SILVER BULLETS

After his girlfriend Claire is given the leading role in a werewolf film by a renowned horror film director, jealous young filmmaker Ethan responds by casting Claire’s best friend Charlie in his own film.
In November of 2008 I traveled to New York to make a film. After one day of shooting it fell apart. I was tired and depressed and thinking of quitting filmmaking, which I was no longer enjoying. Chekhov’s “The Seagull” was playing on Broadway and I was encouraged to read the play. I thought of David Foster Wallace, who had committed suicide a few months earlier, and with whom I was becoming increasingly obsessed. I started shooting a new film with some friends. We shot several scenes each day, changing and rearranging the story constantly until I flew home in December. I continued to work this way for two years, getting together with my actors every few months when I could afford to shoot new scenes and re-shoot old ones. I slowly emerged from the depression and found myself enjoying the process. “The Seagull” continued to provide inspiration as the film became more autobiographical and dreamlike. David Foster Wallace is still on my mind. (Joe Swanberg)