- 2 minutes ago
- #onedayasalion
- #lionsgate
In this conversation, EoM senior interviewer Thomas Manning chats with director John Swab about his new film "One Day as a Lion." Swab talks about his Oklahoma roots, bringing Scott Caan’s script to life, his collaborations with Frank Grillo, and more.
Official Synopsis:
Jackie Powers (Scott Caan) is a nice guy but a lousy hitman sent to take out a crafty debtor (J.K. Simmons) Jackie only pisses him off. Fleeing the scene Jackie takes bored waitress Lola as a hostage. Jackie needs money to get his son out of jail Lola cooks up a scheme for them to get cash from her dying mother (Virginia Madsen). Meanwhile a thug sent to kill him is sleeping with Jackie’s ex… Also starring Frank Grillo this crime comedy is a witty homage to Tarantino and the Coen brothers.
In select theaters, on VOD, and digital April 7th, 2023.
Available on DVD May 16th, 2023. #OneDayAsALion #Lionsgate
www.lionsgate.com/movies/one-day-as-a-lion
Directed By: John Swab
Written By: Scott Caan
Cast: Scott Caan, Frank Grillo, Marianne Rendón, Taryn Manning, George Carroll, Virginia Madsen, J.K. Simmons
Official Synopsis:
Jackie Powers (Scott Caan) is a nice guy but a lousy hitman sent to take out a crafty debtor (J.K. Simmons) Jackie only pisses him off. Fleeing the scene Jackie takes bored waitress Lola as a hostage. Jackie needs money to get his son out of jail Lola cooks up a scheme for them to get cash from her dying mother (Virginia Madsen). Meanwhile a thug sent to kill him is sleeping with Jackie’s ex… Also starring Frank Grillo this crime comedy is a witty homage to Tarantino and the Coen brothers.
In select theaters, on VOD, and digital April 7th, 2023.
Available on DVD May 16th, 2023. #OneDayAsALion #Lionsgate
www.lionsgate.com/movies/one-day-as-a-lion
Directed By: John Swab
Written By: Scott Caan
Cast: Scott Caan, Frank Grillo, Marianne Rendón, Taryn Manning, George Carroll, Virginia Madsen, J.K. Simmons
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Hi, and welcome to EOM Presents. I'm Thomas Manning, senior interviewer for Elements of Madness, and recently I got to talk to director John Suave to speak about his new film, One Day as a Lion, which is going to be in select theaters on April 4th and on demand and digital April 7th.
00:17And this is a really great conversation. This film is actually written by Scott Kahn and starring Scott in the lead role, and you'll probably recognize a lot of the other cast members as well, including Frank Grillo and J.K. Simmons, Taryn Manning, and Virginia Madsen, Oscar-nominated actress.
00:35And I really enjoyed talking with John about this kind of quirky crime drama, definitely a little bit of Coen Brothers and Tarantino influence in the story and the characters, and just a great conversation with John talking about bringing the story to life and his passion for telling stories that are set in smaller towns, smaller communities that we don't always get to see portrayed on screen.
01:02Once again, thank you so much for watching, talking to John Suave about his film, One Day as a Lion. Hope you enjoy.
01:10I'm good, man. I love your Cliff Booth stuntman shirt there. That's pretty great.
01:16And whatever your room, whatever room you're in is excellent, man. That's a little iSpy thing going on there. Wow.
01:25Yeah, yeah. Basically, I have a home studio set up down here. So I've got about 1,000, 1,500 Blu-rays back there. Well, Blu-rays and DVDs and some books and T-shirts. So yeah, got a nice setup here.
01:39What's your accent? Is it Carolina? What is that?
01:41Yeah, that's exactly right. I'm from North Carolina. I'm between Charlotte and Asheville.
01:47Okay, great. Yeah, I used to spend my summers out near Burnsville, which is right near Mount McKinley. Is that right? Yeah.
01:56Yeah, yeah.
01:57And near Asheville. Cool, man. I love North Carolina.
02:00Yeah, yeah. Well, that actually ties perfectly into my first question, because I know this was filmed on location throughout various small towns in Oklahoma.
02:09And I'm from a very small town in North Carolina. And I've always appreciated when filmmakers and storytellers find a way to tell a story that is personal to their roots and hones in on those smaller communities.
02:21So what does that mean for you to have this opportunity to tell stories based in small American towns that aren't usually highlighted in the film industry?
02:30It means a lot to me. I mean, you know, I grew up in Oklahoma, you know, always wanting to leave Oklahoma, thought I needed to leave to make movies, thought I needed to go to California or New York or wherever.
02:44And, you know, it's the irony is, is I've made all but one movie here.
02:50And I've, you know, without Oklahoma, without Tulsa, specifically where I'm from, I don't know what kind of career, if any, I would have because, you know, being an independent filmmaker, it's so much about using the resources at your disposal and leveraging relationships from whoever, you know, to get these things made that, you know,
03:11without the people here and being from here and having those connections, it would be, it would be nearly an impossible feat to make these films.
03:20So it's, it's super special. And I take a lot of pride in it.
03:23And do you find yourself dropping in little references to extremely specific people or places or pieces of, or pieces of history from these small towns?
03:33Like I know personally, if I ever made a film that was based on my hometown, I already have a few ideas of small Easter eggs.
03:40I would include that most audience members wouldn't even think twice about, but people who are from the same town would say, yeah, if I know exactly what he was referencing there.
03:49So do you work in any details like that into your films?
03:53A hundred percent. I mean, there's, there's like a whole movie within a lot of these movies, you know, where, you know, actors in the movie with it, like one day as a lion, you know,
04:03the prison guard who kind of gives the big rundown at the opening, he's a local boxing legend.
04:09He was a super middleweight champion of the world and people know him from here in Candyland.
04:14We put in Dwight Twilley, a Dwight Twilley song who went to my high school, who's kind of a local music legend.
04:21You know, I've named actors off of after people that are from here or iconic characters from the outsiders, which was also filmed here.
04:28We filmed at locations where the outsiders was filmed and only people who know the outsiders and know Tulsa would know that, you know, those movies are filmed there.
04:36So there's all sorts of little nuggets all over the place.
04:40You know, we also do nods to our own movies in these movies.
04:45And in one day as a lion, you know, one of the candy bars, the candy bar that is given to the son, Billy in prison says Candyland on it.
04:54And that's, you know, the title of one of our movies we put out this year.
04:56And then Walter Boggs, J.K. Simmons is watching TV at the end and he's watching Candyland.
05:01And so it's like, you know, there's I don't know who this amuses besides me and my producer, Jeremy, but like we don't I don't fucking care.
05:11You know, like I this is like at a certain point, like we do this because we love to do this.
05:15It's hard enough to do as is. So if you're not enjoying it, then you probably shouldn't be doing it.
05:19And we get so much pleasure out of, you know, these little things that maybe people pick up on.
05:25But if they don't, you know, we certainly love them.
05:27So. So is that kind of a Tarantino thing that you're doing there?
05:32Is that kind of a conscious influence on your little Easter eggs that you weave in throughout these universes?
05:40Maybe. I mean, you know, I obviously I grew up in the 90s and he was one of, if not the most influential filmmakers on me as a child.
05:50So I'm sure that bleeds in. But I never, you know, do it saying like, oh, he would do this.
05:54You know, it's it's more so like, you know, whenever I noticed that he would do that in movies, you know, I enjoyed it.
06:03You know, it was something that I enjoyed and appreciated.
06:05And I feel like, you know, I feel like people are watching these movies at a much smaller scale.
06:10But for whoever does notice and enjoys it, it's it's just something that, you know, as a fan, I appreciate.
06:17So I'm trying to give back to people that do watch these movies.
06:21Absolutely. And in terms of working with the script written by Scott Kahn, I know that typically you both write and director films,
06:30but I believe this was your first time directing a feature film based on someone else's script.
06:35So can you walk me through your experience of finding the script and what exactly clicked into place to make you decide to take on this project as a director?
06:42Yeah. So the second question I'll answer first, Scott's agent is a friend of my producer, Jeremy.
06:51He sent Jeremy the script to see if Jeremy was interested in producing it.
06:57Jeremy read it and enjoyed it.
06:59Saw some potential there as something that, you know, could be made.
07:03He met Scott. They got along.
07:05And then somewhere in their conversations, I came up as a possible director.
07:11And and then Scott and I were introduced and had many conversations about the script.
07:15And finally, you know, we decided to do this together.
07:19My process in directing somebody else's script.
07:24This is my first, you know, obviously my my my my first go with that.
07:29And it was it was a great learning experience.
07:32It allowed me to separate myself from the material a little bit more.
07:39Whereas, you know, in the past, it's been a little more personal and it kind of helped me look at other aspects of the film and put my focus there.
07:46Because, you know, if my signature in the past, you know, I authored the movie.
07:51So the ownership, my ownership of the movie is a little bit more is a little bit different.
07:56It's a little bit more three dimensional.
08:00So when you're just the director of somebody else's text, you really realize how important it is as a director to visually have the same signature on the movie.
08:10You know, and and, you know, the way you visually tell the story is how a director, you know, authors a film.
08:17So not that I didn't know that before, but it just made me really conscious of it.
08:21And and I wanted to make sure that, you know, because Scott wrote this script, I still wanted it to have some kind of fingerprint of mine on there.
08:29Um, so I guess to answer your question, the way I prepared for it was I really focused, uh, on on how I visually wanted to tell the story.
08:40And, um, that was kind of a different approach for me, um, that I'm going to carry forward.
08:45So.
08:47And I really love the opening scene at the diner and how in that scene, each character is given a physical trait that gives you a glimpse into who they are and what their personalities are like.
08:57Uh, with J.K. Simmons character, he's just casually riding a horse around town and rides his horse when he's going out to get lunch.
09:05And then Scott Kahn, he puts on that, uh, exaggerated fake mustache kind of looks like a, uh, Yosemite Sam type mustache.
09:13So were those elements that came straight from Scott's script or did you have some input there?
09:19Uh, I mean, the script was pretty coherent.
09:24And, you know, when Scott sent me the original script, it was about 25 pages longer than what the shooting script ended up being.
09:31Um, so my, you know, it's hard for me to think back on like what my initial notes were.
09:39Um, I remember my broad notes were, but not the specific ones, but the, the horse, the mustache, um, all of that shit was all, that was Scott.
09:48That was on, that was on the page, you know, that was very specific, um, than things that he had written and ideas he had.
09:54Um, so yeah, that, that was, that all came from him.
09:57But yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, uh, credit to him as a writer.
10:00Uh, you know, it's good writing.
10:03You can tell who a character is with, with a single frame, you know, it's very quick.
10:08Maybe only a few words have to be said.
10:10Um, and I feel like all these, you know, characters are very three-dimensional, so.
10:16Absolutely.
10:17And, um, Frank Grillo is someone else that you've continued to work with.
10:21And I've always been impressed with just how consistently he's turning out new films.
10:25Uh, I think back in 2021, he was in a total of like eight movies in that year alone.
10:30Um, so from your perspective as a director, who's been with him on several sets,
10:34how does that passion and intensity from him manifest itself?
10:38And like, how do you work together to channel his, uh, energy as an actor?
10:43Uh, yeah, I mean, Frank's work ethic is, uh, unprecedented, you know?
10:48And I think, you know, it's kind of in everything he does in his life, working out, uh, training
10:54for, for fighting and, and, you know, his diet, all these things, they're very rigid and they're
10:59very specific and he does them 100%.
11:01Um, and it's the same with, with, with work.
11:04Um, you know, the thing about Frank that I, I really admire and that I, I take with me,
11:09um, is that he is always prepared.
11:13He shows up and he knows exactly what he needs to do.
11:17And, uh, he's ready to go when he walks onto a movie set.
11:20And I appreciate that because on these small movies, there's not a lot of time to vacillate
11:25or, um, or waste, you know?
11:27Um, so yeah, I, uh, you know, Frank and I, uh, we work really well together because,
11:34you know, at this point there's a shorthand and, um, you know, it, it, I don't really need
11:40to give him notes.
11:41I can just start walking towards him and he kind of knows what I'm going to say.
11:45And it just makes, it makes a working relationship much easier, uh, when you have that kind of
11:49relationship with somebody.
11:52And, uh, someone else from the crew that I know you've worked with before, uh, Will
11:56Stone, your cinematographer.
11:58Uh, so how has that create a partnership between you to continue to evolve across different
12:03productions?
12:05Yeah.
12:05I mean, you know, Will is, is the interesting thing about Will, and he probably wouldn't want
12:11me saying this out loud, but, uh, he hasn't seen very many movies.
12:17He didn't grow up watching movies, uh, you know, uh, he wasn't, I don't know if he was
12:23necessarily allowed to watch that many movies.
12:25It was just, I think, uh, a stricter upbringing.
12:28Um, but I love Will, all that, you know, aside, but, um, so it's interesting how natural his
12:35eye is because he doesn't, you know, I can reference a very obscure movie or, or a pretty
12:42well-known movie even, and he won't know what I'm talking about, but naturally.
12:47His, his eye with the camera is, is really, really good.
12:50Um, you know, specifically with lighting.
12:53Um, but Will and I started working together on Candyland.
12:56That was our first movie.
12:58And, you know, I love, I'm a photographer.
13:03I love framing.
13:04I love composition.
13:05I love all that kind of stuff.
13:06So I, he and I have a lot of conversations about that.
13:09I love to get involved with, you know, how we're going to compose a shot and how we're
13:13going to, you know, visually, you know, approach what we're going to do.
13:17Um, and, you know, he, like I said, is a, is a, is a really, really talented, uh, I would
13:23light.
13:24So, you know, it's, again, it's same thing kind of like with Frank, where we have a shorthand
13:29now and, you know, Will and I are getting, you know, we're getting ready to shoot another
13:33movie this summer and we, you know, we talk, we text back and forth daily ideas and references
13:40and thoughts and how we're going to do this and that.
13:43And, you know, it's nice to have somebody that you can really kind of get real nerd,
13:48nerd out about, you know, it's very specific things.
13:50Um, so that when you get, you know, on set and you're actually in the moment, there's
13:56very little guesswork.
13:57We've had these discussions.
13:58It's kind of like a hive mind in that respect, where by the time we get on set, like with
14:04one day's a lion, um, um, you know, we didn't need to really talk about what we were going
14:09to do.
14:09We showed up and we kind of knew what we were going to do intuitively because we had had
14:13so many discussions about it beforehand.
14:15Um, so all that is to say, I really, really adore Will and I think he's a really talented
14:21dude.
14:21Um, so yeah.
14:24And, uh, one more thing I definitely want to give you a chance to speak on before we wrap
14:28up, uh, saw in the credits that this was dedicated to Mark Ward, uh, someone who I know you worked
14:33with multiple times and also of course, uh, Scott Kahn's late father, James.
14:38Uh, so I definitely want to give you a chance to speak a little about the importance of acknowledging
14:43their impact as filmmakers and just people in general and, um, how they were influential
14:48forces in your life.
14:50Yeah.
14:51Well, I'll start with Scott's dad, who I didn't know.
14:53Um, but you know, he had a, an enormous impact on, uh, Hollywood and movies, you know, and
15:01movie history and, you know, pretty much any actor that you and I could look up to, uh, looked
15:07up to him, you know, um, because he is that iconic.
15:11And, uh, so I, I, I, I, like I said, I didn't know him, um, but, uh, you know, I have an immense
15:18amount of respect for, for what he did, um, creatively, uh, it's truly amazing.
15:23And his legacy is, uh, you know, unparalleled.
15:27I'm a huge fan of, of a lot of his films.
15:28Um, and then Mark Ward, uh, better known, uh, where I'm from as magic.
15:34Mark is a, uh, is a local legend here in Oklahoma.
15:38He was the doorman at the iconic Canes ballroom, um, where the sex pistols played, where, uh,
15:45you know, uh, Pearl Jam played where, I mean, everybody came through here and played at the
15:50Canes ballroom and he was the doorman for, I think almost 50 years, 45 years.
15:55And, uh, you know, we met him, um, he first came on to do security for our movies and,
16:03uh, he's such a character or was such a character that we decided to start putting him in the
16:07movies and it snowballed from there.
16:10So I'm, I am so proud, uh, that I got to know that man and that he trusted me, uh, to
16:18go as far as he did with, uh, the role of father Phillip and Candyland and, uh, uh,
16:25and, um, Misty and little Dixie.
16:27I mean, that not few people would go to the lengths that he went to, uh, to play that role
16:32and, um, his legacy will live on in those movies forever.
16:35And I am eternally grateful and proud for the work that we did and, and the, uh, the,
16:41the love that he gave Jeremy and myself.
16:43So, well, thanks so much for sharing that, John, and thank you so much for your time today
16:49to speak about your film.
16:51I really appreciate it and, uh, hopefully we get another chance to at some point, talk
16:55about some of your future projects as well.
16:57Sounds good, man.
16:58I'm just noting the, noticing the Vertigo shirt back there too.
17:01Uh, yeah, very cool, man.
17:03We got to save the clock tower as well.
17:05So there you go.
17:06Yeah, man.
17:07Yeah.
17:08A little pad down there.
17:09That's great.
17:10And then you got a thief, uh, thief DVD right there to the left.
17:13Yeah.
17:14I brought that out because, uh, knew we were going to be talking a little bit about James and
17:17Scott.
17:18So I had to bring that out.
17:19Very cool, man.
17:21Well, Thomas, uh, are you still in North Carolina?
17:24Yeah, I sure am.
17:25Yeah.
17:26I, um, I'm 23.
17:27I just graduated college last year, so I'm still trying to figure out life, but, uh,
17:31yeah, still, still set up here for a little bit.
17:34Nice, man.
17:34Well, enjoy the, enjoy the, uh, the greenery there.
17:38Uh, I love that state and, uh, and thanks again for taking the time.
17:42Absolutely.
17:42And, uh, yeah, hopefully we get a chance to talk again soon and I hope you have a great
17:46rest of your day.
17:47Sir.
17:47Have a good day.
Comments