Thursday, April 3, 1997
MOVIE:
Director Mottola recalls rewards, frustrations in filming
‘Daytrippers’By Ricky Herzog
Daily Bruin Contributor
"The Daytrippers" could very accurately be called the little
movie that could. Not only has it taken over two years for writer
and director Greg Mottola’s film to finally reach theaters, but it
also had to get over several stumbling blocks along the way.
"The first day of shooting our camera got stolen," Mottola
recalls. "It was like a rite of passage. I felt like it was hazing
 like some secret underground coalition of New York
filmmakers stole our camera and said, ‘If you wanna be a New York
filmmaker, try and make one without a camera, tough guy.’"
Luckily, they were able to locate another camera and proceed, so
the film’s already tight shooting schedule could continue.
The tide turned when "The Daytrippers" was chosen to play at the
prestigious Cannes film festival and went on to become a favorite
of critics and audiences alike, garnering many awards at other
festivals around the world. This success is all the more impressive
when considering the film’s extremely low budget, tight shooting
schedule, and small obstacles that stood in its way.
"I had a few really hard days," the film’s principal star Hope
Davis remembers. "I fell down during the shoot and busted my ankle.
There’s a bunch of scenes (in which) I’m kind of propped up against
something and they’re shooting around me, and that made it
hard."
This kind of crafty setup was commonplace on the set. The film
chronicles a day in the life of a dysfunctional family taking a
roadtrip to New York City, and much of the filming took place
inside a cramped station wagon. Not everyone could fit inside the
car, so they learned to use their space in interesting ways.
"The car was very uncomfortable because there was a cameraman,
an assistant cameraman, a sound man, myself, and the five actors,
and it was impossible to fit us all in there," Mottola says. "But I
wanted to shoot it from inside the car to make the audience feel
like they were in the car too. I’d be reading the lines from the
backseat of the station wagon, under a blanket, giving cues to the
people who couldn’t be there. It’s not a great way to direct. I
can’t see what anyone’s doing, I can only listen. It got tense in
the car because it was an uncomfortable situation, but that was
sort of the perfect emotion for the scene."
Not only was the space inside the car cramped, but, at 16 days,
the schedule was extremely tight as well. Although the fast-paced
filming was often difficult, it was a blessing in disguise for the
actors.
"It was pretty hectic. I think it was hardest on the crew
because we often shot way past the 14-hour day that you’re supposed
to have," Davis recalls. "But it was great for the actors because
you stay in character all day and you shoot 10 or 12 pages a day.
It’s really rewarding in that way."
Part of the reason why the actors could really get into their
characters was simply due to time constraints.
"What was frustrating was having to give up a lot of the visual
things I wanted to do, like camera moves or additional shots,
because of time," Mottola says. "But I always made choices in favor
of acting because it was just the kind of movie (in which) I felt
the acting was the most important thing. So I felt if the film
suffered a little bit visually, if the acting was good the audience
would go with it."
Because the film relies heavily on acting, Mottola needed actors
that had the stamina to endure his rigorous shooting schedule.
Luckily, his cast proved more than capable.
"I feel like I was lucky that I had actors who are as
experienced as they are because they’ve all got their own process
down and they work really fast," Mottola says. "They were very
professional and very quick, and also I think the actors were all
jazzed up because they’re in character all day."
"I think it comes across in the film (that we worked together
well)," Davis says. "We had such a good time together and we all
remember it as 16 of the best days we’ve had in our lives because
we bonded really well. We spent hours crowded in that station
wagon; since we were stuck in there all day long, people told
stories and jokes. It felt like a family."
The person that was largely responsible for overseeing this
close-knit cast was the director, Mottola. He brought them all
together and tended to their questions and concerns.
"He really trusted us and whenever we had questions or troubles,
he really was great at knowing how to help us," Davis says. "We
trusted each other and knew where we were going to go."
Though the actors had confidence in Mottola, he did not always
have that same confidence in himself. At the beginning of the
production, he was apprehensive about his role as director.
"I was just terrified the first few days," Mottola says. "I
would mumble my directions to the actors. I felt like the weak
link, and then suddenly I realized the actors were like, ‘You have
to rise to our level. We trust you, so you have to trust yourself.’
And that was really a great feeling. After that I would come to the
set and I’d feel relaxed. I would be nervous at first but after a
while there are just too many decisions to be made to be able to be
nervous."
Money was one of the few things Mottola wasn’t worried about on
the set, due to "Daytrippers" low budget. He feels his low budget
allowed him a freedom and creativity not found on larger Hollywood
projects.
"I think you can do interesting, creative things if you’re
making a film (which) doesn’t have to make millions of dollars,"
Mottola says. "The freedom to fail was a real liberating thing. I
just thought, ‘Who knows what’s going to happen, but it’s gonna be
mine and they’re gonna be my mistakes.’ If you’re working under a
million dollars, I think you can take risks and you can hopefully
grow a little bit."
While the low budget gave Mottola creative allowances, it also
taught him important lessons about filmmaking.
"You have to choose your battles wisely," Mottola says. "You
can’t have everything you want so you have to really figure out
what’s the most important thing you want to convey to the audience.
Hopefully the feeling behind it will come through, but if you
convey an idea any way possible, it’s completely worth it."
CFP Distribution
Hope Davis portrays a member of a dysfunctional family on its
way to New York City.