Adam Bowers is an independent film maker from Dunedin, Florida that made a big splash in 2010 with his critically acclaimed slacker comedy New Low. Praised for intelligent, quick and witty dialogue, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2010. The film has achieved a well-earned cult status and Bowers is now poised to make a new movie called Paperback, which will be funded by online fundraising website, Kickstarter.
INVISIBLE VANGUARD: The soundtrack for New Low sets a tone that I find to be an accurate representation of life in Gainesville, Florida. How did you come about selecting the music for the movie?
ADAM BOWERS: Oh, I’m glad you feel that way about it. That was kind of my goal with it, capturing what life was like down there. My other approach for everything in the movie was just trying to use as much of what I liked as possible, so New Low is basically just a big mash-up of everything I was into at the time (that Gainesville sub-culture, the bands on the soundtrack, Woody Allen movies... That sort of stuff).
IV: The quality of the writing in the film is impeccable. When did you start writing the movie and did you find it difficult to make the script into a reality given the budgetary limitations that you must have had to overcome?
AB: That’s really nice of you to say, thanks. I didn’t have much trouble turning the script into the movie, partly because I wrote it knowing I was going to go straight into making it in that DIY, no-budget way, which is how I’d made things up until that point. So I would be careful not to write anything that I didn’t think we’d be able to pull off. I think it helps a lot, too, that the movie is so dialogue-driven, because that’s something you can make interesting that doesn’t cost anything.
IV: The film has some pretty compelling characters, how did you go about casting? Did you intend to play the main part of Wendell all along?
AB: I’d actually made a 40 minute student film version of the movie the year before, for an independent study course at my college, called New Personal Worst, where I played Wendell, Jayme Ratzer played Vicky, and Val Jones played Joanna. I’d wanted Toby Turner for Dave, but he wasn’t available then, so I cast a friend of a friend named Chris Ramenda who was great. But I knew really early on who I wanted for those main roles, and most of the other roles I cast with people I knew. A lot of them came from the college improv group I was a part of called Theatre Strike Force. But as for me playing Wendell, the character was written so much in my own voice that it felt unlikely that I’d be able to find someone who would get it in the small pond that is the Gainesville acting community. So, I just thought it’d be easier to play him myself.
IV: Did the fact that you played the dual role of actor and director slow the shooting of the movie?
AB: I’d say it made it easier, actually. I had to do a ton of stuff on the movie outside of directing/producing, and I was just very OCD about trying to improve the script and everything, so I was kind of just swallowed by the movie for awhile, and that made it so I knew the script front-to-back. So, there weren’t really any times where I would need to take a minute before shooting and learn my lines or anything, because I was just already so zeroed in on it. Not to mention, playing Wendell meant one less person I would have to try and wrangle to the set every day.
IV: The film played at the Sundance film festival in 2010, what is your favorite memory of that experience?
AB: My favorite memory of that is probably going out to dinner with my family after the premiere and just being able to pause for a second. The whole thing, though, was an amazing, nerve-wracking, on-another-planet sort of experience. Sundance is a great organization that really cares about independent film, and I feel very lucky to be welcomed into that community.
IV: The climax of the film might seem a bit abrupt to a lot of people, it’s really up to the imagination of the audience to figure out what happens to the characters next. Have you thought about making a sequel to New Low at some point in the future?
AB: Ha, I have heard it catches people off-guard. I don’t know where it would go, though, after what we see in the film. To me, the ending in the film is the only one that makes sense that I would consider to be a “happy” ending. I think the ending of the film is hopeful, and without spoiling anything for readers who haven’t seen it, I think making things go another way would have meant something sadder for the characters.
IV: I just read today that you are trying to get a new film project going via Kickstarter. Any idea of when you would get started shooting the new film?
AB: Yeah, I just started a Kickstarter for a new film. Actually, to answer your question about the “sequel” to New Low, I look at this movie as a sort-of sequel to that film. It takes place in Gainesville, and there are two characters in it that are very much like Wendell and Vicky from that film, and I think they could be seen as a logical progression of what they would be like five years from the events of New Low, what their relationship would have become. We’re planning on shooting this new film in September. I’m really excited. Please consider backing the Kickstarter, or sharing it with family and friends, so we can make it!
IV: Have you given any thought to what you would like to hear on the soundtrack?
AB: I have, actually. Without revealing too much, it will have a similar tone to New Low’s soundtrack, but I won’t be doing quite the same thing. There will definitely be at least a Gainesville band or two involved, though, that’s for sure.
IV: Can you give any additional information about the project?
AB: Something I’m really looking forward to with this project is working with the team I have lined up. It’s being produced by Andie Bolt, who’s a producer/comedian, and a friend of mine out in LA, and Roger Beebe, who is a UF professor of film and the owner of Video Rodeo, the store my character works at in New Low. It’s being executive produced by Adele Romanski, who’s done a lot of great indie films the past few years, including The Myth of the American Sleepover, The Freebie, and Black Rock, among others, which are all great if you haven’t heard of them. And the director of photography is Jay Keitel, who has made a number of absolutely beautiful small indie movies, like Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine. So, I can’t wait to see how it’ll turn out.
IV: If all goes well, when can we expect the release of the new film?
AB: We’re hoping to have it done for festivals in early 2014, with distribution to follow ASAP. The more vocal fans are, the quicker we’ll be able to get it to you guys.
IV: Thank you so much for your time Adam, I look forward to seeing what is sure to be a long and fascinating career for you.
AB: Thanks a lot, I really appreciate that.
You can donate to Adam’s Kickstarter account by clicking here.
Interview by: Tobias Gaia
