We sit down with actor-director Chris Messina to talk about helming his first feature and the future of cinema.
This year marks Chris Messinas fourth participation in the Tribeca Film Festival.
Could you talk about [directing] after being a successful actor?
Sometimes you find them, but often you dont.
And wed execute the duration [of the digital cameras card], which is about 27 minutes long.
Terrible for an editor, but great to find real moments.
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And I dont like to cut a lot as an actor.
Then, you have to ramp back up.
Is it hard to balance being both an actor and director in this?
Did those two perspectives ever clash?
I really trust him.
When we didArgo, I loved watching Affleck.
Hes amazing, and the movie is terrific.
We didnt have that luxury because we were 21 days, and I thinkArgowas 80-something days.
When youre doing 27-minute takes, youre not going to make your day.
So Matt Delnegro was there to guide me as a director.
I was lucky to get out for that, [because] it was a dream come true.
So to work with Pacino as his son was awesome.
It was like having two full-time jobs.
I would never do that again.
Is there any director that inspired you to compose the atmosphere ofAlex of Venice?
Well, theres tons of directors I tried to, didnt accomplish, but tried to steal from.
For this particular film, Hal Ashby or Robert Altman were things that I was watching.
And the place, I love being there.
So, I felt like it was a great character that I wanted to bring into the film.
Did you know there was anotherAlexin the festival?
You know that wasnt the title of the movie when it was given to me, the script.
I think we came up withAlex of Venicecertainly way after we shot the film.
What big changes to the script did you make when the project was brought to you?
We made big changes.
At the core of the collage was a family and that was very interesting to me.
I recognized myself in them; they reminded me of my loved ones.
And then we brought in Jessica Goldberg who really cracked the movie open for us.
She invented the Don Johnson character and the play,The Cherry Orchard.
She wrote a lot of plays, and thats how I know her.
I did three of her plays.
I thought it should be through his eyes.
It was about this woman.
The writing kind of just dictated that.
They all, good and bad, taught me what I liked and what I didnt like.
I would say Woody Allen and Sam Mendes were huge inspirations.
When I was in that movie, I never felt like I was making a movie.
With Sam Mendes, he said something that I quote constantly.
To me, that really hit home.
Im not being used to my advantage.
What I do, they dont want, so why do they want me here?
Why did you make that choice?
Theyre not going to be able to cut.
So, if shes really good and Im not, Im going to feel bad.
So, I felt like this story lends itself to that kind of stuff.
And I definitely ripped that stuff off from Woody Allen and Steven Soderbergh.
He does it a lot.
Katie said Don Johnson was your idea.
It was so good to see him be able to really act.
I just thought hed be perfect for the role.
I think he was incredible.
Could you talk about that?
The play had a great impact on me.
Chekhov is a writer that Ive always loved working on, and I think he is phenomenal.
Some of them are changes that they want and some are being thrust upon them.
As inThe Cherry Orchard, there is a lot of change going on.
People are saying goodbye to an old life and accepting a new life.
That was kind of the idea of melding those two.
Everyone changes for the better in your movie, actually.
Yeah, I think so.
I think its hopeful.
Thats what I imagine.
Is George the cherry orchard in this?
I never thought of it that way, but he could be.
Yeah, he could be.
So when you worked Al Pacino, what was that like?
Then you go, Shut up, shut up.
Stay in the moment!
[Laughs]
Can you out-scream Al Pacino?
Nah, nobody can out-scream Al Pacino.
[Laughs] Hes scary when he screams.
Would you be okay with this movie getting [a video-on-demand] release?
Yes, very much so.
You know itsIron Manor what else?
This movie is not going to last in the movie theater.
Those movies I was talking about in the 70s, they could roll out and they could live.
So, if thats the way it has to go, that would be great.
Does that make you worried?
No, it doesnt make me worried.
Its just a new day.
Thank you for doing this.
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