We had our premiere a few nights ago and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience. It was great. The biggest complaint I got was that some people couldn’t hear some lines because people were laughing over them. Even my own mom liked it and she’s a fire and brimstone Irish Catholic.

Now, we both grew up in the suburbs here in Illinois. Where did you eventually go to college?

I went to Mizzou. University of Missouri-Columbia.

What did you graduate with?

I graduated with a journalism degree. It sounds better than it was.

Did you do any paper writing?

Yeah, the main thing was that I was the weekend sports anchor and weekday sports reporter for NBC. That was a lot of fun. I got recognized a lot by ladies over 70 with purple hair. That was my big demographic. Unfortunately, all the college girls were out so the only people at home, it just didn’t work. I couldn’t make anything work with that fan club. I guess I could’ve but I’m just not wired that way.

How did that translate, then, into movies and screenwriting?

What happened from there was that I had a job offer to go to Billings, Montana, for like fifteen grand and my brothers were like “you can come down to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and make thirty thousand” and, like a dumbass, I went where the money was and I realized I hated it and from there I went into corporate health insurance. Actually I loved it and I was making a lot of money but I was missing that creative outlet. My wife, just like she was unfortunately portrayed in the Project Greenlight show, she was incredibly supportive and was like, “let’s go give this ‘dream’ a shot.”

I know you must be satisfied with the way things have ended up.

Yeah, it’s a struggle even with the break I got with Project Greenlight. The advantage from that is I now have an opportunity to get into doors I couldn’t get into before. But once you get into the door you better have something good.

With getting your movie, Outing Riley, made with other peoples money and having to pitch people on giving you some, did you think to yourself that being given lots of money by a big studio, with decisions being made by them, is a better thing than self-financing?

Hell yeah.

You know what it is? The grass is always greener. With making this film, and making every decision about this film, I had a major say in, and not to denigrate the people I worked with because it was definitely a team effort, what to do.

That being said we didn’t have cash to do everything we wanted to do. The flip side to it is if you do a studio film you have all the cash you want, more cash than you need, but some of your creative ideas get shot down.

Anytime that someone gives you money they expect to have a say in the process. It’s fair. It’s legitimate. I, personally, was hoping to have a more independent environment. A lot of the directors I know started off making their own movies and from there they moved onto studio pictures. I kind of wanted that same feeling, to have no excuses.

Was it hard for you to make a “commercial” for people to judge whether or not to trust you with thousands of dollars or were you beyond that and were going to do whatever it took to get OUTING RILEY made?

I can’t explain it but I swear to God I sat down to do a commercial script. But when I finished I ended up with a funny, intimate look at how an Irish Catholic family deals with homosexuality. It is so far from commercial. I’m telling you I’d love to be able and sell-out but, unfortunately, I can’t write a sell-out script. If someone could tell me how to do that, I would.

I think part of that formula is that you have to have a cataclysmic event happen to the earth…

(Laughs)

Excatly right.

And you have to have seven different guys come in….one rugged…one shy…

Right. And you’ve got to be able and snowboard from D.C. to New York in two days and have no one question your plot ideas.

I can’t do that. I’m not good and, I swear to God, I’m not judging those who can, because those people are pulling in paychecks. And I got two little kids. This independent world, I wish there was more money in it.

Now, about the film, OUTING RILEY has an Irish guy at its heart; STOLEN SUMMER has an Irish kid at its heart. Is there something about being Irish that you identify with?

What I find interesting is that I grew up in an upper-middle class family in Deerfield, Illinois, and my first story was about the working class, blue collar, and in my eyes it was Bridgeport, which is an Irish section of Chicago. Today, I see in the Chicago Tribune that they’re touting my film as a Southside blue collar look at how an Irish Catholic family deals with homosexuality but that’s not the case at all.

This family is upper-middle class, suburban family. So, I think in the humor, in the real interaction with the characters, there are no pretenses. They lay it out the way it is. Maybe, for some reason, that has a working class, blue collar, public servant sort of feel but that’s not what I’m writing about here. The assumption, according at least to the Chicago Tribune, is incorrect.

Now, speaking on the subject of Chicago, you label yourself a Cubs fan…

Die hard.

Well, as I re-watched STOLEN SUMMER I noticed that the young protagonist is wearing Sox swag.

You know what, again, that was a Southside story to me. It hurt me deeply. Writing about Chet Lemon, Jorge Orta, and all those guys, Brian Downing. I am a baseball fanatic but I live for the Cubs. But to be authentic, to be true to the story, the kids had to be White Sox fans.

I don’t make that mistake this time.

Now, I know Steve Dahl, an active radio legend in Chicago. How did you get hooked up with Steve? I know you met Jeff Garlin at an Emmy’s party, but I know Steve is a Sox fan, I figure that would put him on the short list, but how did you get him to do this movie?

(Laughs)

You know, I just met him doing press for STOLEN SUMMER and we really hit it off. So, when I was in town shooting this movie I just asked him if he’d be interested in being in the film. His son, Patrick, moved out to LA and Steve is an empty nester now. He actually wishes the film business, the TV business, was stronger in Chicago.

So, really, how is it in Chicago? It’s a fabulous location but why the lack of productions? Is it the Midwest? Is it too damn expensive? Is it too inaccessible for people to get to?

It’s difficult because you have Toronto to the north, which has the same sort of Chicago feel, but it’s a lot cheaper. But I think they’re starting to bring a lot of business to this town. I think the Chicago Film Office is doing a lot to promote filming in Chicago.

I know BATMAN RETURNS had some filming done downtown.

Yeah, I think Christopher Nolan, I thought I read something where he said that lower Wacker seemed like Batman to him. It’s one of the big reasons why he chose to film here.

It would be nice to be able to have a lot more productions here and I’d like to be able and move back home. But if I want to stay in this business I can’t afford to.

About OUTING RILEY and Mike McDonald (Mad TV). He plays your boyfriend. How did that pitch go? Was the first question, “How do you feel about making out with a dude?”

(Laughs)

You know the best thing about Mike McDonald is that if I were to ask a female the same question they would smack me around.

I pulled Mike aside and I said, “Listen, this is my first time kissing a guy. Is it possible for us to rehearse?” And Mike just laughed and looked at me like I’m a jackass and he says, “Yeah, sure, go ahead.” I just didn’t want the first kiss to be on camera, I wanted to be prepared and he said, “Perfectly fine.” And all I could think of is that if I were to ask an actress “Yeah, is there any way for us to make out, maybe I could take off your shirt, rub you up and down a bit, just to get into character” they’d beat the crap out of me. But Mike McDonald was a good sport.

I recommend to every guy out there to practice making out with another man.

Now you’re in the process of marketing OUTING RILEY. I know when I first asked you about it you didn’t have a trailer to review, poster art or any of those things. Are you having to do that yourself or are you finding people who can help you with that?

What we’re looking to do, hopefully, is to drum up enough interest at the [Chicago International Film Festival], get a distributor who will want to get onboard and from there we will do our trailer and all that other stuff. So, we’re hoping to find distribution.

Do you have any leads about who might have been in the audience?

Yeah, we’ve gotten a few, offers would be a strong word, but we’ve got some real interest. So, we’ll see. I hope to be able and find a company that, obviously, can pay back my investors but also gets behind the film. We’re a small film so I’m not expecting some major release but I’d like somebody to, you know, stick behind it and be able to keep in theaters for more than a couple of weeks.

You’ve said you wanted to make more movies like this. Many people want to embrace the big studio system or eschew it. Do you still have faith that if you take material to a studio you’ll be able to develop it the way you want or are you willing to say “I’ll compromise on X or X”?

I don’t mean to be a dork but as a hypothetical I can’t quite answer because I don’t know. With this script I don’t know why I was so gung-ho about keeping it the way it was and going to make it myself. I just wanted to try making a truly independent film.

And now that I know that, you know, making a studio film ain’t that bad. So it just comes down to whatever I write next. The level of compromise I’m willing to do, and, you know, it would be great to get a paycheck. It would be great to get a studio to jump onboard. I don’t want to sound like I’m just Johnny Independent and I gotta do it my way. I don’t. I’ll gladly take a check from anybody.

Anyone who’s willing to pay…

Exactly. If I can con someone to buy a script, I’m in.

Well, now the past two scripts and films have all centered around Chicago. Are you looking to become the next John Hughes heir apparent?

I would love to be the John Hughes heir apparent, but, again, his tastes are definitely, although great, are a bit more commercial than my tastes. If this can build to a John Hughes-like career I’d be thrilled. I’m not sure if I am capable of writing that.

Seeing how he liked to use Chicago, specifically, for his stories, are there any reasons why you like to stay in Chicago, why you keep coming back to that?

I just tend to write about…like this one story I’m going to work on next is kind of a story about a guy who’s been married eight years and his wife says to him would he be interested in having a double team, ménage a trios, and how, this dream proposal, the one he’s been dying for his entire life, finally comes through and his wife spirals out of control and it kind of takes it from that moment. To me, in a sense, that can be filmed anywhere, but I’d love to be able and do that right here in Chicago again. I’ve got a feeling there’s a lot of husbands out in America, not just Chicagoans, that can relate to that moment.

Well, thinking about budgeting, then, and you’ve said that one of the most important things is budgeting a film, is it more important to get the big name actor, maximizing your days during your filming or is it really about the reshoots?

That’s a great question. I would say, starting out, the most important thing is getting the big name actor because that gives you an opportunity to sell the film but, working down from there, how many days you can get is huge. I think it’s the Coen brothers that built-in to every budget they have, like 25%, they build in for reshoots.

Really?

Yeah, which is just brilliant but the problem is I can never come up with enough money to be able and put aside 25%. It’d be nice to attract a major star because a major start would attract money. And I don’t mean money in my pocket; money to be able to make the film.

And I know your hierarchy, according to your production journal, of important people in the process of making a film has the editor at the top of the food chain. You still stand by that?

Well, it depends. Obviously, it was just funny to me because people were asking me “Who’s the most important person on an independent film?” By the way, what a stupid move to write that as I am making the movie and then people on the crew are reading it. But to me, because time is so essential, your first AD, your first assistant director, is incredibly important because he’s the one that says “Listen, we’ve got to get these shots in, you’ve got to move.” The cinematographer is going to do as much or as little as you ask him to do because it’s all time sensitive. So, if you don’t have a lot of time at the end of the day, and you’ve got to get a shot in, and you’re just doing a master shot, you’re not asking much from your DP. He’s setting up your shot and then you’re just rolling whereas your AD is always trying to tow the line between creativity and schedule. And that’s just during production. When you’re in post-production the editor just comes up with just a new way to look at it.

I know this is cliché but the script you write is different than the movie you shoot and the movie you shoot is different than the movie you edit so you almost have three different films. You got the script, the movie you shot and the movie you edit.

You’ve said yourself that you have three different films. By the end of it, especially because you were on a timeline to get the film locked up at a certain time, was there any objectivity left after you’ve spent so much time on it?

Very little. You feel like you’ve got a pretty good movie but you just never know. It’s completely different than STOLEN SUMMER; I’m proud of that movie, it’s good, but there are moments in it and performances I wish I could do over. Again, when you watch a film a bunch of times you wish you could have done a few things differently but overall I think it’s funny and the performances are real. Thank god I don’t sink this film as an actor and I can’t wait to see what others think.

You said one of your main criticisms of your directing is getting more range from yourself and others. Did that improve by shooting’s end or is that something you’re still learning to grapple with?

To me, personally, I’ve got limited range.

Who am I kidding? I’m no Julliard actor but I had enough range for this role, obviously, because I wrote it and so I know the character. I think the best thing I did on this film is not direct as much. When you’re in the scene yourself as an actor and you’re the director of the film it’s tough to direct because you become this insecure actor who is worried about his own performance. It’s tough to objectively view the people you’re in the scene with but the thing with that is that we did a lot of talking of what we wanted to do before and kind of just got out of the actor’s way. Nathan Fillion and Stoney Westmoreland steal the movie, they’re terrific.

Digitial or film? Given the choice, which way would you go?

Given the choice, obviously money’s not an issue, I’ll go 35. It’s just richer.

Even though it’s the wave of the future, digital?

It’s great because it’s inexpensive. It does look great, but daytime exteriors are difficult and 35 millimeter is just not as difficult.

What makes digital so much more difficult for exteriors?

It’s just much more sensitive to light. Nighttime exteriors are beautiful with digital but I found it didn’t save time. It saved money but it didn’t save time. Everyone is like “oh, it’ll save you time.” Not really. It saves you money and, the cost savings you get using 24p on a budget like mine [is beneficial].

I know one of the things about the production of your first movie was that you were labeled First Time Director, it was used often, and you’ve said that it shouldn’t be used a crutch but it seems like it could be a valid argument in some way.

You don’t realize how valid an argument it is until you become a second time director.

It’s truly a valid argument.

Did you find yourself saying “Oh, I did this one thing this way and it totally didn’t work?”

It’s all about confidence. It takes ten days to develop any kind of confidence the first time you’re directing and those are ten important days. Whereas the second time you’re a lot more confident and, in this case, my crew was a lot more confident. You can’t get past the fact that the crew, the first time around, I needed to earn their respect. In their eyes, and I can’t blame them, I was a contest winner. “Hey, look who won the lottery! He’s now directing!” And because of that I definitely had to earn respect and I think I did. Well, at least all of them came back to work a second time and I hope that’s what it means.

The second time around you just know what to expect. It’s very hard when people tell you what to expect and you haven’t experienced it. So I knew going into it, pre-production, [that it was] unbelievably important.

You also mentioned in your production journal that you had met Harvey Weinstein of Miramax while in post production of the movie and that he asked to see a copy of the movie. Have you shown it to him yet?

No, I haven’t shown it to them. They’re pretty much out of the business of buying films. I think Miramax as we know it will cease to exist very soon.

I assume that Dimension will continue with Disney and Harvey will go off and start up his own company. I know they didn’t have any acquisitions up in Toronto [at the Toronto International Film Festival].

You’ve said that you’re no good unless you’re passionate. Do compromises on a project lessen that passion? How do you keep your enthusiasm up during long and arduous productions?

Well, compromise is just part of the process.

For example, we couldn’t shoot at the Mercantile Exchange or in the Catholic Church. This one scene that I had set for the Mercantile Exchange I ended up turning into a baptism scene at this gay church we ended up shooting at and I never would have to have done that if we had the money or ability to shoot at the Merc. And this scene works twenty times better because of the fact that I had to rewrite it to fit a location we already had but there’s something so funny about this scene, two brothers and the sister talking about their gay sibling in church while a baptism is going on, but the only reason why I wrote it was because of compromise.

There was a lot of what we would call the happy accidents. And with a bigger production you just throw money at your problems. With this movie we had to go rewrite the script and the biggest expense is locations.

Pete, thank you very much for your time and good luck with the film

I appreciate it, thank you.

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