint that came with the social changes. It was similar to other former Soviet Republics. We decided from the beginning that this should be a film about freedom and about different margins of that freedom … how people deal with it and how social changes work with each character we create. I was more for the stronger political underline. In the beginning and end of the film, I suggested that we take that message further, but Darya decided to make it her film, so at the end of the day, maybe it doesn’t come through as much.

I: I’m wondering what stories interest you now, and what ones you plan on telling in the future. Is there anything you have planned? 

H: I’m really fortunate that so far in my life and career that I’m working on projects I’m deeply interested in. I choose the subjects that would help me or take me further. Thinking about things that deeply matter to me. Although there are very different forms of that work, when I write a screenplay it’s more collaboration. At the end of the day, the film is a director’s statement. Not a screenwriter’s. 

Right now this year, I’ve written one synopsis that’s also taking place in the 1990s. I also wrote a feature screenplay for the whole 20th century around a historical drama. As of current, I’m developing the former film. The 1990s was a very important time for me, and I find that there’s so much to be explored during that time. Personally and historically, this period of transition for the country and me is something that I’m excited to explore.

I: I’m excited to see what you come up with next.

H: Oh thank you. Can I ask you a question? Do you find points of connection with this film? It’s a different countries and different times for you, but I’m really curious how Velya can be perceived by a young person. 

I: Even though I can’t relate to the cultural context, I still identified with this young woman who has all these dreams — there’s things holding her back, but nevertheless, she’s pursuing what she wants to do. I really related to Velya in that sense regardless of our differences. I found it to be a very engaging story not only because of our age similarities, but also the experience of a young person in general with restraints and yet all these aspirations.

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Mid90s Cast Interview

We recently had the opportunity to interview the stars of Mid90s, a coming of age film that tracks the trials and tribulations of a rebellious young skateboarder. Headlining Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, is a band of real life skateboarders turned first time actors: Sunny Suljic, Olan Prenatt, Ryder McLaughlin, and Gio Galicia who play Stevie, Fuckshit, Fourth Grade, and Ruben respectively. We sat down and discussed what it was like on set, their personal takeaways from the film, and what it was like to be acting for the first time under a first time director.

This interview has been edited for clarity and readability. Interview was conducted by Greg Arietta and Megan Bernovich.

From left to right: Na-Kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Sunny Suljic.

Greg: How did you guys get cast in the film?

Ryder: Mikey Alfred?

Sunny: Yah, Mikey Alfred.

Olan: Mikey got 70 kids that he knew from L.A.. All of them were skateboarders like Jonah asked. He wanted to teach skatborders how to act rather than the other way around because you can’t teach anybody how to be a skateboarder… it takes being apart of the culture to know. From there we were the chosen ones.

Sunny: I went to Stoner [Skatepark] and Mikey Alfred introduced me to Lucas [Hedges] and Jonah [Hill]. I didn’t even know that Jonah was making a movie or anything [ at the time]. I thought he was just stopping by Stoner with Lucas, who I didn’t even know back then. Now, he has three films out this year which is crazy. We all just started talking and he asked me if I had any acting experience, and from that, [he knew] there’s gotta be something. [Jonah] didn’t even know I acted before. I went in for an audition. Got a call back and . . .

Greg: Now you’re here…

Megan: …drinking Starbucks in Seattle.

Sunny: Yo, that’s a good-ass slogan! [laughter]

Greg: So Sunny, you had acted before right?

Sunny: Yah.

Greg: I had looked at your IMDB and I didn’t even know you were in God of War which I had played earlier this year. But for you other three, what was it like being on set [acting] for the first time?

Olan: Every single day on set I didn’t know what level professional actors study [their parts]. Everyday, even if i had one line for that whole day, I practiced that one part literally all day. I’d be nervous up until the cameras started rolling. That was my approach to it. Dedicate every second [on set] I have to it. It was a great environment that was created on set by Jonah… to the point where we can all just have fun with each other and bring it out on film.

Megan: Yah, I was gonna say he’s been directed by some of the greats and he’s on his way to being a director now.

Olan: I can’t believe this was his first time directing. He’s like a genius at this. He choreographed my brain without me even knowing, and it helped my performance.

Sunny: Yah, I think he definitely got the role of the director because he’s really really good at it. He taught me a lot of things with regard to acting too. He’s just a good dude.

Greg: It helps that he’s an actor too. We’re both university students and we took a screen writing course where the teacher told us that if you want to be a director you should probably be an actor first. His logic was if you want to direct actors you have to know what they’re going through and what they’re thinking. I got caught on to Jonah Hill in 2011 with Moneyball, and up until that point I had just known him as the kid from Superbad. Then he went on to do projects like Wolf of Wall Street, work with the Coen brothers, and now he’s directing which is crazy to think about.

Sunny: He has a diverse acting career.

Olan: I’m stoked to see him direct, and [think],”Oh, shit! i’m apart of it.” 

Megan: So you guys were previously familiar with him? You had seen him in some of his other stuff…

Olan, Sunny: Oh yah, definitely.

Greg: Any favorite Jonah Hill film?

Olan: The Sitter [laughter]

Sunny: Actually, I like all of them. I’m still watching Maniac right now. You know what’s funny about watching Maniac is that since we’re all close to Jonah, it feels like he’s never acted before… as if he’s a good friend [you know] who does something big, [and makes you] go, “Woah! He’s in this show!” I’m watching it as if I see Olan in a big video or something.

Megan: Just like your friend?

Sunny: Yah. But, I really really really like him in Wolf of Wall Street and War Dogs. I literally just watch little clips of him laughing [in that movie].

Greg: That laugh is so good. When he gets out of the car [in that one scene] because someone insulted him and he pulls out the AK-47…

Olan, Sunny: Oh yah yah yah…

Sunny: …where he gave them money for weed and they didn’t give it to him, so he comes out with the AK. Bro, that [part is so good]. 

Photo by A24

Greg: He’s just so good. I’m kinda jealous… Did you have a favorite day on set? How long was the shooting process?

Olan: Let’s see… well everyone shot for two and a half months, but Sunny, Lucas, and Catherine [Waterston] shot a little bit before us.

Sunny: My favorite day on set was when we shot the party scenes or when we were outside the [Motor] skate shop and we skated because all the extras were my friends, so it was cool to watch everybody [have a good time].

Megan: Yah, it felt very authentic seeing you guys hang out with your actual friends.

Sunny: And with Jonah he has OCD too, so he’s was very specific with [how the] trash [was displayed] and everything.

Olan: Everyday on set was my favorite day. Another day another person to meet.

Greg: It helps to have a nice working environment too. Most of the time you hear rumors coming out of sets where everything is pure chaos…

Olan: Yah, I think it’s typical to not have a dope environment like ours was. Like, this was crazy.

Sunny: I think it’s also cool that we’re all really close. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve filmed before and it’s been really fun, but I’ve never … ummm, like we all skate and we all hang out outside of shooting so it’s so cool to be going on press and traveling because it just feels like we’re just going on a skate trip. Like we’re going on a plane or we’re going on a train [together], and it’s just so tight. 

Megan: Did either of you, Gio or  Ryder, have a particularly favorite experience?

Ryder: I was just a chaperone. 

Gio: Everyday was just something new to learn by everyone on set That’s how it was for me at least.

Megan: I guess for everyone except for Sunny, you guys didn’t get to see alot of the filming of [Stevie’s] home life. What was your guys’ reaction to seeing the finished, full film and all the parts that you weren’t in?

Ryder: I wish there was more because there was a lot of that sort of stuff. I feel like it was supposed to be a bigger chunk of the movie. 

Greg: Did it get cut?

Sunny: Yah they cut like a lot.

Gio: The movie was like three hours long…

Sunny: … And now it’s like 80 minutes with credits. I think what Jonah’s goal  when editing was that he realized that some scenes just didn’t have to go in. 

Ryder: He took out all the stuff that didn’t add to the story if that makes sense. It’s literally just enough stuff to get the point across without having parts where we’re just messing around.  I also have like no clue [since i didn’t cut it].

Olan: I agree with him, that’s not my check either. I don’t know why he chose the decisions that he did, but I heard him state that it’s so great great to over write and over shoot in the editing places.

Greg: I bet having that in the editing process really helps cause then you can pick and choose what you want… All these characters feel genuine and true to life, do you guys see yourself in any of these characters or have any take aways from them? Obviously they’re your performances, but when I saw the film, I look back and see something different than someone like yourselves who are currently living those lives.

Sunny: What I took away and what I really enjoyed about my character is the subtle facial expression I would make. I watch them, and I would have a little smirk or . . .

Ryder: So you’re just a really good actor [laughter]

Olan: Yah. Pretty much.

Ryder: “Yah so I was watching it and I did a really good job. I killed it…”

Sunny: Yah, I was watching it and I was like, “Damn, I’m the best actor ever and I should just keep going. It’s so crazy!” [Laughter] But actually, I think Jonah wouldn’t “make a meal out of it,” especially with the cameos too. Alot of the violent scenes he would just keep it on wide shot and let it just play out…

Olan: Let it be what it is.

Greg: You guys did all your own stunts right?

Sunny: Yah…

Ryder: That’s crazy that that’s even considered stunts.

Sunny: Yah that’s tight though.

Ryder: The only stunt in that movie is falling off the roof. That’s the only thing I would consider to be a stunt.

Sunny: I did have to bring in a stunt person because of liability, but they still used me. I actually did jump off the roof for one of them. I just jumped on a pad. They brought in a lady [to do another take], but I guess they ended up going with my take because you can kinda tell [if it wasn’t me].

Greg: Yah, I thought it was cool that they just let you guys do your own things. It’s not the most dangerous stuff out there…

Sunny: With skating though, it would be weird if there were stunt doubles doing our skating. Na-Kel [Smith] is pro. Ryder is Am. Olan is one of the fucking best skaters. And Gio is really good too.

Greg: Did you have to fake or act when you had to learn how to ride a skateboard for that one scene?

Sunny: Yah.

Gio: Like Sunny is really good. He’s a talented skateboarder. He needed to play someone who couldn’t skate. But like, that was pretty hard for him. 

Sunny: I’ve had people tell me, “Oh so did you have to learn how to skate before the film?” And then I get really happy because I know it looks realistic then. 

Ryder: You’re just a really good actor.

A24

Megan: One of the integral parts of Ryder’s character is that you’re the one who is filming all this and going along with all everyone and documenting everything, how was that in addition to skating and playing this character, but also holing a camera? How did that feel for you while you were shooting? 

Ryder: I enjoyed filming on set. I really liked my character just from the script because his whole thing he doesn’t talk, and [how] filming and documenting everything is his role. That’s what he can contribute because he doesn’t make jokes. He’s the scapegoat for tense situations… when things get serious and then it’s like, “Oh, yah lets just make fun of Fourth Grade,” and then it goes back to normal and continues on.

Greg: Just out of curiosity, do you know what were you shooting on the handheld? Was that microtape?

Ryder: Yah, it was like a Sony Hi-8. I’m not sure exactly what kind of Sony camera, but I went through alot of tapes.

Megan: Did you get to be apart of the editing process at the editing, putting together your little film?

Ryder: Uhhh, no that was all Jonah. I got sent a couple rough versions and then I didn’t see it for a while. Then later they said, “Hey can you do all these title [cards] for it,” so I did all that stuff for it.

Greg: We’re almost out of time, so final question. You guys do all these junkets, but what is the one thing wish someone would ask about you or just something no one knows?

Sunny: That I skate. I want people to know that.

Ryder: I like to keep it vague so no one really knows. Especially if you’re gonna act, you don’t want people to know too much about you.

Gio: For me at least, [I want people to know] that I’m not like Ruben is in the movie. I’m not a dick I guess [laughter]…

Sunny: Alright, that’s enough. That’s enough. That’s all they need.

Gio: Alright fuck you Sunny. [Laughter]

Megan: That’s a great note to end on, I think. Thanks for your time and we hope the rest of press day goes well!

Mid90s is in theaters now. You can read our full review here.