INTERVIEW with William R.A. Rush
Can you explain to the audience your career?
I have been an attorney since 2006. I am originally from New York, but have lived near Philadelphia for the last 20 years. I always dreamed of making films.
How many years have you been making movies?
For one year.
Why did you start making movies?
I have always loved films, filmmaking, the artistic process, the emotional depth.
I made a short Stephen King adaptation in late December of 2022 into early January of 2023. That was my first project. I enjoyed it and it went well, but I knew I could do better. So I shot two feature films in 2023, “Group” and “Immersion”, and wrote some additional screenplays as well.
Tell us a little about your project. What will the audience be able to see in your film?
It's about a group therapy session for people with drug addiction. But, in a reflection of modern society, people don't tell the full truth. They hold back to make themselves look better. But the audience gets to see the actual truth as the characters speak, even though the other characters do not. And each character is the lead actor in their own life story, so each acts accordingly. It's like twelve small films in one in some respect.
Why did you do this project?
I knew I could make a better film than my short adaptation. I knew the skill was there, and I had a story that I thought was interesting to tell. The story seemed to resonate with others and I knew I had to make the film.
One of the problems some directors encounter is directing actors and dealing with some actors, especially in the amateur world. How do you see this topic? What kind of work do you do with them?
I had the most incredible cast. These are professional actors who are committed to their craft. Each auditioned and proved themselves and it was a joy to work with them. I think the most important job for a director is to get a strong performance. I believe there are thirteen strong performances in this film.
The main thing I did was convey supreme confidence in each of the performers. I repeated again and again "this is YOUR character now" and "oh you've got this down". Also, all actors love a good monologue, and these folks brought everything they had. I have nothing but great things to say about this cast and I would work with any of them again. Happily.
In my short film, I did have some difficulty with a couple actors. We had to push through and make sure none of the other actors suffered. That was my approach in that circumstance.
A good movie takes care of all departments. But normally we can not allocate all the resources to have a good photography or spend a lot of money on sound post production or budget to hire actors. In your project what % have you allocated to. I don't just mean money but time as well. Of 100% of the time/money, what % did you dedicate to each department?
Direction: I did not pay myself to direct. But 100% of the work is direction, but you collaborate and delegate to the other departments.
Photography and Sound: A good chunk of budget and time went to making sure the film visually matched the look and aesthetic I was going for. The same was true for sound and composition.
Postproduction: this took a lot longer than principal photography due to the numerous locations and style and different filming techniques as well as other considerations, such as pre-filming some of the scenes.
Work with actors: 100% of the time I am, in some respect, working with the actors. Making sure they are immersed in the project and comfortable. I think the performers got more of the overall budget than any other single department, but it was well worth it.
Art direction/locations: We had two main locations for principal photography, which we paid a great deal for as we did not utilize sets or studios. Again, it's difficult to quantity a budget percentage.
If you could go back, what would you change about this project? (1 thing only)
More time would have been nice, but we stayed on schedule. So I cannot complain.
What are you happiest about this project?
The performances and how the story flowed. It went exactly as I planned and hoped, and that feels like a minor miracle.
Make a wish to the movie gods. What do you ask?
All I want to do for a living, calling, profession, livelihood, etc. is make movies. I am happiest on a film set.
What movie would you have liked to direct?
I think "The Orphanage" is such a perfect film. Scary, and earns every ounce of emotion from the audience. I would never remake it (to do so would be blasphemy!!) But it's a movie I look at and I just think about how perfect it is. I wish I had directed something so poignant.
What kind of cinema do you like? Genre, directors, actors?
Horror is my favorite. Suspense, arthouse, thriller films. Slow burns.
My favorite directors are David Lynch, Michael Haneke, Quentin Tarantino, Julia Ducournau, Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Luis Bunuel, Gaspar Noe, Agnes Varda, the Coen Brothers, Ari Aster. Just so many incredible visionaries. Scorcese and Bong Joon-Ho! Too many to count!
Actors, I just love Isabelle Huppert and Toni Collette, Javier Bardem, Michael Keaton, Willem Dafoe, Toby Jones, Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche. There are so many remarkable actors out there.
Imagine that all the movies are going to be lost. If you could save 3 movies, what would they be?
Wow! That's an incredible responsibility! I think I would have to save the most important, foundational films for the craft so that there was a blueprint for future filmmakers. I would select Welles' "Citizen Kane", Chaplin's "City Lights" and Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey"
If you have more projects underway, can you give us a bit of information?
I am in post-production on my second feature, "Immersion". I feel comfortable saying it's a ghost story that focuses on the importance of women supporting women. I wrote two feature scripts that I am working on developing and submitting to festivals, "Sweetener" and "Fetish" and am also helping direct a documentary.
