WGTC: I’m a huge fan of a Brooklyn bar called Tørst that has a lot of Evil Twin Brewing products…
Joe Swanberg: Oh yeah, Evil Twin is the Danish brother! And I’ve been to Tørst, I’m actually staying around the corner, so I’ll probably end up there tonight. [Laughs] I also went to the other brother’s place in San Francisco, Mikkeller Bar.
WGTC: Then there’s a more local brewery called Sixpoint that I’m in love with right now…
Joe Swanberg: I’ve had some of their stuff, what’s your favorite?
WGTC: Right now it’s the Sweet Action – can’t get away from it. But sorry for distracting you! Let’s get back to Happy Christmas, because there’s a definite beauty in its simplicity. It’s extremely grounded and barebones, but at the same time enthralling and entertaining. How do you strike such a weighty balance?
Joe Swanberg: I rely a lot on the actors. I’m invested in their personalities and the small moments of drama that arise along the way. I don’t know – I’m trying to get better all the time with storytelling and creating a narrative flow to things. There has to be a feeling of progression, growth and chances. It’s tricky, because the thing I’m working hardest at is strengthening my storytelling while seeing if I can remain focused on the small moments. With Happy Christmas I took a lot of the lessons I learned on Drinking Buddies and tried to apply them to dynamics, characters, and ongoing interactions. Happy Christmas pulls a little bit of the switcheroo in a way. Anna comes to town and that seems to be the narrative thrust, her fucking up and coming back, but in the center of the movie you have this big conversation between these three women that changes what the film is about.
WGTC: But the movie remains happy throughout, much like the title suggests. Did you make an effort to go against this Hollywood mentality where every character has a deep, dark, secret, and drama is hidden anywhere possible?
Joe Swanberg: For sure. That stuff isn’t that exciting to me, and it’s been done so much, but it has its place too. It’s a tricky balance that I’m going to be trying to strike the rest of my career. How much of that is useful for an audience where the film isn’t boring? How much of that is just convention that doesn’t need to be there? As a filmmaker, how much can you retrain the audience to get excited about different types of dramatic arts?
WGTC: Looking at your acting career, you always seem to gravitate towards horror – is there any reason for that?
Joe Swanberg: It’s just the stuff people ask me to be in. I really like acting, so I happily say yes to acting opportunities, and because it’s always people like Adam Wingard and Ti West, once I did a few of them, people kept asking me.
WGTC: In Happy Christmas, Jenny has a drunken incident at a party, so I’m curious to know if you have a personal Jenny moment that stands out in your life?
Joe Swanberg: I once went out – the beer garden near my old apartment had a Barrel-Aged Beer Night. A total tap takeover of just beers aged in whisky, rum and other types of barrels. My wife was pregnant at the time, we had a doctor’s appointment early in the morning the next day, so I was like, “I’m just going to go and drink one because I don’t want to miss out on the chance.” That night I got accidentally drunk. I ended up sitting next to a guy who was interesting and kept buying me drinks. Also, one of the Van Winkle family from Van Winkle Whiskies was there bartending that night, and he took some 25 year old Van Winkle stuff off the shelf to make a Manhattan, so I couldn’t say no! Then I got super wasted. I came home and puked all over the apartment then had to go to the doctor’s office. That was the lowest of the low. It’s a very craft low.
WGTC: That’s not too bad of a low I’d say! To finish off, can you speak a little bit about Digging For Fire? Judging by the cast alone this seems to be your biggest project yet…
Joe Swanberg: It’s a love story about a husband and wife, Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt. I’m still wrapping my brain around it, so that’s the most I can say with assurance now. It’s about the pleasures and pains of building a family with someone, and maintaining the excitement of a relationship over a long period of time. It’s in line with the work I’ve been doing recently, but Ben Richardson and I on a technical end really pushed ourselves to make something more cinematic. Jake Johnson and I tried to tap into more theatrical storytelling. On the filmmaking end we’ve just been more ambitious. It’s a much bigger movie in some ways.
WGTC: Is there anything else in the pipeline?
Joe Swanberg: I’m working on a screenplay for Fox Searchlight right now, so I’ll be doing that this summer.
That concludes the interview, but I’d like to thank Joe Swanberg for his time. Be sure to catch Happy Christmas when it hits theaters July 25th – or on VOD platforms right now!